Coupler Winding Ratio Selection for Effective Power Transfer to a Power-Line Communications Receiver

Coupling losses are often underestimated and neglected by power-line communications researchers and modem designers. The unpredictable and time-varying nature of the channel aggravates this problem even further as it is hard to optimize a system if its parameters vary considerably, especially if the solution has to be implemented in hardware, such as a coupling circuit. This paper approaches the transmitter-to-receiver chain using a simplified lumped-parameter model, which distinguishes between the influences of series and parallel power-line reactances. Using apparent power transfer to the receiver as criterion, the influence of the transmitter and receiver winding ratios are investigated and conclusive results are obtained, valid for low-frequency narrow-band as well as wideband applications