EXP(2.

4)
Transmission line characteristics (Coaxial Cable)

Objective:
Studying the Transmission Characteristics of Coaxial cable.
Introduction:
In a data transmission system, the transmission medium is the physical path
between transmitter and receiver. The coaxial cable is one of the most widely used
Transmission Lines (T.L) in electrical systems. Coaxial cable is used to transmit
both analog and digital signals. Coaxial cable has frequency characteristics that are
superior to those of twisted pair and can hence be used effectively at higher
frequencies and data rates. Because of its shielded, concentric construction, coaxial
cable is much less susceptible to interference and crosstalk than twisted pair.

The Quarter-Wave Transformer (/4 Transformer):

Say the end of a transmission line with characteristic impedance Zo is terminated
with a resistive load:

Figure 1.

We typically would like all power traveling down the line to be absorbed by the
load RL , but if RL ≠ Z 0 the line is unmatched and some of the incident power will be
reflected. By inserting a lossless matching network between the transmission line
and the load, all incident power be delivered to a resistive load even if RL ≠ Z 0 .

Matching
Zin Network
Figure 2.

The matching network’s job is to transform the load RL (or even Z L ) to a value Z 0 ,
in other words, the input impedance of the matching network Z in will be equal to
Z 0 , so none of the incident power is reflected, and none is absorbed by the lossless
matching network, it all must be absorbed by the load RL.

The easiest method of building the matching device is to insert a transmission line
with characteristic impedance Z1 and length L= λ/4 between the load and the Z 0
transmission line, this λ/4 line will be the matching network.
But we want Z in  Z o
(Z1 ) 2 (Z1 ) 2
Z in    Zo Zin
ZL RL
L= λ/4
 EXP(2.4)
Z1  Z o RL
Figure 3.
Useful Equations:
c
v (1)
r
L
tr  (2)
v
138 a
z0  log( ) (3)
r b
Vs
zs  (4)
Is
V o .c  V s
Is  (5)
zg
V ( x)  Vs e x (6)
Where :
 : velocity of propagation in the insulating medium between the two conductor .
c : velocity of light in free space.
r : relative dielectric constant.
a : inner diameter of the cable.
b : outer diameter of the cable.
Vs: max voltage at T.L beginning
V(x): the voltage at x distance from the source.
x : any distance (in meter) from the source on the T.L.
α : attenuation factor.

When a signal (Vi=Emsinωt) is applied on a T.L from a source has internal

impedance (Zg), a voltage of (Vssinωt) will be at the beginning of the T.L and it
will be transmit on the line with a velocity (υ), the expression of this voltage is
shown in eq (6).

Special Cases to Remember:-

A: Terminated in Zo(Matching)

Zg
Vs Zo Zo
Vi

B: Short Circuit

Zg
Vi Zo
 EXP(2.4)

C: Open circuit

Zg
Zo
Vi

Procedure :

I- Pulse response:
Connect the circuit shown in fig.(4).
One way to determine the time taken for a signal to pass down a length of
transmission line is to feed, into the line, short duration pulses separated in time by
a value greater than the expected transmission time.

Figure 4: T.L simple Circuit

1- Apply a 5V pulse of width equal to (0.5 sec) and a period of (2.5sec).

Observe the voltage wave forms at the sending end ( SE ) and receiving end (RE).

2- Measure (Z0) by adjusting (Zr) to the value which gives minimum reflection.

3- Plot ,to proper voltage and time scales ,the voltages wave forms at ( SE ) and
( RE ) for : Zr= , Zr=Z0 , Zr=0 , record the value of (Zr) at each case, and calculate
the reflection coefficient (k) at each case.

4- Measure the transit time (tr) between the incident and reflected pulses at (SE)
for Zr=Zo.

5- Measure Vs and Vr when Zr=Z0. Calculate the attenuation constant using eq.(6)
calculate ( r ) and the attenuation factor ().

II- Delay time measurements:

Set the load RL to 75ohm (Zo), then apply a sin wave to the circuit shown in figure
4. Increase the frequency until a phase shift of 90o and 180o obtained between the
SE and RE signals, calculate the delay time per Km.
 EXP(2.4)

Questions :
a- Table 1, Indicates the characteristics typical for the common guided media for
long-distance point-to-point applications. Calculate the attenuation for each
coaxial and twisted pair cables at 1MHz.

Table 1: Point-to-Point Transmission Characteristics of Guided Media

(a) Coaxial cable (b) Composite graph

Figure 5: Attenuation of typical guided media

b- The transmission media that are used to convey information can be classified
as guided or unguided, Explain?
c- A VHF loop antenna used to receive weather maps from satellites has an
impedance of 100Ω at 137MHz. This antenna will be used with a receiver
whose input impedance is 50 ohms, by using figure 3:
 What is the impedance of the quarter wave matching section?
 What is the length of the matching section cable which has a relative
dielectric constant (r) equal to 1.77?