National Association of Broadcasters Engineering Handbook, 10th Edition

CHAPTER 1.8 Propagation Characteristics of Radio Waves

DOUGLAS VERNIER

V-Soft Communications Cedar Falls, Iowa

INTRODUCTION

The broadcast industry, and virtually all communications services, is dependent on reaching people within a given area. The quality of coverage is a key factor. Knowing where the signal goes, through propagation prediction, is both science and art. It is based on the scientific modeling of the radio path as it travels from the transmitter to the receiver. A good model can accurately predict signal strength at various frequencies over distances as those signals are influenced by ground conductivity, atmospherics, and terrain. The propagation models currently in use were developed and tested over a period of time and have ...