Application of analog filters in satellite communication

If you work in telecommunications engineering, you probably deal with satellite signals on a regular
basis. Satellite signals are transmitted and received using various modulation schemes, such as
amplitude, frequency, or phase modulation. However, modulation alone is not enough to ensure the
quality and reliability of satellite communication

You also need to use filters to remove unwanted noise, interference, and distortion from the signals.
Filters are essential components of satellite signal processing, and they can have a significant impact on
the performance and efficiency of your system. In this article, we will explore some of the most common
filters used in satellite signal processing, and how they work.

A method is disclosed for filtering communications channels in a telecommunications satellite to remove

large unwanted interfering signals, which includes monitoring channels of an uplink signal by stepping
across a channel with a first analog agile filter having a narrow bandwidth in relation to the channel, and
at each step monitoring the signal within the channel step, in order to determine the presence of
interfering signals, and configuring a second analog agile filter having an adjustable band stop function
to block the interfering signals. The uplink signal has first and second signal paths for the uplink signal,
and the method includes demultiplexing the channels of the uplink signal onto separate lines in the first
path, carrying out the band stop function within the second signal path, and replacing with the
remaining filtered part of the channel, by a switching operation, the demultiplexed version of the
channel.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005]

It is an object of the invention to provide a filtering mechanism for a telecommunications satellite, which
blocks interfering signals at communications frequencies.

[0006]

The concept of the invention is to provide, in an analog arrangement for routing communications
channels in a telecommunications satellite, a number of analog filters, which serve to locate interfering
signals in one or more communications channels, and then to act as a band stop to cut out located
interfering signals.

[0007]

The invention provides in a first aspect a method of filtering channels in a telecommunications satellite,
comprising monitoring at least one channel of an uplink signal by stepping across said one channel with
a first analog agile filter having a narrow bandwidth in relation to the channel, and at each step
monitoring the signal within the channel step, in order to determine the presence of interfering signals,
providing second analog filter means having an adjustable band stop function, and configuring said
second filter means to block said interfering signals.
[0008]

As preferred, in order to save that part of a channel which is unaffected by interference, the method
includes providing first and second signal paths for said uplink signal, demultiplexing the channels of said
uplink signal onto separate lines in said first path, carrying out said band stop function within said
second signal path, providing to said first path a remaining filtered part of said one channel and
replacing, by means of a switching operation, the demultiplexed version of said one channel, with said
remaining filtered part.

[0009]

In a second aspect, the invention provides a channel filtering apparatus for a telecommunications
satellite, including monitoring means, for monitoring at least one communication channel of an uplink
signal, for detection of interfering signals, including first analog agile filter means for stepping across said
one channel and having a narrow bandwidth in relation to said one channel, and means for determining
within each step the presence of an interfering signal, and second analog filter means responsive to said
monitoring means, which provides an adjustable band stop function for blocking said interfering signal.

[0010]

In a preferred embodiment, said first analog agile filter has a relatively small bandwidth, for example
between 100 KHz and 1 MHz, for example covering a single voice channel within a communications
channel, and the centre frequency of the agile filter bandwidth is stepped through all the
communications channels within the microwave band of interest. At each step, the signal power within
the bandwidth of the filter is determined. An assessment (which may be done by a ground station by
way of a telemetry link) is made of those channels which contain an interfering signal, and one or more
further analog agile filters, is adjusted to be positioned over the interfered channels, to provide a
bandstop function with an appropriate amount of attenuation, for example 20 dB.

[0011]

Whereas agile filters in communications satellites may often configured to provide a variable band pass
filter function, a further analog filter may be specifically configured to provide a bandstop function in
that the lower frequency edge of the filter provides a low pass filter function, and the higher frequency
edge provides a high pass filter function. As an alternative arrangement, since agile filters are commonly
configured as band pass filters, two such agile band pass filters may be provided in parallel signal paths,
the first band pass filter being set to define a lower edge of the band stop function, and the second filter
being set to define the upper edge of the band stop function.

