NTIA-REPORT-78-5

Measuring Characteristics of

Microwave Mobile Channels

R. W. Hubbard

R. F. Linfield

W. J. Hartman

u.s. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Juanita M. Kreps, Secretary

Henry Geller, Assistant Secretary-Designate

for Communications and Information

June 1978

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

TABLE. OF .CONT.ENTS

LIST OF FIGURES

LIST OF TABLES

ABSTRACT

It'JTRODUCTION

TFIE ITS CHANNEL PROBE

MEASUREMENT PROCEDURES

ANALYSIS PROCEDURES

ANALYSIS RESULTS

5.1 System Calibration

5.2· Measurements in Mixed Residential Areas

5 ..3 Downtown Business Area

5.4 Major Arteries Through the City

5.5 Summary Remarks

C()NCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE STUDIES

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

REFERENCES

iii

iv

vi

1

1

3

10

12

17

24

28

34

36

46

46

48

49
Figure 2.

Figure 3.

Figure 4.

Figure 5.

Figure 6.

Figure 7.

Figure 8.

Figure 9.

Figure 10.

Figure 11.

LIST OF FIGURES

Block diagram of the ITS thannel Probe

transmitter.

Block diagram of the ITS Channel Probe

receiver. Output signals are recorded

on paper strip char~ and/or magnetic tape.

The ITS PN Channel Probe.

Three time scales for the same run of

data, each showing different details of

the impulse response; the delay between

the direct and largest reflected pulse

is 400 ns.

Top trace: a sample showing general

delayed returns between 25 and 45ns

after the direct response. Middle and

bottom trace: a-sample, with the van

stopped showing a delay of 870 ns. Note

the lac~ of distortion in the impulses.

Samples of impulse responses with the

van moving. The delay times are as

shown.

Samples of impulse responses with the

van moving. The middle trace shows a

sample with the direct ray blocked by

a srn_a11 tree.

A sequence of impulse responses with

the van moving toward the transmitter

and away from a reflecting building.

The dela~ ~range f.r-om 2D us to 275 ns

corresponding to a speed of 17 mph.

~hree samples of impulse responses with

the van moving. The delays are approximately 180 ns, 300 ns, and 1.25 1.1S from

top to bottom respectively.

The- impulse response used for calibr,ating

the data presented in this report.

The real and imaginary components of the

Fourier transform of the power impulse

shown in Figure 10.

iv

5

7

11

18

19

20

21

22

25

26
Figure 12·.

Figure 13.

Figure 14.

Figure l5.

Figure 16.

Figure ,17.

Figure 18.

Figure ,19.

Figure 20.

Figure 21.

Figure 22.

Figure 23.

Figure 24.

Figure 25.

The freque.ncy .c·orr·e lat.ionfunct.i o~ of the

impulse of F igure.10 _ Th.isfunction is thes~m of the squares of the £unctions

shown in Figure. 11.

An impulse response' measur.ed near the

Depar·trnent of Commerce Laborat·ories.

The Fourier transform ()f the impulse

function of Figure' 13 (frequency

corre lation function).

Theoretical frequency transfer function

for the channel response of Fi~~ure 13.

A response measured near the intersectioIT of Baseline Road and 30th

Street.

A response where the direct signal

is blocked by obstructions, showing

reflections fr'om an ad:Jacent bllilding.

A typical response measured in downtown

Boulder, Colorado.

A response measured nea.r the int'er-

·section of Broadway an,l 13t11 streets.

Multipaths ob·served alc)ng Broadway near

the University of Colorado.

The Fourier transform (frequency

correlation function) of the power

impulse response of Figure 20.

An average of 100 impulse measurements

recorded as the receiver van moved

approximately 20 m aloIlg BrQad,way near

College Avenue.

The frequency correlation func·tion of"

the time-averaged impulse response of

Figure 22.

An impulse response measured on 28th

Street, near the YMCA.

The frequency correlation function for

the response shown in Figure 24.

v

27

29

30

31

33

35

37

38

40

41

42

44

45

45
Table 1.

Table 2.

LIST OF TABLES

ITS Channel Probe Characteristics.

Summary of PN Probe Transmiss.ion

Capabilities.

vi

8

9
MEASURING .CHl\RACTERISTI.CS OF MICROWAVE

MOBILE CHANNELS

R .W. Hu.bbard

R. F. Li.nfield

W.J. Hartroan*

This report describes the application of

a high resolution (6 ns) pseudo-random noise.

(PN) . channel probe for evaluating the transmission character of a land-mobile communication

channel. Preliminary measurements were performed at a microwave frequency in a number of

locations in Boulder, Colorado. Examples of

data are presented which characterize the frequency correlation of the channel transfer·

function, and provide addit.ional information

on the spectral distortions caused by multipath.

The data processing and analysis techni~

ques are emphasized in the report, as they are

ideally suited to developing a useful statistical summary of channel parameters. The

methods are rapid, and are made from data

recorded in standard analog magnetic tape in

the field locations. It is recommended that

a wideband channel characterization program

be und.ertaken in the near f'uture before spectrum

congestion precludes obtaining useful data.

Key words: channel characterization;

frequency correlation function;

impulse response; land-mobile

radio; microwaves; multipath

1. INTRODUCTION

There is considerable interest in transmitting digital data

including digitized voice signals over mobile links and military

tactical nets operating in urban and suburban areas at microwave

frequellcies. Transmission channels in this operating environment

are very lossy and dispersive, both in time and frequency. ~ystem

perf.orman.c.e.i.s. lim.it.ed because many signal c()mponents are received

*The allth.ors are with the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences,

National Telecommunications and Information Administration, u. S.

Department of Commerce, Boulder, CO 80303~
after propagating over di£ferent path lengths due to reflections,

and the signal amplitude and delay varies with time due to

vehicle motion.

Performance of radio systems using these channels may be

improved by incorporating adaptive equalization circuitry in the

system design. Such techpiques not only combat, the multipath,

but can ,indeed utilize the inherent diversity of the multipath

structure to enhance the grade of service. Consequently, it is

essential that the basic transmission channel parameters be known

for the development of suitable equalization procedures.

Different approaches can be envisioned each requiring a

different list of parameters to defin,e the transmission channel.

In this report the concern is with the basic wideband measurement

of the time-varying impulse response on a continuous basis over

representative intervals. Measurements should be performed in

the higher. frequency bands now, in order to avoid serious EMI

problems that will be encountered when allocations are made for

use of the bands. Response data obtained now (where channe~s are

still clear) at several locations and at different carrier

frequencies and recorded on magnetic tape would.~rovide an

extremely useful data bank. The various analysis procedures

could be applied at any' time to meet future requirements.

Mobile radio channels can be characterized by measuring the

time-varying impulse response and then determining the timefrequency correlation functions. This is fairly common practice

by other workers; see Cox (l9'72b) as an example. In this report

we describe the capabilities of the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (ITS) for this type of channel characteriza~ion.

The ITS capabilities are demonstrated through measured examples

of some mobile channel responses obtained in Boulder, Co'lorado r

using a pseudo-random noise (PN) channel probe described in

Section 2. Data processing .techniques available in the ITS

l~boratory are also described. These techniques are ideally

suited to characterizing· land-mobile problems.

