Radio Wave Propagation

The transfer of energy through space by electromagnetic radiation at radio frequencies. The means by which radio signals are transported through space from a transmitting antenna to a receiving antenna. The frequencies around 20 kHz can be received reliably at distances of thousands of miles but are limited to telegraph-type signals and require very large transmitting antennas. Higher frequencies are needed for voice, and still higher frequencies for television transmission. As the frequency increases, the transmission range tends to decrease. Frequencies above 100 MHz can transmit wide-band signals, but they are limited to approximately line-of-sight distances with the usual type of equipment. However, distances of 200 mi (320 km) or more are possible by the use of high power and large antennas to provide narrow searchlight beams.

Electromagnetic Waves

A wave of energy having a frequency within the electromagnetic spectrum and propagated as a periodic disturbance of the electromagnetic field when an electric charge oscillates or accelerates. Waves composed of undulating electrical fields and magnetic fields. The different kinds of electromagnetic waves, such as light and radio waves, form the electromagnetic spectrum. All electromagnetic waves have the same speed in a vacuum, a speed expressed by the letter c (the speed of light) and equal to about 186,000 miles (or 300,000 kilometers) per second. A disturbance, produced by the acceleration or oscillation of an electric charge, which has the characteristic time and spatial relations associated with progressive wave motion. A system of electric and magnetic fields moves outward from a region where electric charges are accelerated, such as an oscillating circuit or the target of an x-ray tube. The wide wavelength range over which such waves are observed is shown by the electromagnetic spectrum. The term electric wave, or hertzian wave, is often applied to electromagnetic waves in the radar and radio range. Electromagnetic waves may be confined in tubes, such as wave guides, or guided by transmission lines.

Modes of Propagation 1.)Ground Wave Lower frequencies (between 30 and 3,000 kHz) have the property of following the curvature of the earth via groundwave propagation in the majority of occurrences. In this mode the radio wave propagates by interacting with the semi-conductive surface of the earth. The wave "clings" to the surface and thus follows the curvature of the earth. Vertical polarization is used to alleviate short circuiting the electric field through the conductivity of the ground. Since the ground is not a perfect electrical conductor, ground waves are attenuated rapidly as they follow the earths surface. Attenuation is proportional to the frequency making this mode mainly useful for LF and VLF frequencies. Today LF and VLF are mostly used for time signals, and for military communications, especially with ships and submarines. Early commercial and professional radio services relied exclusively on long wave, low frequencies and ground-wave propagation. To prevent interference with these services, amateur and experimental transmitters were restricted to the higher (HF) frequencies, felt to be useless since their ground-wave range was limited. Upon discovery of the other propagation modes possible at medium wave and short wave frequencies, the advantages of HF for commercial and military purposes became apparent. Amateur experimentation was then confined only to authorized frequency segments in the range. 2.) Sky Wave Sky wave propagation, also referred to as skip, is any of the modes that rely on refraction of radio waves in the ionosphere, which is made up of one or more ionized layers in the upper atmosphere. F2-layer is the most important ionospheric layer for HF propagation, though F1, E, and D-layers also play some role. These layers are directly affected by the sun on a daily cycle, the seasons and the 11-year sunspot cycle determines the utility of these modes. During solar maxima, the whole HF range up to 30 MHz can be used and F2 propagation up to 50 MHz are observed frequently depending upon daily solar flux values. During solar minima, propagation of higher frequencies is generally worse.

Forecasting of sky wave modes is of considerable interest to amateur radio operators and commercial marine and aircraft communications, and also to shortwave broadcasters. 3.) Space Waves The component of a ground wave that travels more or less directly through space from the transmitting antenna to the receiving antenna; one part of the space wave goes directly from one antenna to the other; another part is reflected off the earth between the antennas.

Ionospheric Scatter Waves A form of scatter propagation in which radio waves are scattered by the lower E layer of the ionosphere to permit communication over distances from 600 to 1400 miles (1000 to 2250 kilometers) when using the frequency range of about 25 to 100 megahertz.

