LowProfileATSCDigitalTelevisionFractalAntennas

Abstract
WithoutlowprofilefractalantennasdesignedforreliablereceptionofATSC8VSBDigitalTelevision
(WidescreenHDTV)millionsofpeopleinmetropolitan(andrural)regionsinNorthAmericawillcontinue
tobewithoutareliabletelevisionservice.
WiththeexceptionofsomehouseholdsthathavebeenabletorecycletheirYagiUdaantennas(VHF,
UHForDualbandtypes)forreceptionofATSCmostNorthAmericanhouseholdswillcontinuetohave
televisionreceptionqualityfarbelowwhatthe8VSBsignaltransmissionsystemiscapableofachieving.
Historically:NTSC,PALorSECAMfadeouteventsgenerallyare"longduration"eventsduetothe
continuouswavenatureofthetraditionalTVtransmissionsignal.Thesefadeouteventsweretolerable(or
atleastinteresting)tothetraditionalanaloguetelevisionviewer.
ATSC8VSBfadeouteventsinthedigitaltelevisioneraaregenerallycatastrophicandrandom.These
fadeouteventsalienatelesstechnicallyinclinedtelevisionviewers,asthecauseofreceptionfailureisoften
notobvious.Viewersingeneralexpectdigitaltelevision(regardlessofhowitistransmitted)tobemore
reliablethananaloguetelevision.Thisreliabilityhasnotyetbeenachieved.
Most8VSBsettopboxdecoders(asofthemidtolate2010s)onlypossess"2ndgeneration"adaptive
receptionchipsets.Thesechipsets[andtheirassociatedreceiversubsystems]haveonaverageonly
adequatesensitivitytoweaksignals.Thesereceiverspossessonlyalimitedabilitytocopewith
instantaneousfadeoutevents.Longerdurationfadeouteventsareatbest"copedwith"generallywith
variabledegreesofsuccess.
Themostuptodate3rdand4thgeneration8VSBadaptivereceptionchipsetsoftendonotperformas
optimallyastheirdesignersoriginallyhoped.Thereareamyriadofsubtle(andgross)designand
transmissionissuesthatthesereceiversmustcopewiththatarebeyondtheabilityofalaboratoryto
simulateadequately.
CurrentlytheATSCHDTVviewerisleftonlywithongoingfrustration.Most8VSBdecodersuniformly
failtotelltheviewerthatthereceivedsignalisunhealthybeforealinklossevent.Longdurationfade
events(aswithanaloguetelevision)don'treallyhappenwith8VSBasthedigitaltelevisiontransmittersuse
2/3rdsto1/3rdlesspowerthantheirpreviousanaloguerelative.
Essentially,fractalantennasaretheonlywaytomake8VSBHDTVreceptionreliableagain,atthelowest
possiblecosttoallpartiesinvolved.
Iftheantennasaredesignedproperly,theneedforantennaamplifiers(foralargenumberofusers)may
alsobemitigated.

WhythecurrentATSCantennasarenotworking
The8VSBwaveformisa"singlecarrierwaveform"thatissystemicallysubjecttothevagariesofSingleSideBand
(SSB)fading.SSBistheanalogwaveformitismostcloselyrelatedto8VSB.SSBisusedbyPAL,SECAMandNTSC
thethreeexistingTVbroadcastingsystemsthathavebeenaroundforsome50years.

