Basic Satellite Antenna Theory

A standard satellite dish antenna works by concentrating signals, that are picked up along
its axis, to a single point. This point is called the focal point. The receiving amplifier is
usually placed near the focal point and the concentrated signals are collected into the
receiver using a small horn. This serves to further concentrate the signals to get the
maximum possible signal level at the amplifier input.

The focal point can be offset from the main axis so that the receiving equipment does not
obstruct the beam in any way. This offset has the effect of raising the beam of the antenna.
The exact amount that the beam is raised is equal to the amount of offset. Thus, if the
offset is 20 degrees then the beam is raised by 20 degrees.

Antenna shapes and sizes vary but they all do the same thing, every antenna dish you see
including radio telescopes, which are basically receive only antennas, all perform this
function. they all focus the signals they receive from a specific point oin space onto a small
area where they can be received and amplified.
The principle works in exactly the same way for transmitting a signal. The transmit amplifier
produces a large signal to a horn set at the focal point. The signal is then radiated onto the

dish (through the same horn used to pick up the receive signals) which in turn focuses the
transmit signal into a parallel beam of energy out into space to the satellite.
Thr transmit amplifier is also positioned as close to the focal point as possible to reduce
losses. The horn used to transmit and receive the signals to and from the reflector is called
a feed horn and is placed at the focal point also known as the feed point.
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All About Satellite Communications

Satcoms (Satellite Communications) is the generic term for communication via satellite.
Transmitting a signal from the earth upto a satellite and then receiving that signal back at a
different location on earth.
The satellite does not have to be a huge expensive array of electronics and solar panels. In
fact the moon was used, in the early years of satellite research, to bounce the signals off.
The time it took for our signals to get to the moon and back was about 2 seconds. This time
is called satellite delay and is still present today in all our satellite communications. It is the
time taken for the transmission to get to the moon or satellite and then be bounced or
transmitted back to earth. Another phrase for this time is the Turn Around Time.
The ability to transmit your signal upto such a high relay point and then receive it again
back on earth allows us to receive it where ever we are in the world as long as we can see
the relay point or satellite. Taking the moon as our example, as long as we can see the
moon then we can point a dish at it and receive the signal.
This wide range broadcasting ability has given rise to a multitude of different satellites
carrying all kinds of information such as telephone calls, television channels, internet traffic,
military communications, weather data, Global Positioning signals, Earth ans Space
observations and even radio stations.
So how does it actually work?

Well, this can be a massively complex and confusing subject, so to keep things simple I will
use a simple analogy: The Torch.

Take a torch, and switch it on. The light bulb is our signal generator, be it voice, data or
whatever you want to transmit, imagine those signals being the light from the bulb. The
reflector behind our bulb is our antenna or dish. Now if you have a particularly good torch
you will notice that the light is not sent in all directions but is focussed into a beam.
The beam is our satellite transmission.
Next, find a white wall. A small white piece of card is perhaps better for this analogy, 10cm
by 10cm placed high up in the room or on the wall... aim the torch beam at the white card.
The card is our satellite.
Now comes the bit that gets hard to visualise. If you can see the light on the card, then you
can see the satellite and if your eyes are the receiver then the light is travelling from the
torch to the card and is then being reflected or bounced back and spread out over a larger
area and your eyes are receiving the light where ever you are - as long as you can see the
card.

Satellite Communications Systems

So in a satellite communications system we have a signal generator of some sort.
This is usually a modem (modulator/demodulator) which takes in digital information, such

as digital TV pictures, and modulates it (mixes) onto a signal carrier for transmission and
can also demodulate (separates) the data from a received carrier to produce the data or
digital TV picture.
Then we have a transmitter and a receiver amplifier for two way communications. If we
were only receiving we would only have the receive side of the system, this is why our
satellite TV boxes are small and affordable. It is cheaper to receive than it is to transmit.
Next we have our antenna. We point the antenna at the satellite and we can receive a
signal. We can also now send our signal to the satellite if we are able to transmit.
The satellite also has an antenna, receiver, transmitter and often another antenna. The
signal it receives is at a frequency we will call 'A' but it will move this signal to frequency 'B'
before sending it back to earth. This is so that we can keep our transmit signals separate
from our receive signals. Otherwise, our receiver may pickup our own transmit signal and be
swamped by it. The difference in these signal frequencies is known as the translation
frequency. The transmit frequency is translated into a receive frequency.
In terms of size our transmit signal is huge compared to our receive signal because it has to
go a long way to the satellite.
About 36,000 Km is the average distance it has to travel for a geostationary satellite.
This is also the reason why our receive signal is so small, because the satellite that sent it is
36,000 Km away. The receiver has to amplify this signal without amplifying the noise, in a
way our eyes do exactly that. Rain and weather generally also affects the signals. Rain, and
the atmosphere generally, can reduce the size of the signal by half, this varies depending on
where in the world you are.
So now we can send out our signal and we can also receive someone elses.
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Satellite Communications Terms & Explanations:

Before we continue here is a look at the terms commonly used in satellite communications. Have a look at
them but don't worry if they make no sense, you can come back to them later. Click the link at the bottom
to progress to the next Tutorial.
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ACTS
Advanced Communications Technology Satellite. A NASA experimental satellite project to demonstrate
the use of the Ka-Band (30/20 GHz) services. A
Amplifier
A device used to boost the strength of an electronic signal.

Amplitude Modulation (AM)

The baseband signal is caused to vary the amplitude or height of the carrier wave to create the desired
information content.
Analog
A form of transmitting information characterized by continuously variable quantities, as opposed to digital
transmission, which is characterized by discrete bits of information in numerical steps. An analog signal is
responsive to changes in light, sound, heat and pressure.
Analog-to-Digital Conversion (ADC)
Process of converting analog signals to a digital representation. DAC represents the reverse translation.
ANIK
The Canadian domestic satellite system that transmits Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's (CSC)
network feeds throughout the country. This system also carries long distance voice and data services
throughout Canada as well as some transborder service to the U.S. and Mexico.
Antenna
A device for transmitting and receiving radio waves. Depending on their use and operating frequency,
antennas can take the form of a single piece of wire, a di-pole a grid such as a yagi array, a horn, a helix,
a sophisticated parabolic-shaped dish, or a phase array of active electronic elements of virtually any flat
or convoluted surface.
Aperture
A cross sectional area of the antenna which is exposed to the satellite signal.
Apogee
The point in an elliptical satellite orbit which is farthest from the surface of the earth. Geosynchronous
satellites which maintain circular orbits around the earth are first launched into highly elliptical orbits with
apogees of 22,237 miles. When the communication satellite reaches the appropriate apogee, a rocket
motor is fired to place the satellite into its permanent circular orbit of 22,237 miles.
Apogee Kick Motor (AKM)
Rocket motor fired to circulate orbit and deploy satellite into geostationary orbit.
Apstar (Asia-Pacific Star)
Name of the Chinese satellite system which carries commercial video services in the region.
Arabsat
This is the Arabsat Satellite Organization and its is headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It provides
regional telecommunications services for the Middle East region.
AsiaSat
A satellite system covering the Asia mainland.
Asynchronous Communications
Stream of data routed through a network as generated, rather than in organized message blocks. Most
personal computers send data in this format. (See ATM)
Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM)
This is the new form of super-fast packet switching operating at speeds in the Gigabits/second.

Attenuation
The loss in power of electromagnetic signals between transmission and reception points.
Attitude Control
The orientation of the satellite in relationship to the earth and the sun.
Audio Subcarrier
The carrier between 5 MHz and 8 MHz containing audio (or voice) information inside of a video carrier.
Automatic Frequency Control (AFC)
A circuit which automatically controls the frequency of a signal.
Automatic Gain Control (AGC)
A circuit which automatically controls the gain of an amplifier so that the output signal level is virtually
constant for varying input signal levels.
AZ/EL Mount
Antenna mount that requires two separate adjustments to move from one satellite to another;
Azimuth
The angle of rotation (horizontal) that a ground based parabolic antenna must be rotated through to point
to a specific satellite in a geosynchronous orbit. The azimuth angle for any particular satellite can be
determined for any point on the surface of the earth giver the latitude and longitude of that point. It is
defined with respect to due north as a matter of easy convenience.
B-Mac
A method of transmitting and scrambling television signals. In such transmissions MAC (Multiplexed
Analog Component) signals are time-multiplexed with a digital burst containing digitized sound, video
synchronizing, authorization, and information.
Backhaul
A terrestrial communications channel linking an earth station to a local switching network or population
center.
Backoff
The process of reducing the input and output power levels of a traveling wave tube to obtain more linear
operation.
Band Pass Filter
An active or passive circuit which allows signals within the desired frequency band to pass through but
impedes signals outside this pass band from getting through.
Bandwidth
A measure of spectrum (frequency) use or capacity. For instance, a voice transmission by telephone
requires a bandwidth of about 3000 cycles per second (3KHz). A TV channel occupies a bandwidth of 6
million cycles per second (6 MHz) in terrestrial Systems. In satellite based systems a larger bandwidth of
17.5 to 72 MHz is used to spread or "dither" the television signal in order to prevent interference.
Baseband
The basic direct output signal in an intermediate frequency based obtained directly from a television
camera, satellite television receiver, or video tape recorder. Baseband signals can be viewed only on
studio monitors. To display the baseband signal on a conventional television set a "modulator" is required

to convert the baseband signal to one of the VHF or UHF television channels which the television set can
be tuned to receive.
Baud
The rate of data transmission based on the number of signal elements or symbols transmitted per
second. Today most digital signals are characterized in bits per second.
Beacon
Low-power carrier transmitted by a satellite which supplies the controlling engineers on the ground with a
means of monitoring telemetry data, tracking the satellite, or conducting propagation experiments. This
tracking beacon is usually a horn or omni antenna.
Beamwidth
The angle or conical shape of the beam the antenna projects. Large antennas have narrower beamwidths
and can pinpoint satellites in space or dense traffic areas on the earth more precisely. Tighter beamwidths
thus deliver higher levels of power and thus greater communications performance.
Bird
Slang for a communications satellite located in geosynchronous orbit.
Bit
A single digital unit of information
Bit Error Rate (BER)
The fraction of a sequence of message bits that are in error. A bit error rate of 10-6 means that there is an
average of one error per million bits.
Bit Rate
The speed of a digital transmission, measured in bits per second.
Blanking
An ordinary television signal consists of 30 separate still pictures or frames sent every second. They
occur so rapidly, the human eye blurs them together to form an illusion of moving pictures. This is the
basis for television and motion picture systems. The blanking interval is that portion of the television
signal which occurs after one picture frame is sent and before the next one is transmitted. During this
period of time special data signals can be sent which will not be picked up on an ordinary television
receiver.
Block Down Converter
A device used to convert the 3.7 to 4.2 KHz signal down to UHF or lower frequencies (1 GHz and lower).
BPSK (Binary Phase Shift Keying)
A digital modulation technique in which the carrier phase can have one of two possible values, namely 0
degrees or 180 degrees.
Broad beam
A single large circular beam that covers a large geographic area
Broadcast
The sending of one transmission to multiple users in a defined group (compare to unicast).
BSS (Broadcast Satellite Service)
This is the ITU designation but DBS or Direct Broadcast Service is more commonly used term in the

satellite industry.
Business Television
Corporate communications tool involving video transmission of information via satellite. Common uses of
business television are for meetings, product introductions and training.
Buttonhook Feed
A shaped piece of waveguide directing signal from the feed to the LNA behind the antenna.
Bypass
Use of satellite, local area network, wide area network or metropolitan area network as an alternative
transmission facility.
C Band
This is the band between 4 and 8 GHz with the 6 and 4 GHz band being used for satellite
communications. Specifically, the 3.7 to 4.2 GHz satellite communication band is used as the down link
frequencies in tandem with the 5.925 to 6,425 GHz band that serves as the uplink.
Carrier
The basic radio, television, or telephony center of frequency transmit signal. The carrier in an analog
signal. is modulated by manipulating its amplitude (making it louder or softer) or its frequency (shifting it
up or down) in relation to the incoming signal. Satellite carriers operating in the analog mode are usually
frequency modulated.
Carrier Frequency
The main frequency on which a voice, data, or video signal is sent. Microwave and satellite
communications transmitters operate in the band from 1 to 14 GHz (a GHz is one billion cycles per
second).
Carrier to Noise Ratio (C/N)
The ratio of the received carrier power and the noise power in a given bandwidth, expressed in dB. This
figure is directly related to G/T and S/N; and in a video signal the higher the C/N, the better the received
picture.
Cassegrain Antenna
The antenna principle that utilizes a subreflector at the focal point which reflects energy to or from a feed
located at the apex of the main reflector.
CATV
Originally meant Community Antenna Television. Independent smaller companies in rural communities
would build a large television receiving antenna on a nearby mountain to pick up the weak TV signals
from a distant metropolis. These signals were amplified, modulated onto television channels and sent
along a coaxial cable strung from house to house.
CCITT (now TSS)
Comite Consultatif Internationale de Telegraphique et Telephonique. International body, associated with
the ITU, which establishes worldwide standards for telecommunications. Reorganized to include CCIR
(radio standards group) and renamed TSS (Telecommunications Standardization Sector).
CDMA
Code division multiple access. Refers to a multiple-access scheme where stations use spread-spectrum
modulations and orthogonal codes to avoid interfering with one another.

Channel
A frequency band in which a specific broadcast signal is transmitted. Channel frequencies are specified in
the United States by the Federal Communications Commission. Television signals require a 6 MHz
frequency band to carry all the necessary picture detail.
CIF
Common Intermediate Format. A compromise television display format adopted by the CCITT which is
relatively easy to derive from both PAL and NTSC.
Circular Polarization
Unlike many domestic satellites which utilize vertical or horizontal polarization, the international Intelsat
satellites transmit their signals in a rotating corkscrew-like pattern as they are down-linked to earth. On
some satellites, both right-hand rotating and left-hand rotating signals can be transmitted simultaneously
on the same frequency; thereby doubling the capacity of the satellite to carry communications channels.
Clamp
A video processing circuit that removes the energy dispersal signal component from the video waveform.
Clarke Orbit
That circular orbit in space 22,237 miles from the surface of the earth at which geosynchronous satellites
are placed. This orbit was first postulated by the science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke in Wireless World
magazine in 1945. Satellites placed in these orbits, although traveling around the earth at thousands of
miles an hour, appear to be stationary when viewed from a point on the earth, since the earth is rotating
upon its axis at the same angular rate that the satellite is traveling around the earth.
C/No or C/kT or C/kTB
Carrier-to-noise ratio measured either at the Radio Frequency (RF) or Intermediate Frequency (IF).
Coaxial Cable
A transmission line in which an inner conductor is surrounded by an outer conductor or shield and
separated by a nonconductive dielectric.
Codec
Coder/decoder system for digital transmission.
Co-Location
Ability of multiple satellites to share the same approximate geostationary orbital assignment frequently
due to the fact that different frequency bands are used.
Color Subcarrler
A subcarrier that is added to the main video signal to convey the color information. In NTSC systems, the
color subcarrier is centered on a frequency of 3.579545 MHz, referenced to the main video carrier.
Common Carrier
Any organization which operates communications circuits used by other people. Common carriers include
the telephone companies as well as the owners of the communications satellites, RCA, Comsat, Direct
Net Telecommunications, AT&T and others. Common carriers are required to file fixed tariffs for specific
services.
Companding
A noise-reduction technique that applies single compression at the transmitter and complementary
expansion at the receiver.

