UNIVERSITY OF THE EAST – CALOOCAN

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

REFLECTION OF MICROWAVES
Experiment #4

NEC 514 – 2EC

Transmission Media and Antenna System Laboratory

Giovanni Mari H. Lorcha

20141127540

Engr. Romel Ramos

August 9, 2019
 INTRODUCTION
Microwaves are unidirectional. When an antenna transmits microwaves, they can be narrowly
focused. This means that the sending and receiving antennas need to be aligned. The unidirectional
property has an obvious advantage. A pair of antennas can be aligned without interfering with another
pair of aligned antennas. Microwave propagation is line-of-sight. Since the towers with the mounted
antennas need to be in direct of each other, towers that are far apart need to be very tall. The curvature
of the earth as well as other blocking obstacles do not allow two short towers to communicate using
microwaves. Repeaters are often needed for long distance communication. Very high-frequency
microwave cannot penetrate walls. This characteristic can be a disadvantage if receivers are inside
buildings. The microwave band is relatively wide. Therefore wider sub bands can be assigned and a high
data rate is possible. Use of certain portions of the band requires permission from authorities.

Hundreds of satellites circle the earth and each one has a specific task - to exchange information
many millions of times a day between itself and microwave transmitters and receivers on the earth.
Satellites are used for satellite TV, data transmission, global positioning, transmission of infra-red and
visible light pictures for weather forecasting, as well as forming part of the world wide telephone
network.

Mobile telephones use microwaves to transmit and receive from the local hub. This is
sometimes called cellular mobile radio telephony. RADAR (Radio Detection And Ranging) is used by
shipping in our busy sea lanes; aircraft and air traffic control use Radar to determine position
information. Radar is also used for military purposes (for which it was first developed during World War
II).

Meteorologists use Radar Systems and Satellite Communications to detect and track weather
systems around the globe & also used in aeronautics to determine the altitude of aircraft. This works in
a similar way to Radar by measuring the time taken for a transmitted pulse to be reflected back. 
Microwaves are electromagnetic waves that have very high frequencies and very short wavelengths. The
phenomena of microwaves arc as old as the early history of radio, yet the number of potential uses for
microwaves is vast.
 EXPERIMENT NO. 4
REFLECTION OF MICROWAVES
OBJECTIVE:
1. Define the conditions necessary for the reflection of microwaves.
2. Relate the concept of microwave reflection to specific materials.
3. Investigate the reflection of microwave signals.

INTRODUCTION:
Microwave Reflection
As we already know, energy is transmitted by waves. Energy transmitted in wave form is
reflected off certain surfaces. For example, the light waves bouncing off you are reflected when
you stand in front of the monitor; so you see your own reflection in the mirror.
Some materials reflect microwaves better than others. For example, the most metals
reflect well, whereas materials such as wood and plastic are poorer reflectors of microwaves.
If a light beam were shone down a hollow, shiny metal tube, the light would bounce off the
inner sides of the tube and travel down the tube. You would then see the light emerging at the
other end of the tube. When microwaves are transmitted into space, they are free to spread across
wide area. This means that a lot of energy can be lost.
One way of ensuring minimum loss of energy in microwave transmission is to send the
microwaves down a metal tube. They will bounce off the inner sides of the tube and so will reach

their required destination with a minimum amount of energy loss, as in Figure 20. These metal
tubes are called waveguides.

Communications engineers need to understand how microwaves are reflected in this way,
in order to maintain communication lines.
EQUIPMENT AND MATERIALS NEEDED:
Microwave Communications Base
Microwave Transmitter
Microwave Receiver
1 narrow metal plate
1 plastic sheet
1 hardboard sheet
1 wide metal plate
1 support bracket with pegs

PROCEDURES:
a. Locate the Transmitter in position A and the Receiver in position B. Make sure the power
leads are connected correctly.
b. Assemble the narrow metal plate (approximately 3.5cm wide) into the support stand, as in
Figure 21.

a. Locate the metal plate in position SAT 3 on the base board. Take care to ensure the metal
plate is vertical.
b. Adjust the angle of the Transmitter and the Receiver antennas so that they are both
directed at SAT 3.
c. Switch on the power.
d. The Gain dial on the transmitter should be adjusted so that the tone produces a
Transmitter meter reading of 5.
e. Set the Receiver Gain switch to LOW. Set the Receiver Gain dial to its mid position. Make
sure the loud speaker is OFF and the receiver is switched to DEMODULATOR.
 f. Make any fine adjustments necessary to the Transmitter and Receiver antenna positions,
in order to get a maximum reading at the Receiver signal strength meter. It may be
necessary to adjust the Receiver Gain if the signal is too low or too high.
Figure 22 below shows the system you have set up. For the maximum reflection, the
angle incidence must equal to the angle of reflection.