Optionsthatneedtobeconsidered
Increasingthepowerofthe8VSBcarrierwave(nottheoveralltransmitterpowerandnotthe7%DCcomponent
insertedintothe8VSBdatastream)by2dbwillprobablynotsubstantiallyimprovereceptionlinkmargins.
Increasingcarrierwavepowercouldatbesthelptoimprovelinkmarginsby1.25dbunderidealconditions.This
signalmodificationwouldrequirereplacingcurrentmodulators.Thismeanshavingtorecalibrateexisting
transmitters,nottomentiontestingthemodificationouttoseeifitactuallyworksatall.Increasingcarrierwave
powerisnotanidealoptionatthistime,butitneedstobereconsideredaspartofasetoflongrunsolutionsto
improve8VSBreception.Nomorethan2dbcarrierpowerincreaseisnecessary,butitwillbemesstoimplement.
TherecentlyspecifiedATSCerrorcorrectionsubsystem'snonmandatorystatus(intheUSorCanada)isnot
availabletohelpreceptionduetoafailureofleadershipintheoversightof8VSB.Thisbackwardlycompatible
subsystemispartofATSCE(EforEnhanced).
MakingtheupdatedATSCErrorCorrectiondatastreammandatory(fortransmissionanddecoders)by2010
wouldhelp,butthiswouldnothelpexistingreceivers.
Therehasbeenasystemicfailureintermsofimplementinginthebodyofbroadcastingregulationasecondary
psudorandomantifadingsequenceforATSC.Thislongrunsequenceantifadingsequencecameintoeffectwith
thecomingoftheupdatedATSCstandard.ThisbackwardlycompatiblesubsystemispartofATSCE(Efor
Enhanced).
ATSCalreadysupportsa24msantifadingsequence,butitisnotsuitableforcombatinglongrun(30ms....
3000ms)fadingeffects.MakingtheupdatedATSCsecondaryantifadingsequencemandatoryby2010would
help,butexistingreceiverswouldbeleftoutinthecold.
Whytheseoptionsneedtobeconsidered
RecoveringaclocksignalinordertodecodeareceivedwaveformhasalwaysbeenatrickypropositionindigitalRF
communications.Ifwederivethereceiverclockfromtherecovereddata,wehaveasortof"chickenandegg"
dilemma.Thedatamustbesampledbythereceiverclockinordertobeaccuratelyrecovered.Thereceiverclockitself
mustbegeneratedfromaccuratelyrecovereddata.Theresultingclockingsystemquickly"crashes"whenthenoiseor
interferencelevelrisestoapointthatsignificantdataerrorsarereceived.
WhenNTSC(andPAL)wereinvented,theneedwasrecognizedtohaveapowerfulsyncpulsethatroseabovetherest
oftheRFmodulationenvelope.Inthisway,thereceiversynchronizationcircuitscouldstill"homein"onthesync
pulsesandmaintainthecorrectpictureframingevenifthecontentsofthepicturewereabitsnowy.NTSC(andPAL)
alsobenefitedfromalargeresidualvisualcarrier(causedbytheDCcomponentofthemodulatingvideo).Thisresidual
carrierhelpedTVreceivertunerszeroinonthetransmittedcarriercenterfrequency.
The8VSBtransmissionsystememploysasimilarstrategyofsyncpulsesandresidualcarriersthatallowsthereceiverto
"lock"ontotheincomingsignalandbegindecoding,eveninthepresenceofheavyghostingandhighnoiselevels.The
first"helper"signalistheATSCpilot.Justbeforemodulation,asmallDCshiftisappliedtothe8VSBbasebandsignal
(whichwaspreviouslycenteredaboutzerovoltswithnoDCcomponent).Thiscausesasmallresidualcarriertoappear
atthezerofrequencypointoftheresultingmodulatedspectrum.ThisistheATSCpilot.ThisgivestheRFPLLcircuits
inthe8VSBreceiversomethingtolockontothatisindependentofthedatabeingtransmitted.
Althoughsimilarinnature,theATSCpilotismuchsmallerthantheNTSCvisualcarrier,consumingonly0.3dBor7
percentofthetransmittedpower.WithNTSC,PALandSECAMonaverage50%ofthetransmitterpowerwentinto
transmittingsyncpulses.
ForDVBTandISDBtransmissiontechnologies,thereisnoneedtouseafractalantenna
DVBTandISDBarebothmulticarrierwaveforms,thusthereisnoneedtouseafractalantennatoreceivethem.Also,
bothhaveconfigurableerrorcorrectionandconfigurabledataratesthatallowthebandwidthtobematchedpreciselyto
thecontentthatneedstobetransmittedinawaythatismosterrorresilient.

