48th International Symposium ELMAR-2006, 07-09 June 2006, Zadar, Croatia

Tesla's Inventions in the Field of Radiocommunications

Branka Zovko-Cihlar
University of Zagreb, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing,
Dept of Wireless Communications, Unska 3 / XII, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
E-mail: branka.zovkodfer.hr

Abstract - In the early days of Tesla's research he explained the process ofelectromagnetic waves propagation.
His experimentations with high frequencies, wireless communication systems, and high frequency oscillator are
the base of transmission technology today. In this paper the influence of Tesla's inventions and results in the
field of radiocommunications are described.
Keywords - Nikola Tesla, Inventions, Radiocommunications, Digital Video Broadcasting

1. INTRODUCTION In 1897 Tesla demonstrated a radio controlled

boat to the US military, believing that the military
Nikola Tesla was born on July 9/10, 1856 in the would want use this invention for radio controlled
village Smiljan (near town Gospic, Lika), Republic torpedoes. In 1898, radio controlled boat was
of Croatia, in a Serbian family. Now we celebrate demonstrated to the public during an electrical
150th anniversary of the birth of Nikola Tesla. exhibition at Madison Square Garden and this radio
Tesla finished his school in Karlovac and then remote control remained a novelty until 1960.
studied electrical engineering at the Austria
Polytechnic in Graz from 1875. In 1882 he moved Between 1895-1899, Tesla designated the first
to Budapest and worked for telegraph company hydro-electric power plant at Niagara Falls and this
(American Telephone Company). In 1882 he was the final victory of Tesla's alternating current
moved to Paris, France to work as an engineer for over Edison's Direct Current, Fig. 1.
the Continental Edison Company. In 1884, Tesla
arrived in United States of America and started to
work in company Edison Machine Works, with
direct current generators. His work in Edison
Company resulted in experiments in which he used
rotating magnetic fields.
In 1886, Tesla formed his own company: "Tesla
Electronic Light & Manufacturing" with the plan
for an alternating current motor. In 1887 he
constructed the initial brushless alternate - current
induction motor, and he demonstrated it in 1888 to
the American Institute of Electrical Engineers
(IEEE).
In 1888 Tesla started to work with George
Westinghouse at Westinghouse Electric &
Manufacturing Company in Pittsburg, USA, where
he started with idea for polyphase systems which Fig. 1. Nikola Tesla designed the first
would allow transmission of alternating current hydro-electric power plant at Niagara Falls
electricity over the large distances. In 1888, in
Westinghouse labs, Tesla had obtained patents on a
whole polyphase system of a current dynamos, During the next period of Tesla's work in his
transformers and motors. New York laboratories he made a research on
wireless communications. The result of wireless
Tesla explained the principles of rotating transmission of electricity through ionosphere was
magnetic field and induction motor by Wardenclyffe Tower with electrical sparks for
demonstrating how to make a cooper egg stand on transfer electricity without wires. This was the first
end. This phenomenon, which he constructed, is broadcasting system in the world, Fig. 2.
known as the "Egg of Columbus".

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 48th International Symposium ELMAR-2006, 07-09 June 2006, Zadar, Croatia

Fig. 2. Tesla's Wardenclyffe Tower located in Fig. 3. Illuminated gas - field phosphor
Shoreham, Long Island, New York, USA coated light bulb
Tesla wanted to transmit electricity from this In 1891 Tesla patented Tesla coil with
tower to the whole globe. The source of the frequency sixty - cycle per second and stepped it up
transmitted electricity was from the Niagara Falls to extremely high frequency. Tesla coil could also
power plant. generate extremely high voltages. In 1899
Experimental Station in Colorado Springs was
In 1918, electronic age started and high design, where the wireless transmission
frequency currents could be generated by help of experiments were performed, Fig. 4.
high voltage grid control vacuum tubes, making
higher frequencies possible. On this invention
around 1924 the amplitude modulated radio
communication high frequency signal was possible
for broadcasting transmission. This development is
still in use in all broadcasting transmitters.

