Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Fm Radio Signal Propagation Evaluation And Creating Statistical Models For Signal Strength Prediction In Differing Topographic Environments, Timothy Land

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Radio wave signal strength and associated propagation models are rarely analyzed across individual geographic provinces. This study evaluates the effectiveness of the Radio Mobile model to predict radio wave signal strength in the Blue Ridge and Valley and Ridge physiographic provinces. A spectrum analyzer was used on 19 FM transmitters to determine model accuracy. Statistical analysis determined the significance between different terrain factors and signal strength. Field signal strength was found to be related to test site elevation, transmitter azimuth, elevation angle, transmitter elevation, path loss, and distance. Using 76 signal strength receiver sites, Ordinary Least Square regression models predicted …