Thusthereisnoneed[atthispointintime]forEuropeanUnion(ormorespecificallyEuropean
BroadcastingUnion),ASEANorJapanese(orBrazilian)consumerstogetnewTVantennas.

Ultimatelyitisuptotheconsumertouseabetterantenna
Whilemostbusinesses(andmorecommonlyhomeowners)caninstallLogPeriodic"LP"antennas(typicallyin
Horizontalpolarization,intheYagiUdafamilyofantennas),manyapartmentdwellersaswellascondodwellersdon't
haveaccesstomountinganoutsideantennaforlegalorspacereasons.
ItmustbenotedthattheLPantennatypeitselfakindoflesserfractal,soonecouldinessencearguethatfractal
antennashaveproventhemselvesinthetelevisionreceptionareaforsome50years.
Alowprofileantennaisneededthatcanfitinsidepeople'sflatsthatitselfisnotvisible,butcanprovidelinkmargins
similartotheexistingLPantennasusedonpeople'srooftops.Soanotherkindoffractalantennamustthereforebeused.
Anykindoffractalantennawouldprobablybebetterthanthestandarddipoles(and"rabbitears"antennasforUHF)
thatareassociatedwithcurrentTVsetsinNorthAmerica.
Catastrophic8VSBfadingeventsarecausedbythelossof"carrierlock"coupledwithalossoftheinserted"DC"
component(mandatoryat7%,byspecification)causingapartialortotallossofthePLLlockonthedatastream.
Fractalantennasneededhereasnootherworkablesolutionisavailable
Inordertocompensateagainstthelossof"carrierlock"(andtheDCcomponentlock),yourantennamustgetbigger
classicalantennatheoryforallpracticalpurposesdictatesthisforsinglecarrierwavereception.
Alargeantennasurfacearea(andanantennathatismultiplyresonant)seemstobetheonlyviablewaytoachieve
reliableSSBor8VSBreception.Fractalantennas(evensomethesmallestones)haverelativelylargesurfaceareasby
default.Fractalantennasalsocanhavetheabilitytointerceptpolarizedelectromagneticwavesinasuperiormannerto
thedipolesthatareincommonuse,atleastwhenitcomestoconcentratingandchannelingincomingelectromagnetic
energy.
Importantdesignconsiderationsdrawnfromfractalantennaresearch(notorganizedforcontent)
WhenthenumberofIteratedFractalStructure(IFS)iterationsincreasesbeyondacertainthreshold,thechangein
radiationpatternsandinputimpedanceoftheantennatendstozero.Inotherwords,thereisnouseinincreasing
thenumberofIFSiterationsafteriteration'x',duetonofurtheradvantagebeinggainedintermsofantenna
efficiency.Convergenceisusuallyachievedbetween4and6iterations.Thisvaluedependslargelyonthesize,
wireradiusorstripwidthandtopologyoftheantennaaswellastheantenna'stargetfrequencybands.
Theincreaseoffractaldimension,althoughmakingbetterspacefillingcurves,buildslargermonopoleswith
lowerefficienciesandhigherqualityfactorsevenforthefirstiterations,atleastforwirestructureswithoutloops.
Topologyhasastrongerinfluencethanfractaldimensionontheelectromagneticbehaviorofplanarprefractal
wiremonopoles,inparticularontheirrespectivelossesefficiencyfactor.
Whenthewiregeometrycontainsnoloops,eachIFSiterationincreasesthelengthandbendingofthewires:asa
consequenceohmiclossesandtheamountofstoredenergyonthesurroundingoftheantennaincreases(this
meanslowerradiationefficienciesandhigherqualityfactors).Whiletheratiosofminiaturizationcanbe
remarkable,theachievedefficienciesandqualityfactorsarenotthatpractical.Thelowradiationresistancesare
duetothepresenceofantiparallelcurrentsthatcanceltheradiationofeachother.Theantennamustbedesigned
ortappedinsuchawayastominimizethisproblem.
Wiregeometriescontainingloopsdonothaveantiparallelcurrents.Althoughtheydonotachievealargedegree
ofminiaturization,asthenumberofloopsinsidethestructureincreases,efficiencyandfractionalbandwidth
(inverseofqualityfactor)seemtoincreasewiththeorderoftheprefractal(numberofIFSiterations).
Ithasbeenobservedthatradiationresistanceresultsaredependentonthelengthofthefeedingsegmentofthe
monopole,whichseemstobethemainsourceofradiation,whiletherestofthestructurebehavesasacapacitive
loadthatreducestheresonantfrequency.
Thehypothesisofelectromagneticcoupling(orshortcuts)betweencornersfullyexplainswhytheresonant
frequencyofprefractalantennasismuchlargerthanwhatcouldbeexpectedfromthewirelengthonly,andwhy
itstagnatesasthenumberofIFSiterationsincreases.Theantennamustbedesignedortappedinsuchawayasto
minimizethisproblem.

