Satellite communication & Networks

Experiment No. 1

Active and passive satellites

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EXPERIMENT NO. 01

NAME OF THE EXPERIMENT: Active & Passive Satellite

AIM OF THE EXPERIMENT: To set up an active & passive satellite communication link
and study their difference using video signal.

EQUIPMENT /COMPONENTS:

• Satellite uplink transmitter, satellite downlink receiver and satellite link Emulator
• RHCP & LHCP axial mode helix antennas
• Antenna stands with connecting cables, reflecting sheet.

THEORY:
The Uplink
In uplink station, the signals have to be sent at a differing frequency, usually in the higher 14
GHz band, to avoid interference with downlink signals. Another function performed by the
uplink station is to control tightly the internal functions of the satellite itself (such as station
keeping accuracy). Uplinks are controlled so that the transmitted microwave power beam is
extremely narrow, in order not to interfere with adjacent satellites in the geo-arc. The powers
involved are several hundred watts.
The Transponders
Each satellite has a number of transponders with access to a pair of receive/transmit antennas
and associated electronics for each channel. For example, in Europe, the uplink sends signals
at a frequency of about 14 GHz, these are received, down-converted in frequency to about
11/12 GHz and boosted by high power amplifiers for re-transmission to earth.
Satellites are conveniently categorized into the following three power ranges:
1. Low power - These have transponder powers around the 20 W mark and are primarily
general telecommunication satellites. Due to the low transmission power of each transponder
they can support many channels with the available collected solar energy. Many of these
transponders relay program material for cable TV operators but, unfortunately, receiving
dishes of monstrous proportions are necessary for noise free reception, often in excess of 1
meter. Even so, domestic TV reception is not the primary reason for the existence of such
high channel capacity satellites. Transponder bandwidths can vary.
2. Medium power - These satellites have typical transponder powers of around 45 W, such as
those on board Astra 1A. Such satellites are now commonly termed semi-DBS (direct
broadcast service) and represent the first serious attempt to gain public approval by offering
the prospect of dustbin-Lid-sized dishes of 60 cm diameter. Medium power satellites usually
operate in the frequency band 10.95 GHz to 11.70 GHz and form the fixed satellite service
(FSS). The transponder bandwidths are commonly 27 MHz or 36 MHz
3. High power - These pure DBS satellites have transponder powers exceeding 100 W and
have a correspondingly reduced channel capacity of around four perhaps five channels. The
specified dish size is minimal, about 30 to 45 cm in the central service area.
The Downlink
The medium used to transmit signals from satellite to earth is microwave electromagnetic
radiation which is much higher in frequency than normal broadcast TV signals in the
VHF/UHF bands. Microwaves still exhibit a wavelike nature but inherit a tendency to severe
attenuation by water vapor or any obstruction in the line of sight of the antenna. The

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transmitted microwave power is extremely weak by the time it reaches earth and unless well
designed equipment is used, and certain installation precautions are taken, the background
noise can ruin the signal. Televisions receive only (TVRO) site consists of an antenna
designed to collect and concentrate the signal to its focus where a feed horn is precisely
located. These channels microwaves to an electronic component called a low noise block
(LNB), which amplifies and down-converts the signal to a more manageable frequency for
onward transmission, by cable, to the receiver located inside the dwelling.
PROCEDURE:
PARTA-Active link

1. To set the satellite link, set the Transmitter & Emulator Uplink Frequency to 2481
MHz, and Receiver & Emulator Downlink frequency to 2400 MHz.
2. Set transmitter channel and receiver channel CH3 to video and emulator channel to
video.
3. Connect RHCP helix antenna in uplink (i.e. to transmitter and Rx post of Emulator).
Connect LHCP helix antenna in down link (i.e. to Tx post of emulator and to receiver)
4. The RHCP Helix antenna of Tx should be rotated with the antenna pointing in the
same direction to that of RHCP Helix antenna of UPLINK CHANNEL of Satellite
link emulator.
5. Point the LHCP Helix antenna of Rx towards LHCP Helix antenna of Downlink
satellite link emulator.
6. Connect TV to video & audio ports using composite video cable. Observe the video
by varying FM deviation knob at transmitter side.
7. Also note down RSSI value on the display at receiver.

