TRANSMISSION LINE consists of a solid center conductor

surrounded by a dielectric material,

TRANSMISSION LINE BASICS
Transmission lines in communication
carry
 Telephone signals
 Computer Data in LANs
 TV signals in cable TV systems,
 Signals from a transmitter to an
antenna or from an antenna to a
receiver.
Transmission Lines are also Circuits
usually a plastic insulator such as Teflon.
An air or gas dielectric, in which the
center conductor is held in place by
periodic insulating spacers, can also be
used. Over the insulator is a second
conductor, a tubular braid or shield made
of fine wires. An outer plastic sheath
protects and insulates the braid. Coaxial
cable comes in a variety of sizes, from
approximately 1⁄4 in to several inches in
diameter.

The Two primary requirement

of a transmission line are:
 the line introduces minimum
attenuation to the signal
 the line does not radiate any of the
3. Twisted-Pair Cable.
signal as radio energy.
Twisted-pair cable, as the name
implies, uses two insulated solid copper
All transmission lines and
wires covered with insulation and loosely
connectors are designed with these
twisted together. This type of cable was
requirements in mind.
originally used in telephone wiring and is
still used for that today. But it is also used
Types of Transmission Lines
for security system wiring of sensors and
1. Parallel-Wire Lines.
other equipment. And it is one of the
Parallel-wire line is made of two
most widely used types of wiring in local-
parallel conductors separated by a space
area networks (LANs). It is generally
of 1⁄2 in to several inches.
known as unshielded twisted-pair (UTP)
cable.

2. Coaxial Cable.
The most widely used type of
transmission line is coaxial cable, which

4. Balanced versus Unbalanced
Lines
 Differential - balanced line
is one in which neither wire is
connected to ground. Instead, the signal
on each wire is referenced to ground. The
same current flows in each wire with
respect to ground, although the direction
of current in one wire is 180° out of
phase with the current in the other wire.
 Single ended - unbalanced line
one conductor is connected to ground.
The twisted-pair line may be used in a
balanced or an unbalanced arrangement,
although the balanced form is more
common.
Open-wire line has a balanced
configuration. The driving generator and
the receiving circuit are center-tapped
transformers in which the center taps are
grounded. Balanced-line wires offer
significant protection from noise pickup
and cross talk. Because of the identical
polarities of the signals on balanced lines,
any external signal induced into the cable
appears on both wires simultaneously
but cancels at the receiver. This is called
common-mode rejection, and noise
reduction can be as great as 60 to 70 db.
Coaxial cables are unbalanced lines; the
current in the center conductor is
referenced to the braid, which is
connected to ground.
It is sometimes necessary or
desirable to convert from balanced to
unbalanced operation or vice versa. This
is done with a device called a balun, from
“balanced-unbalanced.”
Wavelength of Cables
Cables used to carry RF energy
are not simply resistive conductors but
are complex equivalents of inductors,
capacitors, and resistors. Furthermore,
whenever the length of a transmission
line is the same order of magnitude as or
greater than the wavelength of the
transmitted signal, the line takes on
special characteristics and requires a
more complex analysis.
Wavelength is the length or
distance of one cycle of an ac wave or the
distance that an ac wave travels in the
time required for one cycle of that signal.
Wavelength
Mathematically, wavelength λ is the ratio
of the speed of light to the frequency of
the signal f : λ=300,000,000 /f ,
where 300 million is the speed of light, in
meters per second, in free space or air (
300,000,000 m/s=186,400 mi /s
) and f is in hertz. This is also the speed
of a radio signal.
The wavelength of a 60-Hz power line
signal is then
300,000,000 6
λ= =5× 10 m
60
Example 1  UHF connectors (a) PL-259 male
For an operating frequency of 450 MHz, connector, (b) Internal construction
what length of a pair of conductors is and connections for the PL-259
considered to be a transmission line? (A female chassis connector
pair of conductors does not act as a
transmission line unless it is at least 0.1 λ
long.)

