Considerations of a Tropospheric Scatter System for Field Use

The modern Army will place greater demands on communication requirements for capacity, range and mobility. To meet these demands with conventional equipment results in a serious increase of manpower. The encouraging possibility of employing tropospheric scatter equipment to augment and possibly replace some conventional equipments has distinct advantages. This paper surveys the basic requirements of a tropospheric scatter system and expands them to fulfill the requirements of tactical employment. Subjects such as range and frequency dependence, effect of horizon angle, modulation techniques, and antenna gain degradation are reviewed to develop the technical foundation of a tactical system. The additional requirements of mobility, simplicity, and quick response are added to present a system designed for tactical utilization. Actual results obtained over a number of paths with digital data and facsimile transmissions are presented. The paper concludes with a discussion of inherent problems in tropospheric systems and the developments required to alleviate some of the difficulties.