PART B-Passive link

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1. To set the passive link, switch off the emulator.

2. Set the Transmitter Uplink Frequency to 2481 MHz, and Receiver Downlink
frequency also to 2481 MHz.
3. Set transmitter channel and receiver channel CH3 to video.
4. Connect TV to video & audio ports using composite video cable. Observe the video
by varying FM deviation knob at transmitter side.
5. Also note down RSSI value on the display at receiver.

DIAGRAMS:

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OBSERVATION:

1. In active satellites, the frequency is translated by transponders in satellite and then sent
back to receiver after amplifying the signal at different frequency.

2. In Passive satellite, signal is only reflected back to the receiver and no freq. translation and
power amplification takes place.

Uplink:
Downlink:

3. RSSI: i) Active Satellite: ______

ii) Passive Satellite: ______

Note: ISM band for satellite communication simulation is used as it is a license free
band for use this band is from 2400 MHz to 2500 MHz

RESULT: Active Satellite RSSI= ____V

Passive Satellite RSSI= _____V

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CONCLUSION:

Experiment No. 2

Signal parameters & propagation delay

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Experiment No. 02
NAME OF THE EXPERIMENT: Signal parameters & propagation delay

AIM: To measure the baseband analog signal parameters & propagation delay of signal in a
satellite communication link.

EQUIPMENT:

 Satellite uplink transmitter, satellite downlink receiver and satellite link emulator
 RHCP & LHCP axial mode helix antennas, Dish Antennas, Patch antennas
 Antenna stands with connecting cables, PC monitor
 Function generator

 CRO or DSO

THEORY:
The propagation delay is the amount and time required for a signal transmitted from an earth
station to be received by the satellite, processed, retransmitted and then received at the
destination earth station. The propagation delay depends upon the height of the satellite orbit.
Thus the propagation delay involving a geostationary satellite is maximum and propagation
delay for LEO(lower earth orbit) is minimum. This is because the geostationary height is

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35786 km which is much greater than those of low earth and medium earth orbit satellites.
The propagation delay for a geostationary satellite is 270 milliseconds.

PROCEDURE:
 Setup the link in triangular fashion with Tx, Rx and Satellite link emulator at 3
vertices of a triangle.
 Now, connect a T connector at output port of function generator so that the input
analog signal(sine wave) from function generator can be connected to transmitter kit
at analog port & can simultaneously viewed on CRO.
 Similarly connect another channel of CRO at audio port of receiver kit using CRO
probe for visualizing the received analog signal via satcom link.
 To set the satellite link, set the Transmitter & Emulator Uplink Frequency to 2481
MHz, and Receiver & Emulator Downlink frequency to 2400 MHz.
 Set transmitter channel and receiver channel CH1 or CH 2 to analog and emulator
channel to video.
 Connect RHCP helix antenna in uplink (i.e. to transmitter and Rx post of Emulator).
Connect LHCP helix antenna in down link (i.e. to Tx post of emulator and to receiver)
 The RHCP Helix antenna of Tx should be rotated with the antenna pointing in the
same direction to that of RHCP Helix antenna of UPLINK CHANNEL of Satellite
link emulator.
 Point the LHCP Helix antenna of Rx towards LHCP Helix antenna of Downlink
satellite link emulator.
 Connect CRO & observe input & output analog signal on channel 1 & channel 2
respectively. Note down the amplitude & frequency of transmitted & received signal..
 Also note down propagation delay from the display.

RESULT:

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Conclusion

Experiment No. 3

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Satellite communication & Networks

Telecommand & telemetry

Experiment No. 03

NAME OF THE EXPERIMENT: Telecommand & telemetry

AIM: To send Tele command and receive the telemetry Data.