2. TESLA'S INVENTIONS IN THE FIELD

OF RADIOCOMMUNICATIONS
Tesla's started with experiments to explore
himself a phenomenon of high frequency
electricity. In England in 1873 Maxwell
theoretically predicted electromagnetic waves.
Maxwell found mathematically that light could be
electromagnetic wave which he defined with very
well known "Maxwell equations". In 1888 Heinrich
Hertz confirmed with experiments that an electric
spark propagates electromagnetic waves into space.
This result in a fact that electromagnetic waves
could exist at all frequencies. Some years later
Tesla presented wireless communication system at
lower frequencies which made long distance
communication possible. Today we know that Fig. 4. Experimental Station at Colorado Springs
electromagnetic waves penetrate deep into space where the first wireless transmission experiments
and we can see television signal which was were preformed (1899-1900)
transmitted from the Moon to the Earth.
Tesla continued with experiments with high Nikola Tesla explained a wireless
frequencies and in 1890 he illuminated vacuum communication system - Tesla oscillator, Fig. 5.
tube by wireless transmission of energy through the With Tesla coils he was able to transmit and receive
air, Fig. 3. Tesla was holding a gas field phosphor powerful radio signals when the coils were tuned to
coated light bulb which was illuminated without the same frequency.
wires by electromagnetic field from Tesla coil.

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 48th International Symposium ELMAR-2006, 07-09 June 2006, Zadar, Croatia

signal with high frequency was possible which we

still have today in the broadcasting transmission.
At the end of 20th century digital signal
transmission started, and this new technology
I g;
. K:?
U..ly
enabled development of mobile systems, computer
technology, digital television broadcasting and
km
multimedia services transmission.
.F
R
3. DIGITAL VIDEO BROADCASTING
SYSTEM

G - generator Al - transmitter's antenna Standard for digital terrestrial broadcasting

T - transformer 0 - spark oscillator DVB-T started in 1990 in Europe. First important
Cl, C2 - capacitors YI - inductance decision was selection of MPEG-2 for source
P1 - primary coil A2 - receiver's antenna coding of audio and video data at the input of
SI - secondary coil K - dector (coherer)
digital video transmitter.
Fig. 5. Tesla oscillator
Multimedia services in future will require the
In Fig. 5, generator G and transformer T is transmission of very high data rates over broadband
power supply for transmitter. Resonant circuit Cl radio channels. The European terrestrial digital TV
and PI initiated by the spark oscillator to the system continues its progression among the
resonant frequency of about 100 kHz. Antenna was broadcaster community around the world. The
vertical wire with the small capacity on the top. At interest for new services to sustain its successful
100 kHz antenna has high impedance. Oscillator is technical and commercial deployment grows
high frequency generator with small impedance. tremendously. The market introduction by the
There exist mismatch between antenna impedance DVB-T forum of the Multimedia Home Platform
as a load and impedance of oscillator as a source. (MHP) provides the broadcasters with terminal able
Because of this phenomena Tesla found the to implement many categories of interactive new
solution with his Tesla high frequency transformer services. For multimedia data transmission is of
which he connect between antenna and oscillator. great importance to distribute digital video signal
Transformer's secondary coil with inductance Y1 with high quality of service - QoS, large amplifier
and capacity C2 make the resonant circuit, which efficiency and with nominal transmitter output
resulted in the impedance match between the load power. With this requirement the main role is
and source. method of suppression non-linearity products in
terrestrial digital video transmitter with apply of
Tesla transformed the high current of the digital precorrection unit and output filter unit.
oscillator into a low current with high voltage in the Standard for digital terrestrial broadcasting DVB-T,
transmitter's antenna and this solution is still in use established in 1997, opened a new era in digital TV
and all broadcasting transmitters work on this technology for multimedia. Multicarrier techniques,
principle. On the receiver side antenna has Tesla COFDM modulation, digital precorrection GPS
transformer to match the impedance of the antenna synchronization, are some of the features of a
to the detector, which gives us the received signal. digital transmitter. COFDM modulation method is
very resistant to different disturbances (e.g.
In 1918 started electronic age and high reflection and interference), and also spectrally
frequency current could be generated by help of economical, enabling the multimedia transmitter
control - grid high - vacuum tubes, making higher network to transmit the digital signal on only one
frequencies possible. On this invention around 1924 channel.
the amplitude modulated radiocommunication