[0012]

The agile filters employed in the present invention have various functions, and may be of different
constructions to carry out these functions. For example said first agile filter may have a fixed bandwidth,
but the centre frequency is variable. The second analog filter function may include an agile filter wherein
only one filter edge is adjustable. In accordance with the invention, an analog agile filter is to be
understood as including a first filter for defining one edge of the filter bandwidth, a first mixer for
translating the frequency of an input signal by a first predetermined amount in relation to the first filter
edge, and a local oscillator means for providing a first local oscillator frequency to said first mixer.

[0013]

Whilst various forms of agile filter are described in the art, one particular form of agile filter that may be
employed is that described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,262,361.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014]

Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying
drawings wherein:

[0015]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the concept of the present invention;

[0016]

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a first embodiment of the invention; and

[0017]

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of a second embodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0018]

The following description of the preferred embodiments is concerned with communications satellites
operating in the FSS mode in the Ku band, 12-18 GHz, with communications channels about 50 MHz
wide. Each communication channel may be subdivided into voice channels, each of the order of 100's of
KHz wide, or subdivided into video channels, which may be much wider, a single channel possibly
occupying the whole bandwidth. Nevertheless, the invention is applicable to satellites operating in DBS
mode and in any microwave band.

[0019]

The concept of the invention is illustrated in FIG. 1, where a single 54 MHz channel is divided into six
separate sub channels, 1-6. An interference signal 10 is shown in the frequency range 7-16 MHz of the
channel, blocking sub channels 2 and 3. A band stop function 12 is imposed on the channel to remove
the interference. This results in two smaller channels 14, 16 on either side of band stop 12. These two
smaller channels are subsequently combined and reused as a single downlink channel, as will be
described.
[0020]

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown a main signal path 20 for an uplink signal, and an interference
rejection (IR) path 22 for the uplink signal. Main signal path 22 comprises a low noise amplifier 24, a
hybrid 26 for splitting the uplink signal, a downconverter 28 for downconverting the uplink signal from
14 GHz to 6 GHz, and a DEMUX 30, for demultiplexing the channels of the uplink signal on separate lines
32. A bank of three port switches 34 are connected in lines 32. IR path 22 receives the uplink signal from
hybrid 26, and includes an agile downconverter 40 for converting the uplink frequency to an appropriate
IF frequency. Agile downconverter 40 is employed for the situation where different microwave
frequency bands are processed. Two downconverters 40 are employed for redundancy, as are two
master oscillators 42, which supply the downconverters 40 and a bank of agile filters 44. A switch 46 and
hybrids 48 are employed to route the signals between units 40, 42 and 44.

[0021]

Filter bank 44 comprises four separate agile filters 501-504, filter 501 being provided for redundancy.
Filters 502, 503 are provided for are employed for providing band stop function 12 (FIG. 1) and filter 504
is employed for monitoring the channel. Each filter may be of a construction as shown in U.S. Pat. No.
4,262,361. Switches 52, 54 switch uplink signals through the filter bank, and couple, together with
hybrid 56, the outputs of the filters to switches 32. An electrical control unit 58 senses filter outputs at
60 and controls operation of the circuit of FIG. 2, and a ground station telemetry link 62.

[0022]

In operation of the circuit, filter 504 monitors by using a narrow band channel configuration of 1 MHz
stepped systematically across the required portion of the Ku-band. At each step the total power within
this narrow band will be sensed at 60 and reported by control 58 to a ground station by link 62. Having
determined that certain frequencies within the channel contain interference, as in FIG. 1, the ground
station transmits via link 62 commands to control 58, for configuration of filters 502, 503. The upper
filter edge of filter 502 defines the upper frequency edge of sub channel 14, and the lower filter edge of
filter 503 defines the lower edge of sub channel 16 in FIG. 1. This is carried out in known manner using
frequency conversion techniques within each filter. Having configured the filters, the two smaller
channels 14, 16 are combined in hybrid 56 and the appropriate switch of switch bank 32 is actuated to
replace the combined signal for the corresponding channel output from DEMUX 30.