EQUIPMENT:
 Satellite uplink transmitter, satellite downlink receiver and satellite link emulator
 RHCP & LHCP axial mode helix antennas, Dish Antennas, Patch antennas
 Antenna stands with connecting cables
THEORY:

Telemetry is the data of sensors which are on board (satelite). After typical time period that
data is collected by controlling earth station. This data includes temperature of various
devices, fuel available in tank etc. Telecommand is command given by respective earth
station to satellite. Commands are corrective actions to be taken and they are based on
received sensors data.

PROCEDURE:

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 Setup the link in same fashion with Tx, Rx and Satellite link emulator at 3 vertices of
a triangle.
 To set the satellite link, set the Transmitter & Emulator Uplink Frequency to 2481
MHz, and Receiver & Emulator Downlink frequency to 2400 MHz.
 Set transmitter channel and receiver channel CH3 to Telemetry and emulator channel
to telemetry data.
 Connect RHCP helix antenna in uplink (i.e. to transmitter and Rx post of Emulator).
Connect LHCP helix antenna in down link (i.e. to Tx post of emulator and to receiver)
 The RHCP Helix antenna of Tx should be rotated with the antenna pointing in the
same direction to that of RHCP Helix antenna of UPLINK CHANNEL of Satellite
link emulator.
 Point the LHCP Helix antenna of Rx towards LHCP Helix antenna of Downlink
satellite link emulator.
 To send the tele command signal from Tx to Satellite link emulator, set addresses of
both Tx & Satellite link emulator same. Send the data bits from transmitter to
emulator with the same address.
 Observe data at satellite link emulator by using option Telemetry-RX telemetry. For
the given address , same data can be recovered.
 Now, once data has been send from Tx to uplink channel of Satellite link emulator;
same data can be send to Rx end by using option Telemetry-TX telemetry satellite
link emulator the same address.
 In order to send telemetry data to Rx from Downlink channel of Satellite link
emulator, set the addresses of both Rx and Downlink Satellite link emulator same.
Now, send the data from downlink channel of Satellite link emulator to Rx.
 Observe data at receiver trainer kit in option C (view Rx telemetry) by using same
address as that of satellite downlink.

RESULT:

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CONCLUSION:

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Experiment No. 04

C/N Ratio

Experiment No. 04
NAME OF THE EXPERIMENT: Carrier to noise ratio.

AIM: To measure the C/N ratio in a satellite communication link.

EQUIPMENT:

 Satellite uplink transmitter, satellite downlink receiver and satellite link emulator
 RHCP & LHCP axial mode helix antennas, Dish Antennas, Patch antennas
 Antenna stands with connecting cables, PC monitor
 Function generator

 CRO or DSO

THEORY:
Carrier-to-noise ratio
For the Ku and Ka bands the system carrier-to-noise (C/N) ratio is given by:
C/N = EIRP - Lfr+ G/T usable -10 log (kB) -Arain -Aatm (dB)
where :
EIRP = the equivalent isotropic radiated power from the satellite at the site location (dBW)
Lfr = free space path loss on the earth to satellite path (dB)
G/T usable = minimum degraded value of the system figure of merit (dB/K)
k = Boltzmann's constant (1.38 x 10-23 J/K)

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B = receiver's pre-detection intermediate frequency (IF) bandwidth (Hz)

