Tag: Designing high performance VHF/UHF receive systems

Summary

This series of seven articles has:

• explained the meaning and value of G/T as a single metric for receive system performance;
• defined and explained the G and T terms;
• explained the relationship between Teq and Noise Figure;
• explained how to analyse simple cascaded stages and hence more complex networks;
• described how to estimate transceiver Noise Figure and Teq;
• demonstrated application of the analysis techniques to a set of practical configuration options to provided quantitative comparison of the S/N performance of the options; and
• discussed measurement of G/T as a means of validating system performance.

Continue reading Designing high performance VHF/UHF receive systems – Part 7

Measurement of G/T

G/T can be measured using celestial noise sources provided the antenna can be pointed to them. The noise source that is most appropriate will depend on expected G/T, frequency, time etc.

Sun

Continue reading Designing high performance VHF/UHF receive systems – Part 6

Bringing it all together

This part explains how to build a model of the entire receive system to calculate G/T.

Firstly, make an inventory of all of the system elements that you intend to model.

A model needs to be no more detailed than is necessary to provide adequate accuracy for the purpose at hand.

Continue reading Designing high performance VHF/UHF receive systems – Part 5

Finding transceiver Teq

We have explained how to calculate Teq from Noise Figure, but most transceiver specifications do not give Teq or Noise Figure directly, in fact they don’t really contain sufficient information to reliably calculate Teq or Noise Figure.

Credible equipment reviews might provide an estimate of Noise Figure or Teq.

The best approach is to directly measure Noise Figure using a known noise generator and the Y Factor Method.

Continue reading Designing high performance VHF/UHF receive systems – Part 4

Relationship between Teq and Noise Figure

In the last part, the meaning of the equivalent noise temperature of an amplifier was given.

Whilst you will find that working in Teq has advantages for this analysis, amplifier specifications may not give Teq, but may give Noise Figure.

Continue reading Designing high performance VHF/UHF receive systems – Part 3

G/T is defined as the ratio of antenna gain to total equivalent noise temperature.

For clarity, lets define those terms.

Gain

Gain of an antenna is defined (IEEE 1983) as the ratio of the radiation intensity, in a given direction, to the radiation intensity that would be obtained if the power accepted by the antenna were radiated isotropically. (Isotropically simply means equally in all directions.)

Continue reading Designing high performance VHF/UHF receive systems – Part 2

G/T

A metric that may be used to express the performance of an entire receive system is the ratio of antenna gain to total equivalent noise temperature, usually expressed in deciBels as dB/K. G/T is widely used in design and specification of satellite communications systems.

G/T=AntennaGain/TotalNoiseTemperature 1/K

Example: if AntennaGain=50 and TotalNoiseTemperature=120K, then G/T=50/120=0.416 1/K or -3.8 dB/K.

Continue reading Designing high performance VHF/UHF receive systems – Part 1