Video MPEG-2 Energy Precorrection

Audio Coder Dispersal Unit

Fig. 6. DVB-T transmission unit

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 48th International Symposium ELMAR-2006, 07-09 June 2006, Zadar, Croatia

Input signal to the transmitter is a MPEG-2 10

transport stream, with 5 Mbit/s to 34.3 Mbit/s data

rate, depending on transmission mode and -10 A
parameters chosen, Fig. 6. -20

To obtain OFDM signal, transport stream is

- I IV
-30

divided into two (QPSK), four (16QAM) or six -40

(64QAM) bit streams, forming a word of 2, 4 or 6

X/ \..,
-50
bits, defining the subcarrier vector. OFDM symbol
\N
-60
is in 8K mode formed by 6817 subcarriers, and in
2K mode by 1705 subcarriers. Symbol duration is -70

divided into two parts: useful and guard parts. -80

Guard part can occupy 1/4, 1/8, 1/16 or 1/32 of the -90
CEN>TER 666.000 M/Hz
- - . .- - -- - -- -. . --
SPANh 30.000
- - . .-71 ----
MCHz
. .-

whole symbol duration.

In linear precorrection unit the input I/Q stream Fig. 8. Simulation of filter characteristic with 6
is treated in amplitude and phase to linearise the cavities and a) two notch cavities, b) cross coupling
power-amplifier transfer characteristics.
Up-converter converts the IF signal to the 6. CONCLUSION
desired UHF channel, which will be amplified for
driving the output stage to the level needed. Today DVB-T is the most popular digital
terrestrial television system in the world, adopted in
Filter unit at the output of DVB-T transmitter is more countries than any other. It has been
a two port network which allows power within successfully deployed in the UK, Germany,
defined frequency range to be transferred from the Sweden, Finland, Spain, Italy the Netherlands,
power amplifier to the antenna load, while in other Switzerland, Singapore and Australia. DVB-T trials
frequency ranges it prevents almost all the power are on-going in China, Malaysia, Thailand,
from passing to the load. Vietnam, Ukraine, Croatia, South Africa and others.
Filter Characteristic Specification All what Tesla foresee based on the
development, experiments, patents from the field of
Standard EN 300 744 prescribes the spectral high frequency we have today is result in his
mask, which has to be filled by digital TV invention. All invention like alternating current,
transmitter. Based on the prescribed mask and the Tesla AC motors, Tesla coil, Tesla transformers,
frequency spectrum characteristics of the DVB-T long distance current transportation, Tesla oscillator
signal at the amplifier output, selectivity needed of and many other innovation we used today. All this
the filter unit together with other filter parameters is new technology was Nikola Tesla's dream and this
evaluated. dream is now reality.
According to the filter specification as a
frequency range, frequency bandwidth, insertion REFERENCES
loss, output power, we can choose coaxial 1/4 filters
from 200 MHz up to 1 GHz. [1] Tesla Memorial Society of New York,
Fig. 7 shows a form of coaxial resonator which Available: http:Hwww.teslasociety.com/
operates in the transverse electromagnetic (TEM) [2] Nikola Tesla, IEEE History Center - Legacies,
mode and is a quarter-wavelength long at Available: http://www.ieee.org/organizations/
resonance. One end of resonator is open-circuited history_center/legacies/tesla.html
while the other is short-circuited, and tuning is [3] B. Zovko-Cihlar, I. Milak, Intermodulation
accomplished by sliding the round centre conductor Products Suppression in Digital Video
back and forth through the short-circuited region of Transmitter for Multimedia Services,
resonator. Proceedings of the 5th EURASIP Conference
focused on Speech and Image Processing,
Multimedia Communications and Services,
EC-SIP-M 2005, Smolenice, Slovak Republic,
29 June - 02 July 2005, pp. I-1 - 1-9
.d............
[4] H.H. Meinke, Electromagnetic Waves, "Nikola
..
D
Tesla" Symposium, Zagreb, 07-10 July 1976,
pp. 23-33
[5] A. Marincic, Nikola Tesla Research Notes
from Colorado Springs, "Nikola Tesla"
Symposium, Zagreb, 07-10 July 1976, pp. 47-
Fig. 7. Coaxial 1/4 resonator 60