[0023]

In use the filter 504 will continually monitor the uplink signal to determine how interference conditions
may be changing, and control 58 will take appropriate steps to adjust operation of the band stop and
channel recovery functions. Referring now to the second embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 3,
similar parts to those of FIG. 1 are referred to by the same reference numerals. In FIG. 3,
downconversion takes place from an incoming 14 GHz signal to 12 GHz in downconverter 28. This high IF
simplifies the IR section 22, in that agile downconversion is not required. The uplink signal from hybrid
26 is applied to filter bank 44. Bank 44 comprises three agile filters 505, 506, 507 whose inputs and
outputs are controlled by switches 52, 54. Filter 505 is provided for redundancy, filter 506 for providing
a bandstop function, and filter 507 for providing a monitoring function. Each filter includes an integral
oscillator. The outputs of DEMUX 30 are coupled to the inputs of the filter bank 44 via switches 35, 70.
The outputs of filters 504, 505 are coupled via switches 72 to switch bank 35, which comprises four bank
switches.

[0024]

In this embodiment, filter 506 is specifically configured as a bandstop filter. Further filter 506 may
include two separate band stop filters that are selectively switched into the signal path, depending on
whether a wide band stop or a narrow band stop is required.

[0025]

In operation of the circuit, filter 507 performs a monitoring operation by using a narrow band channel
configuration of 1 MHz stepped systematically across the required portion of the Ku-band. At each step
the total power within this narrow band will be sensed at 60 and reported by control 58 to a ground
station by link 62. Having determined that certain frequencies within the channel contain interference,
as in FIG. 1, the ground station transmits via link 62 commands to control 58, for configuration of filter
506 to provide a band stop function over the interference frequency region. In addition, the affected
channel is switched into the input of filter 506 by means of switches 35, 70. The output of filter 506,
representing the two smaller channels on either side of the interfered region, are switched back into the
output line 32 by means of switches 72, 35.

[0026]

This configuration therefore represents a simplification of the configuration of FIG. 2.

[0027]

In regard to the specific construction of the agile filters, whilst these filters are of known construction, as
for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,262,361, and WO 2006/085116, the specific filters employed in FIGS. 2 and
3 may be constructed solely to carry out their intended specific function. Thus whilst filters 504 and 507
may have variable centre frequency, a fixed bandwidth may be all that is required. Filters 502 and 503
may have only a variable high pass/low pass filter edge.

[0028]

In a modification of the circuit of FIG. 3, where only a limited number of possible characteristics for band
stop filter 506 may be envisaged, the agile filter may be replaced by a bank of fixed band stop filters,
each filter having one of the envisaged characteristics.

Claims (14)

Bandpass filters
Bandpass filters are filters that allow only a specific range of frequencies to pass through, while
attenuating or blocking the rest. Bandpass filters are useful for selecting the desired frequency band of a
satellite signal, and rejecting any out-of-band signals that might cause interference or crosstalk.
Bandpass filters are used in satellite communication to separate the signal of interest from the
surrounding noise. For satellite communication, the high selectivity is essential, so a proper design of
bandpass filter plays a major role in satellite communications. A C-band bandpass filter with enhanced
out-of-band rejection is presented in this study. It comprises of a complementary split ring resonator
(CSRR) and microstrip filter. The filter responses are usually satisfactory microstrip filter. But, by
including a CSRR, a better filter response can be attained. Complimentary Split Ring Resonators (CSRR)
uses reconfiguration technology and provides good results in microstrip filter design. By progressively
etching single CSSR, improvements in filter responses are realised. The filter selectivity level is improved
when CSRRs are added to the ground plane, namely at the rear of transmission line 50 Ω.For example, if
you want to receive a satellite signal that uses a frequency of 12 GHz, you can use a bandpass filter that
has a center frequency of 12 GHz and a bandwidth of 500 MHz. This way, you can filter out any signals
that are below 11.75 GHz or above 12.25 GHz, and focus on the signal of interest.

