DETAILED DESCRIPTION In light of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide satellite telecommunications systems, components, and methods which can increase the penetration of uplink and downlink signals into buildings, foliage, transportation vehicles, and other objects which can reduce link margin.
This and other objects are accomplished according to the present invention by providing satellite telecommunications repeaters that receive, amplify, and locally retransmit the downlink signal received from a satellite thereby increasing the effective downlink margin in the vicinity of the satellite telecommunications repeaters.
Furthermore, satellite telecommunications repeaters according to the present invention receive uplink signals transmitted by radiotelephones in the vicinity of the repeaters, amplify, and retransmit such signals thereby increasing the effective uplink margin.
According to one aspect of the present invention, constant gain, non-processing satellite telecommunications repeaters serve both the forward and the return links to enable operation of hand-held radiotelephones within vehicles, buildings, airports, and in areas with heavy foliage or mountainous terrain which might not otherwise have sufficient link margin to support such communications.
Patch antenna assemblies may be employed to receive and retransmit forward link signals and to receive and retransmit reverse link signals.
Non-portable, mounted satellite telecommunications repeaters may be used wherein the antennas which receive downlink signals and retransmit uplink signals are placed at a distance from and/or on the opposite side of some physical structure (such as a wall or ceiling) from the antennas which receive uplink signals and which retransmit downlink signals.
These non-portable, mounted repeaters may be either mobile, such as when mounted to a vehicle, or non-mobile, such as when mounted to a building.
This configuration of the non-portable, mounted repeaters of the present invention can provide greater antenna isolation, thus allowing greater repeater gain without instability
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