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:‫االسم‬

Experiment 4: Design Communications Links Using Comm Constraints

Method:
Create the Scenario
1. Create a new scenario.
2. Name the scenario CommConstraints.
3. Enter 1 Jul 2014 12:00:00.00 UTCG as the Start Time.
4. Enter 2 Jul 2014 12:00:00.00 UTCG as the Stop Time.

Create a Facility
1. From the Insert Object tool, select the Facility object and Define Properties method. Click Insert…
2. On the Basic – Position page, specify the following:
a. Set the Latitude to 0 deg.
b. Set the Longitude to 0 deg.
c. Set the Altitude to 0 km.
3. Click OK.

Create a Satellite
1. From the Insert Object tool, select the Satellite object and Orbit Wizard method. Click Insert…
2. Select Circular as the Type.
3. Ensure the Inclination is set to 45 deg.
4. Set the Altitude to 1500 km.
5. Leave all other defaults.
6. Click OK.

Setting Up a Link
Before defining parameters that are specific to the transmitter and receiver, it will be useful to select environmental models
applicable to any communications link in the scenario.
1. Open the scenario Properties to the RF – Environment page.
2. Turn on the Use option for Rain Models.
3. Use the … button to select ITU‐R P618‐8 from the Previous Versions folder. Click OK.
4. Turn on the Use option for Atmospheric Absorption Model.
5. Use the … button to select ITU‐R P676‐5. Click OK.
6. Click OK on the Properties Browser.

Add a Receiver
1. Add a receiver to the facility.
2. Open the new receiver’s properties to the Basic – Definition page.
3. Use the … button to select the Medium Receiver Model Type.
4. Set the Gain to 20 dB.
5. Turn on the Use option for Rain Model.
6. Set the Outage Percent to 0.010.
7. Select the System Noise Temperature tab.
8. Select the Compute option.
9. Set the LNA Noise Figure to 1.2 dB.
10.In the Antenna Noise field, select the Compute option.
11.Turn on the Sun, Atmosphere, and Rain options.
12.Click Apply.
13.Open the receiver’s Basic – Refraction page.

Communications Equipment II (CM 417) Supervisor: MEng. HOSAM ALMQADIM

 14.Set ITU‐R P.834‐4 as the Refraction Model.
15.Click OK.

Attach a Sensor to Satellite

1. Attach a sensor to satellite.
2. Open the sensor’s Properties to the Basic – Pointing page.
3. Set the Pointing Type to Targeted.
4. Select the Facility from the Available Targets list. Right‐arrow it over into the Assigned Targets list.
5. Click OK.

Add a Transmitter
1. Add a transmitter to the sensor on the satellite.
2. Open the transmitter's Basic ‐ Definition page.
3. Select Complex Transmitter Model as the Type.
4. Set Frequency to 4.5 GHz.
5. Set the Power to 5 dBW.
6. Click the Antenna tab.
7. Ensure the Diameter is 1 m.
8. Ensure the Antenna Efficiency is set to 55%.
9. Click the Additional Gains and Losses tab.
10.Click the Add button.
11.In the new row that appears in the grid, enter a descriptive phrase, such as "Pointing Loss" in the left cell. Enter the
value ‐1 dB in the right cell. This is a typical kind of loss for a transmitter or receiver.
12.Click OK. This concludes the setup of the transmitter.

Access
1. With the transmitter highlighted in the Object Browser, open the Access tool.
2. Select the receiver as the Associated Object.
3. Click Compute.

Setting Comm Constraints

1. In the Access window, open the Report and Graph Manager…
2. Select the Link Budget – Detailed report from the Installed Styles folder.
3. Click Generate…

Received Isotropic Power Constraint

1. Suppose it is desirable to exclude any link with an RIP value of less than –140 dBW.
2. Open Transmitter’s Properties to the Constraints – Comm page.
3. Check the Min box for Rcvd Isotropic Power. Enter the value –140.
4. Click Apply.
5. Return to the Link Budget report. Click on the Refresh button, and take another look at the values for RIP. No time
entries for RIP values less than –140 dBW will appear in the report.

Increase transmitter gain

Before turning off minimum RIP and moving on to other constraints, consider how you might improve link
performance while maintaining this minimum standard. One way is to increase transmitter gain by increasing
the diameter of the Gaussian antenna.
1. Open transmitter’s properties to the Basic – Definition page.
1
Communications Equipment II (CM 417) Supervisor: MEng. HOSAM ALMQADIM
 2. Select the Antenna tab.
3. Set the Diameter to 1.5 m.
4. Click Apply.

NOTE: Change the Diameter back to 1.0 m, and remove the RIP constraint before proceeding to the next section.

Flux Density Constraint

Flux Density, usually measured in dB (watts/m2), is the expression of the transmitter's radiated power (reduced by any
applicable atmospheric losses) divided by the surface area of a sphere whose radius equals the distance between the
transmitter and receiver:
(𝑬𝑰𝑹𝑷)𝑳𝒂
𝑭=
𝟒𝝅𝒅𝟐
Refresh the Link Budget – Detailed report. Entries for Flux Density should range between approximately –122 and –100
dBW/m2. Now suppose you wish to exclude from consideration links with a Flux Density less than –110 dBW/m2.

1. On the Constraints – Comm page of the Transmitter Properties, enter –110 dBW/m2 as the Min for Flux Density.
2. Click Apply.

Flux Density can be improved by adjusting transmitter parameters. Try, for example, increasing the transmitter's power or
removing the –1 dB pointing loss in the Post Transmit Gains & Losses window.

NOTE: Turn off the constraint, and restore the transmitter to its original settings before proceeding to the next section.

Carrier to Noise Ratio Constraints

One of the most commonly used criteria for assessing link performance is Carrier to Noise Ratio (CNR). This can be
expressed independently of bandwidth as:

Where Lp = free space loss, La = atmospheric losses, gr = receiver gain, k = Boltzmann's constant = 1.3806 x 10‐23 W/KHz, and
Teq = equivalent noise temperature. To factor in bandwidth, multiply the denominator by the reference bandwidth (BRF):

For the communications link in this exercise, C/N0 and C/N fall in the approximate ranges 65 to 92 dB/Hz and ‐10 to 18 dB,
respectively. You can constrain link performance with respect to either of these criteria.
1. On the Constraints – Comm page of the Receiver Properties, enter 10 dB as the Min C/N constraint.
2. Observe the effect in the 2D visualization window and (refreshed) Link Budget report.

In contrast to other link criteria we have considered, C/N0 and C/N can be improved via receiver as well as transmitter
adjustments, since receiver gain appears in the numerator of both equations. Leave the C/N constraint in place, and from the
receiver’s Basic – Definition page, try each of the following adjustments one at a time – resetting each parameter to its original
value before proceeding to the next.
1. On the Model Specs tab, increase Gain to 25 dB.
2. On the System Noise Temperature tab, reduce LNA Noise Figure to 1 dB.
3. On the Model Specs tab, add (Right Hand or Left Hand) Circular Polarization.
4. On the Additional Gains and Losses tab, add a Pre‐Receive gain of 1 dB.
5. On the Model Specs tab, increase the Rain Model Outage Percent to 0.030.

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Communications Equipment II (CM 417) Supervisor: MEng. HOSAM ALMQADIM