2
(2)

2 • THE ITS CHANNEL PROBE:

The impulse response h(t) of a radio channel at a given

instant in time is defined as the channel output when a 'unit

irnpulsE~ or delta function 0 (t) is impressed c~n the input. Given

h(t), any arbitrary input x(t) produces an output yet) given by

the convolution integral:

yet} =l«J«JX(T}h(t-T}dT = x(t} h(t} (I)

where denotes convolution. Note that the convolution of a

function f(t) with the unit impulse oCt) yields the function

itself as

f(t) oCt) = f(t).

One obvious way to measure the Lmpulse response of a channel

is 'to transmit a unit impulse through it and observe the output

response. However, it is only po~sible to approximat~ a unit

impu~s€~ in practice. The width of the pulse actually used must

be much less than the response time (reciprocal of the bandwidth)

of the channel of interest. An alternate method is to use

impulse~-type functions which take adv,antage of time-bandwidth

tradeoffs (Hubbard, 1971). If the input to the filter x(t) has

an autocorrelation function given by:

RXX(T} = ~J:T x(t}x(t+T}dt ,

then the cross correlation of the output with the input

R (T) = -T1 fcTy(t)x(t+T)dT x,y 0

is also given by

(3)

(4)

.(5)

The cross correlation R (T) yields the impulse response h(t) xy

when the inpu~ is a white-noise source, since for white noise

3
(6)

t. 7)

Although the white-noise source provides an ideal signalling

format, it presents problems in practice because the broadband

spectrum may cause interference to other users (nearby channels),

and because it cannot be duplicated at separate terminals. It

is possible, however, to use pseudo-random noise (PN) in a binary

key streame The autocorrelation function of such'a signal

approximates the unit impulse over a more limited bandwidth.

Pseudo-random keystreams which satisfy most of the random-

.ness properties, and have an autocorrelation function similar to

that of bandlimited noise can be generated using a maximum-length

sequence generator. Such a generator consists of n consecutive

binary storage units, a clock which 'shifts the state of each

storage unit to the next, and two e'xclusive "or" feedback loops.

The output of the generator consists of a series of rectangular

wave forms which ultimately repeat in sequence at periodic intervals of 6T = (2n-l)~t, where n is the number of storage units and

~t is the clocking period. This is the basic concept used in the

ITS channel probe employed for measuring mobile channel characteristics at 8.6 GHz. A detailed description of the probe and

measurement techniques is g~ven by Linfield et al., (1976), and

summarized below.

The ITS channel probe consists of a transmit terminal and a

receiver terminal wit~ appropriate antennas for each, and with

equipment for data recording and display.

A block diagram of the transmit terminal is depicted in

Figure 1. This system transmits a carrier that is phase modulated by the PN binary bit stream. The PN code is generated from

a 9-stage shift-register, providing a repetitive sequence 511

bits long and clocked at 150 MHz. The autocorrelation function

of this keystream is triangular in shape, and is slightly more

than 13 ns in width at its base.

4
8.0 GHz

xS'O t-----------r>i BANDPASS T\VT

J FILTER ~AMPLIFIER

8.6 GHz

100 MHz 600 lvrnz ....--..... .-,-....

U1

x20

5 MI-Iz

STABLE

CLOCK

~6

PN

x30 I----4>JGENERATOR

150 MHz

PO\VER

METER

CP<Io4t\.P,-T

RECORDER

Figure 1. Block diagram of the ITS Channel Probe transmitter.
A 5 MHz stable oscillator provides a reference frequency to

develop both a 600 MHz IF and- an 8 GHz rf··carrier signal.

The 600 MHz IF signal is biphase modulated with the pseudo-random

sequence and mixed in a double balanced circuit with an 8 GHz

signal to produce a double-sideband suppressed carrier signal,

with the two sidebands centered at 7.4 and 8.6 GHz. An rf filter

is used to pass the upper and reject the lower side-band. A

traveling wave tube (TWT) rf amplifier provides the signalli~g

power (up to 20 watts) to the antenna via a low loss transmis·sion

line.

The receiver terminal block diagram is shown in Figure 2.

The received signal is correlated with a co- and quadrature-phase

replica of the transmitted signal, at the IF of 600 MHz. These

quadrature functions permit the relative phase of the received

multipath components to be determined. The quadrature functions

are also squared and summed to provide a direct output of the

power envelope of the impulse. In addition, the 600 MHz IF

signal is monitored on a power meter and may be recorded through

a log converter amplifier for the received signal level (RSL)

measurement.

The receiver terminal includes a self-calibration feature.

A locally generated 8.6 GHz pseudo-random modulated signal

identical to that generated in the transmit terminal is available

in the rf head of the .system. Step attenuators in the rf head

are used to calibrate the receiver output using this known signal

a t the input.'

The characteristics of the probe as used for the mobile

channel measurements described in subsequent sections of this

report are listed in Table 1.

The modular construction used in the probe p~rmits modifications to be made easily to meet a variety of requirements or

channel conditions. Table 2 lists the range of transmission

frequencies and power, PN code parameters, and antennas which

have been used.

6
RF Section

RSL

Signal

Outputs

8.6 GHz

hi(T)

I hr(T)..

LOG

AMPLIFIER

I

IRIG

TIME CODE I Time Code... GENERATOR

Signal Processing Section

FREQ.

SYNTH.

POWER

METER

Calibrate

Coaxial

Switch

CALIBRATE

CONTROL

8.6 GHz

90°

600 MHz

PX

,--. It

I Signal

I

, 8 GHz ...1 nTV I I ,

I

---.........---...... 1

PROGRAMMED :

ATTENUATOR :

~_--'IIIf'P-... ,, --- ~-----J----

, I

,-'-. f :----"'I8D'.... To receiver no. Z Iitt f

I

I~I

~t

~lI

It

I

.....:I

IF Section

Figure 2. Block diagram of the ITS Channel Probe receiver. Output

signals are recorded on paper strip chart and/or magnetic tape.
Table 1

ITS Channel Probe Characteristics

For The Land-Mobile Measurements

Transmitt~r

Reference Oscillator:

IF Frequency:

Pseud~ Random Key Stream

Generators:

PN Code Length:

PNClock Rate:

Modulation:

Carrier Frequency:

Transmitter Power Amplifier:

Antenna:

Polarization:

Antenna Gain:

Beamwidth:

Positioning:

Receiver

Antenna:

Gain:

Beamwidth:

Polarization:

Preamplifier:

Gain:

Noise Figure:

Bandwidth:

Reference Oscillator:

IF Frequency:

Dynamic Range:

Calibration Signal Level:

PN Generation:

Display:

Recorders:

Data Signals:

8

5 MHz

600 MHz

9 Stage

,511

150 MHz

Bi-phase Single Sideband

8.6 GHz

20 watt TWT

Standard Gain Horn

Vertical

20 dB

~20 degrees (3 dB)

Manual

:\/4 Stub Above Ground Plane

-3 dB

Isotropic

Vertical

Tunnel Diode

17 dB

~10 dB

300 MHz

5 MHz

600 MHz

~20 dB (range selectable)

-54 dBm (Nominal)

511 Bits-Adjustable Rate

Calibrated Oscilloscope

Magnetic Tape and 2 Channel

Chart

a. Impulse Envelope Power

b. Co-Phase Impulse

c. Quad-phase Impulse

d. IF Output, Log-Linear RSL

e. Time Code (IRIG), Code E

f. Synchronizing Signal
Table. 2

Summary of PN Probe Transmission Capabilities

Note: The PN code length is variable from 7 to 32,767 bits

(n = 3 to 15) .

