An Investigation of Microwave Link Degradation due to Atmospheric Conditions (A Case Study of Akure-Owo Digital Microwave Link)

This work investigates the microwave link degradation due to atmospheric conditions oil the Akure-Owo Digital Microwave Link. Microwave line of sight measurements were carried out between January and December 2005 with a data acquisition software (PROCOMM PLUS SOFTWARE). The data collected were analyzed using MATLAB 7.0 SOFTWARE program to determine the months of the year that has the highest degradation due to atmospheric conditions and also the months of the year that has the highest bit error rates. The result showed that the months of January, June, July, August and September have the worst signal degradation of -0.97dbm, -2.0dbm, -3.97dbm, -3.97dbm, -1.97dbm. respectively. The result also showed that the bit error rates are good and acceptable throughout the months of the year. A model equation was developed to predict the signal strength received and the bit error rate in the microwave link investigated, when atmospheric conditions are taken into consideration. The results of the predicted model were validated by field data and the results obtained showed all error of 0.2% for the received signal level and zero error for the bit error rate which means that the developed model equations call be used to accurately predict the link degradation parameters.