Composite Baseband
The unclamped and unfiltered output of the satellite receiver's demodulator circuit, containg the video
information as well as all transmitted subcarriers.
Compression Algorithms
Software that allows codecs to reduce the number of bits required for data storage or transmission.
COMSAT
The Communications Satellite Corporation (part of Lockheed Martin) which serves as the U.S. Signatory
to INTELSAT and INMARSAT.
Conus
Contiguous United States. In short, all the states in the U.S. except Hawaii and Alaska.
Cross Modulation
A form of signal distortion in which modulation from one or more RF carrier(s) is imposed on another
carrier.
CSU
Channel service unit. A digital interface device that connects end-user equipment to the local digital
telephone loop. CSU is frequently coupled with DSU (see below) as CSU/DSU.
C/T
Carrier-to-noise-temperature ratio.
DAMA
Demand-Assigned Multiple Access - A highly efficient means of instantaneously assigning telephony
channels in a transponder according to immediate traffic demands.
DBS
Direct broadcast satellite. Refers to service that uses satellites to broadcast multiple channels of
television programming directly to home mounted small-dish antennas.
dB
The decibel is a logarithmic unit of measurement that expresses a power relative to a reference.
dBi
The dB power relative to an isotropic source.
dBW
The ratio of the power to one Watt expressed in decibels.
De-BPSK
Differential Binary Phase Shift Keying
De-QPSK
Differential Quadrature Phase Shift Keying.Decibel (dB)
The standard unit used to express the ratio of two power levels. It is used in communications to express
either a gain or loss in power between the input and output devices.
Declination
The offset angle of an antenna from the axis of its polar mount as measured in the meridian plane
between the equatorial plane and the antenna main beam.

Decoder
A television set-top device which enables the home subscriber to convert an electronically scrambled
television picture into a viewable signal. This should not be confused with a digital coder/decoder known
as a CODEC which is used in conjunction with digital transmissions.
Deemphasis
Reinstatement of a uniform baseband frequency response following demodulation.
Delay
The time it takes for a signal to go from the sending station through the satellite to the receiving station.
This transmission delay for a single hop satellite connection is very close on one-quarter of a second.
Demodulator
A satellite receiver circuit which extracts or "demodulates" the "wanted "signals from the received carrier.
Deviation
The modulation level of an FM signal determined by the amount of frequency shift from the frequency of
the main carrier.
Digital
Conversion of information into bits of data for transmission through wire, fiber optic cable, satellite, or over
air techniques. Method allows simultaneous transmission of voice, data or video.
Digital Speech Interpolation
DSI - A means of transmitting telephony. Two and One half to three times more efficiently based on the
principle that people are talking only about 40% of the time.
Discriminator
A type of FM demodulator used in satellite receivers.
Dithering
he process of shifting the 6-MHz satellite-tv signal up and down the 36-MHz satellite transponder
spectrum at a rate of 30 times per second (30 Hertz). The satellite signal is "dithered" to spread the
transmission energy out over a band of frequencies far wider than a terrestrial common carrier microwave
circuit operates within, thereby minimizing the potential interference that any one single terrestrial
microwave transmitter could possibly cause to the satellite transmission.
Down-Converter
That portion of the Fixed Satellite Service (FSS) television receiver that converts the signals from the 4GHz microwave range to (typically) the more readily used baseband or intermediate frequency (IF) 70MHz range.
Downlink
The satellite to earth half of a 2 way telecommunications satellite link. Often used to describe the recieve
dish end of the link.
DSU
Data service unit. A device used in digital transmission that adapts the physical interface on a DTE device
to a transmission facility such as T1 or E1. The DSU is also responsible for such functions as signal
timing. DSU is freqnetly coupled with a CSU (see above) as CSU/DSU.
DTV
Digital Television

Dual Spin
Spacecraft design whereby the main body of the satellite is spun to provide altitude stabilization, and the
antenna assembly is despun by means of a motor and bearing system in order to continually direct the
antenna earthward. This dual-spin configuration thus serves to create a spin stabilized satellite.
Duplex Transmission
Capability for simultaneous data transmission between a sending station and a receiving station.
DVB
Digital Video Broadcasting - The European-backed project to harmonise adoption of digital video.
E1
Wide-area digital transmission facility used predominantly in Europe that carries data at a rate of 2.048
Mbit/s.
E3
Wide-area digital transmission facility used predominantly in Europe that carries data at a rate of 34.368
Mbit/s.
Earth Station
The term used to describe the combination or antenna, low-noise amplifier (LNA), down-converter, and
receiver electronics. used to receive a signal transmitted by a satellite. Earth Station antennas vary in size
from the.2 foot to 12 foot (65 centimeters to 3.7 meters) diameter size used for TV reception to as large
as 100 feet (30 meters) in diameter sometimes used for international communications. The typical
antenna used for INTELSAT communication is today 13 to 18 meters or 40 to 60 feet.
Echo Canceller
An electronic circuit which attenuates or eliminates the echo effect on satellite telephony links. Echo
cancellers are largely replacing obsolete echo suppressors.
Echo Effect
A time-delayed electronic reflection of a speaker's voice. This is largely eliminated by modern digital echo
cancellers.
Eclipse
When a satellite passes through the line between the earth and the sun or the earth and the moon.
Eclipse Protected
Refers to a transponder that can remain powered during the period of an eclipse.
El/Az
An antenna mount providing independent adjustments in elevation and azimuth.
Edge of Coverage
Limit of a satellite's defined service area. In many cases, the EOC is defined as being 3 dB down from the
signal level at beam center. However, reception may still be possible beyond the -3dB point.
EIRP
Effective Isotropic Radiated Power - This term describes the strength of the signal leaving the satellite
antenna or the transmitting earth station antenna, and is used in determining the C/N and S/N. The
transmit power value in units of dBW is expressed by the product of the transponder output power and the
gain of the satellite transmit antenna.

Elevation
The upward tilt to a satellite antenna measured in degrees required to aim the antenna at the
communications satellite. When. aimed at the horizon, the elevation angle is zero. If it were tilted to a
point directly overhead, the satellite antenna would have an elevation of 90 degrees.
Encoder
A device used to electronically alter a signal so that it can only be viewed on a receiver equipped with a
special decoder.
Energy Dispersal
A low-frequency waveform combined with the baseband signal prior to modulation, to spread the FM
signal's peak power across the available transponder bandwidth in order to reduce the potential for
creating interference to ground-based communications services.
EOL
End of Life of a satellite.
Equatorial Orbit
An orbit with a plane parallel to the earth's equator.
ESC
Engineering Service Circuit - The 300-3,400 Hertz voice plus teletype (S+DX) channel used for earth
station-to-earth station and earth station-to-operations center communications for the purpose of system
maintenance, coordination and general system information dissemination. In analog (FDM/FM) systems
there are two S+DX channels available for this purpose in the 4,000-12,000 Hertz portion of the
baseband. In digital systems there are one or two channels available which are usually convened to a 32
or 64 Kbps digital signal and combined with the earth station traffic digital bit stream. Modern ESC
equipment interfaces with any mix of analog and digital satellite carriers, as well as backhaul terrestrial
links to the local switching center.
Eutelsat
The European Telecommunications Satellite Organization which is headquartered in Paris, France. It
provides a satellite network for Europe and parts of North Africa and the Middle East.
FCC (Federal Communications Commission)
The U.S. federal regulatory body, consisting of five members, one of who is designated chairman,
appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, which regulates interstate communications
under the Communications Act of 1934.
F/D
Ratio of antenna focal length to antenna diameter. A higher ratio means a shallower dish.
FDMA
Frequency division multiple access. Refers to the use of multiple carriers within the same transponder
where each uplink has been assigned frequency slot and bandwidth. This is usually employed in
conjunction with Frequency Modulation.
Feed
This term has at least two key meanings within the field of satellite communications. It is used to describe
the transmission of video programming from a distribution center. It is also used to describe the feed
system of an antenna. The feed system may consist of a subreflector plus a feedhorn or a feedhorn only.

Feedhorn
A satellite TV receiving antenna component that collects the signal reflected from the main surface
reflector and channels this signal into the low-noise amplifier (LNA).
FM - Frequency Modulation
A modulation method whereby the baseband signal varies the frequency of the carrier wave.
FM Threshold
That point at which the input signal power is just strong enough to enable the receiver demodulator
circuitry successfully to detect and recover a good quality television picture from the incoming video
carrier. Focal Length
Distance from the center feed to the center of the dish. Focal Point
The area toward which the primary reflector directs and concentrates the signal received.
Footprint
A map of the signal strength showing the EIRP contours of equal signal strengths as they cover the
earth's surface. Different satellite transponders on the same satellite will often have different footprints of
the signal strength. The accuracy of EIRP footprints or contour data can improve with the operational age
of the satellite. The actual EIRP levels of the satellite, however, tends to decrease slowly as the
spacecraft ages.
Forward Error Correction (FEC)
Adds unique codes to the digital signal at the source so errors can be detected and corrected at the
receiver. Frequency
The number of times that an alternating current goes through its complete cycle in one second of time.
One cycle per second is also referred to as one hertz; 1000 cycles per second, one kilohertz; 1,000,000
cycles per second, one megahertz: and 1,000,000,000 cycles per second, one gigahertz.
Frequency Coordination
A process to eliminate frequency interference between different satellite systems or between terrestrial
microwave systems and satellites. In the U.S. this activity relies upon a computerized service utilizing an
extensive database to analyze potential microwave interference problems that arise between
organizations using the same microwave band. As the same C-band frequency spectrum is used by
telephone networks and CATV companies when they are contemplating the installation of an earth
station, they will often obtain a frequency coordination study to determine if any problems will exist.
Frequency Reuse
A technique which maximizes the capacity of a communications satellite through the use of specially
isolated beam antennas and/or the use of dual polarities.
Gain
A measure of amplification expressed in dB.
GE Americon
This is a large U.S. corporation providing satellite systems for domestic communications. Has ownership
in some international satellites.
Geostationary
Refers to a geosynchronous satellite angle with zero inclination. so the satellite appears to hover over one
spot on the earth's equator.
Geostationary Transfer Orbit
This orbit is in the equatorial plane. This type of orbit has an elliptical form, with a perigee at 200 km and
an apogee at 35870 km.

Geosynchronous
The Clarke circular orbit above the equator. For a planet the size and mass of the earth, this point is
22,237 miles above the surface.
Gigahertz (GHz)
One billion cycles per second. Signals operating above 3 Gigahertz are known as microwaves. above 30
GHz they are know as millimeter waves. As one moves above the millimeter waves signals begin to take
on the characteristics of Iightwaves.
Global Beam
An antenna down-link pattern used by the Intelsat satellites, which effectively covers one-third of the
globe. Global beams are aimed at the center of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans by the respective
Intelsat satellites, enabling all nations on each side of the ocean to receive the signal. Because they
transmit to such a wide area, global beam transponders have significantly lower EIRP outputs at the
surface of the Earth as compared to a US domestic satellite system which covers just the continental
United States. Therefore, earth stations receiving global beam signals need antennas much larger in size
(typically 10 meters and above (i.e.30 feet and up).
Gregorian
Dual-reflector antenna system employing a paraboloidal main reflector and a concave ellipsoidal
subreflector.
Globalstar
A mobile satellite system that deployes a network of 48 satellites to create a global voice and data
service. This system is backed by Qualcomm, Loral, and Alcatel.
G/T
A figure of merit of an antenna and low noise amplifier combination expressed in dB. "G" is the net gain of
the system and "T" is the noise temperature of the system. The higher the number, the better the system.
Guard Channel
Television channels are separated in the frequency spectrum by spacing them several megahertz apart.
This unused space serves to prevent the adjacent television channels from interfering with each other.
Half Transponder
A method of transmitting two TV signals through a single transponder through the reduction of each TV
signal's deviation and power level. Half-transponder TV carriers each operate typically 4 dB to 7 dB below
single-carrier saturation power.
Headend
Electronic control center - generally located at the antenna site of a CATV system - usually including
antennas, preamplifiers, frequency converters, demodulators and other related equipment which amplify,
filter and convert incoming broadcast TV signals to cable system channels.
Heliosynchronous Orbit
At an altitude of 600 to 800 km and situated in a quasi-polar plane. The satellite is permanently
visible from that part of the Earth in sunlight. Heliosynchronous orbits are used for Earth observation or
solar-study satellites.
HEO
Highly Elliptical Orbit. This is type of orbit used by the Russian Molniya Satellite system. It is also referred
to as Extremely Elliptical Orbit (EEO).
Hertz (Hz)

The name given to the basic measure of radio frequency characteristics. An electromagnetic wave
completes a full oscillation from its positive to its negative pole and back again in what is known as a
cycle. A single Hertz is thus equal to one cycle per second.
High Frequency (HF)
Radio frequencies within the range of 3,000 to 30,000 kilohertz. HF radio is known as shortwave.
High-Power Satellite
Satellite with 100 watts or more of transponder RF power.
Hour Angle
Steering direction of a polar mount. An angle measured in the equatorial plane between the antenna
beam and the meridian plane.
Hub
The master station through which all communications to, from and between micro terminals must flow. in
the future satellites with on-board processing will allow hubs to be eliminated as MESH networks are able
to connect all points in a network together.
Hughes Galaxy
A domestic U.S. satellite system which provides a range of telecommunications services.
IBS
INTELSAT Business Services.
IFRB
International Frequency Registration Board of the ITU - International Telecommunications Union. The
IFRB regulates the allocation of satellite orbital locations.
Inclination
The angle between the orbital plane of a satellite and the equatorial plane of the earth.
INMARSAT
The International Maritime Satellite Organization operates a network of satellites for international
transmissions for all types of international mobile services including maritime, aeronautical, and land
mobile.
INTELSAT
The International Telecommunications Satellite Organization operates a network of satellites for
international transmissions. Interference
Energy which tends to interfere with the reception of the desired signals, such as fading from airline
flights, RF interference from adjacent channels, or ghosting from reflecting objects such as mountains and
buildings.
Inter Satellite Link - ISL
Radio or optical communications links between satellites. They serve to interconnect constellations of
satellites.
INTERSPUTNIK
The international entity formed by the Soviet Union to provide international communications via a network
of Soviet satellites.
IRD
An integrated receiver and decoder for reception of a transmission of voice, video and data.

