Skip to main content

Fading : Slow & Fast and Large & Small Scale Fading (with MATLAB Code + Simulator)



LARGE SCALE FADING

The term 'Large scale fading' is used to describe variations in received signal power over a long distance, usually just considering shadowing. Assume that a transmitter (say, a cell tower) and a receiver  (say, your smartphone) are in constant communication. Take into account the fact that you are in a moving vehicle. An obstacle, such as a tall building, comes between your cell tower and your vehicle's line of sight (LOS) path. Then you'll notice a decline in the power of your received signal on the spectrogram. Large-scale fading is the term for this type of phenomenon.


SMALL SCALE FADING

 Small scale fading is a term that describes rapid fluctuations in the received signal power on a small time scale. This includes multipath propagation effects as well as movement-induced Doppler frequency shifts. The statistics of small scale fading in industrial contexts can be described as Rician fading, and the Rician K-factor values for various factory conditions were estimated. We're talking abut the industrial environment and the Rician k-factor because there's a lot more signal reflection and refraction than in other contexts or environments. 

Rayleigh fading is a perfect example of small-scale fading because it models rapid variations in signal amplitude due to multipath propagation without a dominant direct path. Rayleigh fading captures variations that occur over short times or distances, typically on the order of the wavelength of the signal. Here, The signal's amplitude varies randomly according to a Rayleigh distribution, with fluctuations that are typical of small-scale fading.


Slow fading

Because of the Doppler shift. When the signal bandwidth is much lesser than the Doppler spread. Slow fading occurs when the channel changes faster than the modulated symbol rate. What causes the channel to change? Doppler shift is responsible for that. Go through the formula of Doppler shift


Fast fading

Because of Doppler shift, particularly when the Doppler spread is equal to or larger than the signal bandwidth. The additive or subtractive nature of waveforms with varying phases can also produce fast fading. In simpler words, fast fading occurs when the channel changes faster than the modulated symbol rate.


Effect of Muiti-path Fading on the Alamouti Scheme in 2x1 MIMO Communication






Effect of Minimal Fading on the Alamouti Scheme in 2x1 MIMO Communication with an Ideal Channel






Copy the MATLAB Code above from here



Further Reading

  1.  Flat fading versus Frequency selective fading
  2. Frequency Selective Fading Online Simulator
  3. Flat vs Frequency Selective Fading Online Simulator 
     
     
  4.  Impact of Rayleigh Fading and AWGN on Digital Communication Systems
  5. Rayleigh vs Rician Fading
  6.  Doppler Shift
  7.  
    Fading Online Simulator (Rayleigh, Rician, Nakagami, and Doppler)

Contact Us

Name

Email *

Message *

Popular Posts

Constellation Diagram of FSK in Detail

📘 Overview 🧮 Simulator for constellation diagram of FSK 🧮 Theory 🧮 MATLAB Code 📚 Further Reading 📚 BER vs SNR from Constellation   Binary bits '0' and '1' can be mapped to 'j' and '1' to '1', respectively, for Baseband Binary Frequency Shift Keying (BFSK) . Signals are in phase here. These bits can be mapped into baseband representation for a number of uses, including power spectral density (PSD) calculations. For passband BFSK transmission, we can modulate signal 'j' with a lower carrier frequency and signal '1' with a higher carrier frequency while transmitting over a wireless channel. Let's assume we are transmitting carrier signal fc1 for the transmission of binary bit '1' and carrier signal fc2 for the transmission of binary bit '0'. Simulator for 2-FSK Constellation Diagram Simulator for 2-FSK Constellation Diagram ...

UGC NET Electronic Science Previous Year Question Papers with Solutions

Home / Engineering & Other Exams / UGC NET 2026 PYQ ⬇️ Download Papers and Solutions 📋 Exam Pattern 💡 Preparation Tips ❓ FAQs 📊 Exam Highlights: Electronic Science (88) Feature Details Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) ₹37,000 + HRA per month Eligibility M.Sc/M.Tech in Electronics (55%) Validity of Certificate JRF (3 Years) | Lectureship (Lifetime) 📥 Download UGC NET Electronics PDFs Complete collection of previous year question papers, answer keys and explanations for Subject Code 88. Start Downloading 📂 View All Question Papers June 2025 - Question Paper Download PDF June 2025 - Solved Paper + Explanation ...

