{"title":"Radio communications through rock strata – South African mining experience over 50 years","authors":"Brian A. Austin","doi":"10.17159/sajs.2024/17301","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"The pioneering work done in South Africa in developing radio communications technology for use underground in mines is summarised. Propagation took place, in the main, directly through the rock strata with incidental coupling into power cables, pipes, rails and other conductors. The research established the optimum frequencies for communications as well as the most appropriate antennas. Specialised radio equipment was developed for this task as constrained by the technology of the time. Size and weight were major constraints; ultimately, handheld equipment, using single-sideband modulation, was produced that functioned exceptionally well in numerous situations underground.","PeriodicalId":21928,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5000,"publicationDate":"2024-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"South African Journal of Science","FirstCategoryId":"103","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2024/17301","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"MULTIDISCIPLINARY SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The pioneering work done in South Africa in developing radio communications technology for use underground in mines is summarised. Propagation took place, in the main, directly through the rock strata with incidental coupling into power cables, pipes, rails and other conductors. The research established the optimum frequencies for communications as well as the most appropriate antennas. Specialised radio equipment was developed for this task as constrained by the technology of the time. Size and weight were major constraints; ultimately, handheld equipment, using single-sideband modulation, was produced that functioned exceptionally well in numerous situations underground.
期刊介绍:
The South African Journal of Science is a multidisciplinary journal published bimonthly by the Academy of Science of South Africa. Our mandate is to publish original research with an interdisciplinary or regional focus, which will interest readers from more than one discipline, and to provide a forum for discussion of news and developments in research and higher education. Authors are requested to write their papers and reports in a manner and style that is intelligible to specialists and non-specialists alike. Research contributions, which are peer reviewed, are of three kinds: Review Articles, Research Articles and Research Letters.