Effect of Rain Attenuations on Free Space Optic Transmission in Kuala Lumpur

Abstract

This research paper describes the effects of rain attenuation on the free space optical (FSO) transmission system. The entire research was conducted in the heart of Kuala Lumpur city- year 2001, as the city was using such systems (LAN-to-LAN & WLAN-to-WLAN) widely to connect the metropolitan areas for data transmission. The preliminary experiments were done using PAVLight product modeled PL-1G/1Tx/GigE which leaded to maximum reach of 700m distance with 810nm wavelength and also laser power of 14dBm. The data for rain intensities were obtained from measuring unit at UTM Jalan Semarak, Kuala Lumpur following the ITU protocols such as ITU-R P.1814 and ITU-R P.1817. The transmission and reception were achieved by using Continuous Wave (CW) Laser signals as transmitting signals and APD photo detector to receive it on the other end. The experiments were fully carried out for two conditions (heavy-rain and lighter rain or drizzle) with multiple repetitions. At last, the collected data were compiled and compared with other researcher's results. It was found to be the same as how the other researchers have obtained before for various cities worldwide. The results were found to be very satisfactory. It obeyed the theoretical aspects as higher the rain, higher the attenuations then. These results the degradation on the received signals. As a guide for future implementation of FSO systems for various atmospheric conditions in the metropolitan areas of Kuala Lumpur; we believed that this preliminary works may help.