300 984
f ( MHz )= ∨f ( MHz )=
λ (m) λ ( ft )

984
λ= =2.19 ft
450

0.1 λ=2.19 ( 0.1 )=0.219 ft ¿

Example 2
Calculate the physical length of the
transmission line in last problem a 3⁄8 λ
long.  BNC connectors (a) Male, (b)
Female, (c) Barrel connector, (d) T
3 2.19 ( 3 ) connector
λ= =0.82 ft ¿
8 8

Connectors
Most transmission lines
terminate in some kind of connector, a
device that connects the cable to a piece
of equipment or to another cable. An
ordinary ac power plug and outlet are
basic types of connectors. Special
connectors are used with parallel lines
and coaxial cable. Connectors, ubiquitous
 The F connector used on TV sets,
in communication equipment, are often
VCRs, and cable TV boxes.
taken for granted. This is unfortunate,
because they are a common failure point
in many applications.

Coaxial Cable Connectors

 lumped components. (b) Simplified
equivalent circuit.

 RCA phonograph connectors are

sometimes used for RF connectors
up to VHF

Determining Zo from Inductance and

Capacitance. For an infinitely long
transmission line, the characteristic
impedance Z o is given by the formula

 N-Type Coaxial connector

Where,
Z o=
√ L
C

Z o=¿ ohms
L=¿ inductance of transmission line for
a given length
C=¿ capacitance for that same length
RL=Z o
Characteristic Impedance
When the length of a
transmission line is longer than several Velocity Factor
wavelengths at the signal frequency, the The speed of the signal in the
two parallel conductors of the transmission line is slower than the
transmission line appear as a complex speed of a signal in free space.
impedance.
The velocity of propagation of a
An RF generator connected to signal in a cable is less than the velocity
such a transmission line sees an of propagation of light in free space by
impedance that is a function of the fraction called the Velocity Factor (VF)
inductance, resistance, and capacitance
in the circuit—the characteristic or surge Vp Vp
VF= ∨VF=
impedance Z o. Vc c

A transmission line appears as a Calculating Velocity Factor

distributed low-pass filter to any driving The velocity factor in a line can be
generator, (a) A distributed line with computed with the expression
 1 Find the actual length in feet of a quarter-
VF= wavelength segment of coaxial cable with
√ε a VF of 0.65 at 30 MHz

where ε is the dielectric constant of the VF

insulating material.
λ=984
f ( MHz )
Example 1
If the dielectric in a coaxial cable is a
Teflon, the dielectric constant is 2.1 and
¿ 984 ( 0.65
30 )
the velocity factor is ¿ 21.32 ft
1/√ 2.1=1/1.45=0.69. Find the The length in feet is one-quarter of this,
speed of the signal of the coaxial cable.
21.32
¿
The speed of the signal in the coaxial 4
cable is 0.69 times the speed of light or
0.69 ×300,000,000=207,000,000 m/s (128,616 miλ=5.33
/s) ft

Calculating Transmission Line Length

Time Delay
If a lossless (zero-resistance) line is
assumed, an approximation of the
velocity of propagation can be computed
with the expression

1
V p= ft / s
√ LC
The velocity factor must be taken into
consideration in computing the length of
a transmission line in wavelengths. It is
sometimes necessary to use a one-half or
one-quarter wavelength of a specific type
of transmission line for a specific
Because the velocity of
purpose, e.g., impedance matching,
propagation of a transmission line is less
filtering, and tuning.
than the velocity of propagation in free
space, it is logical to assume that any line
VF
λ ( ft )=984 will slow down or delay any signal applied
f ( MHz ) to it.

Example 1 A signal applied at one end of a

line appears sometime later at the other
end of the line. This is called the time
delay or transit time for the line. A ¿ 1.016 ( 1.517 )
transmission line used specifically for the
purpose of achieving delay is called a ns
¿ 1.54
delay line. ft
The amount of delay time is a
function of a line’s inductance and 1.54 ( 75 )=115.6ns
capacitance. The opposition to changes in
current offered by the inductance plus Phase shift represented by delay
the charge and discharge time of the
capacitance leads to a finite delay. 360 t d
θ=
T
t d= √ LC
Example 1 Example 1
Find the time delay if the capacitance of For a 50 ft. line with a delay of 75ns,
the particular line is 30 pF /ft and its calculate the phase shift if the frequency
inductance is 0.075 μH /ft . How many is 4MHz?

seconds of delay if the line has 50 ft 360 t d

θ=
length? T
360(75)
t d= √ 0.075 × 10−6 ×30 ×10−12 ¿
−9
250
¿ 1.5 ×10 ∨1.5 ns /ft
θ=108°
1.5 ×50=75 ns of delay
Transmission Line Specification