Iridium Satellite System

This was a 66 satellite network designed for mobile telephone use and is now defunct.
ISDN - Integrated Services Digital Network.
A CCITT standard for integrated transmission of voice, video and data. Bandwidths include: Basic Rate
Interface - BR (144 Kbps - 2 B & 1 D channel) and Primary Rate - PRI (1.544 and 2.048 Mbps).
ISO
International Standards Organization. Develops standards such as JPEG and MPEG. Closely allied with
the CCITT. Isotropic Antenna
A hypothetical omnidirectional point-source antenna that serves as an engineering reference for the
measurement of antenna gain.
ITU
International Telecommunication Union.
Jammer
An active electronic counter-measures (ECM) device designed to deny intelligence to unfriendly detectors
or to disrupt communications.
JPEG
ISO Joint Picture Expert Group standard for the compression of still pictures.
Ka Band
The frequency range from 18 to 31 GHz. Kbps
Kilobits per second. Refers to transmission speed of 1,000 bits per second.
Kelvin (K)
The temperature measurement scale used in the scientific community. Zero K represents absolute zero,
and corresponds to minus 459 degrees Fahrenheit or minus 273 Celsius. Thermal noise characteristics of
LNA are measured in Kelvins.
Kilohertz (kHz)
Refers to a unit of frequency equal to 1,000 Hertz.
Klystron
A microwave tube which uses the interaction between an electron beam and the RF energy on microwave
cavities to provide signal amplification. The klystron operates on principles of velocity modulation very
similar to those in a TWT except that klystron interaction takes place at discrete locations along the
electron beam. Common types of klystrons are the reflex klystron (an oscillator having only one cavity),
two-cavity klystron amplifiers and oscillators, and multi-cavity klystron amplifiers.
Ku Band
The frequency range from 10.9 to 17 GHz.
L-Band
The frequency range from 0.5 to 1.5 GHz. Also used to refer to the 950 to 1450MHz used for mobile
communications.
Leased Line
A dedicated circuit typically supplied by the telephone company.

Low Noise Amplifier (LNA)

This is the preamplifier between the antenna and the earth station receiver. For maximum effectiveness, it
must be located as near the antenna as possible, and is usually attached directly to the antenna receive
port. The LNA is especially designed to contribute the least amount of thermal noise to the received
signal.
Low Noise Block Downconverter (LNB)
A combination Low Noise Amplifier and downconverter built into one device attached to the feed.
Low Noise Converter (LNC)
A combination Low Noise Amplifier and down converter built into one antenna-mounted package.
Low Orbit
At an altitude of 200 to 300 km this orbit is used for certain types of scientific or observation satellites,
which can view a different part of the Earth beneath them on each orbit revolution, as they overfly both
hemispheres.
Low-Power Satellite
Satellite with transmit RF power below 30 watts.
MAC (A, B, C, D2)
Multiplexed analog component color video transmission system. Subtypes refer to the various methods
used to transmit audio and data signals.
Margin
The amount of signal in dB by which the satellite system exceeds the minimum levels required for
operation.
Master Antenna Television (MATV)
An antenna system that serves a concentration of television sets such as in apartment buildings, hotels or
motels.
Medium-Power Satellite
Satellite generating transmit power levels ranging from 30 to 100 watts.
Megahertz (MHz)
Refers to a frequency equal to one million Hertz, or cycles per second.
Microwave
Line-of sight, point-to-point transmission of signals at high frequency. Many CATV systems receive some
television signals from a distant antenna location with the antenna and the system connected by
microwave relay. Microwaves are also used for data, voice, and indeed all types of information
transmission. The growth of fiber optic networks have tended to curtail the growth and use of microwave
relays.
Microwave Interference
Interference which occurs when an earth station aimed at a distant satellite picks up a second, often
stronger signal, from a local telephone terrestrial microwave relay transmitter. Microwave interference can
also be produced by nearby radar transmitters as well as the sun itself. Relocating the antenna by only
several feet will often completely eliminate the microwave interference.

Modem (modulator/demodulator)
A communications device that modulates signals at the transmitting end and demodulates them at the
receiving end.
Modulation
The process of manipulating the frequency or amplitude of a carrier in relation to an incoming video, voice
or data signal.
Modulator
A device which modulates a carrier. Modulators are found as components in broadcasting transmitters
and in satellite transponders. Modulators are also used by CATV companies to place a baseband video
television signal onto a desired VHF or UHF channel. Home video tape recorders also have built-in
modulators which enable the recorded video information to be played back using a television receiver
tuned to VHF channel 3 or 4.
Molniya
The Russian domestic satellite system which operated with highly elliptical satellites which overlooked the
high latitudes of the territories of the USSR.
MPEG
The Moving Pictures Experts Group, the television industry's informal standards group.
MPEG-2
The agreed standard covering the compression of data (coding and encoding) for digital television.
MPEG-2 MP@HL
Main Provile at High Level - The agreed much higher bit-rate system adopted to provide high definition
television in wide screen format.
Multiple Access
The ability of more than one user to have access to a transponder.
Multiple System Operator (MSO)
A company that operates more than one cable television system.
Multipoint Distribution System (MDS)
A common carrier licensed by the FCC to operate a broadcast-like omnidirectional microwave
transmission facility within a given city typically carrying television signals
Multicast
Multicast is a subset of broadcast that extends the broadcast concept of one to many by allowing "the
sending of one transmission to many users in a defined group, but not necessarily to all users in that
group."
Multiplexing
Techniques that allow a number of simultaneous transmissions over a single circuit.
Mux
A Multiplexer. Combines several different signals (e.g. video, audio, data) onto a single communication
channel for transmission. Demultiplexing separates each signal at the receiving end.
NAB
National Association of Broadcasters.

NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)

The U.S. agency which administers the American space program, including the deployment of
commercial and military satellites via a fleet of space shuttle vehicles.
NASDA
National Space Development Agency of Japan.
NCTA
National Cable Television Association.
Noise
Any unwanted and unmodulated energy that is always present to some extent within any signal.
Noise Figure (NF)
A term which is a figure of merit of a device, such as an LNA or receiver, expressed in dB, which
compares the device with a perfect device.
NTIA
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration is a unit of the Department of
Commerce that address U.S. government telecommunications policy, standards setting and radio
spectrum allocation.
Nutation Damping
The process of correcting the nutational effects of a spinning satellite which are similar in effect to a
wobbling top. Active nutation controls use thruster jets.
NTSC - National Television Standards Committee
A video standard established by the United States (RCA/NBC} and adopted by numerous other countries.
This is a 525-line video with 3.58-MHz chroma subcarrier and 60 cycles per second.
OFTEL
The Office of Telecommunications of the United Kingdom government. This unit a part of the Department
of Industries regulates telecommunications in the United Kingdom.
Orbital Period
The time that it takes a satellite to complete one circumnavigation of its orbit.
Packet Switching
Data transmission method that divides messages into standard-sized packets for greater efficiency of
routing and transport through a network.
PAL - Phase Alternation System
The German developed TV standard based upon 50 cycles.per second and 625 lines.
Parabolic Antenna
The most frequently found satellite TV antenna, it takes its name from the shape of the dish described
mathematically as a parabola. The function of the parabolic shape is to focus the weak microwave signal
hitting the surface of the dish into a single focal point in front of the dish. It is at this point that the feedhorn
is usually located.
PBS (Public Broadcasting System)
A domestic USA television and radio broadcast network.
Perigee

The point in an elliptical satellite orbit which is closest to the surface of the earth.
Perigee Kick Motor (PKM)
Rocket motor fired to inject a satellite into a geostationary transfer orbit from a low earth orbit especially
that of a STS or Shuttle-based orbit of 300 to 500 miles altitude.
Period
The amount of time that a satellite takes to complete one revolution of its orbit.
Phase Alternation System (PAL)
A European color television system incompatible with the US NTSC television system.
Phase-Locked Loop (PLL)
A type of electronic circuit used to demodulate satellite signals.
Polarization
A technique used by the satellite designer to increase the capacity of the satellite transmission channels
by reusing the satellite transponder frequencies. In linear cross polarization schemes, half of the
transponders beam their signals to earth in a vertically polarized mode; the other half horizontally polarize
their down links. Although the two sets of frequencies overlap, they are 90 degree out of phase, and will
not interfere with each other. To successfully receive and decode these signals on earth, the earth station
must be outfitted with a properly polarized feedhorn to select the vertically or horizontally polarized signals
as desired. In some installations, the feedhorn has the capability of receiving the vertical and horizontal
transponder signals simultaneously, and routing them into separate LNAs for delivery to two or more
satellite television receivers. Unlike most domestic satellites, the Intelsat series use a technique known as
left-hand and right-hand circular polarization.
Polarization Rotator
A device that can be manually or automatically adjusted to select one of two orthogonal polarizations.
Polar Mount
Antenna mechanism permitting steering in both elevation and azimuth through rotation about a single
axis. While an astronomer's polar mount has its axis parallel to that of the earth, satellite earth stations
utilize a modified polar mount geometry that incorporates a declination offset.
Polar Orbit
An orbit with its plane aligned in parallel with the polar axis of the earth
Protected-Use Transponder
A satellite transponder provided by the common carrier to a programmer with a built-in insurance policy. If
the protected-use transponder fails, the common carrier guarantees the programmer that it will switch
over to another transponder, sometimes pre-empting some other non-protected programmer from the
other transponder.
PTT - Post Telephone and Telegraph Administration
Refers to operating agencies directly or indirectly controlled by governments in charge of
telecommunications services in most countries of the world.
Pulse Code Modulation
A time division modulation technique in which analog signals are sampled and quantized at periodic
intervals into digital signals. The values observed are typically represented by a coded arrangement of 8
bits of which one may be for parity.

QAM
Quadrature Amplitude Modulation is a modulation scheme which transmits data by modulating the
amplitude of two carrier waves. The two waves, usually sinusoids, are out of phase with each other by 90
and are called quadrature carriers.
QPSK
Quadrature Phase Shift Keying is a modulation technique in which the carrier phase can have one of four
possible values of 0, 90, 180, 270 degrees on the equivalent of a 90 degrree rotation. There are even
more advanced concepts based upon 8-phase (45 degree rotation), 16 phase (22.5 degree rotation) and
so on to 32 phase, etc.
Rain Outage
Loss of signal at Ku or Ka Band frequencies due to absorption and increased sky-noise temperature
caused by heavy rainfall.
Receiver (Rx)
An electronic device which enables a particular satellite signal to be separated from all others being
received by an earth station, and converts the signal format into a format for video, voice or data.
Receiver Sensitivity
Expressed in dBm this tells how much power the detector must receive to achieve a specific baseband
performance, such as a specified bit error rate or signal to noise ratio.
RF Adaptor
An add-on modulator which interconnects the output of the satellite television receiver to the input
(antenna terminals) of the user's television set. The RF adaptor converts the baseband video signal
coming from the satellite receiver to a radio frequency RF signal which can be tuned in by the television
set on VHF channel 3 or 4.
Router
Network layer device that determines the optimal path along which network traffic should be forwarded.
Routers forward packets from one network to another based on network layer information.
Satellite
A sophisticated electronic communications relay station orbiting 22,237 miles above the equator moving
in a fixed orbit at the same speed and direction of the earth (about 7,000 mph east to west).
Satellite Terminal
A receive-only satellite earth station consisting of an antenna reflector (typically parabolic in shape), a
feedhorn, a low-noise amplifier (LNA), a down converter and a receiver.
SAW (Surface Acoustic Wave)
A type of steep-skirted filter used in the baseband or IF section of satellite reception and transmission
equipment.
Scalar Feed
A type of horn antenna feed which uses a series of concentric rings to capture signals that have been
reflected toward the focal point of a parabolic antenna.
Scrambler
A device used to electronically alter a signal so that it can only be viewed or heard on a receiver equipped
with a special decoder.

Secam
A color television. system developed by the French and used in the USSR. Secam operates with 625
lines per picture frame and 50 cycles per second, but is incompatible in operation with the European PAL
system or the U.S. NTSC system.
SFD - Saturated Flux Density
The power required to achieve saturation of a single repeater channel on the satellite.
Sidelobe
Off-axis response of an antenna.
Signal to Noise Ratio (S/N)
The ratio of the signal power and noise power. A video S/N of 54 to 56 dB is considered to be an excellent
S/N, that is, of broadcast quality. A video S/N of 48 to 52 dB is considered to be a good S/N at the
headend for Cable TV. SILVO
An organization formed in the mid 1980's to monitor frequency re-use.
Simplex Transmission
Capability for transmission in only one direction between sending station and receiving station.
Single-Channel-Per-Carrier (SCPC)
A method used to transmit a large number of signals over a single satellite transponder.
Single Sideband (SSB)
A form of amplitude modulation (AM) whereby one of the sidebands and the AM carrier are suppressed.
Skew
An adjustment that compensates for slight variance in angle between identical senses of polarity
generated by two or more satellites.
Slant Range
The length of the path between a communications satellite and an associated earth station.
Slot
That longitudinal position in the geosynchronous orbit into which a communications satellite is "parked".
Above the United States, communications satellites are typically positioned in slots which are based at
two to three degree intervals.
SMATV (Satellite Master Antenna System)
The adding of an earth station to a MATV system to receive satellite programs.
SNG
Satellite news gathering usually with a transportable uplink truck.
Snow
A form of noise picked up by a television receiver caused by a weak signal. Snow is characterized by
alternate dark and light dots appearing randomly on the picture tube. To eliminate snow, a more sensitive
receive antenna must be used, or better amplification must be provided in the receiver (or both).
Solar Outage
Solar outages occur when an antenna is looking at a satellite, and the sun passes behind or near the
satellite and within the field of view of the antenna. This field of view is usually wider than the beamwidth.
Solar outages can be exactly predicted as to the timing for each site.