Nominal code length = 511 bits (n = 9)

9
Figures 3a and 3b are photographs of the transmit and

receive terminal equipment. The transmit terminal consists of two

5~-inch rack mounted chassis; one is the signal generator and the

other is a TWT power amplifier. The receive terminal consists of

an rf unit, an IF unit, and the signal processing unit. All can

be easily carried and operated in a small station wagon or van

equipped with a small power generator.

3. MEASUREMENT PROCEDURES

The PN probe receiver was mounted in a mobile van equipped

with an integral power generator. Data logging facilities

included a variable persistance scope (from which polaroid photographs of the response could be obtained) and a portable magnetic

tape recorder. The receiving antenna was a nominal quarter-wave

vertical stub above a ground plane, mounted on a mast approximately one meter above the roof of the van on the rear.

The transmitter was housed in a closed equipment rack, and

secured to a concrete pad on the east edge of Green Mountain,

behind the Department of Commerce (DoC) laboratories. The transmitter antenna was a standard-gain horn 'with a 3 dB beamwidth o

of approximately 20 azimuth, and a gain of 21 dB above an

isotropic radiator. The horn was m6unted on a pipe mast approximately 3 m above the surface. The mast could be conveniently

rotated to orient the antenna to any desired azimuth angle.

Measurements were made with the receiver van at distances from 1

to 5 km from the transmitter. For each run, the transmitter

antenna was oriented in azimuth such that the receiver van

essentially remained within the, azimuth beamwidth.

Measurements, made in four general areas within the City of

Boulder, Colorado, can be described as follows:

1. Residential streets.

2. Areas with single-family homes, open-space (parks

and lakes) and high-rise apartment buildings.

3. Downtown business area, with buildings ranging

from one to eight stories in height.

10
(a) PN transmitter, showing the standard-gain horn antenna.

(b) PN receiver with magnetic tape recorder.

Figure 3. The ITS PN Channel Probe.

11
4. Streets forming state and Federal highways through

the city, with a mixture of business buildings

and shopping centers.

Examp.les of the measured results from most of these regions are

presented in Section 5.

All measurements were recorded on magnetic ·tape, and

included the following data signals.:

1. IRIG time code.

2. I h (t) 1

2 - linear scale.

3. Ih(t) 12;.. log scale.

4. Synchronization pulse derived from the PN

code. length.

5. Voice annotation describing van location and

fe~tures of the vicinity.

The data rate for the probe was selected to provide impulse

response windows at the rate of 10 per second (100 ms/window>. A

code length of 511 bits at a clock rate of 150 MHz was used~

Thus, each correlation window provides a maximum delay time

measurement of approximately 3.4 ~s. In this case, the time

scaling factor is nearly 30,000*; 1 ms in data display-time

represents approximately 34 ns in real time. This data rate was

observed to be adequate, even when the van was in motion, since

no significant change in the time-delay structure of the measured

response could be detected in adjacent windows. The observation

illustrates that the time variability of. the data was slow

compared with the selected data rate at the ve·hicle veloeities

used (5 to 15 mpb) .

4. ANALYSIS PROCEDURES

The magnetic tapes were returned to the laboratory for processing and analysis. Each tape was scanned for times of most

*This scale factor is six times that used by·Cox (1972a), who

states that a factor of 5,000 yields only slight distortion to

the correlation pulse.

12
significant data in relation to the regions described in the

previous section. Selected periods were analyzed, and the

results are' presented below.

The time-domain impulse responSE= provides an immediate

display of the multipath structure of a transmission channel. It

:ro,easures both the relative path delays (and consequently the path

length differences) and the relative magnitudes of each path

response. In reality, this function contains more information

than can be easily used to predict system performance although it

is ideally ~uited for the "stored cha.nnel" simulation process as

described by Bussgang, et ale (1976) .. The f'unction is timevariant, and can change quite rapidly in the land-mobile channel

as one or both terminals are in motic)n. The dynamic channel

affects on a variety of information signals ,could be determined

from a laboratory simulator, where tlle measured responses form

the tiJme-variant kernel in a real-time convolution process given

by (1). Other approaches include using the measured data as

tim~-sampleq functions that then des(~ribe the appropriate tapgain functions for a tapped delay-line model of the channel.

These methods are the only way in which dynamic effects of the

channel functions can be measured, in the laboratory.

Many authors (Kai1ath, 1959; Gallager, l~64; Cox, 1972a and

bi and Bello, et al., 1973), however, have illustrated the

utility of various statistics of the channel functions in providing an evaluation of the average of communication capabilities

in the channel. One of the more useful statistics is that of the

two-frequency correlation function given by

.RH(bf,At) = X [H(f,t) H(f+bf,t+f1t)] (8)

where X denotes the correlation inte9ral. This as well as other

statistical characteristics of the channel are discussed in a

good, ~general treatment by Gallage,r (1964). There are two special

cases of (8) to consider. First, we note that for ~f=O, RH(O,~t)

is the correlation of the system trarlsfer function for a

13
sinusoidal input. From this, the coherence time of the channel

can be derived. The second case is given for At=O, in which

RH(~f,O) is the correlation of the transfer function over a broad

band of frequencies and is a function of 6f. For example, this

correlation function is given by

where Ft-] denotes a Fourier transform operation, * denotes a

complex conjugate, and h(t,T) is the equivalent low-pass impulse

response function of the channel (response at time t to an

impulse applied at the input T seconds earlier). Note that the

quantity in the brabkets of the final expression of (9) is the

measured function from the channel probe.

The relation given by (9) is of primary interest here, and

represents the analysis performed on the measured data. However,

before presenting these results, it is informative to examine

some additional relationships between the measured functions from

the probe and other statistical functions found in the literature.

Taking inverse Fourier transforms over ~f on both sides of

(9), and noting by definition that

we find fo~ th~ special case ~t=O

2 Rh('r) = Ih(t,T) I ·

(10)

(11)

The correlation function of (10) is commonly referred to as the

tap-gain correlation function. It is obvious from (11) that the

probe yields a direct measure of Rh(T,O), and consequently, the

multipath spread (or smear) of the channel.

The doppler spread of a channel at any arbitrary ~elay T can

generally be determined from a measure of either of the correlation functions giv~n by (9) or (10) oyer the variable ~t. The

interval in llt where these functions are effectiv'ely nonzero is

the same, and as noted before, this is a measure of the coherence

14
time of the channel response. The doppler spread" has the order

of ma(~nitude of the reciprocal of tIle coherence time. There is

also a third characteristic function defined as the scattering

function of a time- and frequency-spread ch~nnel. This function

is silnilar to the transform of (10)" when the operation is taken

over 6t. The range in f where the scattering function is effectively nonzero is a direct measure of the doppler spread.

It should be noted from (10) and (11) that data recorded

from the probe measurements can be I=)rocesse<l from the magnetic

tapes in computer routines to derive~ the sca.ttering function.

This process however is beyond the scope of this report.

