METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAINTAINING AN OPTICAL WIRELESS LINK

摘要

The present invention provides an algorithm for partitioning a portion of a load between a FSOW link and a RF link in order to maintain a FSOW link. By having the ability to adjust the load between a FSOW and RF wireless link during inclement weather, the ability to maintain the FSOW link is significantly increased. The algorithm of the present invention uses the BER to determine the current atmospheric attenuation and whether or not a percentage of the load is to be partitioned to the RF link. Using the BER to determine the actual atmospheric attenuation provides a better characterization of the link status, than other techniques such as the difference between the transmitted and received power. Once such a determination is made, a control circuit is used to partition a percentage of the load from the FSOW link onto the RF link.