Sparklies
A form of satellite television "snow" caused by a weak signal. Unlike terrestrial VHF and UHF television
snow which appears to have a softer texture, sparklies are sharper and more angular noise "blips". As
with terrestrial reception, to eliminate sparklies, either the satellite antenna must be increased in size, or
the low noise amplifier must be replaced with one which has a lower noise temperature.
Spectrum
The range of electromagnetic radio frequencies used in transmission of voice, data and television.
Spillover
Satellite signal that falls on locations outside the beam pattern's defined edge of coverage.
Spin Stabilization
A form of satellite stabilization and attitude control which is achieved through spinning the exterior of the
spacecraft about its axis at a fixed rate. Splitter
A passive device (one with no active electronic components) which distributes a television signal carried
on a cable in two or more paths and sends it to a number of receivers simultaneously.
Spot Beam
A focused antenna pattern sent to a limited geographical area. Spot beams are used by domestic
satellites to deliver certain transponder signals to geographically well defined areas such as Hawaii,
Alaska and Puerto Rico.
Spread Spectrum
The transmission of a signal using a much wider bandwidth and power than would normally be required.
Spread spectrum also involves the use of narrower signals that are frequency hopped through various
parts of the transponder. Both techniques produce low levels of interference Between the users. They
also provide security in that the signals appear as though they were random noise to unauthorized earth
stations. Both military and civil satellite applications have developed for spread spectrum transmissions.
SSMA
Spread spectrum multiple access. Refers to a frequency multiple access or multiplexing technique.
SSPA
Solid state power amplifier. A VSLI solid state device that is gradually replacing Traveling Wave Tubes in
satellite communications systems because they are lighter weight and are more reliable.
Stationkeeping
Minor orbital adjustments that are conducted to maintain the satellite's orbital assignment within the
allocated "box" within the geostationary arc.
Subcarrier
A second signal "piggybacked" onto a main signal to carry additional information. In satellite television
transmission, the video picture is transmitted over the main carrier. The corresponding audio is sent via
an FM subcarrier. Some satellite transponders carry as many as four special audio or data subcarriers
whose signals may or may not be related to the main programming. Subsatellite Point
The unique spot over the earth's equator assigned to each geostationary satellite.
Superband
The frequency band from 216 to 600 MHz, used for fixed and mobile radios and additional television
channels on a cable system.
Synchronization (Sync)
The process of orienting the transmitter and receiver circuits in the proper manner in order that they can

be synchronized . Home television sets are synchronized by an incoming sync signal with the television
cameras in the studios 60 times per second. The horizontal and vertical hold controls on the television set
are used to set the receiver circuits to the approximate sync frequencies of incoming television picture
and the sync pulses in the signal then fine tune the circuits to the exact frequency and phase.
T1
The transmission bit rate of 1.544 millions bits per second. This is also equivalent to the ISDN Primary
Rate Interface for the U.S. The European T1 or E1 transmission rate is 2.048 million bits per second. T3
Channel (DS-3)
In North America, a digital channel which communicates at 45.304 Mbps.
Teleconference
An electronic multilocation, multiperson conference using audio, computer, slow-scan, or full-rate video
systems.
Teledesic
The name of the U.S. proposed LEO satellite system that would deploy 840 satellites for global
telecommunications services.
Telstar
The AT&T Corporation has maintained its trademark for the Telstar name and currently operates its
domestic satellite system under the Telstar name.
Terrestrial TV
Ordinary "over the air" VHF (very high frequency) and UHF (ultrahigh frequency) television transmissions
which are usually limited to an effective range of 100 miles or less. Terrestrial tv transmitters operate at
frequencies between 54 megahertz and 890 megahertz, far lower than the l4/l2 and 6/4 billion hertz
(gigahertz) microwave frequencies used by satellite transponders.
Three-Axis Stabilization
Type of spacecraft stabilization in which the body maintains a fixed attitude relative to the orbital track and
the earth's surface. The reference axes are roll, pinch, and yaw, by nautical analogy.
Threshold Extension
A technique used by satellite television receivers to improve the signal-to noise ratio of the receiver by
approximately 3 db (50%). When using small receive-only antennas, a especially equipped receiver with a
threshold extension feature can make the difference between obtaining a decent picture or no picture at
all.
Thruster
A small axial jet used during routine stationkeeping activities. These are often fueled bydrazine or bipropellant. In time ion-engines will probably replace such thrusters.
TI - Terrestrial Interference
Interference to satellite reception caused by ground based microwave transmitting stations.
Transfer Orbit
A highly elliptical orbit which is used as an intermediate stage for placing satellites into geostationary orbit.
Transmitter
An electronic device consisting of oscillator, modulator and other circuits which produce a radio or
television electromagnetic wave signal for radiation into the atmosphere by an antenna.
Transponder
A combination receiver, frequency converter, and transmitter package, physically part of a

communications satellite. Transponders have a typical output of five to ten watts, operate over a
frequency band with a 36 to 72 megahertz bandwidth in the L, C, Ku, and sometimes Ka Bands or in
effect typically in the microwave spectrum, except for mobile satellite communications. Communications
satellites typically have between 12 and 24 onboard transponders although the INTELSAT VI at the
extreme end has 50.
Transponder Hopping
A single TDMA equipped earth station can extend its capacity by having access to several down-link
beams by hopping from one transponder to another. In such a configuration the number of available
transponders must be equivalent to the square of the number of beams that are interconnected or crossstrapped.
TSS
Telecommunications Standardization Sector. The world standards setting organization resulting from the
combination of the CCITT (Consultative Committee on Telephony and Telegraphy) and the CCIR
(Consultative Committee on International Radio).
Turnkey
Refers to a system that is supplied, installed and sometimes managed by one vendor or manufacturer.
TVRO
Television Receive Only terminals that use antenna reflectors and associated electronic equipment to
receive and process television and audio communications via satellite. Typically small home systems.
Tweeking
The process of adjusting an electronic receiver circuit to optimize its performance.
TWT (Traveling-wave tube)
A microwave tube of special design using a broadband circuit in which a beam of electrons interacts
continuously with a guided electromagnetic field to amplify microwave frequencies.
TWTA (Traveling-wave-tube amplifier)
A combination of a power supply, a modulator (for pulsed systems), and a traveling-wave tube, often
packaged in a common enclosure.
Ultra-high Frequency (UHF)
Officially the band of frequencies ranging from 300 to 3000 MHz. In television use, refers to the set of
frequencies starting at 470 MHz, The UHF channels are designated as 14 through 70.
Unicast
A unicast application transmits a copy of every packet to every receiver. Uplink
The earth station used to transmit signals to a satellite
USAT
Ultra Small Aperture Terminal. This refers to very small terminals for DBS and other satellite applications
where the terminal can be very small (under 50 cms).
V.35
ITU-T standard describing a synchronous, physical layer protocol used for communications between a
network access device and a packet network. V.35 is most commonly used in the United States and in
Europe, and is recommended for speeds up to 48 Kbit/s.

Van Allen radiation belts

These are two high level radiation belts discovered by an Explorer Satellite designed by Dr. Van Allen of
Cal Tech. These belts which are highly destructive to communications satellites consists of two belts of
highly charged particles and high energy neutrons.
VBI
Vertical blanking interval.
Vertical Interval Test Signal
A method whereby broadcasters add test signals to the blanked portion of the vertical interval. Normally
placed on lines 17 through 21 in both field one and two.
Very High Frequencies (VHF)
The range of frequencies extending from 30 to 300 MHz; also television channels 2 through 13.
VSAT
Very small aperture terminal. Refers to small earth stations, usually in the 1.2 to 2.4 meter range. Small
aperture terminals under 0.5 meters are sometimes referred to Ultra Small Aperture Terminals (USAT's)
VSWR
Voltage Standing Wave Ratio. A measurement of mismatch in a cable, waveguide, or antenna system.
WARC
World Administrative Radio Conference sponsored by the ITU Waveguide
A metallic microwave conductor, typically rectangular in shape, used to carry microwave signals into and
out of microwave antennas.
X-Band
The frequency band in the 7-8 GHz region which is used for military satellite communications
X.25
A set of packet switching standards published by the CCITT.
X.400
A set of CCITT standards for global messaging.
Zulu Time
This is the same a Greenwich Meridian Time (GMT). This is the time standard used in global satellite
systems such as INTELSAT and INMARSAT in order to achieve global synchronization.
Adapted & Updated from the SatNews Glossary
See also:

The 2008 International Satellite Directory

The Complete Guide To The Commercial Satellite Communications Industry
Updated annually in 2 volumes with 16 separate chapters & over 25,000 entries, this best selling 1,400
plus page reference source is a must for all satellite professionals. Includes a CD-ROM containing over
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http://www.satnews.com/directory.shtml

Click Here for Next Tutorial

Modems - What are they?

What is a modem? How does it work?
A modem is a modulator / demodulator (modem) which is a two part system.
Transmit & Receive (Modulate & Demodulate)
In any satcom system the reason for broadcasting via satellite is that you want to get
information from one part of the world to another. So how do we get lets say our TV picture
from our tv camera into the antenna?

The transmit path up to the satellite uses a modulator to take the digitised TV camera data
and modulate it onto a carrier signal. This is the same process as any radio transmission.
Once modulated your data is hitching a ride on the carrier signal, this signal is transmitted
to the satellite and back to earth again.
At the destination antenna, your signal is then received at a demodulator. The demodulator
works just as any radio receiver, the TV data is separated from the carrier signal and this is
called demodulated. The data can then be fed into a TV once converted to the appropriate
format and watched.
This principle is the same for any modulator and demodulator. These two quite separate
devices are usually packaged together to make a Modem. They can however, be used on
their own, for example, just like your home Satellite TV receiver. This is usually a
demodulator only and separates the TV data from the carrier signal for you to watch on your
TV.
So what is QPSK?

That's a bit of a leap but QPSK stands for Quadrature Phased Shift Keying. if this all get's a
bit confusing then don't worry too much as it is covered again in later Tutorials.
Keying is a method of communication and is probably a word left over from the old morse
code method. There are many modulation techniques of which QPSK is just one. It increases
the accuracy of data at higher data rates by having 4 states instead of just on and off.
This is acheived by using a sine wave which is phased shifted (delayed) by 90 degrees, 180
degrees and 270 degrees. With 0 degrees being state 1, 90 degrees being state 2 and so
on. The diagram above shows 4 ellipses one in each quadrant. These vary in shape with the
data that is modulated onto each phase. Four times the amount of data can therefore be
transmitted with this technique or four times the accuracy. This is one of the most common
forms of modulation.
The most useful sounding technique is CDMA or Code Division Multiple Access. This
technique spreads the data across a wide area of frequency or a wide bandwidth such that
there is very little or no detectable carrier. The signal is said to be down in the noise. The
data is coded on transmission and can be recovered from the noise by decoding the signal
providing the correct range of frequencies or bandwidth is used.
CDMA also allows multiple signals to be stacked upon each other at the same frequency.
This then crams in more signals in the same frequency range requiring less space. The
system is old but it is only recently being exploited to it's full potential and is being used in
everything from the latest mobile phone technology to vehicle telematics applications.
Another technique is FDMA, Frequency Division Multiple Access, and is most commonly used
with satellites. Quite simply, each access has its own frequency. The power of each carrier is
balanced across the whole satellite channel and with DAMA, Demand Assignment Multiple
Access, the frequencies of each carrier are controlled by a central control center. Each
transmitter is commanded to a frequency by the use of a common control channel. This is
implemented in our every day lives through the management of our cellular phone network.
We don't notice but our phones are continually changing frequency and power level as we
speak.
In terms of modulation, the most common is a derivitive of QPSK or is actually still QPSK:
Quadrature Phase Shift Keying - Modulation Schemes:
The 8-PSK modulation scheme utilises approx 66% of the bandwidth that QPSK does and
therefore can reduce satellite charges by up to 66%. This is an obvious benefit to satellite
users but then there is a better scheme. 16-QAM utilises approx 50% of the bandwidth that
QPSK does and therefore can reduce satellite charges by up to 50%.
There is a catch, these are more advanced modulation schemes than QPSK but require a
higher C/No in terms of thermal noise (T) and phase noise (dBc/Hz). This results in an
antenna at least twice the diameter of that required for QPSK. If the same size antenna is
used then much more power from the satellite is needed and so greater charges will be
incurred which will negate the benfits of using the more advanced modulation schemes.
DVB-S2 uplink carriers provide the ability to change modulation schemes very rapidly
between QPSK, 8QAM and 16QAM and also FEC rates. Each subscriber RX site measures its
own downlink signal receive quality, (Eb/No) and reports this information back to the NOC

via its return link. If the NOC needs to send data to that RX site it operates using the best
modulation and FEC to maximise the data throughput. Poor weather at a RX site requires a
lower modulation scheme with more FEC ensure data is received. This is a dynamic and
semi-autonomous system of control.

QPSK - Quadrature Phase Shift Keying

(From Course 3 - Modulation Techniques (Part Two) - FSK, QPSK, QAM)

Quadrature Phase Shift Keying employs shifting the phase of the carrier plus an encoding
technique. QPSK is used in almost all modems. The digital information is encoded using 4
(Quad) level differential PSK.
The data is encoded as follows:

DIBIT

Phase Shift

00
01
10
11

+90
0
180
270

QAM - Quadrature Amplitude Modulation

Quadrature Amplitude Modulation refers to QPSK with Amplitude Modulation. Basically, it is
a mix of phase modulation and amplitude modulation. QAM phase modulates the carrier and
also modulates the amplitude of the carrier.
Phase Modulated and Amplitude Modulated Carrier:
There are two types, 8-QAM and 16-QAM:
8-QAM encodes 3 bits of data (23=8) and 16-QAM encodes 4 bits of data (24=16).
16-QAM has 12 phase angles, 4 of which have 2 amplitude values!
Higher data rates use much more complex QAM methods.
Enough of all that, lets take a step back and look at the anatomy of a satellite
communications system otherwise known as a satcom terminal.
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Satellite Components
Satellite Payloads

A payload is the part of the satellite that performs the purpose it was put in space for. There
are many different types of satellite but communications satellites are the kind we are
interested in here. The payloads on communications satellites are effectively just repeaters.
They receive the signals that are transmitted to them and then retransmit them at a
different frequency back to earth.

