Empirical Analysis of Path Adjustment Factors for 10.982 GHz Slant Path and 14.8-15.3 GHz Terrestrial Radio Link

Abstract

Abstract: Rain attenuation prediction models are inevitably deployed to provide rough estimates of the actual measured attenuation due to severe scarcity in most of the tropical and equatorial climates. The results of rain attenuation measurements over a 14.8 GHz terrestrial microwave link and slant-path attenuation in vertically polarized signals propagating at 10.982 GHz in a tropical Malaysian climate were reported in this study. The experimental results including the path adjustment factors were compared with the predictions of some selected rain attenuation models. The relative errors in the path length adjustment factors (PLAFs) are in the range -0.3370 – 2.6272, while those of the slant path adjustment factors (SPAFs) are -0.9252 – +0.2923. Moreso, the charts of PLAFs and SPAFs at 0.01% of the time were also presented because they are the most commonly used availability by the telecommunications service providers. This study will allow the radio engineer to select the most suitable prediction models for the particular region under study, thereby ensuring adequate radio planning for improved service delivery especially in the tropical climates due to their peculiarity.

Keywords

• effective rain height
• extrapolation function
• pathlength adjustment factor
• slant path adjustment factor
• vertical structure of rainfall.