Abstract: A satellite communications scheme for enhancing the communications system with existing satellites is disclosed. The existing satellites include a transponder having a phase locked loop phase demodulator at the front end thereof. The present invention discloses a technique wherein the phase demodulator is locked by transmitting a relatively high-power carrier from the ground to the satellite transponder. Once the demodulator has been locked, remote ground terminals operating at much lower power levels can access the satellite transponder by transmitting at carrier frequencies spaced apart from the primary high-power carrier. These are down-converted by the transponder phase demodulator and then typically amplitude and frequency limited before being remodulated and retransmitted.

Abstract: A scheme for monitoring the performance of a multiple access satellite communication network, particularly an antijam pseudo-noise spread code division multiple access network, operational in the presence of one or more up-link jammers having arbitrary waveforms, wherein the probability of error (or some directly related quantity) in the output data is considered to be the measure of link quality. Measurements on signal quality received over a selected (strong) link are performed at a prescribed (control) terminal. Such measurements include deriving a statistical mean and variance of decision voltages on a symbol-by-symbol basis. The measured means and variances are processed to account for differences in the link parameters of any desired link and the link used for measurement. The means and variances for the desired link are further processed to give output error probability, accounting for any error correction decoding in use.

Abstract: A broadband adaptively controlled polarization separation network. Two transmitted signals vertically and horizontally polarized are received as elleptically polarized signals. One of the two received elliptically polarized signals is automatically adjusted to make it linear and thereafter automatically adjusted to make it vertical. If the other signal does not have any vertical polarization on it then the two signals are easily separated and nothing else is needed. However, if there is any vertical polarization on the other signal this invention provides for separating the resulting crosstalk between the two signals. This is done automatically by the use of two sets of crosscouplers which couple a single line to the other line to complete the polarization decoupling operation.

Abstract: An automatic polarization decoupling circuit for decoupling first and second signals originally transmitted with orthogonal polarizations comprising a rotatable quarter-wave plate and a rotatable half-wave plate for linearizing the first signal and rotating its polarization direction to a reference polarization direction, an Orthomode (trademark) transducer for separating energy in the reference polarization direction from energy with a polarization in quadrature thereto and utilizing this quadrature energy as the decoupled second signal. The system further comprises a second Orthomode transducer for recombining the in-phase and quadrature energy separated by the first Orthomode transducer and applying this recombined energy to a second rotatable quarter-wave plate and a second rotatable half-wave plate for linearizing the second signal and rotating its polarization direction to a direction in quadrature with the reference polarization direction.

Abstract: An adaptive interference reduction system for removing cross talk from a dual polarization system comprising a first adjustable filter for varying the phase and the weight of a first input signal, a second adjustable filter for varying the phase and the weight of a second input signal, a first adder for adding this first input signal and the weighted and phase adjusted output from the second adjustable filter, a second adder for adding the second input signal and the weighted and phase adjusted output from the first adjustable filter, a first noise-to-signal measuring device for generating a signal proportional to the noise-to-signal ratio in the output signal from the first adder, a second noise-to-signal measuring device for generating a signal proportional to the noise-to-signal ratio in the output signal from the second adder, and a dither-type control logic for dithering in-phase and quadrature square-waves in accordance with the signals generated by the first and second noise-to-signal measuring devices