Managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy 1 The Effects of Radio Propagation in the work place Presented by Carolyn Jo Shields Research Alliance in Math and Science Mentor: Don Williams Information Technology and Services Division August 13, 2008 Oak Ridge, Tennessee

Managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy 2 Introduction  Study Effects of Radio Propagation within the work place  Transitioning from Knoxville College to  Middle Tennessee State University  Worked with Paul Adams, who currently attends Mercer College UTBOG_Computing_0801

Managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy 3 Key Points  Radio Propagation  Cellular Survey  Research Analysis UTBOG_Computing_0801

Managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy 4 Radio Propagation Relative to anyone who uses or has used a cellular device Cell phone 250 employees Blackberry 722 employees Pager 1800 employees

Managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy 5 What is Radio Frequency Propagation ? RF Propagation is how radio waves behave when they are transmitted from one point on earth to another.

Managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy 6 Questions 6 The Ionosphere UTBOG_Computing_0801 Has the greatest impact on how radio signals propagate all over the earth. Located in the upper portion of the atmosphere. Radio waves used the ionosphere to reflect transmitted signals back down to earth to arrive at its intended receiver Radio transmission from Japan to the USA Relation to the Workplace Signal can be interrupted by distortions and multipath signals Same principle can be applied to cellular reception just with no involvement from the ionosphere Earth’s Ionosphere

Managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy 7 Four Multipath Distortions 1.Attenuation 2.Scattering 3.Diffraction 4.Reflection

Managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy 8 Attenuation  Causes signal absorption

Managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy 9 Scattering  Breaks a propagated wave front into many different directions

Managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy 10 Diffraction  A signal is hindered by the sharp edges of an object

Managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy 11 Reflection  Propagated signal or wave striking an obstacle

Managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy 12 Multipath Effects  These cause dropped calls, weak spots and static  Difficult to predict signal energy loss within a building  Cause for cellular survey of buildings

Managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy 13 Cellular Survey  Based on building population and urgency  Buildings located on and off campus  Used three cell phones Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint, which as of right now are the three main carriers  Viewed negative dB high (standard measurement) readings specific to each cell phones engineering mode

Managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy 14 BuildingCounts (Badges)Status 4500 north590Done 4500 south510Done No Repeaters Allowed No Access TLD Required Done Done Done Done Example Excel Spreadsheet

Managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy 15 Building 1505 First Floor READINGSAT&TVERIZONSPRINT NO SIGNAL NO SIGNAL

Managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy 16 Building Floor Plan Overall 66 Readings

Managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy 17 Signal Coverage Formula [%Good Readings] * + 1 [%OK Readings] * + (.75) [%Poor Readings] * + (.5) [%Null Readings] * + 0

Managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy 18 Star System 1:5 Star- *****GREAT.8:4 Star- ****GOOD.63 Star- ***FAIR.42 Star- **POOR.21 Star- *BAD 0No StarNO TYPE

Managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy 19 Example Building 1505  Divided each total by the overall which is 66  Multiplied each decimal with the implied number in formula  If needed rounded each decimal to the nearest hundredth  Added all these numbers into one decimal  Multiplied by 100 to get my percent  Original totaled decimal will get rated by developed star system to give type of building coverage Results 56.5 Percent of the building receives cellular coverage = 2 stars = POOR COVERAGE Total of 1 Good readings Total of 31 Fair readings Total of 27 Poor readings Total of 7 No signal readings

Managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy 20 Chart Analysis Building Number PercentageStar RatingCoverage Type 4500 south67%3 StarsFair %3 StarsFair %3 StarsFair %3 StarsFair %3 StarsFair %2 StarsFair %2 StarsPoor %2 StarsPoor %2 StarsPoor %2 StarsPoor

Managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy 21 Research Analysis  Analysis of chart, all these buildings are between a fair and poor ratio of cellular coverage  Obstacles and obstructions that result in Multipath signals are the main cause of poor reception resulting in poor coverage of whole buildings Solution  Repeater technology.  Repeater- is a device that receives a signal on an electromagnetic medium and regenerates the signal along the next leg of the medium.  Repeaters eliminate 100% of all attenuation and undesirable noise in an incoming signal.  Amount of repeaters per building will depend solely on building size

Managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy 22 Conclusion  Overall Verizon has the best coverage on and off site! - High dB Gain - Less Attenuation  Application of repeaters within buildings will improve cellular service for all carriers  Installing repeaters also improve overall communication

Managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy 23 In The Future  Move Sprint into the main cell tower  Add T-Mobile to current carriers on campus  Also to have enhanced widespread cellular coverage within then next coming months here at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory  Budget of $100,000 and limited amount of time The IT Division at ORNL is planning on accomplishing a majority of this project before the 30th of September 2008.

Managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy 24 Acknowledgments  Department of Energy  Don Williams- Mentor  Paul Adams- Fellow Intern  The Oak Ridge National Laboratory Information Technology and Services Division

Managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy 25 Questions and Comments