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Microwave Repeater Research
40
Citations
0
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1948
Year
Wireless CommunicationsEngineeringFar-field MeasurementMicrowave TransmissionFree Space AttenuationElectromagnetic CompatibilityNano CommunicationsMicrowave Repeater ResearchMicrowave Repeater CircuitsMicrowave SystemsElectrical EngineeringAntenna TestingRadio EngineeringAntennaFree SpaceMicrowave AntennaPropagationMicrowave MeasurementRadio PropagationMicrowave EngineeringMicrowave DevicesAerospace EngineeringMicrowave TransmittersMicrowave ComponentsAntenna DesignWireless PropagationMultiband Antennas
Free‑space propagation of electromagnetic waves was first demonstrated by Maxwell and Hertz, and subsequent advances in radio technology have shown that 10–20 cm wavelength microwaves travel line‑of‑sight with only free‑space attenuation and negligible atmospheric interference. These observations, combined with the availability of wide frequency bands and compact high‑directivity antennas, motivated the authors to investigate microwave repeater circuits. The paper reports the current status of the interrupted research, including the construction of an experimental New York‑Boston repeater system as the initial objective.
It was some 80 years ago that Maxwell and Hertz demonstrated that free space is a good transmission medium for electromagnetic waves. Since this fundamental contribution, the radio art has advanced tremendously and a decade ago it had progressed to the point where it was possible to construct equipment suitable for quantitative propagation studies of microwaves. Such studies were made and they indicated that normal propagation over “line-of-sight” paths of signals of 10 to 20 centimeters wavelength was characterized by free space attenuation and freedom from atmospheric interference. These results, together with the facts that in this wavelength range wide bands of frequencies are available and it is possible to design small antennas having high directivity, encouraged us to start more comprehensive research work on microwave repeater circuits. This paper gives the present status of the work which was interrupted by our war efforts and resumed at the end of the war with the construction of an experimental New York-Boston system as an initial objective.