A low elevation angle propagation measurement of 1.5-GHz satellite signals in the Gulf of Mexico

Author

Fang, D.J. ; Tseng, Fan-Tung ; Calvit, Thomas O.

Author_Institution

Propagation Studies Dept., Communications Satellite Corp., COMSAT Labs., Clarksburg, MD, USA

Volume

30

Issue

1

fYear

1982

fDate

1/1/1982 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

10

Lastpage

15

Abstract

The current maritime L-band (1.5-GHz) mobile satellite communications service (MARISAT) is not available for communications paths below $10\\deg$ elevation angles because fading and scintillation at low elevation angles introduce signal degradations. These are attributable to scattering, diffraction, and multipath effects arising from ionospheric, tropospheric, and/or sea surface irregularities. To obtain a better understanding of the above-mentioned signal degradations, propagation measurements were made in the Gulf of Mexico with a MARISAT terminal on board the SS Mobil Aero for elevation angles from ship to satellite in the $15\\deg$ to $0\\deg$ range. Results indicated that mean signal strength was severely attenuated with remarkably increased fluctuations at elevation angles below $5\\deg$ . Characterizations of signal strength and peak-to-peak fluctuations of the L-band signal as a function of elevation angles are presented.

Keywords

Marine-vehicle communication; Satellite communication, propagation; Sea surface electromagnetic scattering; UHF radio propagation meteorological factors; UHF radio propagation terrain factors; Degradation; Diffraction; Fading; Fluctuations; Goniometers; L-band; Mobile communication; Satellite communication; Scattering; Sea measurements;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Antennas and Propagation, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-926X

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/TAP.1982.1142740

Filename

1142740