Transmission lines and antennas

QUESTION 1 TRANSMISSION LINES

1.1 Express SWR in terms of:

1.1.1 Voltage maximums and minimums. (1)

1.1.2 Current maximums and minimums. (1)

1.1.3 The refection coefficient. (1)

1.1.4 The line`s load resistance and characteristic impedance. (2)

1.2 An SSB transmitter at 2.27 MHz and 200 W output is connected to an

antenna (Rin = 150) via 22 m of RG-8A/U cable. Determine:

1.2.1 The reflection coefficient. (2)

1.2.2 The electrical cable length in wavelength (use speed of light). (3)

1.2.3 The voltage standing wave ratio. (1)

1.2.4 The amount of power absorbed by the antenna. (3)

1.3 What is the condition and voltage standing wave ration (VSWR) of the
transmission line with characteristic impedance (Zo) equal to 50Ω and
terminated in load impedance with following values:

1.3.1 ZL = 0 (2)

1.3.2 ZL =  (2)

1.3.3 ZL = 50 (2)

1.4 A lossless transmission line has the characteristic impedance 50 Ω and is

terminated in a load of 150 Ω. The magnitude of the voltage wave incident of
the line is 10 V rms. Determine:

1.4.1 The VSWR on the line. (3)

1.4.2 The maximum voltage and minimum voltage of the line. (4)

1.4.3 The maximum current and minimum current on the line. (4)

1.5.4 Power transmitted by line. (2)

1.5 Differentiate between balanced and unbalanced line. (1)

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 Transmission lines and antennas

1.6 What is a transmission line? (1)

1.7 A 75 Ω lossless line is terminated with 93 Ω resistor. A generator sends 100mW

down the line. Determine:

1.7.1 the Voltage Standing Wave Ratio. (1)

1.7.2 the reflection coefficient. (1)

1.7.3 the power dissipated at the load. (3)

1.7.4 what happened to the rest of the power. (1)

1.8 Differentiate between the voltage and current reflection for open and short-
circuited transmission lines. (4)

1.9 For the transmission line terminated in circuit with the current equal to zero and
the maximum voltage, determine:

1.9.1 the Voltage Standing Wave Ratio. (1)

1.9.2 the load reflection coefficient. (1)

1.9.3 the load impedance. (1)

1.10 Explain what happens when a dc current flaws through the conductor of a
transmission line. (6)

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1.11 A 165 -ft section of RG-58A/U at 100 MHZ is used to connect a transmitter to
an antenna. Its input power from the transmitter is 100 W. Hint: Do
calculation in ft. Read table 1 below and determine:

TABLE 1
Type of cable Zo, Ω VF, % C, pf/ft Outside Vmax, Attenuation,
diameter, in rms dB/100 ft
RG-8/U 52 66 29.5 0.405 4000 2.5
RG-8/U foam 50 80 25.4 0.405 1500 1.6
RG-11/U 75 66 20.6 0.405 4000 2.5
RG-11/U foam 75 80 16.9 0.405 1600 1.6
RG-58A/U 53.5 66 28.5 0.195 1900 5.3
RG-59/U 73 66 21.0 0.242 2300 3.4
RG-62A/U 93 86 13.5 0.242 750 2.8
RG-214/U 50 66 30.8 0.425 5000 2.5
9913 50 84 24.0 0.405 - 1.3
Twin lead 300 82 5.8 - - 0.55
* At 100 MHz

1.11.1 The load impedance that must be used to avoid reflections. (1)

1.11.2 Total attenuation (2)

1.11.3 Output power to the antenna. (3)

1.11.4 The equivalent inductance per foot (3)

1.11.5 Phase velocity (Vp) (2)

1.11.6 The time delay introduced by the cable (2)

1.11.7 The phase shift that occurs in 100 MHz (3)

1.12 An antenna has a gain of 14 dB. It is fed by an RG-8/U transmission line 250-
meter-long with attenuation of 3.6/100m at 220 MHz. The transmitter output is
50 W. Calculate the:

1.12.1 Transmission line loss. (2)

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 Transmission lines and antennas

1.12.2 Output power. (3)

1.12.3 Effective radiated power. (3)

QUESTION 2 ANTENNAS

2.1 Explain the following with respect to antennas.

2.1.1 Polarisation. (1)

2.1.2 Corona discharge. (1)

2.1.3 Radiation pattern. (1)

2.1.4 Radiation resistance. (1)

2.2 Differentiate between radiation field and induction field. (2)

2.3 How should a transmitting antenna be designed to radiate a vertically polarised

wave. (1)