Time delay of coaxial cable

ns
t d=1.016 √ ε
ft

t d=¿ time delay in nanoseconds per

foot
ε =¿ dielectric constant of the cable.
Example 1
What is the total time delay introduced
by a 75-ft cable with a dielectric constant
of 2.3?
Example 1
A 165-ft section of RG-58A/U at 100 MHz
is being used to connect a transmitter to
an antenna. Its attenuation for 100 ft at
100 MHz is 5.3 dB. Its input power from a
transmitter is 100 W. What is the total
attenuation and the output power to the
antenna?

t d=1.016 √2.3 Cable Attenuation

 5.3 dB A 150-ft length of RG-62A/U coaxial cable
¿ is used as a transmission line. Find the ff.
100 ft
a. load impedance that must be used
¿ 0.053 dB /ft to terminate the line to avoid
Total Attenuation reflections,
¿ 0.053 ×165
The characteristic impedance is
¿ 8.745 dB∨−8.745
93 Ω; therefore, the load must
Example offer a resistance of 93 Ω to avoid
reflections.

b. equivalent inductance per foot,

Z 0=
√ L
C
Z 0=93 Ω

pF
C=13.5
ft

2 −12 2
L=C Z 0=13.5 ×10 × 93
Transmission Line Specification

nH
¿ 116.76
ft

c. time delay introduced by the cable,

t d= √ LC

¿ √ 116.76 ×10−9 ×13.5 ×10−12

ns
¿ 1.256
ft
ns
150 ft ×1.256
ft

¿ 188.3 ns

d. phase shift that occurs on a 2.5-

Example 2 MHz sine wave,
 1 1 impedance of the line, the signal is not
T= = fully absorbed by the load. When a line is
f 2.5 ×10−6
not terminated properly, some of the
energy is reflected from the end of the
T =400 ns line and actually moves back up the line,
toward the generator.
188.3 (360)
θ= This reflected voltage adds to
400
the forward or incident generator voltage
and forms a composite voltage that is
θ=169.47 °
distributed along the line. This pattern of
voltage and its related current constitute
e. the total attenuation in decibels.
what is called a standing wave.
2.8 dB
Attenuation= The Relationship Between Reflections
100 ft
and
dB Standing Waves
¿ 0.028
ft
How pulse propagates along a
dB transmission line.
150 ft × 0.028
ft
¿ 4.2 dB

Standing Waves
When a signal is applied to a
transmission line, it appears at the other
end of the line some time later because
of the propagation delay.
Assume that the length of the line and its
If a resistive load equal to the other characteristics are such that the
characteristic impedance of a line is time delay is 500 ns: 500 ns after the
connected at the end of the line, the switch is closed, an output pulse will
signal is absorbed by the load and power occur at the end of the line. At this time,
is dissipated as heat. the voltage across the output capacitance
C4 is equal to 5 V or one-half of the
If the load is an antenna, the supply voltage.
signal is converted to electromagnetic
energy and radiated into space.

If the load at the end of a line is

an open circuit or a short circuit or has an
impedance other than the characteristic