I~rom (9) we note that the speci.al case of the two-frequency

correlation function is obtained directly from a Fourier transformation of the measured data. In the results reported by Cox

(1972a. and b), this transform was ca.lculated by hand. The

OT/ITS has in its laboratories a time-series analyzer ideally

suitecl to processing these data. Th,e systenl isa digital computer

.in which all the basic time-series a.nalysis algorithIns are hardwired "into the pro.gram. Selection of any algorithIn is made from

a push-button on the computer console. The analyzer is an alldigital processor, capable of accepting input data in either

analog or digital form, and also providing C)utput functions in

either format. Analog inputs are converted by an integral A/D

interface; analog outputs are developed from an integral D/A

interface. Output data plots can be provided through digital

recording at the output, and processed in a large-scale computer

wi th CRT routines, or directly from' the syst.em on an x-y recorder.

C~ne of the selectable algorithIns on the above analyzer is

the Fourier' transform and its inverse. Input data are block

orient.ed, and the output is develope1d in two, quadrature components

representing the real and imaginary parts of the transformed

functi.on. Each of these components i's displayed in a data block

equal in length to that of the input function, and stored in

output. buffers. Another selectable a.lgorithIn is that of real or

complex multiplication. Data may be readily transferred

15
in block mode from output to input buffers (or vice versa) at the

discretion of the operator. Thus, compound operations may· be

quickly performed within the computer. For example, in our processing routine, the complex result of the Fourier transform of

the time function is transferred back to input buffers and processed again in the multipliction algorithm. The result of this

operation is' then the correlation function desired .from the

process given in (9).

For the special case of (9), it can be shown that the transform of the power impulse response also represents the magnitudesquared value of the frequency transfer ·function. This provides

additional insight on the transmission quality' of a given channel.

Examples of measured values and the transform analyses are presented in the following section.

Before presenting specific data samples some general

observations are appropriate. First, the direct-path slgnal was

present and undistorted whenever the transmitting site could be

seen, unobstructed, from the van. Conversely, if the visual path

between the van and the transmitter was blocked, even by

relatively small trees, for example, the direct path was severely

attenuated. Second, when the van was stopped, the response~

indicated one or more distinct paths with no noticeable spreading

of the individual pulses.. However, when the van was moving, it

was not unusual to see a spreading, or superposition of the

delayed pulses, but this was rarely seen for the direct pulse.

In the following sequence of figures, the length of the

. window observed corresponds to 3. 4 11S total delay tim{=. These

responses were recorded at 10 windows/second. These data were

played back at different speeds, and recorded on charts at

different speeds to illustrate the different types of data

observed. No att~mpt was made to obtain a precise calibration

for these illustrations because of the response·time and overshoot of the chart recording. Generally, however, full-scale for

the time-expanded playbacks is 33 dB.

16
Figure 4 illustrates three. different time scales from a

segment of data when the receiver van was moving. The delay

between. the direct pulse and the largest reflected pulse is

"W400 ns.

Figure 5 shows two samples, the first representing delays

betweE~n 25 ns and 45 ns and the secoind,a delay of 870 ns.. The

second sample was taken with the van stopped. That sample shows

the typical lack of distortion of impulses. Figures 6 and 7 show

additj_onal samples of data taken with t.he va.n moving. The middle

trace in Figure 7 shows the direct signal attenuated by a small

tree approximately 50 meters from the van, while the signal

reflected from a building behind the van is not attenuated. The

delay times are as noted on the figures.

Figure 8 shows a sequence of windows during which time the

. van wa.s moving ·toward the transmitter and away from the reflecting

building. The delay spread changes form 217 ns to 275 ns, corresponding to a speed of '" 1 7 mph (27 kln/hr) for the van.

Figure 9 shows the time history for three different moving

configurations. The approximate delays are 180 ns, 300 ns and

1.25 Us for the charts from top to b()ttom, respectively. The

first two samples were recorded in a situation where the van was

m~ving parallel to the reflecting building, with utility poles

between the van and transmitter. F01~ the third sarnp Ie, the van

was mov·ing toward the transmitter and away from the reflecting

building at about 2 mph (3 km/hr).

5. ANALYSIS RESULTS

III this section we present a rep1resentative sample of the

land-mobile transmission channel measurements made in Boulder,

CO. Examples of each of the regions noted in Section 3 are

included, with the exception of' residential streets. At the high

microwave frequency used for the measurements (8.6 GHz)., these

areas ~7ere found to be of little interest because the residential

streets are heavily tree-lined, and the direct signal was attenuated by trees and buildings in most areas. Multipath signals

17
•

;,.t, .. i.. '. -r-r~-+

-fH+-HF

t-,

._.. .".-

f-I

co

Sequence of measured impul,se responses; 3.4 11S time delay for each response' window.

I

400 ns

, 400 ns

R=F--f

H++++-t-+

t=H=H ;

Y--'-!"l "'.~-,.

~.__••; .._.__ ......~_.. .r....,._...__.__........... __~,.._-.~.;_·- •.....,J ,.~-~_._-~~.....

Figure 4. Three time scales for the same run of data, each

showing different details of the impulse response;

the delay between the direct and largest reflected

pulse is 400 ns.
J--I

\.0

R=H+

~.

3.4 J:L=::tt.

-I-j:=r

Full Window Response

Full

'.,

870 ns " ~-_.

ghm1

~,m'~,L'" ,', ";F"4'5"'~'~I, -w±k ',' H±W+E411111i11l

r-++~

870 ns

+

H-H++-

Expanded Scale 4

.~ _ . .'..1.'}.J.L'...-

·~l·

Figure 5. Top trace: a sample showing general delayed returns

between 25 and 45 ns after the direct response.

Middle and bottom trace: a sample, with the van

stopped showing a delay of 870 ns. Note the lack

of distortion in the impulses.
:IIt±:

WindFull Window

Full Window

¥r..

Scale

ns

E::

-i-+

1-+=-

N

o

Figure 6. Samples of impulse responses with the van moving.

The delay times are as shown.
Ft=t:·t=t=!=+:+-r-t+-H-·,

560' 'ns t-+-'l

:t:4

Single Re8l??!ls~ .; +"

+

-.'--d i ~: +~-+:~ -'-:t:-., ;-:. ~~ : ;; ,= p-, ~t-t m~. , f$ Full Wind~

iii

Expanded Scale--.

490 ns

340 ns

+_1_ 1'1

"'1

f\J

f--1

.~-"

H---++-H--t, -\_

_fEEf':rrT---;-t-1

t-··Ft+t-i 3. 4

Expanded Scale--.·

_

-...:".:-n- .... :'. I!, -:',

, .::.

Full Window

ft~QQrJl~~

r-

---;-t

Figure 7. Samples of impulse responses with the van moving.

The middle trace shows a "sample with the direct

ray blocked by a small tree.
tr:Fl

1 l

3.4 u

.

'~: =hr+"

N

N

Ff-t-tftttfrffffnttf::f:f:t~r:t±t

l-H+++++++H-+-+-+t4i ,

~-++++

~t.

m

- '-

;', .: ' _: ,+,': -

~-+'-~­

+~

'1

=t=F+

__h

I

Figure 8. A sequence of impulse responses with the van moving

toward the transmitter and away from a reflecting

building. The delays range from 217 ns to 275 ns

corresponding to a speed of 17 mph.
w

Expanded· Scale :.

"

:

• ±t, :

• Expanded,Scale'm,

r

: :

..1.1 <'

Expand-ea" "Scale

Figure 9. Three samples of impulse responses with the van moving.

The delays are approximately, 180 nSi 300 ns, and 1.25 ~s

from top to bottom respectively.

I I-
were seen in all cases; however, they were quite small and limited

in delay time to the valu,es expected .for the path length differ~

ences between the receiver van and homes along the street.