Lowpass filters

Lowpass filters are filters that allow only low frequencies to pass through, while attenuating or blocking
high frequencies. Lowpass filters are useful for removing high-frequency noise or harmonics from a
satellite signal, and smoothing out any sharp edges or transitions.An X-Band low pass filter is designed
to have a cut-off frequency anywhere in the range from 8GHz to 12 GHz. There are many systems that
uses the X band. These include: X Band satellite communications.For example, if you want to
demodulate a satellite signal that uses amplitude modulation (AM), you can use a lowpass filter to
extract the envelope of the signal, which contains the information. A lowpass filter can also be used to
limit the bandwidth of a satellite signal, and prevent aliasing or spectral spreading.

The X-band frequency, or known to some as the Super High Frequency (SHF) signals, is a sub-region in
the microwave radio region of the electromagnetic spectrum that is in the range of 8 to 12 GHz and has
a wavelength range of 2.5 to 3.75cm. In some cases, however, like in communications engineering, the
frequency range of the X-band is set to approximately 7 to 11.2 GHz

Highpass filters

Highpass filters are filters that allow only high frequencies to pass through, while attenuating or blocking
low frequencies. Highpass filters are useful for removing low-frequency noise or drift from a satellite
signal, and enhancing the contrast or details. For example, if you want to demodulate a satellite signal
that uses frequency modulation (FM), you can use a highpass filter to differentiate the signal, which
gives you the instantaneous frequency. A highpass filter can also be used to remove any direct current
(DC) component or offset from a satellite signal, and center it around zero

High-Pass Filtering (Sharpening)

A high-pass filter can be used to make an image appear sharper. These filters emphasize fine details in
the image – exactly the opposite of the low-pass filter. High-pass filtering works in exactly the same way
as low-pass filtering; it just uses a different convolution kernel. If there is no change in intensity, nothing
happens. But if one pixel is brighter than its immediate neighbors, it gets boosted.

Bandstop filters

Bandstop filters are filters that allow all frequencies to pass through, except for a specific range of
frequencies that are attenuated or blocked. Bandstop filters are useful for eliminating narrowband
interference or unwanted signals from a satellite signal, and preserving the rest of the spectrum. For
example, if you want to receive a satellite signal that uses a frequency of 10 GHz, but there is another
satellite signal that uses a frequency of 10.1 GHz and interferes with your signal, you can use a bandstop
filter that has a center frequency of 10.1 GHz and a bandwidth of 100 MHz. This way, you can filter out
the interfering signal, and receive your signal with minimal distortion.

Digital filters

Digital filters are filters that operate on discrete samples of a satellite signal, rather than on continuous
waves. Digital filters are implemented using software algorithms, hardware circuits, or a combination of
both. Digital filters are useful for performing complex and precise filtering operations on a satellite
signal, and adjusting the filter parameters dynamically. For example, if you want to filter a satellite signal
that uses a variable modulation scheme, you can use a digital filter that can adapt to the changing
frequency, bandwidth, and phase of the signal. Digital filters can also be used to implement advanced
filtering techniques, such as adaptive filtering, notch filtering, or wavelet filtering.This paper describes
the application of database search techniques to simulate on-line fault detection in satellite
communication systems. Conventional methods of fault detection by hardware is difficult in complex
Digital Signal Processing (DSP) circuits which handle real-time data. Hence, a space search method using
an Artificial Intelligence (AI) language - Prolog, is developed and it is shown that this approach complies
with the requirement of on-board fault detection circuits. Application of the space search method to
two key elements in DSP circuits - the multiplier and Adder/Subtractor is described. Implementation of
such a novel fault detection method on-board a satellite, has constraints in terms of space and weight
and the tradeoff needed is explained. Use of AI based search methods to analyse on-board satellite
systems, are not only useful for fault detection but also for other diagnostic jobs in satellites.

6
Analog filters

Analog filters are filters that operate on continuous waves of a satellite signal, rather than on discrete
samples. Analog filters are implemented using passive or active components, such as resistors,
capacitors, inductors, transistors, or op-amps. Analog filters are useful for performing simple and fast
filtering operations on a satellite signal, and minimizing the delay or latency. For example, if you want to
filter a satellite signal that has a high frequency and a large bandwidth, you can use an analog filter that
can handle the high signal power and the wide frequency range. Analog filters can also be used to
implement basic filtering techniques, such as Butterworth filtering, Chebyshev filtering, or Bessel
filtering.