Aatm = gaseous attenuation due to atmospheric absorption (dB)
Arain = rain attenuation for a given percentage of the time (dB).
Note: (a) Arain & Aatm can be omitted for operation frequencies of <8 GHz; and
(b) for a 'clear-sky' calculation omit the Arain term and substitute the nominal
figure of merit, G/T(nominal), for G/T(usable).
Antenna noise
Any signal received is combined with an element of noise, which degrades the overall
performance: Signal = wanted signal + noise, Obviously, the noise component must be kept
as small as possible, taking into account cost and available technology. Noise can come from
many sources and is produced by the thermal agitation of atoms and molecules above
absolute zero (-273°C or 0 K; note that the degree sign is not used on the Kelvin scale). This
is why noise is said to have an equivalent noise temperature. The noise temperature of the
earth is normally standardized at 290 K (17°C). There are three main sources of noise in the
environment:
Extraterrestrial noise sources
This is wide bandwidth radiation caused by the energy conversion in stars and the residual
back-ground radiation of the 'big bang'. This tends to taper off at 1 GHz and settles to that of
the residual background noise alone which is taken as 2.7 K. Above 2 GHz, there are only a
few isolated points of very strong non-thermal noise, principally from Cygnus A, Cygnus X,
Cassiopeia A and the Crab nebula. There is also a narrow band of increased noise from the
Milky Way. The Sun is an enormous source of noise at around 10,000 K at 12GHz and the
Moon at about 200 K. This noise enters the antenna mainly via the main lobe.
Man-made noise
This noise emanates from microwave pollution due to man's
Electrical activities and principally enters the antenna via the side lobes.
Ground noise
In the long term, this is the major component of noise incident on the antenna aperture, and
depends mainly on the antenna diameter, antenna depth, and elevation setting. The smaller
the diameter of the dish the wider and more spread out will be the side lobes, so more noise
will enter from the warm earth. The noise temperature also increases as the elevation angle
decreases, since lower elevation settings will pick up more ground noise due to side lobes
intercepting the ground (diffraction effects at the antenna rim). This may be reduced by

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various methods of feed illumination. The design of the antenna itself also plays a part. A
deep dish picks up less ground noise at lower elevations than do shallow ones, also prime
focus mounted head units will add to noise since it is 'seen' at the same temperature as the
Earth. Inclining the head unit away from the earth and towards the cool sky as happens in the
case of an offset focus design can also improve things. This practice tends to counteract the
negative effects of increased beam width for small antennas set at low elevation angles.

PROCEDURE:
 Setup the link in same fashion with Tx, Rx and Satellite link emulator at 3 vertices of
a triangle. Set transmitter & emulator uplink frequency to 2481MHz and receiver &
emulator downlink frequency to 2400 MHz. If u get picture on TV screen at the
receiver via satellite, a successful satellite link is said to be established.
 Switch off carrier by switching off both transmitter & satellite emulator. Receiver will
read only its noise floor on RSSI menu. In absence of any receiver will reads .92 V
correspondence to -96dBm which is noise floor of receiver.
 Now switch ON transmitter & satellite emulator & say receiver reads -59dBm
(1.93V) of carrier level being received. Thus, C/N=carrier level/noise level. As both
noise & carrier signal being detected are measured in dB, C/N can be calculated by
taking difference of two readings or C/N= carrier level in dB- Noise level in dB.
Hence C/N=-59-(-96) = 37dB.
 Measure C/N readings for different levels of path loss.

RESULT:

CONCLUSION:

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Experiment No. 06
Coverage Angle, Slant range & Propagation delay

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Experiment No. 06
NAME OF THE EXPERIMENT: Coverage Angle, Slant range & Propagation delay

AIM: To calculate coverage angle, Slant range, propagation delay in a satellite

communication link.

SOFTWARE: Scilab Version 5.4.1

THEORY:

COVERAGE ANGLE: Communication with a satellite is possible if the earth station is in

the footprint of the satellite. In other words, the earth-satellite link is established only when
the earth station falls in the beamwidth of the satellite antenna. This would be a function of
time and the satellite is to be tracked in case of a non-geostationary satellite. But for a
geostationary satellite once the link is established, the link is available throughout the lifetime
of the satellite without any tracking. To have the communication between the earth station-
satellite-earth station, both the antennas of the transmitting and receiving earth station are to
be pointed towards the antenna of the spacecraft. With the help of look angle determination,
this can be established. To locate the earth station in the footprint of the satellite, the
information of slant range and coverage area/angle is required. To determine this information,
given Fig. is considered.

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The earth coverage angle, 2αmax is the total angle subtended by the earth as seen from the
satellite. This angle is important in design of a global coverage antenna and depends on
satellite altitude. The communication coverage angle 2α is similarly defined, except that the
minimum elevation angle φ of the earth station antenna must be taken into account.

