Microwave Link Engineering
Point-to-point microwave links require careful engineering to ensure reliable communication. The fade margin must be sufficient to maintain the link during atmospheric fading events.
RSL = Tx_Power - Tx_Loss + Tx_Gain - FSPL - Atm_Loss + Rx_Gain - Rx_Loss
Fade Margin = RSL - Rx_Threshold
Availability uses Vigants-Barnett: Unavail = c * d^3 * f * 10^(-FM/10) * 6e-7
Fade Margin = RSL - Rx_Threshold
Availability uses Vigants-Barnett: Unavail = c * d^3 * f * 10^(-FM/10) * 6e-7
Typical microwave links require 25-40 dB of fade margin for 99.999% availability depending on path length and climate. The Vigants-Barnett model provides a rough estimate of multipath fading probability.