Performance evaluation of a cellular base station multibeam antenna

Experimental test results are used to determine the performance that can be achieved from a multibeam antenna array, with fixed-beam azimuths, relative to a traditional dual-diversity three-sector antenna configuration. The performance tradeoffs between the hysterisis level, switching time, and gain improvement for a multibeam antenna are also examined. The multibeam antenna uses selection combining to switch the signals from the two strongest directional beams to the base station's main and diversity receivers. To assess the impact of beamwidth on overall system performance, the following two multibeam antennas were tested: a 12-beam 30° beamwidth array and a 24-beam 15° beamwidth array. Both multibeam antennas were field-tested in typical cellular base station sites located in heavy urban and light urban environments. Altogether, the system performance is evaluated by investigating three fundamental aspects of multibeam antenna behavior. First, the relative powers of the signals measured in each directional beam of the multibeam antenna are characterized. Then, beam separation statistics for the strongest two signals are examined. Gain improvements achievable with a multibeam antenna compared to the traditional sector configuration are determined in the second phase of the analysis. Results indicate that in excess of 5 dB of gain enhancement can be achieved with a 24-beam base station antenna in a cellular mobile radio environment. Finally, the effects of hysterisis level and switching time are characterized based on gain reductions relative to a reference case with no hysterisis and a 0.5-s switching decision time. Useful approximations are developed for the gain effects associated with varying hysterisis levels and switching times. The resulting design curves and empirical rules allow engineers to quantify multibeam antenna performance while making appropriate tradeoffs for parameter selection     

Time division adaptive retransmission for reducing signal impairments in portable radiotelephones

Multiple-antenna receiving diversity was shown previously to be effective in mitigating the effects of random angular orientation and multipath radio propagation for portable radiotelephones. It is shown that time-division adaptive retransmission used with appropriate antenna configurations can also mitigate these effects. The retransmission configurations require fewer antennas than the receiving diversity configurations for a given improvement in relative signal-to-noise ratio (S/N). Cumulative distributions of S/N were determined for adaptive retransmission and diversity using random orientation and multipath propagation models. Distributions of S/N for systems with two antennas at the portable set and two appropriately polarized antennas at the portable radiotelephone terminal (PORT) are similar to distributions for two-branch selection diversity in the fixed-orientation mobile radio environment. Systems with one portable antenna and two PORT antennas have distributions with slopes similiar to two-branch mobile radio distributions but the distributions for the portables range from 3 to 7 dB worse.     

Antenna Diversity Performance in Mitigating the Effects of Portable Radiotelephone Orientation and Multipath Propagation

Antenna diversity can mitigate signal impairments caused by random angular orientation and multipath radio propagation when using portable radiotelephones. Cumulative distributions of signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) were determined for antenna diversity using realistic orientation and multipath propagation models. In a random orientation and multipath propagation environment with -6 dB average crosspolarization coupling, two-branch selection diversity with two perpendicular antennas yields anS/Ndistribution with the same slope as two-branch selection diversity in the fixed-oriented mobile radio environment. The distribution for random orientation is about 4.5 dB worse, however, than the mobile radio distribution.     

The land mobile satellite communication channel-recording,statistics, and channel model

The communication channel between the MARECS satellite at 26°W and a cruising van was measured and recorded in European areas exhibiting satellite elevations from 13 to 43°. Different environments and mobile antennas were tested. The results of an extensive statistical evaluation include spectra of the fading amplitude; probability density, and distribution of the received signal power; and the percentage of time for fade and nonfade periods. Based on the physical phenomena of multipath fading and signal shadowing, an analog model of the land mobile satellite channel which can readily be used for software and hardware fading simulation is developed. The most important parameter of this model is the time-share of shadowing. The Rice factor which characterizes the channel during unshadowed periods, can vary from 3.9 to 18.1 dB. Block error probability density, error gap distribution, and block error probability are discussed     