5.1 System Calibration

In order to establish a reference level for the measured

data, a measurement was made with the van positioned at close

range and on a direct line-of-sight path to the transmitter. The

record,ed power impulse response is representative of a clearchannel (no multipath) and includes the effects of the measurement

system, both transmitter and receiver. A typical calibration

power impulse response is shown in Figure 10. Note that this

short-path response is a fairly clean triangular function, with a

slight rnultipath distortion at the base of the trailing edge.

The plot has been made directly on an x-y recorder, at the output

terminals of the time-series analyzer described in Section 4. In

other words, the displayed impulse has been read from the magnetic tape recording, sampled in the AID converter of the timeseries analyzer, and plotted from an outp'ut buff~r fjhrough the DIA

interface. This general process has been used to produce all of

the figures for the processed data included below.

The power impulse of Figure 10 was Fourier transformed in

the analyzer. For illustration purposes only,. the intermediate

functions representing the real and imaginary parts of the transform process are shown in Figure 11. These functions are not included in subsequent results. The completed transform, representing the correlation function of (9) is shown in Figure 12. This

result is seen to correspond very nicely to the theoretical frequency correlation function described by Cox (1972b). Note that

the correlation decays to zero at a value of ~f = 150 MHz; the

value of the PN clock frequency. for the measuring probe. The

fine-scale fluctuation on the function is a result of some

quantizing noise in the analysis, and the small distortions in

the time domain function (F igure 10)' noted previously.

24
o

·1

100

.J

200

I .

300

Figure 10.

Time Delay - nanoseconds

The impulse response used for 'calibrating

the data presented in this report.

25
I

500

I

400

Frequency - MHz

I I

200 300

Figure 11. The real and imaginary components of the Fourier

transform of the power impulse shown in

Figure 10.

26
1.0 .-

o

J

o 100

I

200

I

300

I

400 500

Figure 12.

Frequenc:y - MHz

The frequency correlation function of the

impulse of Figure 10. This function is

the sum of the squares of the functions

shown in Figure 11.

27
There is no absolute power calibration in thes~ measurements.

Since we are interested primarily in multipath, only relative

magnitudes between direct-path and multipath components are

important for the time-domain functions, and only the relative

shape of the frequency correlation functions in the transformed

qata. Accurate received power calibration can be provided where

desired, since the receiver contains a self-calibrating source as

described in Section 2.

5.2 Measurements in Mixed Residential Areas

A few examples of the multipath measured in locations of

mixed residential areas are discussed in this section. The

location of the DOC Laboratories in Boulder is typical of these

areas, where the~e is a mixture of residential streets, open

space such as parks and greenbelt land, apartment houses, and is

traversed by a major arterial street. The receiver van was

located near the laboratory building when the multipath signal of

Figure 13 was observed. The response in part a) of the figure

shows two reflections (the first quite small) at delay times

between 800 and 1000 ns. Figure l3b 'shows expanded-scale plots

of both the direct path impulse and the multipath responses.

These functions display the time resolution capability of the ITS

probe. For example, note that the direct path impulse shows two

short-delay components with small magnitudes near the trailing

edge. The first of these is partially merged with the direct

pulse (within the 6.6 ns r~solution) but is qistinguished by its

peak value. The small reflection near 800 ns delay displays a

rather dispersive character, while the. larger response at the

longer delay is quite specular.

The Fourier transform of this response'is shown in Figure 14.

The rapid fluctuation in the· correlation function is a result of

the delay component at 960 ns, which transforms to a cyclic term

in ~f of slightly over 1 MHz. Thus·, in this situation the

coherence BW is on the order of 1 MHz. However, since the

reflected component is approximately 0.4 times .the magnitude of

28
tv

i'

1\

., :

"".~ ; 'i

i

i

I

i

r

i\

11

II

t:

'IIi,I

p

;,1

II

\1Ith

n

ililIIII

Itlti

I

t I if

," "

,i

,.........J I:~"\r"'''''''''''''''''''' ,,,,~,,,,_u'."~"~4."",,,,,-,,,,_ ..J.... l-J~~-'---"-- ~'-.,._.-._- --.-....-- I I I I t I I I 1 t '1 I I I I I I

o 500 1000 1500

Time Delay nanoseconds

I I

850 1000

i

i\11.

1\

i hI III

i 1

r \ I \ ~. j \ . C:::!.._·~·~~·~r·, ,..-_..----""'-- ._f f~""""'~\w.'\..-~..- ~_

• t. I I I I • I I I I I r

900 950

s-I

800

(a) Direct and multipath response.

!

i

! '--

l 'l ..

:\/ \ !i)\

i I i.,

"l\t~~~~) \ < . • , I I I , I I 1 I

50 100

I

o

;

)

l'

.J

Figure 13.

Time Delay - nanoseconds

(b) Expanded scale plot of (a).

An impulse'response measured near the Department of

Commerce Laboratories.
wo

co

-r-i

..JJ

CO

r-I

(1) ou

III!JI' l~(;.. ,.. M.~~'~'~l~~~'~t~. I·'. CIf)' .. rW Iq,~. " I.r_' . '. .. U

~rJI1IPf1ffJ.: .. lUI.'hila 'lla.J1MI..IlI.1 JIj\"'..., ..

_ .:..'..).; f' 4A "".,.~ ' ,,-.~

G

I I I I

25

itI

I1

50

)I I •

It

75

I I I I •

100

I • •

II

125

I • I

I

150

Figure. 14.

Frequency- MHz

The Fourier transform of the impulse

function of Figure 13 (frequency

.correlation function).
direct s~gnal,complete. ca.ncellation (in the correlation function)

does not take place over the..completerange of the spectrum. For

exam!=)le, if we examine the lower limit of the envelope bounding

the oscillatory part of the fu~ction, we note that the spectral

energy is finite bo frequencies of 60 to 65 MHz.· The mean of

the envelope extends to approximately 100 MHz. Comparing these

features with the calibration function of Figure 12, we can

conclude that the frequency transfer function IH(f,t) I Of this

channel (at the instant of measurement) can be roughly characterized as sketched in Figure 15. 'rhe overall transmission band

is limited roughly to 100 MHz by thle s~ort-term delay components

(about 20 ns), and the envelope is scalloped over a range in

~f~2 MHz. The latter characteristic is concluded from the fact

that the frequency correlation function is derived from the

magnitude squared value of the transfer function. Thus, the

latter would be proportional (non-linearly) to the square root of

the correlation function. The square root of a cyclic function

yields a cyclic variation at half the frequency. Therefore, the

scalloping in IH (f , t) I would be twi(~e the value of ~f observed in

the correlation function. This exmnple will serve to illustrate

the information about the channel frequency transf~r function

that can be obtained from the correlation f·unctions .

.\ ,\

,\'\.,

"

:.t

+20 +40

.......... ..........

"'-"" , "- ,

"

f c = carrier frequency

-20 f c

Frequency - MHz

Theoretical frequency· transfer function

for the channel response of Figure 13.

-40

Figure 15.