2.4 How should the receiving antenna be designed to best receive the ground wave
from a transmitting antenna. (3)

2.5 SABC has satellite with a transmit power of 100 W and is 100 percent
efficient. The diameter of the reflector of the transmit antenna is 80 cm while
that of the receiver is 120 cm and 70 percent efficient. The distance between
the receive antenna and transmit antenna is 40 000 km, frequency is 11.5
GHz. Calculate:
N.B: Take path loss is equal to free space path loss.
2.5.1 The transmit power in dBm (2)
2.5.2 The wavelength (1)
2.5.3 Gain of the transmit antenna (2)
2.5.4 Gain of the receive antenna (2)
2.5.5 Power received by the antenna (4)
2.6 An antenna is being fed by properly terminated two-wire transmission line.
The current in the line at the input end is 5 A. The surge impedance of the line
is 500Ω.
2.6.1 Define the surge impedance. (2)
2.6.2 How much power is being supplied to the line? (2)

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 Transmission lines and antennas

2.7 A VHF transceiver is connected to a VSWR meter and 50 Ω dummy load as

shown in Figure 1. The output power from the transceiver is measured to be 25
watts. The reflected power is 100 mW. The dummy load is then replaced with
the dipole antenna that has physical length of 40 cm and gain of 2 dBd. The
reflected power is again measured to be 500 mW. Calculate the following:

Figure 1: Practical setup of output power measuring instrument

2.7.1 VSWR. (2)

2.7.2 Frequency of operation. (1)

2.7.3 The effective isotropic radiated power in dBm. (3)

2.7.4 Power received at 30 km with receiving antenna gain of 10 dBi. (3)

2.7.5 The electric field strength at a distance of 40 000 m from transmitting

antenna. (1)

2.8 Figure 2 illustrates the radiation pattern of an antenna with each circle
represents 1 dB. The center point has a value of 0 dBi.

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 Transmission lines and antennas

Figure 2: Antenna radiation pattern

2.8.1 What is the 3dB beamwidth. (1)

2.8.2 Determine the front to back ratio in dB. (1)

2.8.3 Determine the angles at which minor lobes exist. (1)

2.8.4 Determine the gain of this antenna. (1)

2.8.5 Conclude on what antenna that has been tested to obtain pattern in
Figure 6. (1)

2.9 Figure 5 shows the common UHF antenna. Answer the following questions.

Figure 3: UHF Antenna

2.9.1 Name the array type used in this antenna. (2)

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 Transmission lines and antennas

2.9.2 What is the common wavelength spacing between the elements. (1)

2.9.3 Determine the number of elements. (1)

2.9.4 Calculate the frequency of operation if the driven element was

measured to be 236 mm long. (2)

2.9.5 Is the antenna vertically or horizontally polarized. (1)

2.9.6 What technique could be used to cancel feed point reactance? (1)

2.9.7 What are the advantages of lengthening the reflector? (2)

2.10 Figure 4 depicts the radiation pattern of the specific antenna with each circle
representing 1dB starting at 24 dBi on the outer circle. Answer the following
questions.

Figure 4 Radiation pattern of the antenna

2.10.1 Determine the gain of the antenna in dBd. (1)

2.10.2 determine the value (in dBd) of the side lobes. (1)

2.10.3 Determine the -3 dB beamwidth. (1)

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 Transmission lines and antennas

2.10.4 Determine the front to back ratio in dB. (1)

2.10.5 Evaluate the directivity of the antenna. (2)

2.10.6 Recommend the technique that will increase the gain of the antenna by
3 dB. (2)

2.10.7 Conclude if this is a directional antenna. (2)

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 Transmission lines and antennas

ANNEXURE 1: FORMULAR SHEET

𝑉𝑚𝑎𝑥 −𝑉𝑚𝑖𝑛
Modulation index 𝑚= 𝑉𝑚𝑎𝑥 +𝑉𝑚𝑖𝑛

Thermal noise generated by the resistor is 𝑒𝑛 (𝑅) = √4𝑘𝑇𝑅𝐵

𝑉2
𝑃 = 𝑅

𝑃𝑅 = 𝑃𝑇 + 𝐺𝑇 − 𝐿𝑝 + 𝐺𝑅
𝑃𝑡.𝐺𝑡.𝐺𝑟.2
𝑃𝑟 = `
(4.𝑑)2

2 𝐴𝑛𝑡𝐷2
𝐺 = 10 log [ ( )]
2
4𝑟
𝐿𝑝 = 20 log ( )

360 𝑡𝑑
 = 𝑇

𝑆
𝐶 = 𝐵𝑙𝑜𝑔2 (1 + )
𝑉

𝑉𝑚𝑎𝑥
𝑆𝑊𝑅 =
𝑉𝑚𝑖𝑛
𝑍𝐿 −𝑍𝑜 𝑉 −𝑉
Г= = 𝑉𝑚𝑎𝑥 +𝑉𝑚𝑖𝑛
𝑍𝐿 +𝑍𝑜 𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝑚𝑖𝑛

𝑃𝑟
1+√
𝑃𝑖
𝑉𝑆𝑊𝑅 = 𝑃𝑟
1−√
𝑃𝑖

𝑚2
𝑃𝑇 = 𝑃𝑐 (1 + )
2

𝐼𝑇2
𝑚 = √2 ( − 1)
𝐼𝐶2