Modern satellites do more than this. They receive the signals and then sometimes
demodulate them to access the data, the data can then be processed before being
modulated and retransmitted. The data can be stored for later retransmission or modulated
using a different method, even at a different data rate.
The accompanying picture shows an anatomy of a typical satellite. You can see the uplink
receiver chain and the downlink transmit chain. The central area shown as 'Processing', is
where the frequency is translated or any demodulation, processing and modulation would
take place.
These are the basic main components of a satellite and form the payload. The reality is that
most satellites have many different antenna with separate transmit and receive chains.
These have back up and redundancy built in so that in the vent of failur all is not lost. The
gain of the on board transmitter amplifiers, configuration of which antenna they are
connected to and even where on the earth the antenna are aimed at is all controlled from
the satellite controllers on earth. These are complex and versatile satellites and are in use
doing the job they were intended for 24 hours a day 365 days a year for many years. They
eventually fail due to worn out parts or lack of fuel which is used to keep them stationary so
we don't have to follow them about with our dishes. They stay put because they are
manoevered by the controllers who constantly monitor and adjust the satellite.
Now that we have seen how satellites work and how the satellite terminals work we can
take a look at the applications of this technology and why it is so important.
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Anatomy of a Satcom Terminal:

A satellite communications terminal has several parts which are essential for all such communications
terminals. In other words every satcoms terminal that can transmit and receive to and from a satellite has
the following parts:

An antenna.
The dotted line represents the hub box which is a box attached to the back of
the dish. This box houses the LNA, HPA and waveguide filters as described
below.
A circulator.
The circulator is used to make sure that the transmit signals go out through
the dish and not back into the receive chain. It also makes sure that the
receive signals come from the dish into the receive chain and not into the
transmit chain. It works much like a roundabout in principle. This is often
referred to as an Orthomode Transducer or OMT and is, these days, built into
the feed assembly. It can also be a polarisation device but they all do the
same job.

An Rx filter.
The Rx or receive filter is usually a waveguide filter which tightly controls the frequencies allowed into the
receive chain. This has the effect of reducing the unwanted noise from space and prevents interference from
outside of the receive band of frequencies. This is often built in to the feed assembly.
A Tx filter.
The Tx or transmit filter is usually a waveguide filter which tightly controls the frequencies allowed into
antenna. This has the effect of reducing the unwanted signals from being accidentally transmitted onto the
stallite and prevents interference to outside of the transmit band of frequencies. This is often built in to the
feed assembly.
An LNA.
The LNA (Low Noise Amplifier), sometimes known as an LNB (Low Noise Block) on receive only terminals, is
a very good amplifier which has the job of amplifying the small signals picked up by the antenna without
amplifying the noise. Various kinds exist which all do the same thing, they provide enough signal level to
demodulate the data from the carrier. The LNB is more than just an amplifier as it also handles polarisation
selection and the first stage of down conversion to L-Band frequencies. Polarisation is just like a UHF TV or
Terrestrial signal and can be horizontal. vertical or circular polarised.
A HPA.

The HPA (High Power Amplifier), otherwise known as a TWTA (Travelling Wave Tube Amplifier) or an SSHPA
(Solid State High Power Amplifier), has one job. It amplifies a specific band of frequencies by a large
amount, sufficiently large to enable the antenna to beam them up to the satellite. These can range in power
from a few watts upto over 1000 watts in power. The bigger the dish, usually the bigger the power amp. The
largest have to be cooled using liquid nitrogen and resemble electron microscopes. The smallest look more
like a lump of metal bolted to a small heatsink.
1st & 2nd Down Converters.
The down converters 'do exactly as they say on the tin', they convert signals down in frequency. The signals
arrive at the dish at anything from 10 to 40 GHz and are then filtered and amplified, they now need to be
moved down the frequency spectrum so that the equipment can be made cheaper and easier. The 1st
downconverter mixes the signals with another frequency, the result is both the sum and difference of the
signals. By filtering out the original and the sum frequencies the result is that the original frequencies are
now the difference frequencies - lower down in the frequency spectrum. An example would be the
downconversion of 10 GHz to 1 GHz which is Ku band to L Band. The 2nd downconverter then downconverts
the L Band signals to an Intermediate Frequency (IF) of around 70 MHz. this is then ready for the
demodulator.
1st & 2nd Up Converters.
The up converters 'do exactly as they say on the tin' aswell, they convert signals up in frequency. The
signals are sent to the up converters at at around 70 MHz. They now need to be moved up the frequency
spectrum so that the HPA can amplify them and transmit them through the antenna. The 1st upconverter
mixes the signals with another frequency, the result is both the sum and difference of the signals. By
filtering out the original and the difference frequencies the result is that the original frequencies are now the
sum frequencies - higher up in the frequency spectrum. An example would be the upconversion of 70 MHz to
1 GHz which is IF to L Band. The 2nd upconverter then upconverts the L Band signals to a Radio Frequency
(RF) of around 10 GHz. this is then ready for the HPA to transmit through the antenna.
Demodulator / Modulator. (MODEM)
As mentioned previously, these two units are often combined as one and are known as modems. Just like
the computer modem you may have at home, these units take digital data and modulate it onto a carrier
and they demodulate the digital data from a carrier. Computer modems use audio frequency carriers but the
end result is the same. The data isn't always provided in digital form to the modem. Often, especially in
digital TV, the input is analogue and a converter inside them modem converts from analogue to digital. This
is usually then compressed into one of many video compression formats. MPEG 2 is the most common at the
moment and is the format used on Sky Digital. The outside broadcast cameras on the news plug into the
modem as ordinary analogue video. This is then converted to MPEG 2 digital data and is modulated onto the
carrier. The received data is converted from MPEG 2 into analogue video by another converter within the
demodulator side of the modem. This video is then viewable on a video monitor. Our Sky Digiboxes are
simply demodulators that do exactly that. the difference being that the downconversion to L Band takes
place in the LNB on the dish. The L Band is further downconverted within the Digibox but other than that the
principle is the same.
That's it, anything else is not strictly part of the satcom system such as routers, computers, televisions and
telephones.
Next we will look at the satellite.

Click Here for Next Tutorial

Digital Video Broadcasting

Let's take a look at one of the most common uses for satellites.
Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) is the method used for all digital TV and Radio broadcasting which is now a
multi-million pound industry. To recieve DVB from Satellite (DVB-S) is not as expensive as it is to transmit it.
All that you would need is a suitable steerable motorised satellite antenna and motor controller, a suitable
Feed with LNB and a PC with a satellite receiver card. Alternatively, you could buy a Satellite TV dish and
receiver, this is also a DVB-S receiver.
So why buy anything else? Well, having spent a few hundred pounds on a PC setup with a motorised dish,
you could tune in and point at more than just one satellite. This opens up a variety of normally unseen
channels for your viewing pleasure. For example, the news feeds from war torn countries are to be found on
a variety of satellites that bring the news reports back to this country or europe generally. From there they
are sent to the news studio where they are edited into the program. Then the news program is sent via
satellite for us to see at home.
But whats the point? It's quite ammusing to watch those galant war reporters rehearsing their lines, messing
with their hair and generally standing about for long periods of time. Sometimes the engineers that put the
uplinks together and test the feeds are to be seen having fun and cracking jokes in front of the camera. Not
all of these uplinks are available as some are coded.
All of this is not widely known about because you need specialist kit to see it. However, if you want that
specialist kit here is a relatively cheap solution:
o

Andrews Channel Master offset fed motorised antenna with LNB

Channel Master Motor controller

Reasonably Fast PC with a decent graphics card for video playback

DVB-S Receiver Card such as TechniSat SkyStar2 or similar

How does it all work?

Well the satellites all sit on a geostationary arc around the equator. Whether you are north or south of the
arc is irrelevant. The satellites almost cover the whole planet in this way, so when a european news reporter
in South Africa wants to send his live report back to the news room, he gets booked onto a satellite that can
be seen from South Africa aswell as Europe. The time on the satellite is charged and is not cheap so the
news room has to try and fit in the report with the rest of the news and then the report is made.
If the news room run out of time then the satellite time is wasted. Often the time is shared amongst a group
of reporters from different news channels so that if the report is cancelled the overall cost is reduced
because another reporter can step in. Having said that we have seen many feeds of countryside and
mountains with nobody in site for over half an hour. This is probably the engineering setup time, or a
handover between reporters. There is no point shutting down a link only to bring it back again in half an

hour.
How do the reporters uplink their story?
Aha, yes indeed, this is a good question. There are a number of companies making a number of 'Fly Away'
satcom terminals which are specifically designed for satellite news gathering (SNG). These terminals are
fairly small, self contained uplink terminals that have video and audio inputs and outputs, digital MPEG-2, 3
or 4 video & audio encoders, engineering audio channels, upconverters, amplifiers and an antenna. They
probably have receivers aswell but not always.
There are even companies selling all of this technology in a brief case. Quite simply you can now get on a
plane with a small handheld digital video camera and a briefcase uplink system, fly to a war zone and report
back in minutes of your arrival. The lower the data rate of the uplink the lower the quality of the video. For
rapid links I have seen many a report which is more sound than video and is actually similar in quality to the
early mobile phone videos.
So what are you waiting for? Go out and buy a 1.2m satellite antenna, a receiver card for your PC and start
receiving those news feeds. Maybe not, but for those of you who are mad on satellites and want to know
whats out there, they are free to air (FTA). No subscription required, all you need to know is on which
satellite to find them, at what frequency and a few other parameters. You can get all this information
at : http://www.satbeams.com/ and also at http://www.lyngsat.com/ both of these sites provide detailed
information on the satellites and channels so you can find out where to look.
If you want to get the movies and other pay to view channels you will need a Conditional Access Module
(CAM) which is sometimes part of the decoder card in the PC. These CAM's allow you to plug in your viewing
card or freeview card which you can get from the service provider.
The SATCODX website (link above) provides information for every Digital TV and Radio satellite, this
information includes the location of the satellite as well as the programme parameters for each transponder
and channel.
Next we look at the end to end systems that use satellite communications.
Click Here for Next Tutorial

Satcom Systems
In any satcom system, there are some fundamental building blocks. This diagram shows
these blocks in a basic form to help you understand what they are.
Suppliers

Where ever the data to be transmitted

via satellite is coming from is the
supplier base. this could be anything
from an outside broadcast unit to a
studio or office complex. Even banks or
communications headquarters.

Bearers & Terrestrial Links

In order to get this data to the teleport
(satellite uplink station) for onward
transmission via satellite, we use a point to point terrestrial data link sometimes known as a
bearer because is 'bears' the data or carries it. One of the most commonly used data link
suppliers in the UK is BT but they are not the only supplier of such communications links.
Many forms of bearer exist and are mainly fibre optic high speed lines or lower speed
kilostreams and even permanent leased line (telephone line) connections.
Bearers can be occassional use types such as 64k or 128k ISDN lines. Even the internet can
be used for some applications.
The end aim is to deliver error free reliable data to the teleport.
Teleports
Once the data arrives at the teleport (satellite uplink station) then it is passed to a satellite
modem or multiplexed with several other data streams before reaching the modem. The
modems then give an intermediate frequency output (I.F.) which are adjusted for level and
frequency before entering the RF system which contains the up conversion, filters and high
power amplifiers. The signal containing the suppliers data is then broadcast to the satellite
through one or more antenna at the teleport. More than one antenna is used if the data is
required on more than one satellite to increase coverage.
Subscribers
Finally the signal is received back on earth at the subscriber terminal. This could be a large
VSAT for distribution of many data streams such as the internet or a small terminal such as
a Satellite TV system or video conferencing system.
This whole system can be two way or one way depending on the requirements. Broadcasting
is usually one way and point to point transmission is usually two way. There are also
Multicasting applications where the broadcast is sent to everyone but only those who are
interested or requested the data can receive it.
These principles are the same for all satellite systems however big or small.
Star & Mesh Networks

A Star Network comprises of a

Hub satellite station which
transmits to and receives from
multiple remote subscriber sites.
This kind of network can be used
in one direction only such as
from the Hub to the subscriber
and this is how the Direct-ToHome (DTH) satellite TV systems
are run.
A Mesh Network consists of
multiple Hub or mini-Hub
satellite stations all transmitting
and receiving between each
other.
This kind of network is often
used between large
organisations such as banks and
other large corporate
enterprises. This method is ideal
for connecting large computer
networks at each Hub together.
Variations on these two core
network topologies are used
every day to connect up the
world of internet, telephone,
television, banking and countless
other media and information
systems.
Now we can revisit the Modulation schemes touched upon earlier and see how they work.
Click Here for Next Tutorial

Modulation Techniques (Part One)

AM, FM, PM Tutorial
Note:
Although, this article refers to telephone modems and analogue audio modulation, the same
principles apply to satellite modems. This material has been used for the tutorial as it
explains the principles well.

By Eugene Blanchard, Edited by Joshua Drake, Bill Randolph, Phuong Ma

Copyright 2001 by Commandprompt, Inc.
Copyright 2001 by Eugene Blanchard.
Copyright 2000 by Eugene Blanchard.
This material may be distributed only subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the Open Publication License, v1.0 or later
(the latest version is presently available at

http://www.opencontent.org/openpub/)

Distribution of substantively modified versions of this document is prohibited without the explicit permission of the copyright
holder.
Distribution of the work or derivative of the work in any standard (paper) book form is prohibited unless prior permission is
obtained from the copyright holder.' to the license reference or copy.

Modulation Techniques
Modulation techniques are methods that are used to encode digital information in an analog
world. The 3 basic modulation techniques are as follows:
o

AM (amplitude modulation)

FM (frequency modulation)

PM (phase modulation)

All 3 modulation techniques employ a carrier signal. A carrier signal is a single frequency
that is used to carry the intelligence (data). For digital, the intelligence is either a 1 or 0.
When we modulate the carrier, we are changing its characteristics to correspond to either a
1 or 0.
AM - Amplitude Modulation
Amplitude Modulation modifies the amplitude of the carrier to represent 1s or 0s.In the
above example, a 1 is represented by the presence of the carrier for a predefined period of
3 cycles of carrier. Absence--or no carrier--indicates a 0.
Advantages:
Simple to design.

Disadvantages:
Noise spikes on transmission medium interfere with the carrier signal.
Loss of connection is read as 0s.

FM - Frequency Modulation
Frequency Modulation modifies the frequency of the carrier to represent the 1s or 0s. In the
above example, a 0 is represented by the original carrier frequency, and a 1 by a much
higher frequency (the cycles are spaced closer together).
Advantages:
Immunity to noise on transmission medium.
Always a signal present. Loss of signal easily detected

Disadvantages:
Requires 2 frequencies
Detection circuit needs to recognize both frequencies when signal is lost.

