EFFECTS of the

Environment

REFLE
ATTEN INTERF
CTION REFRA DIFFRA ABSOR
UATIO ERENC
OF CTION CTION PTION
N E
WAVES
 Attenuation (α)

Decrease in signal Strength with respect

to the distance travelled
Electromagnetic waves are attenuated as
they travel outward from their source and
this attenuation is proportional to the
square of the distance travelled.
Attenuation (α)
 Reflection of waves

The bouncing of waves as it strikes a

conductive surface
 Reflection of waves

Reflection
●
Defined as the ratio of the electric field
intensity of the reflected waves to that of
Coefficient (ρ) the incident waves

ρ= Eref / Einc

ρ= 1 for perfect reflector

ρ< 1 for practical conducting surfaces
 Refraction of waves

The bending of waves as it passes the

boundary of two media having different
density
 Refraction of waves

Note: If medium A is less dense than B, the refracted wave

move towards the normal; if the medium B is less dense than
A, the refracted wave moves away from the normal

Snell’s Law
 Diffraction of waves

Scattering of waves as it enter a small

slot or sharp edge obstacles
 Diffraction of waves

Francisco
Huygens’
Grimaldi’s
Discovery Principle
No matter how small
● ●
Every point on a given
was made in an spherical wavefront
opaque plane, light on may be regarded as a
the side opposite the source of waves from
source would spread which further waves
out in all directions are radiated outward
 Absorption

--Source of energy of the electromagnetic waves are transferred to the

atoms and molecules of space
--If humidity is increased or if there is for, rain, or snow, then absorption
is greatly increased.
 Interference

--Occurs when two waves combine in such a way that the system
performance was degraded (collision)
--This happens very often in high-frequency sky-wave propagation and
microwave space-wave propagation
 General Classification of Radio waves

Ground Waves Space Waves Sky Waves

Atmospheric Layer
 Ground Waves/ Surface Waves Propagation


 Travel
Travel around
around the
the curvature
curvature of of the
the earth,
earth, sometimes
sometimes right
right around
around
the
the globe
globe

 Utilizes
Utilizes frequencies
frequencies below
below HF HF range,
range, and
and losses
losses with
with increasing
increasing
frequency
frequency

 Progress
Progress along
along the
the surface
surface of of the
the earth
earth and
and must
must bebe vertically
vertically
polarized
polarized toto prevent
prevent short
short circuiting
circuiting the
the electric
electric component.
component.

 Wave
Wave induces
induces current
current toto the
the ground;
ground; some
some ofof its
its energy
energy is
is lost
lost due
due
to
to absorption.
absorption.

 As
As one
one moves
moves away
away from
from the
the transmitter,
transmitter, the
the ground
ground wave
wave
eventually
eventually disappear
disappear duedue to
to tilting
tilting
Ground Waves/ Surface Waves Propagation

Field Strength at a distance

E= 120πIht / λd

Voltage at the Receiving Antenna

V= Ehr= 120πIhrht / λd

Where:
120π = characteristic impedance of free
space
ht = height of the transmitting antenna
hr = height of the receiving antenna
I = antenna current
d = distance from the transmitting antenna
λ = wavelength
 Space Waves/ Tropospheric Propagation

 Travel in the troposphere; the portion of the atmosphere closest to

the ground.
 Depend mostly on line-of-sight conditions, a space wave is limited
in propagation by the curvature of the earth.
 Utilizes frequencies above HF range
 Energy travelling directly between the antennas is attenuated to
about the same degrees as in free space.
 Caused by the varying density of the atmosphere due to
diffraction around the curvature of the earth
 Space Waves/ Tropospheric Propagation

English
Metric
 Sky Waves/ Ionospheric Propagation

 The wave strikes the ionosphere and is refracted back to the

ground.
 Utilizes frequencies in the HF range and sometimes frequencies
just above or below it.
 Ionosphere is a region in the earth’s atmosphere where the air
pressure is so low that the free electrons and ions can move
about for some time without getting close enough to recombine
into neutral atoms. It absorbs large qualities of radiant energy
from the sun, becoming heated and ionized. Ionization is the
result of the bombardment of the sun’s rays by a variety of wave
from heat and light to cosmic rays. Most important ionizing agents
are ultraviolet, alpha, beta and gamma rays coming from the sun,
cosmic rays and meteors.
Sky Waves/ Ionospheric Propagation
Sky Waves/ Ionospheric Propagation
Ionospheric Layers
 D-Layer

The lowest, existing at an average height

of 70 km, with an average thickness of 10
km
Least important layer in HF propagation
Reflects some VLF and LF waves and
absorbs MF and HF waves to a certain
extent
 E-Layer

Existing at about 100km in height, with

thickness of 25km
Disappears at night.
Aid MF surface propagation a little and
reflects some HF waves in daytime
This layer is also known as KENELLY-
HEAVISIDE LAYER
 Es Layer/ Sporadic

Thin layer of very high ionization density,

sometimes making an appearance with the
E layer.
When it occurs, it often persists during the
night.
 F-Layer

●
Exist at a height of 180km in daytime and combines

F1 layer ●
with the F2 layer at night. Its daytime thickness is
about 20km
Main Effect is to provide more absorption for HF waves

●
The most important reflecting medium for HF radio waves.

F2 layer
●
Approximate thickness is 200km and its height ranges from
250 to 400km in daytime.
●
At night, it falls to a height of about 300km, where it
combines with the F1 layer
Sky wave Propagation
Terminologies
Virtual
Fading Height
Critical
Frequency
(fc)

Skip
Zone

Critical
Angle (θc)

Skip
Distanc
e
Maximum
Usable
Optimum Frequency
Working (MUF)
Frequency
(OWF)
 Virtual Height of an Ionospheric Layer

• The height of the projected path of the Sky waves

• It is measured by sending a wave vertical to the layer
and measuring the time it takes to come back to the
receiver
 Critical Frequency (fc)

• The highest frequency that will be returned down to

earth by a certain layer after having been beamed
vertically upward
 Critical Angle (θc)

• The highest angle of radiation that will return the wave

to the earth at a given density of ionization in the layer
for the frequency or wavelength under consideration
 Maximum Usable Frequency (MUF)

• The highest frequency that will be returned down to the

earth at a given distance when beamed at a specific
angle other than the normal
 Optimum Working Frequency (OWF)

• Frequency chosen by practical to avoid the irregularities

of the ionosphere. It is about 15% lower than MUF
 Skip Distance & Skip Zone

Skip Distance – The shortest distance from a transmitter,

measured along the surface of the earth, at which a sky
wave of fixed frequency will be returned to earth

Skip Zone – The area where no signal can be heard

 Fading

• The fluctuation in signal strength at a receiver and may

be rapid or slow, general or frequency selective.
• Due to the interference between two waves which
generally left the same source but arrive at the
destination by different paths
 Fading

Interference fading – mixing two or more signal

components propagating along different paths.
Polarization fading – caused by the so called FARADAY
EFFECT or FARADAY ROTATION
Absorption fading – caused by solar flare activities and
particularly affects the lower frequencies.
Selective fading – fading having different effects on
different frequency ranges