Meteor scattering Meteor scattering relies on reflecting radio waves off the intensely ionized columns of air generated by meteors. While this mode is very short duration, often only from a fraction of second to couple of seconds per event, digital Meteor burst communications allows remote stations to communicate to a station that may be hundreds of miles up to over 1,000 miles (1,600 km) away, without the expense required for a satellite link. This mode is most generally useful on VHF frequencies between 30 and 250 MHz.

Auroral reflection Intense columns of Auroral ionization at 100 km altitudes within the auroral oval reflect radio waves, perhaps most notably on HF and VHF. The reflection is angle-sensitive - incident ray vs. magnetic field line of the column must be very close to right-angle. Random motions of electrons spiraling around the field lines create a Doppler-spread that broadens the spectra of the emission to more or less noiselikedepending on how high radio frequency is used. The radio-aurora is observed mostly at high latitudes and rarely extend down to middle latitudes. The occurrences of radio-auroras depends on solar activity (flares, coronal holes, CMEs) and annually the events are more numerous during solar cycle maximas. Radio aurora includes the so-called afternoon radio aurora which produces stronger but more distorted signals and after the Harang-minima, the late-night radio aurora (sub-storming phase) returns with variable signal strength and lesser doppler spread. The propagation range for this predominantly back-scatter mode extends up to about 2000 km in east-west plane, but strongest signals are observed most frequently from north at nearby sites on same latitudes.

Sporadic-E propagation Sporadic E (Es) propagation can be observed on HF and VHF bands. It must not be confused with ordinary HF E-layer propagation. Sporadic-E at mid-latitudes occurs mostly during summer season, from May to August in the northern hemisphere and from November to February in the southern hemisphere. There is no single cause for this mysterious propagation mode. The reflection takes place in a thin sheet of ionisation around 90 km height. The ionisation patches drift westwards at speeds of few hundred km per hour.

Effects of Environment to Wave Propagation

Refraction Refraction is the change in direction of a wave due to a change in its speed. This is most commonly observed when a wave passes from one medium to another. Refraction of light is the most commonly observed example, but any type of wave can refract when it interacts with a medium, for example when sound waves pass from one medium into another or when water waves move into water of a different depth. Refraction occurs when light waves travel from a medium with a given refractive index to a medium with another. At the boundary between the media, the wave's phase velocity is altered, usually causing a change in direction. Its wavelength increases or decreases but its frequency remains constant.

Diffraction Diffraction is normally taken to refer to various phenomena which occur when a wave encounters an obstacle. It is described as the apparent bending of waves around small obstacles and the spreading out of waves past small openings. Diffraction occurs with all waves, including sound waves, water waves, and electromagnetic waves such as visible light, x-rays and radio waves. As physical objects have wave-like properties (at the atomic level), diffraction also occurs with matter and can be studied according to the principles of quantum mechanics. While diffraction occurs whenever propagating waves encounter such changes, its effects are generally most pronounced for waves where the wavelength is on the order of the size of the diffracting objects. If the obstructing object provides multiple, closely-spaced openings, a complex pattern of varying intensity can result. This is due to the superposition, or interference, of different parts of a wave that traveled to the observer by different paths

Reflection Reflection occurs when a signal is transmitted along a transmission medium, such as a copper cable or an optical fiber, some of the signal power may be reflected back to its origin rather than being carried all the way along the cable to the far end. This happens because imperfections in the cable cause impedance mismatches and non-linear changes in the cable characteristics. These abrupt changes in characteristics cause some of the transmitted signal to be reflected. In radio frequency (RF) practice, this is often measured in a dimensionless ratio known as VSWR with a VSWR bridge. The ratio of energy bounced back depends on the impedance mismatch. Mathematically, it is defined using the reflection coefficient.

Attenuation Attenuation affects the propagation of waves and signals in electrical circuits, in optical fibres, as well as in air (radio waves). The exponential decrease with distance in the amplitude of an electrical signal travelling along a very long uniform transmission line, due to conductor and dielectric losses.

