Tanaka, Kenji | Engineering Papers

NASA NTRS1993

Land mobile satellite propagation measurements in Japan using ETS-V satellite

Propagation characteristics of land mobile satellite communications channels have been investigated actively in recent years. Information of propagation characteristics associated with multipath fading and shadowing is required to design commercial land mobile satellite communications systems, including protocol and error correction method. CRL (Communications Research Laboratory) has carried out propagation measurements using the Engineering Test Satellite-V (ETS-V) at L band (1.5 GHz) through main roads in Japan by a medium gain antenna with an autotracking capability. This paper presents the propagation statistics obtained in this campaign.

Obara, Noriaki↗

NASA NTRS1990

A phased array tracking antenna for vehicles

An antenna system including antenna elements and a satellite tracking method is considered a key technology in implementing land mobile satellite communications. In the early stage of land mobile satellite communications, a mechanical tracking antenna system is considered the best candidate for vehicles, however, a phased array antenna will replace it in the near future, because it has many attractive advantages such as a low and compact profile, high speed tracking, and potential low cost. Communications Research Laboratory is now developing a new phased array antenna system for land vehicles based on research experiences of the airborne phased array antenna, which was developed and evaluated in satellite communication experiments using the ETS-V satellite. The basic characteristics of the phased array antenna for land vehicles are described.

Ohmori, Shingo↗