31
Another response quite, similar ,to that shown in Figure 13

above is sh.own i,n Figure 16 (a). Th.epathdelays qre seen to be

less (520 ,and 580 ns) than the' previous example, and the second

reflected signal is seen to be slightly larger in magnitude than

the direct signal. This response was measured in, a mixed usage

area of Boulder1 where a small shopping complex, low office

buildings, convenience stores, and a residential area merge at a

major intersection (Baseline Rd. & 30th St.). Several high-rise

dormitory buildings for the University of Colorado are located on

the SE corner of this intersection. The receiver van was positioned in a shopping-center parkirig lot west of the dormitory

buildings. It was determined (by using a hand-held metal reflector) that the large multipath component was a reflection from one

of the dormitory towe'rs. The smaller component is probably from

some closer facet of the same building.

The Fourier transform of this impulse function is shown in

Figure 16(b). Here agai~ we see that the coherence BW is very

small compared with the transmitter BW, and the rapid fluctuation

corresponds to the long delay time. In this case the delay is

about 580 ns for the larg'e reflection, which transforms, to a

6£ fluctuation of approximately 1.7 MHz. This is roughly the

spacing of the fluctua,tion peaks seen in Figure 16 (b). Note also

that the reflected component is actually larger in magnitude than

the direct-path signal. Thus, the correlation function indicates

periods of complete spectral cancellation across the tr,ansmission

band. From an expanded scale plot of the impulse response (not

shown) we can determine the delay spread of the direct response

in Figure 16 (a) to be on the order of 10 ns.. Thus the transmission BW has be'en compress,ed to about 100 MHz, as can be seen

from the spectral function of Figure l6(b).

The final example in this set is a response observed in a

suburban area farther east of the Baseline Road-30th Street

intersection. The receiver van was driven south of Baseline Road

in the Thu,nderbird Development area. At one point the received

32
Time Delay - nanoseconds

(a) Power impulse rE=sponse.

I '

o

I I If I I

100

I I I

J '

150

I f I I I

200

t I

I

250

Frequency - MHz

(b) Frequency correlation function.

Figure 16. A response measured near the intersection

of Baseline Road and 30th Street.

33
signal over the direct path was' shaqowed by bui.ldings toward :the

west. A high·-riseapartmeri.tbuilding was located east of the

van., and the impulse response of Figure l7(a) was measured.

There is only a vestige of the direct path response and two

delayed responses. Th~ first is a strong reflectiori, at a delay

of·230 ns, from the apartment bu·ilding. The origin of the

smaller reflection is not known, but it could be from another

portion of the same building.

In an operational system, this type of response would

generally mean that the direct' path signal would be below the

receiver threshold, and the recognized signal would be the ·large

reflection. For a digital system the result could be a loss of

synchronization. For example, seconds before this response was

observed, the direct-path signal was strong with no reflections.

As the van moved down the street, the direct signal waS suddenly

lost and the response of Figure l7(a) was measured. The sudden

change in path length would cause the receiver to lose sync, and

would require a finite time to acquire the delayed input signal.

Information is lost during that period.

The transform of this response is shown in Figure 17(b).

The rapid fluctuation is again due to the delay of the smaller

reflection, and is on the order of 4 to 5 MHz. A slower variation in the peak values of the fast fluctuations is also seen,

and is on the order of 7 MHz. This fluctuation is due to the

differential.delay between the two reflected components. Note

also that there 'are two prominent lobes in the enve.lope of the

correlation function, with a null at about 38 MHz. This characteristic is due to the delay-spread about the large reflection,

and due to the delay of the component we can observe more than

one cycle in the envelope.

5.3 Downtown Business Area

The central business district of Boulder is not typical of a

large city~ There are only a few buildings that are over three

to four floors in height. In addition, the main business street

34
I

o

I

f

i

o fi

1\

f!

.~ II

II

n .M q

:: II

.; II

II

---.~L..------.J) U-~---------

t I I

200 400 . 600

Time Delay - nanoseconds

(a) The power impulse function.

t

o

(b)

f I I I t

50 100 150 200 250

Frequency - MHz

The frequency corre~lation function.

Figure 17. A response where the direct signal is blocked

by obstructions, showing reflections from ari

adjacent building.

35
is a pedestrian mall, and street traffic is routed in a counterclockwisepatter"n around the five-"block, mall. Measurable multipath in this vicinity was gene~ally observed when the van was in

an intersection of streets w"here a clear view toward the transmitter was provided. A typical response observed at the

intersection of 15th and Walnut streets is shown in Figure 18(a).

This intersection is at the SE corner of the traffic loop around

the mall. Note that the response contains a direct-path signal

and two delayed reflections (150 ns and 690 nS)e The large

reflection with the long delay-time is believed to be a reflection from the Colorado Building at the corner of 14th and Walnut

streets. This building is nine stories high, and is the tallest

~uilding in the downtown area. We were not able to stop the van

in the intersection to verify the origin of the reflections.

The frequency correlation function of the response is shown

in Figure 18(b), and an expanded scale plot is shown in

Figure 18(c). The coherence BW is seen to be less than 1 MHz for

this response, even though spectral energy is seen out to

frequencies near 100 MHz. A cyclic variation on the order of

6 MHz can b~ obse~ved in the expansion of the correlation

function, corresponding to the delay of the first small reflection~

5.4 Major Arteries Through the City

One of the most. interesting locations for reflections was

observed along Broadway near the University of Colorado. The

street is a major artery th~ough Boulder (north/south), and the

direct signal path between the probe transmitter and receiver van

was c.lear. Near the intersecti.on of Broadway and 13th streets,

the response shown in Figure 19(a) was m~asured. A single

reflection several dB larger in response than the direct path is

seen at a delay of about 80 ns. The Fourier transform of the

response is shown in (b) of the figure, where a cyclic response

of 12.5 MHz is seen. Note also that the spectral energy has been

limited to a value near 100 MHz, due to the time spread

around both the direct and reflected signals. ~he

36
,i

~. . ..il. .

fl

---1~ .. JL~~ iL. ~.

I • I I I I

o 200 400 600 800

Time Delay - nanoseconds

(a) The power impulse funct~ion.

a J

I

200

Frequency - MHz

(b) The frequency correlation function."

Frequency - MHz

(c) Expanded plot of (b).

Figure 18. A typical response measu:r:ed in downtown

Boulder·, Colorado.

37
o

Ii

Ii

Il II, .

fI la. .A.I"""JrJ ~l,~~ii....r~..-L~~~~V1.M~

I J' I • I I

o 400 8-00

Time Delay - nanoseconds

(a) The' power impulse function.

~ t

~"·N~·· fi.J..... , t~t~J.JI l~H·U;b~fi:~ij~. :t,.;~ . 'i~{~I ~'~f~... ,Iior' 11.41)'~ .... ,.~,-".,}.,: ~~i ~i ., _ 1." .' I Yf\\\~ \ ~l;;;'t'

J , .1 ' I , I I • , , I , I I I I t I

25 50 7·5 100

Frequency - MHz

(b) The frequency correlation function.

125

Figure .19. A response measured near the irttersection

of Bioadway and 13th Streets.

38
coherence bandwidth is seen to be,on the order of 3 MHz in this

instance.

As the receiver van proceded north along Broadway, the

response changed to one of many refl€!cted paths. An e'xample is

shown in Figure 20~ The impulse response in (a) indicates

several reflected signals spread in delay time over approximately

100 ns. An expanded scale of the response is shown in Figure

20(b), where at least seven individual reflected components can

distin~Juished. Other examples were olbserved that displayed 10 or

more reflections within this delay spread. The area is characterized by large university campus buildings east of the receiver

'vani and several large fraternity houses and university service

buildings west of the van. This particular location provided the

most complex multipath structure observed anywhere in the city.