Asaresultoftheelectromagneticcouplinghypothesis,someguidelinesforthedesignofsmallantennashave
beenderived.Anantennadesignthatfollowstheseguidelines,thetwoarmspiralantenna,hasthesmallest
possiblesizeforagivenresonantfrequency.
Thedesignofwiresmallantennasusingprefractalgeometrieshastheadvantageofusinganeasily
programmableIFSalgorithmtopackalongwireintoagivenvolume.However,themerefactofbeingapre
fractalobjectdoesnotimplythatthedegreeofminiaturizationandantennaparametersareoptimum.
Asinanyotherkindofantenna,itisinfacttheantennageometrywhatdeterminestheradiationbehaviour.The
previousconceptionthatfractalantennaisequivalenttooptimumminiaturizationandbandwidthisperhaps
amisunderstandingofthewellknownHansensstatement:Toobtainperformanceclosertotheminimum
(Quality)"Q"curvethesphericalvolumemustbeusedmoreeffectively.
Someprefractalantennashaveaslightlysmallerelectricalsizethanitsconventionalcounterpartswhile
maintainingtheirmainradiationparameters(qualityfactorandlossefficiency).Thishasbeenassessedforplanar
monopoleconfigurations,butotherfractalantennatypesarestillbeingaccessed.
Itmaybewisetomixdifferentkindsoffractalantennasandfeederstructurestoobtainanantennawithmaximal
efficiency.
Itmaybewisetoheavilytapsomekindsoffractalantennastructurestominimizereversecurrentsthatdecrease
antennaefficiency.

IdeallythiskindoffractalantennashouldbemountableonaverticalVenetiantrackblind.Awindowblindisa
windowcoveringcomposedoflongstripsoffabricorrigidmaterial.Examplesincludeshutters,Venetianblinds,roller
shadesandcurtainliketrackblinds.Ablindlimitsoutsideobservationandthusblindstheobservertotheview.The
maintypesareslatblindswhichcanbeopenedintwowaysandsolidblinds.

Suggestedstructure("ConcatenatedHorizontalHtrees")

eachantennareplicatedverticallyequal150cmheight
eachsubunitbeingabout6cm2
eachantennasubelementminimumsizeshouldbe0.8mm
eachantennasubelementminimumsizeshouldbe1.6mm
eachantennasubelementincrementstepshouldbe0.2mm

Illustratedabove:
Manufacturedfractalantennaswithtargetfractaldimension~1.58comparedwiththesizeof10
eurocents.Allantennasareassumedtobetappedatthebottomvertexorvalleyofthe"V".
FromLefttoRightandbycolumns:
DeltaWiredSierpinskimonopoles(DWS)YWiredSierpinskimonopoles
(YWS)SierpinskiArrowheadmonopoles(SA)andKoch1Sierpinski
monopoles(K1S).
Note:Eachstepdowneachcolumnisthenextfractalantennaiteration,from1
to5.

