Solutions to Practice Problems

Practice Problem 24.1

A radio station has an EIRP of 25 kW and a transmit power of 1.73 kW. What is the gain of the antenna?

EIRP = Pt Gt so Gt = EIRP / Pt = 25 kW / 1.73 kW = 14.45

Practice Problem 24.2

Consider the antenna with this radiation pattern:

1. What is the beamwidth of this directional antenna?

Beamwidth = 40° as shown

2. What is the sidelobe level?

SLLdB = Gmainlobe (dB) – Gsidelobe(dB)

= 0 dB – (−11 dB) = 11 dB

3. What is the front-to-back ratio?

FBRdB = Gmainlobe (dB) – Gbacklobe(dB)

= 0 dB – (−7 dB) = 7 dB

4. Will a station transmitting bearing 90° interfere with me?

Will I interfere with it?

No interference; no sidelobes in that direction.

5. Will a station bearing 240° be able to eavesdrop on my communications?

Yes, it is possible; our antenna does have a sidelobe in the 240° direction.

6. Suppose the receiver I am communicating with (at 0°) requires that the signal received be at least 1 pW. Will I have to
transmit more power or less power using this antenna than if I were using an isotropic antenna? Why?

Less power is needed, since this antenna can focus the transmitted power in a certain direction.

Practice Problem 24.3

A transmitter feeds a half-wave dipole antenna with 100 watts of power. Calculate the Effective Isotropic Radiated Power
(EIRP).

For a dipole antenna, Gt = 1.64. EIRP = Pt Gt = 164 W.

Practice Problem 24.4

How long would a dipole antenna be for AM 1100?

For AM 1100, the transmit frequency is 1100 kHz, so wavelength is

λ = c / f = 3x108 / 1100x103 = 272.7 m
For a dipole antenna, antenna length is λ/2 = 136.35 m
Practice Problem 24.5
The ballistic submarine, USS Alaska, has gone alert. They must stream a floating wire monopole antenna to get their alert
signal. If the alert signal is transmitted at 30 kHz, how far should they stream their antenna? (note: the antenna being
streamed is a straight wire)

For a 30 kHz signal the wavelength is λ = c / f = 3x108 / 30x103 = 10,000 m

For a monopole antenna, antenna length is λ/4 = 2500 m

Practice Problem 24.6

What is the length of the driven element in a Yagi at 290 MHz?

For a 290 MHz signal the wavelength is λ = c / f = 3x108 / 290x106 = 1.03 m

For a Yagi antenna, the driven element is a dipole antenna, so length is λ/2 = 0.517 m

Practice Problem 24.7

What is the longest line-of-sight communication range between a transmitter whose transmitting antenna is 350 feet high and
a receiver whose receiving antenna is 25 feet high?

d = 2h1 + 2h2 = 2 ( 350 ) + 2 ( 25 ) = 33.5 miles

Distance is 33.5 miles

Practice Problem 24.8

Your cell phone transmits at a power level of 500 mW, with an antenna gain of 2.0 dB. The cell tower has an antenna gain of
8.0 dB, and is a distance of 5 miles away. For LTE, you’re transmitting at 700 MHz. Will your signal make it to the tower
and will it have sufficient power to “close the link” and allow you communicate? Or will you suffer the fate of a cellular
“dead zone”? (note: 1 mile = 1.609 km, and consider −105 dBm as the minimum power required to be able to “close the
link”)

t t Gr λ
2
PG
Calculate received power: Pr =
( 4π d )
2

Pt = 0.5 W Gt = 100.2 = 1.58 Gr = 100.8 = 6.31

d = 5 mi (1.609 km/mi) = 8.045 km = 8045 m

λ = c / f = 3x108 / 700x106 = 0.429 m

t t Gr λ
2
PG (0.5W)(1.58)(6.31)(0.429m) 2
=Pr =
( 4π d ) ( 4π 8045m )
2 2

= 8.98 × 10−11 W

 8.98 × 10−11 W 
Convert this to dBm: Pr ( dBm ) = 10 log10   = −70.47 dBm
 0.001W 

This received power is greater than the minimum power required to close the link, so communication takes
place.