Rain Attenuation Prediction at Ku Band Using Satellite Signal Beacon Measurement in Iran

Abstract

In this paper satellite wave propagation at Ku and Ka band is considered. The design and simulation of a typical satellite beacon receiver at Ka band is designed and simulated for the future works. Also rain attenuation prediction at Ku band using satellite signal beacon measurement and simulations for Iran Telecommunication Research Center (ITRC) are presented. The measurement setup consists of two simultaneous measurement stations: satellite signal beacon measurement station and automatic weather measurement station. Within the period of January to June 2012, beacon signal level and rain rate were simultaneously recorded, collected and analyzed. The results of these measurement are compared with ITU- R attenuation model. The comparison shows that there are some differences between ITU-R and measured data. The main conclusion of this paper is that using global rain attenuation prediction models is not suitable solution in local satellite link design and detailed satellite wave propagation study at local points are necessary. Finally design and implementation of the propagation software is described.