Intellectualpropertyissues

Becauseofthecomplexityof"finetuning"antennasforoptimalbroadbandperformance(asTVantennasmainly
operatebelow1.0GHz),itcanbebroadlyagreeduponthatfractalantennas[thataredesignedtooperateintheVHF&
UHFTVbands]shouldbepatentable.
This"patentabilitycontext"shouldonlyapplytogettingmultipletypesoffractalantennasintegrated(andoptimized)
ontoaplanarsurface,withapplicablecontrolmechanismstoreduceconsumerannoyancewiththeantennasystem.
However,forfractalantennasoperatingfrom90MHzto900MHz
this"patentabilityrule"shouldnotapplyunlessthereisaprofoundissueofminiaturizationinvolved(anantenna
sizereductionofatleast~100:1,pertargetedwavelengthbands).
this"patentabilityrule"shouldnotapplywheretheantennaisotherwisesimpleANDisdesignedforNON
PROFESSIONALUSE.
Entitieswith"FractalAntennaPatents"
fractus.com/index.php/fractus/patents/(manyofthesepatentshavebeenwronglygranted)
fractenna.com/our/patented.html(manyofthesepatentshavebeenwronglygranted)
Peopledohavetherighttotakeexistingfractalantennadesignsandcreatetheirowndistinctdesignsprovidingthat
thedesignshowseitherdistinctintellectualorartisticeffort.Thisisnotonlytokeepcostsdownfortheconsumer,but
toallowforinnovationindesign.Insomenations,artisticdesignsarecopyrightablebutthisshouldlegalcontext
shouldnotbeabusedbyantennadesignerstoartificiallycreateadesignmonopoly.
Asfractalantennasonlymereimitationsofnature,thereneedstobealimittheextentthatanyfractalantennacanbe
patentedorcopyrighted.
Mostimportantlyofall:theantenna'sbandwidth,gain,selectivityandefficiencyshouldbefullydisclosedtothe
consumer.
Furthertechnicalreading
GeneralDTVtransmissiontechnologies
Singlesidebandmodulation(theparentwaveformofNTSC,PALandSECAMaswellas8VSB)
8VSB(thetransmissionwaveformthatisproblematicduetoitbeingasinglecarrierwavesystem)
Fractalantennas(thekindofantennathatcanreduce80%oftheimpactof8VSBfadeevents)
DigitalVideoBroadcasting(DVBthecorestandardthattheATSCimplements)
Digitalterrestrialtelevision(thegeneralcategoryforterrestrialHDTVbroadcasting)
ATSCStandards(thecoreHDTVtransmissionstandardsimplementedinNorthAmerica)
ATSCtuner(thedeviceaffectedbypoorantennaperformance)
EVSB(thestandardfortransmissionandreceptionthattheFCCandCRTChasfailedtomakemandatory)
Orthogonalfrequencydivisionmultiplexing(thebasisofDVBT,ISDB(SBTVD)&DMB)
ISDB(transmissionstandardadoptedbyJapan,aftertechnicalrejectionofDVBT)
SBTVDT(transmissionstandardtobeadoptedbyBrazil,basedonISDB)
DVBT(transmissionstandardadoptedbytheEBUaftertechnicalrejectionof8VSBMPEG2isthedefaultvideo
type)
DVBT2(thesuccessortoDVBT,fordigitalterrestrialtelevision)
DVB_S2(thesuccessortoDVBT,forTVRO)
DMBT/H(transmissionstandardbasedonDVBT,afterrejectionofsomeweakpointsinDVBTstandard)
Transmissionsystems
MPEG4SLS(notimplementedinDTV,butallDTVaudioisMPEG4akaAAC)

