Optimal antenna-height design for improved capacity on over-water radio links affected by tides

Gutiérrez Gaitán, Miguel; Santos, Pedro M.; Pinto, Luis R.; Almeida, Luis

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.22/17844

Use this identifier to reference this record.

Name:	Description:	Size:	Format:
COM_CISTER_2020.pdf		1.45 MB	Adobe PDF	Download

Send Feedback

Authors

Gutiérrez Gaitán, Miguel

Santos, Pedro M.

Pinto, Luis R.

Almeida, Luis

Abstract(s)

Modern observation systems can be composed by heterogeneous entities (e.g., buoys, USVs, UAVs, on-shore sensors, etc.) that rely on dependable communications for coordination and data collection, often provided by over-water radio-frequency (RF) links. In tide-affected water bodies, RF links at a fixed height from the shore can experience the so-called tidal fading, a cyclic time-varying tide-induced interference. To mitigate it, the classical space-diversity reception technique (i.e., the use of two or more receiver antennas positioned at different heights) is often applied, commonly combined with the consideration of having one of the antennas at the largest possible height. Yet, this approach does not always ensure the best performance. In this work, we focus on static over-water links of short-to-medium-range distances that use antennas installed at a few meters above surface. We leverage the geometrical basis of the two-ray propagation model to investigate the optimal single-antenna height design that minimizes overall average path losses over a given tidal range. We then extend this analysis to incorporate a second receiver antenna and identify its optimal antenna height. Analytical results show that our method considerably outperforms the more classical approach, thus enabling superior (average) link capacities.

Keywords

Marine communication Maritime networks Oversea paths Space-diversity Ttidal fading Tides Ttwo-ray

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.22/17844

Citation

M. G. Gaitán, P. M. Santos, L. R. Pinto and L. Almeida, "Optimal antenna-height design for improved capacity on over-water radio links affected by tides," Global Oceans 2020: Singapore – U.S. Gulf Coast, Biloxi, MS, USA, 2020, pp. 1-7, doi: 10.1109/IEEECONF38699.2020.9389132.