Figure 21 presents the Fourier transforrn of the time function

of Figure 20. The correlation function has a very sharp spike

that is not discernable in Figure 2I(a). The function is shown

on an expanded scale in Figure 21(b), where the width of the

correlation spike is seen to be less than 0.5 MHz, with a complete

spectral null at that frequency. T~e spectral energy in

Figure 2l(a) is spread to about 80 MHz, but the coherence band is

extremE~ly narrow.

An average of the responses seen in this vicinity was

analyzed from the magnetic tape recording. F1igure 22 shows the

delay spread of 100 individual. impulse respon.ses (10 responses/s)

averaged in time over a period of 10 seconds. D.uring this time

the van moved approximately 15 ft (5. m) north along Broadway. A

compari.son of the avera.ged response with the individual re'sponse

of 'Figure 20, indicates that only min10r changes and time-delay

shifts occurred during the interval. The expanded-scale plot of

the delay-spread function in Figure 22{b) shows a number o~

distinct responses that obviously did not change a great deal in

the 100-frame average. ·The total del4ay spread is just slightly

over 200 ns, which is approximately the extent of the abcissa in

Figure 22(b).

39
Time Delay - nanoseconds

(a) The power impulse function.

Ji"\ If l1

I \ i I

! 'It

M1 r, \

,J "1 "I

I

i \ rJ1 ~! \

\

v-l ! I \ ,I'v,

{J ., V

1

'\\~,j \

J \ _ ..rn-J · r-1

I I I I 1 I I I I I I ' I I I I I

~~._~

I I I ( 1 I I I I I I I ,I I

o 25 50 75 100 125 150

Time Delay - nanoseconds

(b) Expanded scale plot of (a).

Figure 20. Multipaths observed along Broadway near the

University of Colorado.

40
\ ~~ ~l!--I-,-.-,--

a 50 100 150

Frequency - MElz

(a) The frequency· correlation functjon.

Frequency ..MHz

(b) Expanded scale plot of (a).

Figure 21. The Fourier transform (frequency correlation

function) of the power impulse response of

Figure 20.

41
o 200

1 . ,

400

Time Delay - nanoseconds

(a) f"The averaged power impulse response.

o

I f 1 • I I

25

I I I f' I i

50,

r I I a I !

75

I J

100

i I I I I

125

a I •

I I, 1 I I I

I

150 175

Time Delay - nanoseconds

(b) Expanded scale plot of (a).

Figur~ 22. An average of 100 impulse measurements

recorded as the receiver van moved approximately ,20 m along Broadway near College Avenue.

42
The frequency corre~ation function .for the time-averaged

response above is shown in Figure 23.· Part tal of the figure

shows the completespec·traltransform and part (b) is an expanded

scale plot. The result is similar t:o that of the single response

in Figure 21, however, a complete null in the correlation function

at 0.5 MHz does not occur on the average. The average for the

coherE~nce bandwidth from Figure 23 (bl) is seen to be on the order

of 2.5 to 3 MHz, and the total spectral energy is confined to

approximately 10 MHz. The calibration function of Figure 12 is

sketclled in Figure 23 (a) for a direct comparison of the channel

response with the transmitted functi.on. A spectral ·compressJ.on

factor of approximately 10 to 15 is observed.

Another interesting example was~ measured along 28th St.,

which is u. S. Highway 36 through Boullder in a north-south

direc1:ion. At·a distance of approximately 4 km from the transmittel:-, the receiver van was adjacenLt the YMCA Building on North

28th Street. The direct-path signal was attenuated by other

buildings and trees. The response shown in Figure 24 was measured

as the yan passed west of the YMCA, moving north along the street.

Two reflections are seen at delays of· about 30 and 55 ns. The

first reflection is about 22 times the magnitude of the direct

respoIlse, and the second smaller reflection about 9 times the

direct magnitude. The fiequency· correlation function of this

response is shown in Figure 25. The first significant" feature to

notice is the null in the response at the ze~o or reference

frequency. This is due to the fact that only a ~estige of the

direct path response is seen in Figure 24. The fluctuation on the

order of 15 MHz is due to the longest delayed signal. However,

deep nulls are seen in the envelope of the function at roughly

15 MHz and 55 MHz. The spacings between these nulls correspond

to thE~ delay-time spacing between th.e two reflections, which is

approximately 25 ns. The total spectral response has been

limi tE~d to approxima~ely 100 MHz. The spacing between spectral

peaks ranges from about 12 MHz to 20 MHz, corresponding roughly

to thE~ delay-time of the second reflection.

43
o 50 100 150

Frequency - MHz

(a) The channel response compared with the test signal.

i

j

I • f I I I

o 5

t • I • I· I • I I I I I I

10 15

I I II I. l' t I

20 2:5 . in

Frequency - MHz

(b) Expanded scale plot of the channel response of (a).

Figure 23. The frequency correlation function of the

time-averaged impulse response of Figure 22.

44
Figure 24·.

I;

·:1,I:

Time ~elay - nanoseconds

An impulse response measured on 28th

Street, near the YMCA.

1

III'

r I

I'

J

f

.0 100

Frequncy - MHz

I 1 t I

I·

150

Figure 25. The frequency correlation function for

the response shown in Figure 24.

45
5.5 Summary Remarks

The analyses presented in this section are only representative of the observed data, and the data-processing meth.ods

possible. It should be kept in mind that the data collection and

format methods used in this proj'ect are ideal for obtaining

information about the statistical variability of the mobile radio

channel.· Other correlation functions and the comple~e scattering

function discussed in Section 4 can be derived in similar'fashion

from the mag~etic tape data.

6. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE STUDIES

The effort reported here was conducted by the ITS Channel

Characterization Group under a limited in-house support program.

The primary objective was to demonstrate the existing capabilities

·for measuring and analyzing channel 6haracteristics. Measurements

of this type should be very beneficial to the designer of advanced

communication systems.. It is also important to measure performance

of high-data rate systems over bransmission channels with known

characteristics so that the.channel's impact on capacity and

performance (in terms of data rate and error rate) can be

detennined.

The signaling and data rates for vario~s links and channel

responses have usually been deduced theoretically based on certain ~ssumptions and a limited amount of data (Linfield, 1977).

One's confidence in these estimates would be greatly enhanced if

comparisons could be made with actual performance data. Unfortunately, such data are severely lacking. Several workers have

measured responses on radio channels, and others have measured

system performance including error rates on channels. Seldom,

however, have the two been measured simultaneously (and at rates

where selective fading occurs,) in spite of the fact that both

measurement techniques are well established.

In the future, one might expect a greater channelization of

spectrum bandwidth as filter technology advances. This, coupled

with the increasing -demand for higher data rates, implies a need

46
for signal designs and modulation techniques that will maximize

the number' of bi'ts that can betranSlui,tt,ed ona p'er-unit-ofbandwi,dth basis.

Designers of systems will ne~d a. comprehensive data base

coveri:n,g the higher frequency bands 1:0 characterize the transmission c,hannel and its effect on va17ious signals. As time goes

on, it becomes more and more difficult to obtain this data base

becaus~e it requires broadband measurE~ments over' 'c'l'e'ar channels.