Bitratepeeling(notimplementedinDTV)
Transportstream(theMPEGdatastreamthatisdamagedbypoorantennaperformance)
MPEG2(theMPEG2videodatastreamthatdependsontheMPEGTransportStreamtooperate)
MPEG4(someDVBcountriesuseMPEG2orMPEG4orboth,SBTVDisMPEG4only)
Fractalsgeneralinformation
Fractals(generalcategory)
ListoffractalsbyHausdorffDimension(2DfractalswithHorizontal_dimension>0.66arepreferable,
Horizontal_dimension<2.5recommended)
Scaleinvariance(whatfractalantennasexploittodecreasetheirsizeandincreasetheirbandwidth)
Diffusionlimitedaggregation(whenseparatelycoupledtoHfractalantennaelement,couldsmoothoutgain
over"extendedoctave"ranges)
Fractalantennas
Fractalantenna(generaltechnologycategory)
Zordercurve[adequatebutsuboptimalforthiskindofantenna]
Hfractal(antennatheoryoverallsuggeststhatthisshapeishighlyoptimalforreceptionofHorizontalor
Verticalpolarizedsignals)
Pythagorastree(inamodifiedformwouldmakeagoodDTVantenna)
Apolloniangasket(someversionsofthisformwouldmakegoodantennas)
Penrosetiling(cangenerateusableantennas)
Hilbertcurve(hasbeenusedtomakefractalantennas)
Sierpinskicarpet(inamodifiedformisusedtomakebroadbandmobilephoneantennas)
Hexaflake(hasbeenusedtomakeexperimentalantennas,a7sidedpolygoncouldyieldbetterresults)
Antennasystemissues
MicrostripAntenna(atechnologyneededintheconstructionoftheseantennas)
Spurline&Stripline(arerelatedstructuraltechnologiesneededandnecessaryintheconstructionand
manufactureoffractalantennas)
Signaltrace(thekindoftechnologythatcanbeusedtomakefractalantennasthatcouldbemountedon
windowblinds)
AntennaPolarization(generalelectromagnetictheory)
Linearpolarization(MostbroadcastersinNorthAmericausetransmissionantennasthatare60%
Horizontallypolarized,40%Verticalpolarizedthispolarizationratiogivesthebestperformanceformost
inhometelevisionantennas.Lowpowerrelayantennas(under2kw)maybepolarizedin"Horizontal"or
"Vertical"modeexclusively.)
Circularpolarization(thekindofantennapreferredforVHFbroadcasters,butisalmostexclusivelyused
forUHFTelevisiontransmissioninNorthAmerica.)
Televisionbands
Veryhighfrequency(bandusedbyDTVbroadcasters,hassomeimpulsenoiseimmunityproblems)
Ultrahighfrequency(bandusedexclusivelyinEuropeforDTVbroadcasting,verylownoiseimmunityinthis
band)
Antennamountingareas
Windowblind(structurewherethisantennashouldbemounted)
Miniblind(probablynotsuitableforfractalantennas)
Regulators(NorthAmerica,whereATSC8VSBHDTVhasbeenadopted)
FCC(aregulatorthathasfailedtomakeErrorCorrectionandSecondaryAntiFadingsignalmandatory)
CanadianRadiotelevisionandTelecommunicationsCommission(CRTC:aregulatorthathasfailedtomake

ErrorCorrectionandSecondaryAntiFadingsignalmandatory)
http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/smtgst.nsf/eng/sf01229.html("BETS7TechnicalStandardsandRequirementsfor
RadioApparatusCapableofReceivingTelevisionBroadcasting"aCRTCreceptionrequirementsdocumentthat
failstospecifyEnhancedVSB)
SecretariatofCommunicationandTransportation(aregulatorthathasfailedtomakeErrorCorrectionand
SecondaryAntiFadingsignalmandatory)
Companiesthatproducefractalantennas
EuropeanUnion:fractus.com
NorthAmerica:fractenna.com
AsiaPacific:NONEareknownasof15March2013.

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