Field measurements of a prototype slow frequency hop personal communication system

A 500 kbps, high-mobility, personal communication system (PCS) employing slow frequency hopping (SFH) and time-division multiple access is investigated for the 1.8 GHz band. In order to verify the concepts which drove the system design and to characterize the SFH propagation environment, extensive field tests have been conducted with the prototype units. This paper summarizes the findings and draws conclusions on the effectiveness of the space, frequency, and time diversity. Results are presented for the forward and reverse transmission paths. On the forward path, both mobile and portable receiver antenna configurations have been examined. The complementary set of diversity techniques incorporated within the system has been found to allow robust operation even on the severe multipath fading channels characteristic of the expanded PCS propagation environment