Surface wave repeater with cancellation and methods for use therewith

A method comprising:

• receiving, via a first coupler, a first guided electromagnetic wave that propagates along a surface of a transmission medium without requiring an electrical return path;
• generating, via the first coupler, a first received signal in response to the first guided electromagnetic wave;
• generating, via impulse cancellation circuitry, a first impulse noise signal in response to impulse noise in the first received signal;
• generating, via transceiver circuitry, a first transmit signal based on the first received signal and the first impulse noise signal, wherein the transceiver circuitry cancels the first impulse noise signal when generating the first transmit signal;
• and
• converting, via a second coupler, the first transmit signal to a second guided electromagnetic wave that propagates along the surface of the transmission medium without requiring an electrical return path.

A repeater comprising:

• a first coupler configured to:
• receive a first guided electromagnetic wave that propagates along a surface of a transmission medium without requiring an electrical return path;
• generate a received signal in response to the first guided electromagnetic wave;
• and
• convert a second transmit signal to a second guided electromagnetic wave that propagates along the surface of the transmission medium without requiring an electrical return path, wherein the first coupler generates a backlobe emission in a direction toward a second coupler;
• backlobe cancellation circuitry configured to generate a backlobe signal corresponding to the backlobe emission;
• transceiver circuitry configured to generate a first transmit signal based on the received signal and the backlobe signal, wherein the transceiver circuitry cancels the backlobe signal when generating the first transmit signal;
• and
• wherein the second coupler is configured to convert the first transmit signal to a third guided electromagnetic wave that propagates along the surface of the transmission medium without requiring an electrical return path.