FM Bandwidth and FM Band Explained

FM radio uses the frequency band from 88 MHz to 108 MHz , which is a 20 MHz-wide spectrum . This is the range of carrier frequencies available to stations. 108 MHz − 88 MHz = 20 MHz However, a single FM station occupies only about 200 kHz . This is the bandwidth of the modulated FM signal. 1. Why One FM Station Needs ~200 kHz FM uses frequency modulation . The bandwidth depends on how far the carrier swings. Carson's Rule gives the approximate FM bandwidth: B = 2 ( Δf + f m ) ...

What is Frequency Resolution?

  Formula for Frequency Resolution (in general) The frequency resolution is the smallest frequency difference between two adjacent frequency points in your sampling range. It is determined by the total frequency range and the number of frequency samples  N . The formula for the frequency resolution (or step size)  Δf  is: Δf = (f max  - f min ) / (N - 1) Where: f min  is the minimum frequency in the range (in this case, -50 Hz). f max  is the maximum frequency in the range (in this case, 50 Hz). N  is the number of frequency points / frequency bins. Using the Given Values: From the function: f min  = -50 Hz f max  = 50 Hz N  = 1000 The frequency resolution is: Δf = (50 - (-50)) / (1000 - 1) = 100 / 999 ≈ 0.1001 Hz   Understanding Frequency Resolution in Signal Processing Alternative Formula Using Time Duration Another common way to define frequency resolution, especially in time-domain signal processing, is: Δf = 1 / T W...

Ph.D. admissions in IITs without a GATE score

PhD Admission in IITs With Low CGPA approximately 6.5 – 7.0 / 10 No valid GATE score Willing to strengthen research proposal, contact faculty, apply to multiple institutes Expanded List of IITs: Eligibility & Links IIT Eligibility & Notes PhD Info Link IIT Gandhinagar Minimum: 60% marks or 6.0 CGPA (General) or 55%/5.5 (SC/ST/PD) in qualifying degree.  GATE/NET may be waived in certain cases; but short‑listing criteria likely higher. iitgn.ac.in/admissions/phd IIT Kharagpur Minimum eligibility: 60% marks or 6.5 CGPA in qualifying exam for many branches.  However brochure notes “for test & interview this minimum must be met and higher cut‑offs may apply”. iitkgp.ac.in/phd_brochure.pdf IIT Bhubaneswar Minimum: Engineering Schools – M.Tech/ME with minimum 60% marks or 6.5 CGPA....

BER performance of QPSK with BPSK, 4-QAM, 16-QAM, 64-QAM, 256-QAM, etc (MATLAB + Simulator)

📘 Overview 📚 QPSK vs BPSK and QAM: A Comparison of Modulation Schemes in Wireless Communication 📚 Real-World Example 🧮 MATLAB Code 📚 Further Reading   QPSK provides twice the data rate compared to BPSK. However, the bit error rate (BER) is approximately the same as BPSK at low SNR values when gray coding is used. On the other hand, QPSK exhibits similar spectral efficiency to 4-QAM and 16-QAM under low SNR conditions. In very noisy channels, QPSK can sometimes achieve better spectral efficiency than 4-QAM or 16-QAM. In practical wireless communication scenarios, QPSK is commonly used along with QAM techniques, especially where adaptive modulation is applied. Modulation Bits/Symbol Points in Constellation Usage Notes BPSK 1 2 Very robust, used in weak signals QPSK 2 4 Balanced speed & reliability 4-QAM ...

Coherence Bandwidth and Coherence Time (with MATLAB + Simulator)

🧮 Coherence Bandwidth 🧮 Coherence Time 🧮 MATLAB Code s 📚 Further Reading For Doppler Delay or Multi-path Delay Coherence time T coh ∝ 1 / v max (For slow fading, coherence time T coh is greater than the signaling interval.) Coherence bandwidth W coh ∝ 1 / Ï„ max (For frequency-flat fading, coherence bandwidth W coh is greater than the signaling bandwidth.) Where: T coh = coherence time W coh = coherence bandwidth v max = maximum Doppler frequency (or maximum Doppler shift) Ï„ max = maximum excess delay (maximum time delay spread) Notes: The notation v max −1 and Ï„ max −1 indicate inverse proportionality. Doppler spread refers to the range of frequency shifts caused by relative motion, determining T coh . Delay spread (or multipath delay spread) determines W coh . Frequency-flat fading occurs when W coh is greater than the signaling bandwidth. Coherence Bandwidth Coherence bandwidth is...