Category Archives: Random Thoughts

Whatever comes to the mind.

Half Wave Dipole Antenna

Antennas, Random Thoughts

A dipole antenna is a simple antenna that can be built out of electrical wire. The most common dipole antenna is a half wave dipole which is constructed from a piece of wire half wavelength long. The wire is split in the center to connect the feeding wires. The E-field of the antenna has a circular pattern along a plane which cuts the axis of the antenna perpendicularly and is similar to a figure of 8 in a plane along the axis of the antenna [3D pattern]. The exact E-field can be calculated as:

Expression for E-field of a Dipole Antenna
Expression for E-field of a Dipole Antenna
E-field Pattern of a Dipole Antenna
E-field Pattern of a Dipole Antenna

The MATLAB code for generating the above pattern is given below.

n=377;
Io=1;
r=10;
lambda=0.3;
k=(2*pi)/lambda;
L=lambda/2;

theta=0:0.01:2*pi;
E=j*n*Io*exp(-j*k*r)*(1/(2*pi*r))*((cos(k*L*cos(theta)/2)-cos(k*L/2))./sin(theta));
polar(theta, abs(E))

Note that the above is true within an area at a sufficient distance from the antenna known as the far-field of the antenna. Closer to the antenna i.e. in the near-field the E-field expression is a bit more complex.

Qualcomm In Muddy Waters In India

Network Planning, Random Thoughts, , , ,

Remember Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs proudly claiming that his company had prevented WiMAX from getting a hold in India by acquiring BWA licenses in four regions of India. Well now Qualcomm is in a bit of bother as the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) in India has raised objections to the license application filed by Qualcomm. According to news circulating on the internet the DoT has objected to Qualcomm filing four separate applications through its nominee companies in the four regions (Delhi, Mumbai, Kerala and Haryana) it had won the licenses on June 12, 2010. Secondly the DoT has also objected to the delay in the filing of application outside the three month period required by the laws.

Qualcomm has rejected these objections saying that it has followed all rules in letter and spirit. According to Qualcomm the license application was filed in August 2010 within the three month period as required by the laws. However this is disputable as Qualcomm also submitted a revised application in December 2010. Qualcomm has also countered the second objection by saying that it plans to merge the four nominee companies so that there is no breach of law. As per the rules “if at any stage the spectrum allocation is revoked, withdrawn, varied or surrendered, no refund will be made”. So if an understanding is not reached between Qualcomm and DoT, Qualcomm is set to lose more than $1 billion that it had paid for the BWA spectrum.

Qualcomm Inc. is a leading wireless chip manufacturing company of the world. It is the pioneer of CDMA technology and its chipsets have been embedded in more than a billion cell phones. Qualcomm has greatly invested in UMTS technology and is a strong proponent of WCMDA, HSPA and LTE standards. It had a paid about a billion dollars for the right to use a 20 MHz chunk of spectrum in the 2.3 GHz band. It plans to bring TDD LTE to India, which is a considered to be a comparatively economical 4G technology.

Solar Analogy

Random Thoughts,

All electromagnetic energy travels in the form of rays. The most obvious example is solar energy that is radiated by the sun in all directions. The further away a body is from the sun the lower the energy that it receives. Objects in the path of these rays cause shadows but not complete darkness as rays reflect from other objects and also diffract around the edges. These rays also have a phase and frequency that determines their behaviour when interacting with objects. The amount of rays that can be collected by a receiver depends upon its size and orientation. Solar energy can be harmful when a body is exposed to it for longer periods.

All these concepts are extendable to wireless communications. Wireless signals decay with distance, suffer from shadowing, reflect, refract, diffract, scatter, have phase and frequency, can be collected by appropriately designed antennas and can be harmful as well. The major difference being that modern transmitters are not isotropic radiators. Practical transmitters are like a sun that radiates solar energy to the earth in a narrow beam while ignoring the other planets.