SLANT RANGE: Besides the coverage angle, it is important to know the slant range from
the earth station to the satellite, because this range determines the satellite roundtrip delay of
the earth station. The slant range, d can be determined as

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PROPAGATION DELAY: The propagation speed depends on the physical medium of the

link (that is, fiber optics, twisted-pair copper wire, etc.) and is in the range
of style2*10^8 meters/sec for copper wires and  3*10^8 for wireless communication, which
is equal to the speed of light. The ratio of actual propagation speed to the speed of light is
also called the velocity factor of the medium. The propagation delay of a physical link can be
calculated by dividing the distance (the length of the medium) in meter by its propagation
speed in m/s.
Propagation time = Distance / propagation speed

SCILAB PROGRAM:

RESULT:

CONCLUSION:

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Experiment No. 07
Look Angles calculation.

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Experiment No. 07
NAME OF THE EXPERIMENT: Look Angles calculation.

AIM: To calculate value of azimuth & elevation angles for satellite tracking.

SOFTWARE: Scilab Version 5.4.1

THEORY:
Azimuth(Az)

The earth station needs to know where the satellite is in the orbit. Then the earth station
engineer needs to calculate some angles to track the satellite correctly. These angles are
called antenna look angle. The look angles for the ground station antenna are the azimuth and
elevation angles required at the antenna so that it points directly at the satellite. With the
geostationary orbit the situation is much simpler than any other orbit. As the antenna beam
width is very narrow and tracking mechanism is required to compensate for the movement of
the satellite about the nominal geostationary position. Three pieces of information that are
needed to determine the look angles for the geostationary orbit are
a. Earth station latitude
b. Earth station longitude
c. Satellite orbital position

Using these information antenna look angle can be calculated using Napier’s rule (solving
spherical triangle).
Azimuth angle denotes the horizontal angle measured at the earth station antenna to North
Pole.
Elevation is such angle denotes the vertical angle measured at the earth station antenna end
from ground to satellite position.

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Figure : Antenna azimuth angle Figure : Antenna elevation angle

AZIMUTH ANGLE CALCULATION:

ELEVATION ANGLE CALCULATION:

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SCILAB PROGRAM:

RESULT:

CONCLUSION:

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Experiment No. 08
Limits of Visibility

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Experiment No. 08
NAME OF THE EXPERIMENT: Limits of Visibility.

AIM: To calculate value of east and west limits of visibility of satellite.

SOFTWARE: Scilab Version 5.4.1

THEORY:
Limits of visibility: 
The east and west limits of geostationary arc are visible from any given Earth station. These
limits are set by the geographic coordinates of the Earth station and antenna elevation.
 The lowest elevation is zero (in theory) but in practice, to avoid reception of excess noise
from Earth. Some finite minimum value of elevation is issued. The earth station can see a
satellite over a geostationary arc bounded by +- (81.30) about the earth station’s longitude.

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Expression for Limits of Visibility:

Case 1: When earth station is at equator
Consider an Earth station at the equator with the antenna pointing either east or west along
the horizontal, as shown in Fig. The limiting angle γmax is given by

In this case γ represents not only the central angle subtended by the earth station and satellite
at the centre of the earth but also the longitudinal separation between the earth station and the
satellite. Thus for this situation, an earth station could see satellites over a geostationary arc
bounded by ±81.3° about the earth station longitude.
Hence the satellites which are in the limits of visibility of an earth station at the equator
would be located between longitudes, θe±γ=θe±81.30θe±γ=θe±81.30where le is the Earth
station longitude.
In practice, to avoid reception of excessive noise from the earth, some finite minimum value
of elevation is used.
∵σmin =900+Emin∵σmin=900+Emin

[A typical value is Elmin =50] Elmin=50] This is illustrated by dotted lines in the fig. above.

CALCULATIONS:

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SCILAB PROGRAM:

RESULT:

CONCLUSION:

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