Analysis of a rain attenuation time series from synthesizer and experimental satellite measurements

Hydrometeors are one of the most dominant factors for terrestrial and satellite communication systems link performance at frequencies above 10 GHz, increasing rapidly at higher frequencies. The prediction of time dynamics of the rain attenuation may be required to improve the efficiency of various techniques to reduce attenuation such as adaptive coding and modulation or adaptive power control. This paper analyzes the variability of time series fading in rainy conditions both over the short-and the long-term. The study is based on experimental measurements from a Ka band beacon receiver. Moreover the performance of satellite beacon measurements is checked against theoretical synthesis of the time series of propagation channel for terrestrial or Earth-space paths. In addition, local meteorological measurements are included in the comparison.