Interference Interference is the addition (superposition) of two or more waves that result in a new wave pattern. Interference usually refers to the interaction of waves which are correlated or coherent with each other, either because they come from the same source or because they have the same or nearly the same frequency. Two non-monochromatic waves are only fully coherent with each other if they both have exactly the same range of wavelengths and the same phase differences at each of the constituent wavelengths. The total phase difference is derived from the sum of both the path difference and the initial phase difference (if the waves are generated from two or more different sources). It can then be concluded whether the waves reaching a point are in phase (constructive interference) or out of phase (destructive interference).

Ionospheric Layers 1.) D layer The D layer is the innermost layer, 50 km to 90 km above the surface of the Earth. Ionization here is due to Lyman series-alpha hydrogen radiation at a wavelength of 121.5 nanometre (nm) ionizing nitric oxide (NO). In addition, when the sun is active with 50 or more sunspots, hard X-rays (wavelength < 1 nm) ionize the air (N2, O2). During the night cosmic rays produce a residual amount of ionization. Recombination is high in the D layer, thus the net ionization effect is very low and as a result highfrequency (HF) radio waves are not reflected by the D layer. The frequency of collision between electrons and other particles in this region during the day is about 10 million collisions per second. The D layer is mainly responsible for absorption of HF radio waves, particularly at 10 MHz and below, with progressively smaller absorption as the frequency gets higher. The absorption is small at night and greatest about midday. The layer reduces greatly after sunset, but remains due to galactic cosmic rays. A common example of the D layer in action is the disappearance of distant AM broadcast band stations in the daytime.

2.) E Layer The E layer is the middle layer, 90 km to 120 km above the surface of the Earth. Ionization is due to soft X-ray (1-10 nm) and far ultraviolet (UV) solar radiation ionization of molecular oxygen (O2). Normally this layer can only reflect radio waves having frequencies lower than about 10 MHz and has a negative effect on frequencies above 10 MHz due to its partial absorption of these waves. However during intense Sporadic E events it can reflect frequencies as high as 250 MHz The vertical structure of the E layer is primarily determined by the competing effects of ionization and recombination. At night the E layer begins to disappear because the primary source of ionization is no longer present. This results in an increase in the height where the layer maximizes because recombination is faster in the lower layers. Diurnal changes in the high altitude neutral winds also plays a role. The increase in the height of the E layer maximum increases the range to which radio waves can travel by reflection from the layer.

3.) ES Layer The Es layer or sporadic E-layer. Sporadic E propagation is characterized by small clouds of intense ionization, which can support radio wave reflections from 25 225 MHz. Sporadic-E events may last for just a few minutes to several hours and make radio amateurs very excited, as propagation paths which are generally unreachable, can open up. There are multiple causes of sporadic-E that are still being pursued by researchers. This propagation occurs most frequently during the summer months with major occurrences during the summer, and minor occurrences during the winter. During the summer, this mode is popular due to its high signal levels. The skip distances are generally around 1000km (620 miles). VHF TV and FM broadcast DX'ers also get excited as their signals can be bounced back to earth by Es. Distances for short hop events can be as close as 500 miles or up to 1,400 (or more) for a long, single hop. Douple-hop reception over 2,000 miles is possible, too. 4.) F layer The F layer or region, also known as the Appleton layer, is 120 km to 400 km above the surface of the Earth. It is the top most layer of the ionosphere. Here extreme ultraviolet (UV, 10100 nm) solar radiation ionizes atomic oxygen. The F layer consists of one layer at night, but in the presence of sunlight (during the day), it divides into two layers, labeled F1 and F2. These F layers are responsible for most skywave propagation of radio waves, facilitating high frequency (HF, or shortwave) radio communications over long distances. They are thickest and most effective in refracting radio signals on the side of the earth facing the sun.

Michael Kley P. Bayhon BSAV 4-1