A. Even though the Receiver is not directly facing the Transmitter, a signal is being
received. Why do you think this is?
The microwaves are being reflected by the plate.
B. Find the angle to which you have set the Transmitter antenna, in order that the
reflected microwaves signal is received by the Receiver.
Transmitter Angle: 50˚
C. What should happen if the metal plate were moved slightly so that the angle of
incidence was no longer the same as the angle of reflection?
The strength of the received signal would decrease.
The width of the reflector affects the amount of microwaves reflected. To prove this:
a. With the narrow metal plate still SAT 3 position, set the Receiver gain so that the Receiver
signal strength meter reads approximately 1.
b. Remove the narrow metal plate from its stand and replace it with the wide metal plate.
c. Locate the wide metal plate in the SAT 3 position.
Record the Receiver meter reading
Reading: 5
D. What happened to the reading on the Receiver signal strength meter when the
narrow metal was replaced with the wide metal plate?
It increased greatly.
Try this experiment, which shows that some materials reflect microwaves better than
others:
a. Adjust the Receiver gain so that the signal strength meter reads 5 with the wide metal
plate being used as the reflector.
b. Remove the wide metal plate from its stand and replace it with the plastic sheet.
c. Locate the plastic sheet in the SAT 3 position.
Record the Receiver meter reading:
Reading: 3.5
d. Remove the plastic sheet from its stand and replace it with the hardboard sheet.
e. Locate the hardboard sheet in the SAT 3 position.
Record the Receiver meter reading in your student workbook.
Reading: Smooth side = 4.5; Rough Side = 3.5
Switch the power off.
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION
In this experiment we are to define the conditions necessary for the reflection of
microwaves and relate the concept of microwave reflection to specific materials. Locate the metal
plate in position SAT 3 on the base board. Take care to ensure the metal plate is vertical.
To start the experiment Adjust the angle of the Transmitter and the Receiver antennas so that
they are both directed at SAT 3.The Gain dial on the transmitter should be adjusted so that the
tone produces a Transmitter meter reading of 5. Set the Receiver Gain switch to LOW. Set the
Receiver Gain dial to its mid position. We made sure the loud speaker is ff and the receiver is
switched to demodulator.

When the angle of the transmitter and receiver is 50 degrees then we get the maximum
reading at the receiver signal strength meter. We use different kinds of materials to use like
plastic sheet that gives a signal strength roughly around 0.75, as for the wooden board we receive
a signal strength of 4.25, for that narrow plate we receive around 3.5 and when we replaced it
with a wide metal plate we receive an astonishing receiver signal strength meter of 5.
 CONCLUSION/RECOMMENDATION
In this experiment #4, Reflection when all the plates are at the same location (i.e. SAT 3
position). Types of reflector Gain of the receive signal Plastic sheet 0.75 Hard board 3.5 Wide metal plate
5.00 Narrow metal plate 3.5. When the angle of the transmitter and receiver is 50 degrees then we get
the maximum reading at the receiver signal strength meter. Though, the receiver is not directly facing
the transmitter, a signal is being received because the microwaves are being reflected by the metal
plate. From this observation it is seen that, the gain of the receive signal depends on the type of
reflector. For wide metal plate the gain is maximum otherwise it is minimum. If the angle between the
reflection and incidence is same then we get maximum reflection. When the metal plate is moved
slightly then the strength of the received signal would decrease (i.e. the gain would decrease) because
the angle between the incidence and reflection are different. A good reflector depends on its materials
and size. In this experiment wide metal plate reflects microwave better than narrow metal plate,
hardboard and plastic wood. Since we met the objectives of this experiment I therefor conclude this
experiment was a success.
 GLOSSARY

MICROWAVE a type of wave that are sandwiched between radio waves and infrared
radiation on the electromagnetic spectrum.

ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION waves (or their quanta, photons) of the electromagnetic field,
propagating (radiating) through space, carrying electromagnetic radiant
energy.

LINE OF SIGHT PROPAGATION is a characteristic of electromagnetic radiation or acoustic wave

propagation which means waves travel in a direct path from the source
to the receiver

OSCILLOSCOPE laboratory instrument commonly used to display and analyze the

waveform of electronic signals.

OMNIDIRECTIONAL ANTENNA is a class of antenna which radiates equal radio power in all directions
perpendicular to an axis (azimuthal directions), with power varying with
angle to the axis (elevation angle), declining to zero on the axis.

TRANSMISSION LINE is a specialized cable or other structure designed to conduct alternating

current of radio frequency, that is, currents with a frequency high
enough that their wave nature must be taken into account.
REFERENCES
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microwave.html

http://www.sabah.edu.my/cc044.wcdd/Microwave-reflection.html

http://www.sabah.edu.my/cc044.wcdd/the-reflection&refraction-microwave.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/reflection-microwave.html

https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/52310/What-microwave.html

https://www.scribd.com/document/357396888/principleofmicrowave-docx

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYQLzYXyLBo4JDhwbYVNxYQ