RF Propagation, Fading, Link Budget Analysis
- The Electromagnetic Spectrum
- FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB): Structure and mission
- Types of FCC licensed radio services
- Spectrum groups and typical applications for each
- HF
- VHF
- UHF/SHF
- Microwave
- Millimeter wave
- Radio Frequency (RF) Transmission, Reception, and Propagation
- Glossary of common radio propagation terms and acronyms
- Why do we need to study propagation?
- Relationship of propagation phenomenon to wireless network modeling and design
- Theory of radio frequency (RF) propagation
- Examining the basic radio wave components: (E) and (H) fields
- Sky wave vs. ground wave propagation
- Line-of-Sight (LOS) and non-Line-of-Sight (non-LOS) propagation
- Free space path loss models
- Frequency and wavelength calculations
- Basic modulation theory
- Bits per second per hertz efficiency
- Bit rate vs. symbol rate
- Digital and analog modulation: Advantages and disadvantages
- Wireless Multiple Access Methods, Applications, and Comparisons
- Factors Affecting the Behavior of Radio Waves: Path Attenuation
- Reflection
- Refraction
- Scattering
- Diffraction
- Earth’s curvature
- Fresnel Zones
- Radio Propagation in a Mobile Environnent
- Multipath fading
- Rician, Raleigh and Nakagami fading
- Threshold crossing rate and average fade duration
- Delay spread
- Scatter function, WSSUS model and SCRM model
- Doppler shift effects
- Coherence time and coherence bandwidth
- Dealing with channel impairments
- Forward error correction (FEC)
- Interleaving
- Channel coding theory and practice
- Voice coding: Why do we need it?
- Basics of voice coding and decoding
- Waveform coders
- Source coders (vocoders)
- Hybrid coders
- Antenna Configurations and Performance in the Context of RF Propagation Issues
- Basic antennas: Isotropic and dipole radiators
- Concept of antenna gain and gain references
- Calculating and measuring antenna gain
- Effective Radiated Power (ERP)
- Antenna patterns and pattern features
- How antennas achieve gain
- Reflector techniques, array techniques
- Families of antennas used in wireless: Architecture and characteristics
- Collinear vertical antennas
- Horizontal arrays: Yagis, log-periodics, etc.
- Implications of propagation driving antenna selection
- Multipath scattering in mobile clutter environment
- Beamwidths and tilt considerations for base station antennas
- Radiation patterns
- Gain antenna types, composition and operational principles
- Antenna gains, patterns, and selection principles
- Antenna system testing and evaluation
- Radio Propagation Models and Their Uses
- Simple analytical models
- General area models
- Point-to-point models
- Local variability models
- The Okumura model
- The Hata model
- The EURO COST-231 model
- Morphological zones
- Walfisch-Betroni/Walfisch-Ikegami models
- Propagation modeling tools
- Indoor and pico-cell prediction models
- Urban model predictions for macro, micro and pico cells
- ITU-R Propagation Models and Prediction Methods
- Terrain effects
- Propagation over smooth earth
- Propagation over smooth earth
- Propagation over irregular terrain
- Diffraction and microwave interference
- Diffraction over irregular terrain
- Diffraction in microwave interference (site shielding)
- Ground and obstacles, effects of buildings, outside
- Short-range outdoor propagation
- Link Budgets
- Understanding the link budget equation
- Line-of-sight (LOS) path loss models
- The Fresnel zone
- Path loss and free space path loss
- Antenna gain
- Frequency considerations
- Atmospheric, weather and rain attenuation
- Terrain factors
- Multipath loss
- Rician and Raleigh fading considerations
- Cochannel interference
- Transmission line loss
- A typical link budget calculation for a cellular network
- Conclusion: Recap, Q/A, and Evaluation