The instant that the output
capacitance charges to its final value of
5V, all current flow in the line ceases,
causing any magnetic field around the
inductors to collapse. The energy stored
in the magnetic field of L4 is equal to the
energy stored in the output capacitance
C4
Therefore, a voltage of 5 V is
induced into the inductor. The polarity of
this voltage will be in such a direction
that it adds to the charge already on the
capacitor. Thus, the capacitor will charge
to two times the applied 5-V voltage, or
10 V.
A similar effect then takes place
in L3 The magnetic i eld across L3
collapses, doubling the voltage charge on
C3
Next, the magnetic field around
L2 collapses, charging C2 to 10 V. The
same effect occurs in L1 and C1
Once the signal reaches the
right end of the line, a reverse charging
effect takes place on the capacitors from
right to left. The effect is as if a signal
were moving from output to input. This
moving charge from right to left is the
reflection, or reflected wave, and the
input
wave from the generator to the end of
the line is the incident wave.
It takes another 500 ns for the
reflected wave to get back to the
generator. At the end of 1 μs, the input to
the transmission line goes more positive
by 5 V, for a total of 10 V.
Observing the waveforms,
follow the previously described action
with the closing of the switch at time t0
Because both the characteristic
impedance of the line and the internal
generator resistance are 75 V, one-half of
the battery voltage appears at the input
to the line at point A. This voltage
propagates down the line, charging the
line capacitors as it goes, until it reaches
the end of the line and fully charges the
output capacitance. At that time the
current in the inductance begins to cease,
with magnetic fields collapsing and
inducing voltages that double the output
voltage at the end of the line. Thus after
500 ns the output across the open end of
the line is 10 V.
Matched lines
a transmission line should be terminated
in a load that has a resistive impedance
equal to the characteristic impedance of
the line.
Forward or Incident Power
If the load impedance is
different from the line characteristic
impedance, not all the power transmitted
is absorbed by the load. The power not
absorbed by the load is reflected back
toward the source. The power sent down
the line toward the load is called forward
or incident power; the power not
absorbed by the load is called reflected
power. The signal actually on a line is
simply the algebraic sum of the forward
and reflected signals.
Shorted Lines
The graph below the
transmission line shows the plot of
voltage and current at each point on the
line that would be generated by using the
values given by a voltmeter and ammeter
moved along the line.
As expected in the case of a
short at the end of a line, the voltage is
zero when the current is maximum. All
the power is reflected back toward the
generator. Looking at the plot, you can
see that the voltage and current
variations distribute themselves
according to the signal wavelength. The
fixed pattern, which is the result of a
composite of the forward and reflected
signals, repeats every half wavelength.
The voltage and current levels at the
generator are dependent on signal
wavelength and the line length.
Open Lines
With an infinite impedance load, the
voltage at the end of the line is maximum
when the current is zero. All the energy is
reflected, setting up the stationary
pattern of voltage and current standing
waves shown.
Mismatched (Resonant) Lines
Standing Wave Ratio
The magnitude of the standing
waves on a transmission line is
determined by the ratio of the maximum
current to the minimum current, or the
ratio of the maximum voltage to the
minimum voltage, along the line.
I max V max
SWR= =
I min V min
Under the shorted and open
conditions described earlier, the current
or voltage minima are zero. This produces
an SWR of infinity. It means that no
power is dissipated in the load; all the
power is reflected.
In the ideal case, there are no
standing waves. The voltage and current
are constant along the line, so there are
no maxima or minima (or the maximum
and minima are the same). Therefore, the
SWR is 1.
 Zl An RG-11/U foam coaxial cable has a
If Zl > Z 0 , then SWR= maximum voltage standing wave of 52 V
Z0 and a minimum voltage of 17 V. Find
(a) the SWR,
Z0
If Zl < Z 0 , then SWR=
Zl

Example 1 (b) the reflection coefficient, and

What is the SWR of an antenna load with
75 ohms that is connected to a 50 ohms
transmission line?

since
Zl > Z 0 ,

75
SWR= =1.5
50

Reflection Coefficient (c) the value of a resistive load.

The ratio of the reflected
voltage wave V r to the incident voltage
wave V i
The reflection coefficient
provides information on current and
voltage along the line. Also, G 5 reflected
power/incident power.

Vr Reflection Coefficient
r=
Vi If the load matches the line
impedance, then Γ = 0. The preceding
Reflection Coefficient / SWR formula gives an SWR of 1, as expected.
With an open or shorted load, Γ = 1. This
V max −V min SWR−1 produces an SWR of infinity.
r= =
V min +V min SWR +1 The reflection coefficient can
also be determined from the line and
1+ Γ 1+ √ Pr / Pi load impedances:
SWR= =
1−Γ 1−√ P r / Pi Z l−Z 0
Γ=
Example 1 Z l +Z 0
Example 1
What is the reflection coefficient of an
antenna load with 75 ohms that is
connected to a 50 ohms transmission
line?

75−50 25
Γ= =
75+50 125

Γ =0.2

Importance of SWR
The importance of the SWR is that it
gives a relative indication of just how
much power is lost in the transmission
line and the generator. This assumes that
none of the reflected power is re-
reflected by the generator. In a typical
transmitter, some power is reflected and
sent to the load again.

Return Loss
The percentage of reflected power is also
expressed by the term return loss and is
given directly in watts or decibels (dB).
Naturally, when the standing wave ratio is
1, the percentage of reflected power is 0.
But as a line and load mismatch grows,
reflected power increases.
Percentage of reflected power on a
transmission line for different SWR values.