Improving Digital High Frequency (HF) Communications with Multi-Dimensional Constant Energy Modulation Implementation
Abstract
Improved high frequency (HF) digital communication is desired in commercial and military applications ,especially at sea where the primary digital communications is satellite communications (SATCOM). HF over-the-horizon (OTH) relays are often the alternative communication path when SATCOM is too costly or not available. Our work suggests using multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), and various modulations in HF OTH communications to reduce the bit error rate (BER), improve data throughput in the allocated bandwidth, and potentially provide physical layer security through obfuscation. We implement MIMO, OFDM, and multi-dimensional constant energy modulation (CEM) by utilizing GNU Radio Companion (GRC) to program two NI Ettus X310 Software Defined Radios (SDR) in a 2x2 MIMO configuration. This is the first time CEM has been transmitted and received. Modulation and demodulation are successful for various file types. The 4D-16 CEM constellation and its BER are compared to that of quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) and 16-quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM). Explanations of how CEM, OFDM subcarriers, and space time block codes (STBC) can provide frequency agility, throughput manipulation, and physical layer security are provided. Selected CEM constellations are presented.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 2020
- Accession Number
- AD1177418
Entities
People
- Adam J. Waymouth
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School