MIKO AULIYA SUSWANTO

D-IV TPU 16 BRAVO

AVIATION COMMUNICATION

AVIATION COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

Aircraft communication system usually use for speech (voice) communications and also for data
communications.In aircraft, the communication system is between the crew members and between crew
members with ground personnel. It is also used to communicate with the passengers, other aircraft, and
ground stations (both speech and data).

Aircraft communications systems comprise the following:

 Radio Communication
 HF System – For long-distance voice communications
 VHF System – For short-range voice communications
 Radio Management Panels
 SELCAL System – For selective calling using HF and VHF
 SATCOM System – For satellite communication
 ACARS – For datalink communication
 Interphone Communication
 Flight Interphone System – For internal cockpit communication and also with ground
mechanics.
 Cabin Interphone System – For cabin crew or cabin crew/pilots communications.
 Service Interphone System – On ground only, for maintenance personnel only.
 Ground Crew Call System – To tell ground crew or flight crew there is a call.
 Passenger Address System – For passenger announcement from cockpit and cabin crew station.
 Audio Management System

Radio Communication Basics

Aviation communication is accomplished through the use of radio waves.

Radio Waves
Radio waves are electromagnetic in nature and part of the electronic spectrum. The atmosphere is filled
with these waves. Each wave occurs at a specific frequency and has a corresponding wavelength. The
relationship between frequency and wavelength is inversely proportional. A high-frequency wave has a
short wavelength and a low-frequency wave has a long wavelength.
Loading Information onto a Radio Wave
The production and broadcast of radio waves do not convey any significant information. The basic radio
wave is known as a carrier wave. To transmit and receive useful information, this wave is altered or
modulated by an information signal. The information signal contains the unique voice or data information
desired to be conveyed. The modulated carrier wave then carries the information from the transmitting
radio to the receiving radio via their respective antennas. Two common methods of modulating carrier
waves are amplitude modulation and frequency modulation.

Broad categorization of radio frequency bands

Band Name Abbreviation Frequency

Very low frequency VLF 3-30 kHz

Low frequency LF 30-300 kHz

Medium frequency MF 300-3000 kHz (3 Mhz)

High frequency HF 3-30 MHz

Very high frequency VHF 30-300 MHz

Ultra high frequency UHF 300-3000 MHz (3 GHz)

Super high frequency SHF 3-30 GHz

Extremely high frequency EHF 30-300 GHz

Elements of Radio Communication

1. Transmitters
A transmitter consists of a precise oscillating circuit or oscillator that creates an AC
carrier wave frequency. This is combined with amplification circuits or amplifiers. The distance a
carrier wave travels is directly related to the amplification of the signal sent to the antenna.

Other circuits are used in a transmitter to accept the input information signal and process
it for loading onto the carrier wave. Modulator circuits modify the carrier wave with the
processed information signal.Essentially, this is all there is to a radio transmitter.
 2. Receivers
Antennas are simply conductors of lengths proportional to the wavelength of the
oscillated frequency put out by the transmitter. An antenna captures the desired carrier wave as
well as many other radio waves that are present in the atmosphere. A receiver is needed to isolate
the desired carrier wave with its information.

The receiver also has circuitry to separate the information signal from the carrier wave. It
prepares it for output to a device, such as speakers or a display screen. The output is the
information signal originally introduced into the transmitter.

3. Transceivers
A transceiver is a communication radio that transmits and receives. The same frequency
is used for both. When transmitting, the receiver does not function. The push-to-talk (PTT) switch
blocks the receiving circuitry and allows the transmitter circuitry to be active. In a transceiver,
some of the circuitry is shared by the transmitting and receiving functions of the device. So is the
antenna. This saves space and the number of components used.

Transceivers are half-duplex systems where communication can occur in both directions
but only one party can speak while the other must listen.

4. Antennas
Antennas As stated, antennas are conductors that are used to transmit and receive radio
frequency waves.

WAVE PROPAGATION

Electromagnetic waves or EM waves are waves that are created as a result of vibrations between an
electric field and a magnetic field. Electromagnetic waves do not require a medium to propagate. This
means that electromagnetic waves can travel not only through air and solid materials, but also through the
vacuum of space.

1. GROUND WAVE
Ground wave propagation is a form of signal propagation where the signal travels over
the surface of the ground, and as a result it is used to provide regional coverage on the long and
medium wave bands.

Ground wave propagation is particularly important on the LF and MF portion of the radio
spectrum. Ground wave radio propagation is used to provide relatively local radio
communications coverage, especially by radio broadcast stations that require to cover a particular
locality.Ground wave radio signal propagation is ideal for relatively short distance propagation on
these frequencies during the daytime.
2. SKY WAVE

 Long distance transmission

 Waves are radiated from the transmitting

In radio communication skywave or skip refers to the propagation of radio

waves reflected or refracted back toward Earth from the ionosphere, an electrically charged layer
of the upper atmosphere. Since it is not limited by the curvature of the Earth, skywave
propagation can be used to communicate beyond the horizon, at intercontinental distances. It is
mostly used in the shortwave frequency bands.

As a result of skywave propagation, a signal from a distant AM broadcasting station,

a shortwave station, or – during sporadic E propagation conditions (principally during the
summer months in both hemispheres) a distant VHF FM or TV station – can sometimes be
received as clearly as local stations. Most long-distance shortwave (high frequency) radio
communication – between 3 and 30 MHz – is a result of skywave propagation.

DOPPLER EFFECT

The Doppler effect or the Doppler shift describes the changes in the frequency of any
sound or light wave produced by a moving source with respect to an observer. The Doppler
effect or Doppler shift is the change in frequency of a wave in relation to an observer who is
moving relative to the wave source.