PM - Phase Modulation
Phase Modulation modifies the phase of the carrier to represent a 1 or 0.
The carrier phase is switched at every occurrence of a 1 bit, but remains unaffected for a 0
bit. The phase of the signal is measured relative to the phase of the preceding bit. The bits
are timed to coincide with a specific number of carrier cycles (3 in this example = 1 bit).
Advantage:
Only 1 frequency used
Easy to detect loss of carrier

Disadvantages:
Complex circuitry that is required to generate and detect phase changes.
By Eugene Blanchard, Edited by Joshua Drake, Bill Randolph, Phuong Ma
Copyright 2001 by Commandprompt, Inc.
Copyright 2001 by Eugene Blanchard.
Copyright 2000 by Eugene Blanchard.
This material may be distributed only subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the Open Publication License, v1.0 or later
(the latest version is presently available at

http://www.opencontent.org/openpub/)

Distribution of substantively modified versions of this document is prohibited without the explicit permission of the copyright
holder.
Distribution of the work or derivative of the work in any standard (paper) book form is prohibited unless prior permission is
obtained from the copyright holder.' to the license reference or copy.

Next we will move on to the more complex modulation techniques.

Click Here for Next Tutorial

Modulation Techniques (Part Two)

FSK, QPSK, QAM Tutorial
Note:
Although, this article refers to telephone modems and analogue audio modulation, the same
principles apply to satellite modems. This material has been used for the tutorial as it
explains the principles well.
By Eugene Blanchard, Edited by Joshua Drake, Bill Randolph, Phuong Ma
Copyright 2001 by Commandprompt, Inc.
Copyright 2001 by Eugene Blanchard.
Copyright 2000 by Eugene Blanchard.
This material may be distributed only subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the Open Publication License, v1.0 or later
(the latest version is presently available at

http://www.opencontent.org/openpub/)

Distribution of substantively modified versions of this document is prohibited without the explicit permission of the copyright
holder.
Distribution of the work or derivative of the work in any standard (paper) book form is prohibited unless prior permission is
obtained from the copyright holder.' to the license reference or copy.

Modulation Used in Modems

Here are the 3 basic types of modulation used in modems:
o

FSK - Frequency Shifted Keying

QPSK - Quadrature Phase Shifted Keying

QAM - Quadrature Amplitude Modulation

FSK - Frequency Shift Keying

Frequency Shift Keying (or FSK) is the frequency modulation of a carrier that represents
digital intelligence. For Simplex or Half Duplex operation, a single carrier is used -

communication can only be transmitted in one direction at a time. A Mark or 1 is

represented by Freq A, and a Space or 0 is represented by Freq B. FSK is not really used in
satellite communications because of the inefficient use of bandwidth and frequencies.
QPSK - Quadrature Phase Shift Keying
Quadrature Phase Shift Keying employs shifting the phase of the carrier plus an encoding
technique. QPSK is used in almost all modems. The digital information is encoded using 4
(Quad) level differential PSK.
The data is encoded as follows:

DIBIT

Phase Shift

00
+90
01
0
10
180
11
270
QAM - Quadrature Amplitude Modulation
Quadrature Amplitude Modulation refers to QPSK with Amplitude Modulation. Basically, it is
a mix of phase modulation and amplitude modulation. QAM phase modulates the carrier and
also modulates the amplitude of the carrier.
Phase Modulated and Amplitude Modulated Carrier:
There are two types, 8-QAM and 16-QAM:
8-QAM encodes 3 bits of data (2^3=8) and 16-QAM encodes 4 bits of data (2^4=16).
16-QAM has 12 phase angles, 4 of which have 2 amplitude values!
Higher data rates use much more complex QAM methods.
By Eugene Blanchard, Edited by Joshua Drake, Bill Randolph, Phuong Ma
Copyright 2001 by Commandprompt, Inc.
Copyright 2001 by Eugene Blanchard.
Copyright 2000 by Eugene Blanchard.
This material may be distributed only subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the Open Publication License, v1.0 or later
(the latest version is presently available at

http://www.opencontent.org/openpub/)

Distribution of substantively modified versions of this document is prohibited without the explicit permission of the copyright
holder.
Distribution of the work or derivative of the work in any standard (paper) book form is prohibited unless prior permission is
obtained from the copyright holder.' to the license reference or copy.

Putting it all together we can now begin to look at how these satellite links work. Not just the basic
principles but the physics involved. Next we will start to look at satellite link budgets.
Click Here for next Tutorial

Beginners Guide To Link Budgets

Link Budget Calculations:
Before we begin, let's just point out a few things to those who have arrived here looking for
Link Budget calculations...
If you are looking for calculations such as G/T, Eb/No, Antenna Gain, EIRP or C/No then try the'Useful
Calculations' Pages in our 'Tutorials' section.
For our free online satellite link budget calculators click here.
For free online tools and software, including link budget software, and our Azimuth and Elevation
calculator visit our Tools page.
Click here for a System Noise Temperature Calculator.
To obtain values for satellite G/T and EIRP refer to the satellite footprint specifications. Here is a list of
links to some of the available SES-ASTRA satellite footprints - use the interactive fleet map to access
the beam contours and EIRP information - and SES-SIRIUS satellite footprints. See also the LyngSat
website for more satellite beam contour maps. The contours will show you how much to deduct from
the boresight (maximum) EIRP depending on the antenna locations. The footprint diagrams may
sometimes also state the satellite G/T.

Right now that's out of the way let's continue...

What is a link budget?

A link budget is actually not as complicated as it sounds. Put simply, it is the sum of all the
losses between your transmitter and the satellite and back down again to a receiver. These
losses are reduced by any gain you have at the transmitter, satellite and receiver. So in
order to see if your signal is still going to be big enough to use after it has been sent to a
receiver via satellite, the gains and losses are effectively all added together and the result
will be the net gain or loss. A loss means your signal has got smaller, and a gain means it
has got bigger.
This is a very simplified explanation, but it gives you an idea of what the link budget is
trying to calculate. The following more in depth explanations talk you through each major
parameter. The maths behind all of this, and there is a lot of it, is not looked at here. Words
are much easier to understand than equations I think. Besides, maths was never my strong
point.
These parameters may seem scary or alien to you. Fear not, learning what they are is all
that is important at this stage.
The Transmit (Uplink) Terminal:

The transmit frequency is the RF radio frequency at which this carrier wave is transmitted.
Usually measured in GHz and sometimes MHz (multiplied by 1000).
The EIRP (Effective Isotropic Radiated Power) is a measure of the power which is required to
transmit the carrier signal so that it reaches the satellite.
The G/T is a measure of the performance of the transmitter and is based on the gain of the
transmitter (the amplifier, other parts of the uplink equipment chain and the antenna) and
the noise of the equipment in the uplink chain.
o

Just as in an audio system, a noisy amplifier is not as good as a quiet

amplifier.

The uplink chain is the series of stages the signal goes through before leaving
the antenna on its way to the satellite.

The Lat and Long is the location of the transmit terminal on the earth. Measured in degrees
the latitude and longitude is a global position reference used by the GPS system amongst
others.
The elevation is the angle up from horizontal (0 degrees) that the antenna must point at to
see the satellite in conjunction with azimuth.
The azimuth is the compass angle from true north that the antenna must be pointed at to
see the satellite in conjunction with elevation.
Path loss is the attenuation of the signal due to the inverse square law and the earths
atmosphere which reduces the size of your signal on its way to the satellite. Inverse square
law is explained here.
Losses are the attenuating factors within the transmitter system such as RF radio frequency
cable connectors and different types of RF cable.
Lastly the margin is used to allow for extra atmospheric attenuation due to localised rain or
snow at the transmitter location.
The Satellite:
Starting with the translation frequency, this is used by the satellite to convert the
transmitted signal to a new frequency so that the satellite doesn't retransmit the signal at
the same frequency as the transmitter on earth. If it did the two signals would interfere with
each other and the result would be unusable. Instead, the signal is moved, usually down in
frequency to a 'Receive Band'.
The translation frequency is the amount by which the transmitted signal is moved in MHz.
The EIRP is again the same for the satellite as it is for the transmit terminal. Not the same
value but the same explanation.

The G/T is also the same explanation for the satellite as it is for the transmit terminal.
The C/No Sat is the carrier signal level to noise level ratio of the transmitted signal when it
reaches the satellite. This is a measure of the signal reaching the satellite after travelling
through the atmosphere into space.
The Long is the longitude of the satellite. The satellite is usually located above the equator
at a latitude of 0 degrees. Thus, only the longitude is required to identify the satellites
location.
Ant Gain is the gain of the receive antenna on the satellite.
Transp Gain is the gain of the transponder on the satellite, this is in effect one channel of
many that are arranged in bands of frequency on the satellite. They can be independantly
controlled to increase or decrease the gain. They are sometimes even organised so that
they cover different areas of the earth through the use of different antenna systems.
Transp Gain is the gain of the satellite transponder.
Req'd EIRP is the amount of power the satellite has to use to get your signal back to earth.
% EIRP is the percentage of total satellite power available for all of the signals using it, that
it must devote to your signal.
Pwr @ Sat is the actual power of your signal transmitted from the satellite.
The Receive (Downlink) Terminal:
The Rx Freq is the receive frequency determined by the satellite translation freqency. the
receiver must be tuned to this frequency to pick up the signal from the satellite.
C/No is the carrier power to noise level ratio which is a measure of how much signal is
visible above the noise. In audio terms this would be exactly the same as music and hiss.
Less hiss more music.
G/T is the same as the transmitter G/T except it is now for the receive terminal.
Lat is the same as the transmitter Latitude except it is now for the receive terminal.
Long is the same as the transmitter Longitude except it is now for the receive terminal.
Elevation is the same as the transmitter Elevation except it is now for the receive terminal.
Azimuth is the same as the transmitter Azimuth except it is now for the receive terminal.
Path Loss is the same as the transmitter Path Loss except it is now for the receive terminal.
Losses is the same as the transmitter Losses except it is now for the receive terminal.

Margin is the same as the transmitter Margin except it is now for the receive terminal taking
into account any weather at the location of the receive terminal.
The Modem:
Data Rate is described as the amount of data you wish to transmit per second. This is
measured in bits. In a link budget the calculation is usually for just one direction so this is
the data rate in one direction.
Eb/No Req'd is the energy per bit to noise level ratio that is required to provide error free
data. This is usually specified by the modem manufacturer.
Link margin is the overall amount of attenuation in any part of the satellite link that can be
tolerated by the modems before they've lost lock. Losing lock means losing the signal
because it is too small and thus the satellite link is said to be lost, no data received.
Calculations:
With all this data and a lot of maths, the calculations can be made and the Link Margin
obtained, if the Link Margin is too small, extra losses may occur due to atmospheric
conditions which cause the link to fail. Rainfall when heavy can reduce received signals by
around half.
Balancing the budget is to end up with either 0 dB if no extra margin is required, or about 3
dB if some protection is needed.
For our free online satellite link budget calculators click here.
For free online tools and software, including link budget software, and our Azimuth and Elevation
calculator visit our Tools page.
Now we can move on to the real world practical tools for engineers. Spectrum Analysers and
how they help to visualise and measure the received signals.
Click Here for Next Tutorial

Spectrum Analysis Principles

Not everyone has access to a spectrum analyser. This is an expensive and used to be a
strangely heavy piece of equipment similar to an oscilloscope but that measures signals in
the frequency domain instead of the time domain on the horizontal axis.

The frequencies available to us range from DC (direct current) 0 Hz right upto visible light
and beyond. Within this great range of frequencies lies the radio frequency spectrum. Within
that lies our television and radio frequencies, and our satellite frequencies. It also contains
radar and communications for aircraft, police, fire and ambulance, military forces and
shipping to name but a few. This is a crowded part of the spectrum. These days nearly
everything is wireless and that means more transmissions.
Why do we need to analyse the frequency domain?
Well because RF (radio frequency) waves are invisible, the only way we can see them and
then measure them accurately is to analyse the spectrum of frequencies that they are in.
Just like an oscilloscope measures voltage against time.
To do this we use what is called a spectrum analyser. This peice of equipment is two things:
expensive and complicated. They work by plotting the amplitude of a signal against the
frequency. If you look at the picture above, you can see a signal in the middle of the
analyser screen.
The noise floor (level of background noise) is visible 2 squares up from the bottom and
covers all frequencies across the screen. The signal is 5 squares tall and about half a square
wide. This all tells us a lot of information about the signal. The reason is that the screen is
divided into squares just like an oscilloscope. Instead of time being on the horizontal axis, it
is frequency. Amplitude is on the vertical axis measured in dB.
If our screen is set to 10 GHz wide (span) and our center frequency (CF) is 6 GHz, then our
signal is at 6 GHz, the far left of the screen is 1 GHz and the far right is 11 GHz. The height
of our signal is 5 squares and if our screen is set to 5 dB per square (dB/Div) then our
signal is 25 dB above the noise floor. As you can see knowing all about our screen gives us
the information we need to measure our signal.
The noise floor can also be given a value and this allows us to reference the signal to the
noise floor. This then lets us see and measure the signals to detrmine if they are the correct

size and at the correct frequency. When compared with the expected results from the link
budget this is a very useful way of checking all is well.
Lets look at how we measure things.
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Spectrum Analysis in Practice

What is Spectrum Analysis
In order to see the signals that are being transmitted over a satellite, or indeed over any
radio frequency system, the most effective tool for visualising them is a spectrum analyser.
A spectrum analyser displays a graphical representation of small portion of radio frequency
spectrum. In a way this is similar to looking at a map of a country and zooming in to view a
town, street and a house within that street.
Center Frequency and Span
The display is made up of a 10 by 10 grid of squares just like an oscilloscope. The central
verticle line represents the center frequency and either side is 5 vertical lines of freqency
making up a span of frequencies. The horizontal lines represent amplitude in decibels. Each
square is given a value by the user such as 5 dB per square or division for amplitude and
say 10 MHz per division for frequency.
The user chooses these settings in order to see the signals of interest and then measure
them accurately. Other settings include Resolution Bandwidth and Video Bandwidth.
Resolution Bandwidth (RBW) is the width of a filter that is swept across the selected
Span of frequencies and this must be set to a value not less than the bandwidth of the
signal you wish to view or it will not be fully captured by the filter and this will result in the
signal being displayed inaccurately.
Video bandwidth (VBW) is used to reduce the amount of noise displayed so that signals
can be more easily seen and measured. A rule of thumb is to set the video bandwidth to a
value of 1/10th or 1/100th of the RBW. This makes measurements easier to calculate in
your head.

