In order to validate a deterministic radio propagation algorithm, a measurement campaign was performed in the alpine valleys of "Valle d'Aosta", Italy, at 430 MHz (a common frequency for the European standard TETRA). Some diffraction methods from literature (Bullington, Deygout and Epstein-Peterson) were used to predict radio coverage maps, then compared to measurements. However, in alpine terrain, the diffraction is not the only involved propagation phenomenon: along narrow valleys, multipath propagation due to reflections is significant too and must be taken into account. So, a model that handles contributions from both diffraction and reflection phenomena was built up and showed to be in good agreement with measurements. From the comparison between measurements and simulations it has been possible develop, adjust and validate a full software useful for planning new UHF mobile network requiring as input just the DEM (digital elevation model) and antennas characteristics.
[1]
K. Bullington.
Radio Propagation at Frequencies above 30 Megacycles
,
1947,
Proceedings of the IRE.
[2]
J. Deygout.
Multiple knife-edge diffraction of microwaves
,
1966
.
[3]
Peter E. Driessen.
Prediction of multipath delay profiles in mountainous terrain
,
2000,
IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications.
[4]
Giovanni Emilio Perona,et al.
Simulation in Complex Indoor Environments of a 3D Propagation Algorithm Based On Inverse Ray Tracing
,
2006
.
[5]
J. Epstein,et al.
An Experimental Study of Wave Propagation at 850 MC
,
1953,
Proceedings of the IRE.
[6]
H. Ward.
Radar reflectivity of land and sea
,
1976,
Proceedings of the IEEE.