Terrestrial Microwave Transmission
Terrestrial microwave systems follows a line-of-sight path during transmission. A narrowly focused beam of EMR is generated by the transmitter. It is then sent from one microwave tower to the next, until it reaches the final destination. There are two types of terrestrial microwave transmission systems-analog and digital. However, the RF signal used for transmission is always analog.
Both analog and digital systems begin with an input signal, and modulate it to an Intermediate Frequency (IF) signal. This is modulated to produce the Radio Frequency (RF) output signal. The RF signal travels through space between microwave towers.
A waveguide, usually a metallic tube, is used to confine and guide the microwave signal from the base of the microwave tower to the antenna.