Reference Level
The display above shows a signal at a center frequency of 6.5 GHz within a span of
frequencies covering 20 MHz. The RBW is set to 10 KHz and the VBW is set to 1 KHz. The
reference level is set to -40 dBm and this is the level of the base line of the display, the
bottom line of the grid. The noise floor is 2 squares up from this and the dB/Div is set to 5
dB per division. Straight away we can see that the noise floor is at -30 dBm since the
bottom line is at -40 dBm and the noise is 2 squares higher at 5 dB/Div.
So now you can begin to see how these settings can be set to find and display a signal so
that it be measured. In our next Tutorial we will look at how we can measure values for
C/No and how that can be in turn used to verify a link budget.
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Spectrum Analyser Measurements

C/No and C/KT Measurements
C/No is the Carrier to Noise ratio sometimes known as C/KT because noise is measured as
KT or Boltzmanns constant K multiplied by the noise temperature T.
This picture shows a signal displayed on a spectrum analyser. The signal is at a frequency of
6.5 GHz as it is in the center of the screen and the center frequency of the analyser is 6.5
GHz.

Each square of the display is a division, the analyser is set to 5 dB/DIV which means that
each square is 5 dB.
The resolution bandwidth (RBW) is set to 10 KHz which is the width of the sweep filter
inside the analyser. This filter is swept across the frequency span defined by the SPAN of the
analyser, in this case 20 MHz. The RBW defines the amount of power captured by the
analyser and displayed on the screen as a signal. Having an RBW to narrow will not capture
all of the signal and will result in a less accurate display.
In order to measure the C/No we first multiply the Log of the RBW by 10.
10 x Log (10,000) = 40 dB
Next we add the size of the signal which is 5 squares or 25 dB.
40 dB + 25 dB = 65 dB. Now because of an inherent error using this method we must
subtract 2 dB.
65 dB - 2 dB = 63 dBc/Hz.
This gives us a fairly accurate C/No of 63 dB (carrier power) in 1 Hz bandwidth.
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Radio & Satellite Frequency Bands

If you hear Ku Band, C Band and L band being discussed and wonder what on earth people are talking
about then fear not, it isn't some special code. Radio & Satellite frequency bands are both Historic Radar
bands and ITU definitions and they are given letters to represent bands of frequencies.
Satellite Frequency Bands
L BAND 1 - 2 GHZ MOBILE SERVICES [ Mostly used for Intermediate (IF) frequencies ]
( 950 - 1750 MHz is the Tx Band and 950 - 1900 MHz is the Rx Band )

S BAND 2.5 - 4 GHZ MOBILE SERVICES

( Not used apart from satellite control links & HAM radio. )
C BAND 3.7 - 8 GHZ FIXED SERVICES
( 5.7-6.725 GHz is the Tx Band [Linear] and 3.625-4.2 GHz is the Rx Band [circular] also 5.85-6.425 GHz
is the Tx Band [cirular] )
X BAND 7.25 - 12 GHZ MILITARY
( 7.25 to 7.75 is the Rx Band and 7.9 to 8.4 is the Tx Band all circular )
Ku BAND 12 - 18 GHZ FIXED SERVICES
( 13.75 - 14.5 GHz is the linear Tx Band and 10.7 - 12.75 GHz is the linear Rx Band )
Ka BAND 18 - 30.4 GHZ FIXED SERVICES
( 27.5 - 31 GHz is the Tx Band [linear] and 19.7 - 20.2 GHz is the Rx Band [circular] also 29.5 - 30 GHz is
the Tx Band [circular] )
V BAND 37.5 - 50.2 GHZ FIXED SERVICES
( New - not widely used yet - maybe used instead of Ka Band in the future. )

Historic Radar Frequency Bands:

Band:

Frequency: (GHz)

Wavelength: (cm)

VHF

0.03 - 0.3

1000 - 100

UHF

0.3 - 1

100 - 30

1-2

30 - 15

2-4

15 - 7.5

4-8

7.5 - 3.75

8 - 12

3.75 - 2.5

Ku

12 - 18

2.5 - 1.6

18 - 27

1.6 - 1.1

Ka

27 - 40

1.1 - 0.75

MM

40 - 100

0.75 - 0.3

ITU Definitions for Frequency Bands:

Band:

Frequency: (Hz)

Wavelength: (km)

ELF

3 - 30

100,000 - 10,000

SLF

30 - 300

10,000 - 1000

ULF

300 - 3000

1000 - 100

VLF

3000 - 30k

100 - 10

LF

30k - 300k

10 - 1

MF

300k - 3M

1 - 0.1

HF

3M - 30M

0.1 - 0.01

VHF

30M - 300M

0.01 - 0.001

UHF

300M - 3G

0.001 - 0.0001

SHF

3G - 30G

0.0001 - 0.00001

EHF

30G - 300G

0.00001 - 0.000001

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EIRP & Power Measurements

This picture shows a power meter, transmitter and an antenna.

In order to connect a power meter to measure the power into the antenna, a coupler is
used.
Power meters measure small amounts of power and can not be connected to transmitters
directly unless a large load or attenuator is fitted in between the transmitter and the power
meter.
This can be seen in the diagram as a coupler with 40 dB of attenuation. The coupler works
by tapping off a small part of the power which is 40 dB lower than the power passing
through to the antenna.
The power meter will then read 40 dB lower and so by adding the 40 dB onto the power
meter reading the forward power (into the antenna) is measured as 56.7 dBm. The antenna
has a gain of 20 dBi and so the EIRP of this system is simply 56.7 + 20 = 76.7 dBm.
This is the Effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP) of the antenna. Now an Isotropic
reference antenna radiates, or transmits equal amounts of power or signal in all directions.
This is of little use and is a theoretical antenna. It has unity gain so what you put in you get
out.
So the EIRP is a comparative measurement which is used to compare every antenna to one
single reference, the Isotropic antenna. The measurement is calculated by adding the
antenna gain and forward power minus any loss.

The system would normally have a transmit filter before the antenna to limit the unwanted
sputious signals often generated by the transmitter. This filter gives us a loss. This loss can
be as much as 2 dB which we would subtract from the EIRP figure given above.
EIRP = Forward Power + Antenna Gain - Losses
Each power meter is calibrated to a particular frequency by the user and the coupler is also
calibrated to give an attenuation calibrated at a particlular frequency. These frequencies are
normally listed over a range which is determined by the manufacturer.
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Radio Frequency Radiation Hazards

Field Measurements
Radiation Hazards exist where ever any transmitter is radiating into any space. Just because
an antenna is outdoors does not diminish the amount of radiation leaving the antenna.
In order to measure the radiation out of an antenna we use an isotropic probe and
calibrated meter.

It's worth pointing out to those of you who don't know, that this type of radiation
isnot nuclear. It is radio frequency radiation (RF) and as such is totally different. The effect it
has on the human body is difficult to say as no long term studies have yet concluded any
meaningful data.
The safest way to work with RF radiation is to avoid it. Never stand in front of any radiating
antenna. Even a mobile phone radiates power and should not be over used. The generally
accepted view is that a small amount of exposure has no lasting effect and I have often
been told that a family could have a picnic every day for a year in front of a VSAT before
any damage would occur. I won't be testing that theory.
New technologies bring yet more radiation, such as Wireless Network and Bluetooth
transmissions. The power radiated depends on the distance from other transmissions as a

longer distance requires more power. Also, transmitting through walls and other objects
attenuates the signals requiring more power to make the link.
Measuring these signals is not straight forward as they are often bursts of transmissions
rather than constant signals so an average power is required to be measured over a long
period in order to determine the radiation level. Peak power signals are not as likely to
cause harm as the longer term average power levels because they may only be present for
fractions of a second.
A lot of paranoia has built up regarding such radiation as being dangerous. The truth is that
the risk is unknown but is unlikely to be as dangerous as some might say it is.
For years there has been a risk from overhead power lines, radio and
television transmitters, radar, satellite, digital terrestial links, microwave ovens and now
mobile phones and wireless networks, even bluetooth. All of these things are sorrounding us
in radiation.
Remain behind satellite antennas and minimise your exposure to the other transmissions
and there is hopefully no problem, use your
common sense. Health and safety has led to
common sense being ignored in some cases.
However, just to make it clear that we
encourage safety we have created a sign which
is free to download and stick on or around your
antenna.
This will warn the public or anyone near the
antenna that there is the invisible risk of
harmful exposure to RF radiation if they stand
in front of the Transmitting antenna.
Click Here to download the PDF format RF

Radiation Hazard sign.

Measurements
Using our probe, on a long stick if necessary,
place the head of the probe at the focal point
of the antenna and slowly move it away from
the antenna along the axis of the beam. The
highest reading on the meter is the maximum
power per cm squared. The recommended safe
level is regularly revised. I recommend 1 mW
per cm squared or less to be on the safe side.
When I started in this industry the safe level was 10 mW and walking in front of antennas
was common place. Since then things have changed and fences and warning signs are the
order of the day.

For a particular antenna the power will fall below the safe level after an unsafe distance has
been exceeded. This means that a secure area can be set up to prevent access inside this
distance from the front of the antenna.
For satellite antennae that point skyward this distance is reduced because the beam is
travelling up and away from the ground. The antennae that point along the ground such as
line of sight antenna do not have this reduction.
Radars are often overlooked in this matter and infact use much higher power levels. They
are usually pulse power systems transmitting very high power levels for only a fraction of a
second but repeatedly. These systems are still dangerous and should not be approached too
closley.
Precautions
The safest thing to do is make sure that no body has physical access to the immediate fron
of the antenna no matter which way it points. Use a physical barrier to prevent this access
upto a distance from the antenna determined by a radiation hazard inspector with his meter
and probe.
These distances can be as much as 30 m from the antenna. How many times have you seen
that done? Every transmitting terminal should have a certificate which not only details the
type of transmitter, operating frequency and power but also the safe distance that should be
kept in front of the antenna.
Fence off the area and use warning signs then there is no risk to anyone.
Here is some more information from the FCC:
Source: http://www.fcc.gov/oet/rfsafety/rf-faqs.html
HOW SAFE ARE SATELLITE ANTENNAS?

Since satellite-earth station antennas are directed toward satellites above the earth,
transmitted beams point skyward at various angles of inclination, depending on the
particular satellite being used. Because of the longer distances involved, power levels used
to transmit these signals are relatively large when compared, for example, to those used by
the terrestrial microwave point-to-point antennas discussed above. However, as with
microwave antennas, the beams used for transmitting earth-to-satellite signals are
concentrated and highly directional, similar to the beam from a flashlight. In addition,
public access would normally be restricted at uplink sites where exposure levels could
approach or exceed safe limits.
Although many satellite-earth stations are "fixed" sites, portable uplink antennas are also
used, e.g., for electronic news gathering. These antennas can be deployed in various
locations. Therefore, precautions may be necessary, such as temporarily restricting access
in the vicinity of the antenna, to avoid exposure to the main transmitted beam. In general,
however, it is unlikely that a transmitting earth station antenna would routinely expose
members of the public to potentially harmful levels of RF energy.
http://www.fcc.gov/oet/rfsafety/rf-faqs.html

UK and European Information is available

here:http://www.hse.gov.uk/radiation/nonionising/electro.htm
Click Here to download the PDF format RF Radiation Hazard sign - free from Satcoms UK.
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Base Band Digital Communications

Base band is the lowest band of communications; we may have Ku Band Radio Frequency (RF) at the top, L Band
Intermediate Frequency (IF) in the middle at the modem and then finally Base Band. The actual data that is being
transported via satellite arrives at its intended destination from the modem.
Asynchronous RS-232 Communications
Asynchronous means the transmission of data without the use of an external clock signal. The timing required to
recover the data from the communication link is encoded within the data link. Asynchronous communications allow for
the transmitter and receiver clock generators to not be exactly synchronised or aligned.
If we assume the data being sent is text based characters then the following will make more sense:
Start Bits:
Asynchronous data is framed by use of start bits, character bits, parity bits and stop bits. This allows for receiver
synchronisation to extract the data in the correct format.
[ Start Bit ] [ Data Bits ] [ Parity ] [ Stop Bits ]
1

The start bit is followed by 8 data bits, no parity bit and one stop bit, for a 10-bit frame.
These days there is nearly always 1 start bit and so it is often not specified.
Data Bits:
The data bits are the number of bits per character. 7 bit characters are now rarely used and more often than not you will
find that 8 bit characters are used. Both 7 bit and 8 bit characters are common in the American Standard Code for
Information Interchange (ASCII), format.
Parity Bits:
A parity bit is added to ensure that the number of bits in a given set of bits is always even or odd. That is the number of
bits with a value of 1. This is a simple form of error checking. 01101110 have 5 bits with a value of 1. If the parity is
even the parity bit will also be 1.
If the parity bit is not used it may be called 'mark', where the parity is always 1, or 'space' where the parity is always 0.

Stop Bits:
The minimum stop bit quantity can be more than 1. Some systems required 2 stop bits and some require 1.5 stop bits.
Equipment that don't support fractional stop bits quantities can be set to 2 stop bits for transmit and 1 stop bit for
receive.
Baud Rate or Speed:

Rather than go into the history and complexity of baud rates here, see the Wikipedia
page:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baud_rate
Synchronous Data Links:
RS-232, RS-422, RS-423, X-21, RS-530, V11, V24, V35 and G703 are all examples of synchronous communications
standards.
All this means is that they have both data and clock for both transmit and receive lines. Some of these standards are
balanced and others are single ended (unbalanced). These differences in the interfaces are discussed later.
---------o Tx Data
---------o Tx Clock
---------o Rx Data
---------o Rx Clock
---------o Signal Ground
In its simplest form this is a synchronous un-balanced interface.
The transmit data has an associated transmit clock which is used to clock the data in or out of the sending device and
the edges of the clock are aligned or synchronised with the edges of the data.
At the receiving device the received data is clocked in or out using the receive clock which is also aligned with the edges
of the receive data.
The complexities arise with the directions of the clocks and data which are dependant on the devices in terms of DCE or
DTE interfaces. DCE stands for Data Communications Equipment and DTE stands for Data Terminal Equipment. A
modem is usually a DCE whereas a computer is usually a DTE. A DCE is normally connected straight to a DTE using pin
to pin straight cabling. This means that the Tx Data from the DTE is connected to the Tx Data on the DCE because on
the DTE this is an ouput and on the DCE it is an input.
Connecting two computers via a modem link would involve a DTE (computer #1) connected to a DCE (modem #1), then
over a link to the DCE (modem #2) which is connected to the other DTE (computer #2).
Data and Clocking:
DCE data and clocks are always received on the transmit lines and transmitted on the receive lines. This is because the
interfaces are always referenced to the DTE.
This is why a DTE to DCE interface cable is a straight pin to pin cable. A DCE to DCE or a DTE to DTE is a crossover
cable because the DTE interfaces are expecting to receive the transmit data and clocks on the receive data and clock
inputs and visa versa. The same goes for the DCE interfaces except they are expecting the receive data and clocks on
the transmit data and clock inputs and visa versa.
A further complexity comes from clocking schemes:
Network Timing:
In standard point to point communications, that do not involve satellite links but are effectively over copper wires end to
end, the interfaces are straight forward.
Data and clocks are sent from end A to end B and visa versa. There is little or no delay in the arrival of data and clock.