Polarization Diversity System for Mobile Radio

Conventional space diversity reception at typical elevated base locations requites separation of 30λ for broadside incidence and even more for in-line incidence and is therefore difficult to implement. A polarization diversity system for mobile radio is proposed. This is a two-branch receiver diversity system with the advantage that the base station antennas can be spaced as closely as desired. An experimental program has been carried out to obtain the statistical properties of vertically and horizontally polarized electromagnetic waves in a suburban environment at 836 MHz. It was observed that signals of both polarizations were Rayleigh plus log normal, where one is uncorrelated and other is correlated irrespective of base or mobile antenna spacings. The local means of the two signals were highly correlated and were with ± 3 dB for almost 90 percent of the time. Variation of base transmitter heights appeared to have little effect on the ratio of the local means of the two signals. The analysis and experiment demonstrated the feasibility of providing two diversity branches at UHF by polarization diversity.     

Performance of feedback and switch space diversity 900 MHz FM mobile radio systems with Rayleigh fading

A theoretical and experimental comparison of performance has been made between two types of predetection switching space diversity mobile radio systems. This comparison was made at a frequency of 840 MHz using simulated Rayleigh fading for a vehicle speed of about 80 mi/h. The switch diversity system was a conventional receiver antenna switching technique with two simulated physically separated receiving antennas and a single transmitting antenna. The feedback diversity system used a single receiving antenna with two simulated physically separated transmitting antennas. The transmitting antennas were switched remotely from the receiver. The difference in the performance of the two systems was shown to be primarily due to time delay inherent in the remote antenna switching technique.     

Performance of Feedback and Switch Space Diversity 900 MHz FM Mobile Radio Systems with Rayleigh Fading

A theoretical and experimental comparison of performance has been made between two types of predetection switching space diversity mobile radio systems. This comparison was made at a frequency of 840 MHz using simulated Rayleigh fading for a vehicle speed of about 80 mi/h. The switch diversity system was a conventional receiver antenna switching technique with two simulated physically separated receiving antennas and a single transmitting antenna. The feedback diversity system used a single receiving antenna with two simulated physically separated transmitting antennas. The transmitting antennas were switched remotely from the receiver. The difference in the performance of the two systems was shown to be primarily due to time delay inherent in the remote antenna switching technique.     

Diversity Improvement in Frequency-Hopping Multilevel FSK Systems Under the Influence of Rayleigh Fading and Log-Normal Shadowing

Recently, various frequency-hopping schemes have been proposed for possible application to digital mobile radio telephony. While the advantage of the inherent frequency diversity against fading is well known, the improvement in the system performance due to the use of space diversity has not been studied. In this paper we analyze the performance of FH-MFSK under the influence of Rayleigh fading and log-normal shadowing due to the combined use of frequency and space diversities. It is shown by analysis that the system capacity can be increased from the corresponding nondiversity figure by 26.3 percent relative to the full system capacity (i.e., 209 users) with the use of two diversity branches at channel condition of 10 dB normalized area mean and worst case of shadowingsigma = 12dB. Also, graphical results are given for different channel environments, and required signal-to-noise ratio.     

Optimum combining in digital mobile radio with cochannel interference

This paper studies optimum signal combining for space diversity reception in cellular mobile radio systems. With optimum combining, the signals received by the antennas are weighted and combined to maximize the output signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio. Thus, with cochannel interference, space diversity is used not only to combat Rayleigh fading of the desired signal (as with maximal ratio combining) but also to reduce the power of interfering signals at the receiver. We use analytical and computer simulation techniques to determine the performance of optimum combining when the received desired and interfering signals are subject to Rayleigh fading. Results show that optimum combining is significantly better than maximal ratio combining even when the number of interferers is greater than the number of antennas. Results for typical cellular mobile radio systems show that optimum combining increases the output signal-to-interference ratio at the receiver by several decibels. Thus, systems can require fewer base station antennas and/or achieve increased channel capacity through greater frequency reuse. We also describe techniques for implementing optimum combining with least mean square (LMS) adaptive arrays.     

