Portsmouth propagation experiment with the 40 GHz italsat satelite beacon

The Italsat 40 GHz Portsmouth propagation experiment started in 1994 and b June 1995 a y ground station was built and put into operation. The experiment is aimed at collecting and processing the signal received from the Italsat 40 GHz beacon in specific weather conditions, such as rain, and extracting the information about amplitude and phase impairments introduced by the atmosphere. This article gives description of the experiment, including description of some details of the ITALSAT-I satellite and presents the early results in the form of the estimates of power spectral density of the log amplitude recorded during selected periods of winter and summer in conditions of clear air clouds and rain. Simultaneous point precipitation rate and observed fading recordings are briefly presented and discussed. The theoretical and experimental spectral densities are also discussed in some detail in connection with the large number of different propagation conditions which can often co-exist.