| The new era of digital communications has brought an increasing need to rapidly transmit large amounts of data over broad frequency bandwidths. Satellite communication systems operating at higher frequencies, where larger allocated frequency spectrums are available, are ideal for handling these increasing requirements. An efficient means of utilizing these higher frequencies are needed. Frequency reuse is one such method which consists of transmitting and receiving two broadband channels over the same frequency band using orthogonal polarizations. The atmosphere can produce depolarizing effects which lessens the isolation between channels due to cross-polarizing conditions induced by humidity, precipitation, and turbulence. Cancellation of channel depolarizing effects is possible using receivers that have adaptive compensating circuitry. A Kt-band (17.7-21.2 GHz) atmospheric propagation simulator was constructed to simulate, in the laboratory, the atmospheric effects imposed upon a dual frequency-reuse system so that receiver performance could be evaluated. |