Optimum Combining in Digital Mobile Radio with Cochannel Interference

This paper studies optimum signal combining for space diversity reception in cellular mobile radio systems. With optimum combining, the signals received by the antennas are weighted and combined to maximize the output signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio. Thus, with cochannel interference, space diversity is used not only to combat Rayleigh fading of the desired signal (as with maximal ratio combining) but also to reduce the power of interfering signals at the receiver. We use analytical and computer simulation techniques to determine the performance of optimum combining when the received desired and interfering signals are subject to Rayleigh fading. Results show that optimum combining is significantly better than maximal ratio combining even when the number of interferers is greater than the number of antennas. Results for typical cellular mobile radio systems show that optimum combining increases the output signalto-interference ratio at the receiver by several decibels. Thus, systems can require fewer base station antennas and/or achieve increased channel capacity through greater frequency reuse. We also describe techniques for implementing optimum combining with least mean square (LMS) adaptive arrays.     

Performance of a frequency-hopped differentially modulated spread-spectrum receiver in a Rayleigh fading channel

The performance of a spread-spectrum receiver previously described by the authors is analyzed in detail. Performance curves are given for a wide range of mobile radio channel conditions, including multipath distortion and correlated fading. The use of optimal filters to combat the former and space diversity to combat the latter are investigated. Some errors in the authors' earlier papers are corrected. The form of space diversity suggested has the unusual feature that it can be employed at the fixed station site only and provide diversity in both communication paths, i.e., to and from the mobile. Degradation due to fading and other aberrations is shown to be in the range 3-6 dB for typical mobile channel conditions. In a nonfading channel the receiver is suboptimum by about 3 dB.     

Transmitter diversity effect in TDMA/TDD mobile radio transmission

Transmitter diversity, which employs a single transmit/receive antenna at the portable stations and two transmit/receive antennas at the base station, is experimentally investigated for a TDMA/TDD (time division duplex) mobile radio system. Experimental results show that transmitter diversity can significantly improve the BER (bit error rate) performance of the portable station, due to AWGN (additive white gaussian noise), delay spread, and CCI (cochannel interference) in Rayleigh fading environments.<>     

Statistical modeling of the indoor radio channel at 10 GHz throughpropagation measurements .I. Narrow-band measurements and modeling

The aim of this paper is to report the results of a propagation measurement experiment to reach a statistical model of the indoor radio channel at 10 GHz using directive antennas at both terminals. The measurements were conducted on a floor of a university building. The distribution of the received fading envelope was tested to fit the Rayleigh and Rician distributions, but were not satisfactory. The Nakagami distribution was found to give an excellent fit with its parameter, m, depending on the separation between transmitter and receiver. The results of the level crossing rate (LCR) and the average duration of fades (ADFs) confirmed this result. The effect of using reception diversity to improve the quality of the received fading signal was tested. Frequency, space and polarization diversity were applied and the cross correlation between the envelopes of the received fading signals (magnitude and power) in the diversity branches was evaluated. The diversity gain achieved was also evaluated. The effect of three different combining techniques (selection, equal gain and maximal ratio) and the effect of applying a global or moving means to the recorded data was studied     

Switched diversity with feedback for DPSK mobile radio systems

Switched diversity with feedback for differential phase shift keying (DPSK) mobile radio is discussed. The technique uses multiple transmit antennas at the base station but only one receive antenna at the mobile. The base station transmits with one antenna that is switched when the mobile informs the base station that the received signal has fallen below a fixed level. The implementation of switched diversity with feedback in a digital mobile radio system is first described, and then the bit error rate performance of the system is analyzed with fading as a function of several design parameters. Implementation of the system is shown to be relatively simple, yet the system is shown to reduce substantially the required received Eb/N0for a given error rate at the mobile as compared to a system without diversity. For example, with five transmit antennas the required received Eb/N0for a 10^-3bit error rate is 13 dB less. The system capacity and availability assuming 32 kb/s audio and flat fading is then discussed. It is shown that with three-corner base station diversity and four transmit antennas at each base station, 126 two-way circuits per cell can be used in a fully loaded 40-MHz bandwidth system with a ten-percent probability that the error rate exceeds 10^-3.     

900 MHz land mobile radio improved using circular polarization

Land mobile systems currently use vertically polarized antennas while trying to solve the problem of small sector signal variations, which are greater for vertical polarization than for either horizontal or circular polarization. This difference in small sector variations is shown from results of tests at 430 MHz. The variations at 900 MHz should be more rapid and have amplitudes at least as great as those shown for 450 MHz. At 900 MHz antennas can be made small for mobile service and the improvements noted here may spur developments in circularly polarized antennas.     

