Path Loss Model for Low Antenna Heights in Residential Areas at Middle VHF Band

Motoharu SASAKI  Wataru YAMADA  Naoki KITA  Takatoshi SUGIYAMA  

Publication
IEICE TRANSACTIONS on Communications   Vol.E97-B   No.10   pp.2093-2101
Publication Date: 2014/10/01
Online ISSN: 1745-1345
DOI: 10.1587/transcom.E97.B.2093
Type of Manuscript: Special Section PAPER (Special Section on Recent Progress in Measurement and Design Techniques on Antennas, Propagation and Wireless Systems)
Category: 
Keyword: 
path loss model,  low antenna height,  mobile terminal,  residential area,  VHF band,  

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Summary: 
A path loss model for low antenna heights below surrounding buildings in residential areas is presented to contribute to the construction of VHF band wireless systems. The model is constructed on the basis of measurement results at 167.65MHz, near center frequency at VHF band. Path loss characteristics in the middle VHF band are compared to those in bands above UHF. The dominant paths in bands above UHF include propagation paths below surrounding buildings, such as paths along roads. However, in the middle VHF band, these paths are instantly attenuated because their 1st Fresnel zone radius is larger than the average building height or road width. The dominant path in the middle VHF band is the over-roof propagation path, and the 1st Fresnel zone of the path is shielded by the buildings and the ground surface. The proposed path loss model has two features. First, it derives the effective height of the ground surface from the terrain profile of the buildings and the ground surface. Second, it uses formulas of a two-path model to take the shielding of the 1st Fresnel zone into account. Finally, it is shown that the proposed model is able to predict the path loss measurement results more accurately than the conventional model.