Already .portions of the spectrum are overcrowded, making it

difficlllt to perform broadband impulse measurements and wideband

perforlnance'measurements without encountering interference from

other users. This is particularly true in the land-mobile area

where the lower bands are already crc)wded with users in every

city. Nielson (1975), for example, was unable to m,easure the

impulse response in the 400 MHz land mobile,band because of the

intense interference which existed in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Because a firm data base is so e~ssential to the design of

systems that are to make maximum use of the limited spectrum, it

is recommended that measurement p'rogr'ams be instituted to characterize various radio transmi~sion channels (where they are still

clear) as soon as possible. These programs should include b'oth

additiv~ noise and response data (either in the frequency domain

or the time doma-in) over a variety of links and transmission

channels with emphasis' in the SHF band (3-30 GHz). Impulse

response measurements should use the highest practical resolution;

i. e., c)ver bandwidths on the order of 10% of the carrier frequency.

Continuous recordings of the response and the noise should,

after processing, be capable of providing an appropriate measure

of the time and frequency dispersiveness of the channel and a

statistical representation of the noise. At the ~ame time, the

error F)erformalllce of a system' should be measured at various data

rates, using a convenient modulation scheme such as quadrature

PSK so that performance predictions can be verified.

All too often the additive noise has been assumed to be

white with a constant noise power spectral density. Tbis, of

47
course, is not always the case and particularly not for the

mobile environment. Here th,e primary error-causing additive

noise is more likely to be man-made, either ignition or powerline noise with impulsive 'properties, or interference f'rom

adjacent channels. Measurement programs which are 'designed to

characterize the channel should include additive~noise rneasurernentscommensurate with the response and performance measurements,

and an attempt should be made to resolve the error-causing

effects.

An accurate wideband characterization of the multiplicative

and additive noise in the radio channel is essential to the

future development of advanced cornmurtication systems. Statistical

models based on experimental data are also useful for simulation

experiments in order too avoid costly hardware tests of ad hoc

systems. An example of this latter application is given by

Suzuki (l977) , who utilized some experimental data obtained by

Turin et al. (1972) to establish a statistical model for the

urban radio propagation medium.

7. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors wish to acknowledge the contributions of

t.E. Pratt and C.M. Minister to this program. Mr. Pratt

was responsible for the design and fabrication of the highresolution probe used in the measurements. He also prepared and

tested the apparatus for the experiments, installed the equipment, and operated the receiver van with the able assistance of

Mr. Minister.

48
8 • REFERENCES

Bel'lo, P.A., J. K. DeRo.sa, and··C.J. BOlardman C19.73}, Line-ofsight wideb'and propagation, Fina~l Technical. Report RADCTR-73-167, Rome Air Development Center, Griffiss APB,

NY, .May.

Bussgang, J.L., E.H. Getchell, G. Goldberg and P.F. Mahoney

(1976), Stored channel simulatioln of tactical VHF radio

links, IEEE Trans. Corom. Tech.,' COM'-'24, No.2, 154-163.

Cox, D.C. (1972a), Delay doppler characteristics of mu1tipath

pl:-opagation in a suburban mobile: radio environnment, IEEE'

Tl~ans. Ant.· and. Prop. ,. AP'-'20, No.5, 625-635.

Cox, D.C. (1972b), Time- and frequence-doma'in characteri~ations

of 'multipath propagation at 910 MHz in a suburban mobileradio enviornment, Radio Science:, Vol. 7, No. 12, 1069-1077.

Gallager, R.G. (1964), Characteri'zation and measurement of time

and frequenQy-spread channels, Tech. Report No. 352, Mass.

Inst. of Tech., Lincoln Laboratory, Lexington, MA.

Hubbard, R.W. (1971), Characterization of multiplicative noise

irl propagating systems, IEEE Electromagnetic Compatability

Conference Record, Tuscon, AZ, November.

Kailatl1, T. (1959), Sampling models for a linear time-variant

filter, MIT Research Lab. of Electronics, Report No. 352,

May.

Linfield, R.F. (1977), Radio channel capacity limitations, Office

of Telecommunications, OT R~port 77-132, November.

Linfield, R.F., R.W. Hubbard, and L.E. Pratt (1976), Transmi.ssion channel characterization by impulse response measure'-

ments, Office of. Telecommunications, OT Report 76-96, August.

Nielson, D.L. (1975), Microwave propagation and noise measurements

for mobile digital radio applications, Packet Radio.Note 4,

Cc)ntract DAHC15-73-C-0187, Stanford Research Institute,

Menlo Park, CA, January. .

Suzuki,' H. (1977), A statistical model f6r urban radio propagation, IEEE Trans. ~n Comm., COM-25i No.7, 673-680.

Turin, G.L., F.D. Clapp, T.L. Johnston, S.B. Fine, and D. Larry

(1972), A statistical model of urban multipath propagation, IEEE Trans. on Vehic. Te,ch.,· VT'-'20, No.1, 1-9.

49

FORM OT·29

(3·73)

u.s. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE OFFICE OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

BIBLIOGRAPHIC DATA SHEET

1. PUBLICATION OR REPORT NO.2. Gov't Accession No.3. Recipient's Accession No.

NTIA-Report-78-5

4. TITLE AND SyBTITLE

MEASURING CHARACTERISTICS OF MICROWAVE

MOBILE CHANNELS

7. AUTHOR(S)

R.W. Hubbard, R.F. Linfield, and W.J. Hartman

8. PE.RFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME AND ADDRESS

Instittlte for Telecommunication Sciences

National Telecommunications and Information

Admj.nistration

U. S. DE~partment of Commerce, Boulder, CO 80302

11. Sponsoring Organization Name and Address

Institllte for Telecommunication Sciences

National Telecommunica tions and In·formation

Admi.nistration

u. S. De~partment of Commerce, Boulder, CO 80302

14. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES

5. Publication Date

June 1978 6110 Performing Organization Code

NTIA/ITS

9. Project/Task/Work Unit No.

9101900

10. Contract/Grant No.

12. Type of ~eport and Period Covered

NTIA Report, FY 77

13.

15. ABSTRACT (A 200-word or less fa~tual summary of most signific':lnt information. If document includes a si~nificant

bibliography ot literature survey, mention it here.) .

This report describes the application of a high resolution (6 ns)

pseudo-random noise (PN) channel probe for evaluating the transmission

character of a land-mobile communication channel. Preliminary measure

ments were. performed at a microwave frequency in a number of locations

in BouldE~r, Colorado. Examples of data are presented which characterize the frequency correlation of the channel transfer function, and

provide additional information on the spectral distortions caused by

multipath. .

The data processing and analysis techniques are emphasized in the

report, as they are ideally suited to developing a useful statistical

summary c>f channel parameters. The methods are rapid, anct are made

from datcl recorded :.in standard analog magnetic tape in the field

locations. It is recommended that a wideband channel cha.racterization

program \re undertaken in the near future bef<.)re spectrum congestion .,., ,. , .=t

16. K~74:lphabetical order, separated.by semicolons)P.L C;\",..L UUC;t:) \JJ.J '\j ut:)~.L U.1. u.Yo '-Yo.

Channel characterizati~'£requencycorrelation function; impulse

response; land-mobile radio; microwaves, multipath

17. AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

[K] UNLIMITED.

CJ FOR OFFICIAL DISTRIBUTION.

18. Securi ty Class (This report)

Unclassified

19. Security Class (This page)

Unl~lassified

20. Number of pages

. 53

21. Price:

* u.s. Government Printing Office: 1978 -7 78 -103/361 Region 8 L'SCOMM-DC 29716-P73