900 MHz Land Mobile Radio Improved Using Circular Polarization

Land mobile systems currently use vertically polarized antennas while trying to solve the problem of small sector signal variations, which are greater for vertical polarization than for either horizontal or circular polarization; This difference in small sector variations is shown from results of tests at 430 MHz. The variations at 900 MHz should be more rapid and have amplitudes at least as great as those shown for 450 MHz. At 900 MHz antennas can be made small for mobile service and the improvements noted here may spur developments in circularly polarized antennas.     

An experimental evaluation of the performance of two-branch spaceand polarization diversity schemes at 1800 MHz

Determines the mean signal level and envelope cross-correlation of 1800 MHz base station signals received in two-branch spatial and polarization diversity schemes. Measurements have been conducted with the experimental base site located in (i) two urban sites, (ii) a residential area, (iii) a rural area, and (iv) near a motorway. In each location, the effect of the random orientation of a typical mobile radio telephone handset has been studied by examining the characteristics of signals received from a mobile collinear antenna inclined at angles of 0°, 30°, 45°, 60°, and 90° to the vertical. Furthermore, the diversity gain at 90% signal reliability has been evaluated for each diversity scheme by simulating selection, equal-gain and maximal-ratio combining techniques using the recorded signals as inputs. Results have shown that 20λ separation in the horizontal plane or 15λ in the vertical plane is sufficient to obtain a cross-correlation of less than 0.7 for most of the time at 1800 MHz. Similar cross-correlation results were obtained for polarization diversity. When the antenna is inclined at 45°, a 6 dB degradation in signal level was recorded for space diversity schemes. However, the diversify gain is unaffected by tilt and remains unchanged at 5-6 dB for horizontal and 3.5-4.5 dB for vertical separation. For polarization diversity, only a little degradation is experienced because most of the energy lost on the vertical branch is recovered on the horizontal branch. The diversity gain is between 1-2 dB at 0° tilt and increases to 3-5.2 dB at 45°     

Spaced directive antennas for mobile communications by the Fouriertransform method

The Fourier relations between the channel transfer function and scattering distribution can apply to personal and mobile communications where multipath is a prevalent phenomena. In this paper, the transform relations are reviewed and interpreted for the mobile radio channel. The effective scattering distribution is the vector product of the antenna pattern and the incident waves and is a scalar function of angle and delay time. The space base-band frequency correlation function transforms with the averaged power of the effective scattering distribution. If the angular power density marginal of the effective scattering distribution is known, then the transform relations can be used for configuring antennas for spatial diversity. Similarly, if the delay time marginal is known, then conditions for frequency diversity are available. The two-dimensional (2-D) transform gives a convenient route for assessing tradeoffs between combined frequency and space diversity. Using modeled distributions, solutions are given for spaced directive antennas and an example is discussed for the space-frequency tradeoff     

An investigation of space-path hybrid diversity scheme for basestation reception in CDMA mobile radio

In CDMA mobile radio communication systems, degradation of instantaneous signal to interference power ratio (C/I), which causes impairment of frequency utilization factor, will be significant in multipath fading environments. In this paper, a hybrid diversity scheme for fading reduction combining effects of space diversity and path diversity (represented by the RAKE method) is investigated. A quantitative evaluation of fading reduction effects of the hybrid diversity is performed, comparing them with those of space diversity only and path diversity only. The hybrid diversity scheme is promising in environments where the delay spread of a transmission path is 1 μs or less     

Efficient Spectrum Utilization for Mobile Radio Systems Using Space Diversity

Space diversity combining is a well-known method of smoothing amplitude fluctuations of the received signal in Rayleigh fading environments, such as mobile radio. Perhaps less well known is that space diversity combining can also be an excellent method of combating cochannel interference. In this paper, it is shown that high spectrum efficiencies in mobile radio systems can be achieved with a modest number of space diversity branches. With a large number of diversity branches it is shown that frequency reuse is possible resulting in spectrum efficiencies, as defined herein, greater than 100 percent.