If a communications network (such as the BT network) is in-between end A and end B then the clocking scheme can
become interesting. The network sometimes supplies both the transmit and receive clocks. It is a DCE. Data is clocked
into it and out of it using the same clock. This clock is derived from a very stable atomic clock. There is no better clock.
End A and end B must use the clock to transmit the data and receive the data. For this reason most equipment has
inputs for both transmit and receive clocks. This equipment may also be a DCE and that means that it is to be connected
using a crossover cabling method as DCE to DCE.
END A
Tx Data o---------<--------o Rx
Rx Data o--------->--------o Tx
[
[
[
Tx Clock o---------<--------o Rx
Rx Clock o---------<--------o Tx

Data
Data

Tx Data o---------<--------o Rx Data

Rx Data o---------<--------o Tx Data
]
NETWORK CLOUD
]
]
Clock
Tx Clock o--------->--------o Rx Clock
Clock
Rx Clock o--------->--------o Tx Clock

END B

As you can see from this diagram the network (sometimes known as a cloud) is providing timing for both ends. This is
ok as it is the same clock so all the data is being clocked in and out at the same time. This is synchronised or
'synchronous' data.
If you now put a satellite link at one end between the cloud and the user then there is a problem. The network clock has
to be sent over the satellite link.
Satellite Modem Clocks:
END A
Tx Data o--------->--------o Tx Data
Tx Data o---------<--------o Tx Data
Rx Data o---------<--------o Rx Data
Rx Data o--------->--------o Rx Data
[
]
[
SATELLITE LINK
]
[
]
Tx Clock o--------->--------o Tx Clock
Tx Clock o---------<--------o Tx Clock
Rx Clock o---------<--------o Rx Clock
Rx Clock o--------->--------o Rx Clock

END B

The clocks from end A need to arrive at end B with the data. This does not always happen because the end A clock is
used by the satellite modem to clock the data in to the modem. At end B the modem uses either a recovered clock
derived from the received demodulated data on the satellite link or generated internally by the modem, to clock out the
data which is then hopefully in sync with the received data and this is fed to the receiver at end B.
If end B wants to supply the clock to the modem or rather the network clock to clock the data out from the modem then
the modem will need to be able to use the clock from the network for both transmit and receive clocks.
Satellite Buffers:
If there is a buffer in between the modem and end B then the clock from end B is used to clock out the data from the
buffer and the modem clocks its data into the buffer using its own clock. The buffer then takes up any differences and
hopefully copes with the situation. Major differences between the clocks could result in the buffer overflowing and
massive data errors reducing the availability of the link.
Thankfully, these days the satellite buffer is built-in to the modem which is an increasingly sophisticated piece of
equipment. It may provide a host of clocking options and buffer settings to match and interface with the network.
Next we will look at the different standards in more detail.

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Data Communications - Data Interface Standards

Data Interface Standards
There are a variety of data communications standards which can leave you totally confused.
Fear not, they are actually fairly simple and easy to understand.
Each standard defines the pinout (pin number and designation), connector type, voltage
levels on each pin, and the maximum data rate and maximum distance of cable run.
EIA-232 (CCITT V.24) / RS-232
This specifies a 25 pin D Type connector as a standard unbalanced (single wire signals)
interface for DCE (Data Communication Equipment - Modem) or DTE (Data Termination
Equipment - PC Comm Port or User Equipment).
EIA-423 / RS-423
This specifies a 25 pin D Type connector as a standard unbalanced synchronous (data and
clocks) interface for DCE (Data Communication Equipment - Modem) or DTE (Data
Termination Equipment - User Equipment). This interface is almost identical to RS-422 but
for RS-423 is unbalanced. Very similar to RS-232 but can drive longer cable lengths at higher
data rates.
EIA-422 (CCITT V.11) / RS-422
This specifies a 37 pin D Type connector as a standard balanced (signal pairs) synchronous
(data and clocks) interface for DCE (Data Communication Equipment - Modem) or DTE
(Data Termination Equipment - User Equipment). This interface can also be on 9 way D
Types and 15 way D Types.
EIA-530 (CCITT ) / RS-530
This specifies a 25 pin D Type connector as a standard balanced (signal pairs) synchronous
(data and clocks) interface for DCE (Data Communication Equipment - Modem) or DTE
(Data Termination Equipment - User Equipment). This interface is identical to RS-422 but

uses a 25 Way connector and is also used for RS-423 which is the same interface again but
unbalanced.
V.35 / EIA-449 / RS-449
This specifies a 37 pin D Type connector as a standard balanced (signal pairs) synchronous
(data and clocks) interface for DCE (Data Communication Equipment - Modem) or DTE
(Data Termination Equipment - User Equipment).
X-21
This specifies a 15 pin D Type connector as a standard balanced (signal pairs) synchronous
(data and clocks) interface for DCE (Data Communication Equipment - Modem) or DTE
(Data Termination Equipment - User Equipment). This interface has only one clock normally
but the full pinout caters for two.
Next we will have a look at the pin outs...
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Data Communications - Data Interface Pin Outs

Pinout Tables
The following Pinout tables are correct to the best of our knowledge and are reviewed
regularly. Always double check pin outs against a second source.
RS-232, RS-422, RS-530, RS-423, RS-449, AUI, RJ-45, EIA Standards and X-21 Pinouts.

A pin out is the list of pins for a connector used with a particular interface such asRS-232.
The pin out lists the pins and describes the function of each pin.
RS-232 Pinout ( 25 Way D Type ) Asynchronous
Pin

Description

2
3
4
5
6

Tx Data
Rx Data
RTS
CTS
DSR
Signal
ground
DCD
DTR
RI

7
8
20
22

EIA-232 / RS-232 Pinout ( Mainly 25 Way D Type )

Synchronous

Connector
DTE DCE Notes
Type
25 Way D-Type Out In
In Out
Out In
RTS/CTS
In Out RTS/CTS
In Out DSR/DTR

In Out
Out In
In Out

DSR/DTR

Pin
2
3
7
15
17
24

Description
Tx Data
Rx Data
Signal ground
Tx Clock
Rx Clock
Tx Clock

Connector Type
25 Way D-Type

DTE
Data Out
Data In

DCE
Data In
Data Out

Clock Out
Clock Out
Clock In

Clock In
Clock In
Clock Out

Notes

EIA-232 / RS-232 Pinout ( PC Comm Port - 9 Way D Type )

Asynchronous
Pin Description

Connector Type

DTE(PC)

DCE

DCD Data Carrier Detect

9 Way D-Type Male

Data In

Data Out

Rx Data

Data In

Data Out

Tx Data

Data Out

Data In

DTR Data Terminal Ready

Data Out

Data In

Signal Ground

6
7
8
9

DSR Data Set Ready

RTS Request to Send
CTS Clear to Send
RI Ring Indicator

Data In
Data Out
Data In
Data In

Data Out
Data In
Data Out
Data Out

Notes

EIA-449 / V.35 Pinout ( Mainly 37 Way D Type or Cannon )

Synchronous
Pin Description

Designation / Label

DCE

DTE

In

Out

Shield

Signal Rate Indicator

N/C

Send Data (A)

SD-

Data In

Data Out

Send Timing (A)

ST-

Clock Out

Clock In

Receive Data (A)

RD-

Data Out

Data In

Request To Send (A)

RS-

In

Out

Receive Timing (A)

RT-

Clock Out

Clock In

Clear To Send (A)

CS-

Out

In

10 Local Loopback

LL

In

Out

11 Data Mode (A)

DM-

Out

In

12 Terminal Ready (A)

TR-

In

Out

13 Receiver Ready (A)

RR-

Out

In

14 Remote Loopback

RL

In

Out

15 Incoming Call

IC

Out

In

Notes

Signal Freq./Sig. Rate

Select.
17 Terminal Timing (A)
16

SF/SR+

Out/In

In/Out

TT-

Clock In

Clock Out

18 Test Mode (A)

TM-

Out

In

19 Signal Ground

SG

20 Receive Common

RC

21 N/C
22 Send Data (B)

SD+

Data In

Data Out

23 Send Timing (B)

ST+

Clock Out

Clock In

24 Receive Data (B)

RD+

Data Out

Data In

25 Request To Send (B)

RS+

In

Out

26 Receive Timing (B)

RT+

Clock Out

Clock In

27 Clear To Send (B)

CS+

Out

In

28 Terminal In Service

IS

In

Out

29 Data Mode (B)

DM+

Out

In

30 Terminal Ready (B)

TR+

In

Out

31 Receiver Ready (B)

RR+

Out

In

32 Select Standby

SS

Out

In

33 Signal Quality

SQ

Out

In

34 New Signal

NS

In

Out

35 Terminal Timing (B)

TT+

Clock In

Clock Out

36 Standby Indicator

SB

Out

In

37 Send Common

SC

EIA-423 / RS-423 Pinout

Synchronous
Pin Description

Connector Type

DTE

DCE

2
3

Tx Data
Rx Data

25 Way D-Type

Data Out
Data In

Data In
Data Out

Signal ground

Clock Out
Clock Out
Clock In

Clock In
Clock In
Clock Out

DCE
Data In
Data In
Data Out

DTE
Data Out
Data Out
Data In

Notes

(Can be a variety of
Connectors)

15 Tx Clock
17 Rx Clock
24 Tx Clock

X-21 Pinout
Synchronous
Pin
2
9
4

Description
Tx Data A
Tx Data B
Rx Data A

Connector Type
15 Way D-Type

Notes

11
8
6
13

Rx Data B
Signal ground
Tx Clock A
Tx Clock B

Control A

Data Out
Clock Out
Clock Out

Clock In
Clock In
Handshake
Handshake In
Often
Out
Handshake
Handshake In
Looped
Out
Handshake
Handshake In 3 - 5
Out
Handshake
Handshake In 10 - 12
Out

10 Control B
5

Data In

Indication A

12 Indication B

V.35 / EIA-442 / RS-442 Pinout (See also EIA-449 Above)

Synchronous
Pin
4
22
6
24
19
17
35
8
26
5

Description
Tx Data A
Tx Data B
Rx Data A
Rx Data B
Signal ground
Tx Clock A
Tx Clock B
Rx Clock A
Rx Clock B
Tx Clock A

Connector Type
37 Way D Type

23 Tx Clock B

DTE
Data Out
Data Out
Data In
Data In

DCE
Data In
Data In
Data Out
Data Out

Clock Out
Clock Out
Clock In
Clock In
Clock In

Clock In
Clock In
Clock Out
Clock Out
Clock Out

Clock In

Clock Out

DTE
Data Out
Data Out
Data In
Data In

DCE
Data In
Data In
Data Out
Data Out

Clock In
Clock In
Clock In
Clock In
Clock Out

Clock Out
Clock Out
Clock Out
Clock Out
Clock In

Clock Out

Clock In

Notes

EIA-530 / RS-530 Pinout

Synchronous
Pin
2
14
3
16
7
15
12
17
9
24

Description
Tx Data A
Tx Data B
Rx Data A
Rx Data B
Signal ground
Tx Clock A
Tx Clock B
Rx Clock A
Rx Clock B
Tx Clock A

11 Tx Clock B

Connector Type
25 Way D Type

Ethernet Transceiver (AUI) Interface - 15 Pin Connector Pinout

Notes

Pin
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

Signal
Control In (Shield)
Control In
Transmit Data
Receive Data (Shield)
Receive Data
Voltage
Control Out
Control Out (Shield)

Pin
9
10
11
12
13
14
15

Signal
Control In (Return)
Transmit Data (Return)
Transmit Data (Shield)
Receive Data (Return)
Voltage Plus
Voltage (Shield)
Control Out

RJ-45 Ethernet 10Base-T Pinout

Pin

Ethernet 10BASET

Cross-Over

Standard

Transmit +

White with green stripe

White with orange stripe

Transmit -

Green with white stripe

Orange with white stripe

Receive +

White with orange stripe

White with green stripe

N/A

Blue with white stripe

Blue with white stripe

N/A

White with blue stripe

White with blue stripe

Receive -

Orange with white stripe

Green with white stripe

N/A

White with brown stripe

White with brown stripe

N/A

Brown with white stripe

Brown with white stripe

Note that with ethernet cables, connecting a PC or another ethernet device to a hub, switch or router
requires a standard cable. Connecting two devices of the same type such as a PC to a PC or a hub to a
switch requires the crossover cable. Some hubs and switches have a dedicated or switchable 'Uplink'
port which can be used with a standard cable.
Next we will look at testing Data Communications.

Data Communications - Test Sets

In any satcom system, there is a need to test the path of the data from end to end to ensure that the bit
error rate (the amount of errors) is minimal or error free.

Test Sets
We use test sets to send test data across the system where it can either be received and analysed by a
compatible test set for one way testing or looped round and sent back to be received and analysed by the
same test set.
What the test sets are looking for is errors in the received data. Since they know what was originally
transmitted they can accurately monitor errors in transmission.
Bit Error Rate
If you have sent 1,000,000 bits of data and receive 1 error then that is an error rate of 1 in 1 million bits or
1 x E-6. Acceptable error rates start from 1 error in 10 million bits or 1 x E-7. To measure this kind of error
rate accurately the tests have to run over time to build up a statistical picture of the errors. 1 error in 24
hours and then 2 million in the next 10 minutes is not a good link but for the first 24 hours is was a superb
link.
Eb/No & Bit Error Rates
Eb/N0 is a specification of the satellite modem which states the size of the signal for a given data rate to
give a specified bit error rate. It comprises of the energy per bit in a 1 Hz bandwidth.
In order to calculate this we need the data rate.
Data Rate = 64 kBps
We simply subtract 10 Log this data rate from the measured C/N0 to give the Eb/N0.
Eb/N0 = 54 dBc/Hz - 48 = 6
Thus, to find the required C/N0 we simply rearrange:
C/N0 = 10 Log Data Rate + Eb/No required

C/N0 = 48 + 6 = 54 dBc/Hz
The modem manufacturer states the Eb/N0 for a given data rate so you can easily know the required C/N0
to acheive this.
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