RF INTERFERENCE SIMPLIFIED!

OPEYEMI PRAISE
 CONTENT
• WHAT IS INTERFERENCE?
• RF PHENOMENA
A. NOISE FLOOR
B. HARMONICS
C. IMPULSE NOISE
C. PIM – PASSIVE INTER-MODULATIONS
D. NEAR AND FAR PROBLEM (TERRESTRIAL TELECOM NETWORK)
E. INTERNATIONAL INTERFERENCE (DSO, HUMANS HAVE GEOGRAPHICAL BORDERS, SIGNALS DON’T)
• INTERFERENCE SOURCES
• HUNTING INTERFERENCE – INTERFERENCE MECHANISMS
• ISOLATION, THE OPPOSITE OF INTERFERENCE
 WHAT IS INTERFERENCE?
• THE COMBINATION OF TWO OR MORE ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVEFORMS TO FORM A
RESULTANT WAVE IN WHICH THE DISPLACEMENT IS EITHER REINFORCED OR CANCELLED.
• WHEN YOU HAVE UNWANTED SIGNALS COMBINING WITH YOUR INTELLIGENT SIGNAL, YOU
HAVE INTERFERENCE.
• USUALLY THE RESULTANT SIGNAL (YOUR SIGNAL + INTERFERING SIGNAL) IS STRONGER!
 HARMONICS
• HARMONICS ARE MULTIPLES OF AN RF CARRIER. FOR INSTANCE, IF WE
HAD A TRANSMITTER AT 100 MHZ, IT MIGHT HAVE HARMONICS AT 200
MHZ, 300 MHZ, 400 MHZ, 500 MHZ, AND SO ON. TYPICALLY, THE ODD
NUMBERED HARMONICS (300 MHZ, 500 MHZ AND SO ON) ARE
STRONGER THAN THE EVEN HARMONICS. GOVERNING BODIES
NORMALLY REGULATE THE POWER LEVEL OF HARMONICS. HOWEVER
EQUIPMENT DOES FAIL OR GO OUT OF SPECIFICATION.

• MOST RF SYSTEMS HAVE ACCEPTABLE LEVELS OF HARMONICS –

HARMONICS IS THE REASON YOU MIGHT INTERFERE WITH A SYSTEM
OUTSIDE YOUR BAND. THEY ARE ALSO CONTRIBUTORS TO HIGH NOISE
FLOORS.

• IF THE ORIGINAL BROADCAST IS AT A HIGH POWER LEVEL, EVEN LEGAL

HARMONICS CAN BE POWERFUL ENOUGH TO CAUSE PROBLEMS.
 NOISE AND NOISE FLOOR

• NOISE IS DEFINED AS ANY SIGNAL OTHER THAN THE ONE BEING MONITORED
• THE NOISE FLOOR IS THE MEASURE OF THE SIGNAL CREATED FROM THE SUM OF ALL
THE NOISE SOURCES AND UNWANTED SIGNALS WITHIN A BAND.
 IMPULSE NOISE

• IMPULSE NOISE IS CREATED WHENEVER A FLOW OF ELECTRICITY IS ABRUPTLY STARTED OR

STOPPED. A SURPRISING VARIETY OF ITEMS CAN CREATE IMPULSE NOISE:
• ELECTRICAL MOTORS FROM ELEVATORS, FLOOR BUFFERS OR EVEN FAX MACHINES
• BAKERY OVENS
• WELDING
• ELECTRIC FENCES
• POWER LINES, WHICH MAY ARC AND SPARK
• LIGHT DIMMERS
• MOVING VEHICLES
 PIM – PASSIVE INTER-MODULATIONS
• IT IS CAUSED WHEN TWO OR MORE STRONG RF SIGNALS COMBINE IN SOME SORT OF NON-
LINEAR DEVICE, SUCH AS A TRANSISTOR, DIODE, OR EVEN THE CRYSTALS FOUND IN
CORROSION OR RUST.
• IT’S ALSO POSSIBLE THAT LOOSE CONNECTORS IN AN ANTENNA FEED LINE OR POORLY
CONFIGURED TRANSMITTERS CAN BE THE CAUSE.
NEAR AND FAR PROBLEM (TERRESTRIAL TELECOM NETWORK)

• WHY WE DO NOT INSTALL UE CLOSE TO THE BASE STATION.

• SELF-INTERFERENCE FROM CONNECTED DEVICES CAN OCCUR DEPENDING ON THE DISTANCE
FROM THE BASE STATION.
 INTERNATIONAL INTERFERENCE
• HUMANS HAVE GEOGRAPHICAL BORDERS, ELECTROMAGNETIC SIGNALS DON’T. TV/RADIO
STATION MAY LIKELY ENTER INTO SEME, BENIN REPUBLIC.
• HENCE, ITU REGULATE INTERNATIONAL INTERFERENCE.
• REASON WHY DSO (DIGITAL SWITCH-OVER OF TV STATION) MIGRATION IS AN
INTERNATIONAL THING.
 INTERFERENCE SOURCES
• SHORT-RANGE INTERFERENCE SOURCE
 INTERFERENCE SOURCES
• LONG-RANGE INTERFERENCE SOURCE
1. TV STATIONS
2. BASE STATIONS
3. STRANGE TOWERS WITH RADIO
4. RADIO STATIONS
5. SATELLITE HUB
6. VSAT ANTENNAS
HUNTING INTERFERENCE – INTERFERENCE MECHANISMS
• MONITOR THE SYSTEM (SPECTRUM ANALYZER) TO ASCERTAIN
EXISTENCE OF INTERFERENCE
• KNOW YOUR FREQUENCY, YOUR BANDWIDTH AND AN IDEA OF
SIGNAL STRENGTH WITHIN YOUR BAND. MONITOR THAT!
• GET YOUR SPECTRUM ANALYZER, CONNECT IT A DIRECTIONAL
ANTENNA.
• SIGNAL LEVEL INCREASES IN THE DIRECTION OF THE
INTERFERENCE SOURCE.
HUNTING INTERFERENCE – INTERFERENCE MECHANISMS

• IF IT IS LONG DISTANCE SOURCE, START BY USING OMNI-DIRECTION ANTENNA.

• WHEN YOU HAVE LOCATED AN AREA OF STRONG SIGNAL LEVEL, USE DIRECTIONAL ANTENNA
TO LOCATE THE EXACT SOURCE.
 ISOLATION, THE OPPOSITE OF INTERFERENCE
• INTERFERENCE IS RESOLVED BY THE FOLLOWING;
• 1. FREQUENCY ISOLATION – MOVE TO A DIFFERENT FREQUENCY
• 2. PHYSICAL ISOLATION – ADJUST THE TWO SYSTEMS TO HAVE EITHER VERTICAL
SPACING OR HORIZONTAL SPACING OR BOTH.
• 3. SHUT-DOWN ROGUE TRANSMITTER
• 4. FILTERS
A. BAND PASS FILTERS
B. BAND REJECT FILTERS
C. HIGH PASS FILTERS
D. LOW PASS FILTERS
A CASE STUDY OR QUESTIONS
INTERFERENCE ISSUE WITH GOVERNMENT AGENCY
THANK YOU