Developmental VHF/UHF Radio Communications Techniques for Submersible Systems

Ever since man has explored hydrospace, he has been plagued with the problem of communications with other men,both within the hydrosphere and external to it. The advent of deep diving suhmersibles and high speed submarines has further complicated the communications problem with depth and speed para- meters. Present-day communication trends and techniques are utilizing VHF and UHF for communications between ships and aircraft, with long range links being done with geosychronous satellites. In addition, maritime navigational satellites operate in the VHF and UHF spectrum. Unfortunately, VHF and UHF radio waves are highly attenuated by seawater and penetrate only to depths of inches. The problem, then, is to develop radio communications between deeply submerged systems,moving or stationary, and other ships, aircraft, or satellites. This paper will describe some of the techniques used to achieve the desired results.