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This propagation model is fully described in Recommendation ITU-R P.1546-6. Only land terrain profiles are implemented in SEAMCAT. The ranges of application are the same as for the ITU-R P.1546-4 and ITU-R P.1546-5, save for the frequency range that in this model is extended to as high as 4 GHz.
In the section about Algorithm description, only the parts of Recommendation ITU-R P.1546-6 that are different from Recommendation ITU-R P.1546-4 and ITU-R P.1546-5 are listed.


It must be emphasised that the measurements and modelling in this Recommendation intrinsically include the effect of terminal clutter, so it would be inappropriate to add a calculation of clutter separately.

Input parameters


Figure 1: SEAMCAT Interface to the ITU-R P.1546-6 propagation model

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Table 1: ITU-R P.1546-6 propagation model

Description

Symbol

Type

Unit

Comments

Variations

 

 

 

Variation in basic transmission loss
(it has no effect in this model, variations can be introduced using distributions in time and location percentages)

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Time Percentage

p

D

%

Time variability for which the field strength value is exceeded: 1% - 50%

General environment around the Rx

 

 

 

Environment of the propagation around the Rx with representative values of clutter height in m: open/uncluttered (10), rural (10), suburban (10), urban (15), dense urban (20).

Representative clutter height around the Rx

R2

S

m

User-specified clutter height at the Rx which overwrites any predefined value when selected

General environment around the Tx

 

 

 

Environment of the propagation around the Tx with representative values of clutter height in m: open/uncluttered (minus)(10), rural (10), suburban (10), urban (15), dense urban (20). For the open/uncluttered environment, the clutter correction at the Tx is not computed.

Representative clutter height around the Tx

R1

S

m

User-specified clutter height at the Tx which overwrites any predefined value when selected

Location probability

q

D

%

Location variability: 1% - 99% (default value: 50%)

User specified standard deviation

 

S

dB

User-specified standard deviation value which overwrites any predefined value when selected

System

 

 

 

Mobile or Broadcasting DTT (determines the appropriate value of standard deviation of location variability)

Prediction resolution

wa

S

m

The width of the square area over which variability applies. Not applicable for Broadcasting DTT

Average profile height around the Rx

 

S

m

The average level of the terrain height between distances of 3 and 15 km from the Rx antenna in the direction of the Tx antenna. If Tx-Rx distance d is less than 15 km, then the terrain height is averaged between distances 0.2 d and d km.

Average profile height around the Tx

 

S

m

The average level of the terrain height between distances of 3 and 15 km from the Tx antenna in the direction of the Rx antenna. If Tx-Rx distance d is less than 15 km, then the terrain height is averaged between distances 0.2 d and d km.

Terrain clearance angle (at the Rx)

tca

S

deg

The h2 terminal's clearance angle as calculated in Section 11, noting that this is the elevation angle relative to the local horizontal

Terrain clearance angle (at the Tx)

eff1

S

deg

The h1 terminal's terrain clearance angle calculated using the method in Paragraph 4.3 case a), whether or not h1 is negative

Terrain height above sea level at the Rx

S

m

Terrain height in meters above sea level at the receiver/mobile. This parameter is used in combination with the antenna height (from the Rx local environment) and the average profile height around the Rx to compute the effective antenna height.

Terrain height above sea level at the Tx

S

m

Terrain height in meters above sea level at the transmitter/base. This parameter is used in combination with the antenna height (from the Tx local environment) and the average profile height around the Tx to compute the effective antenna height.

Terminal designations

 

S

 

When selected the algorithm will consider the option a), b) and c) of ITU-R. 1546-6 Annex 5 §1.1. By default it is selected.

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Effect of clutter shielding Transmitting/base antenna
If the transmitting/base antenna is over or adjacent to land on which there is clutter, the correction given in Annex 5, § 10 of Recommendation ITU-R P.1546-5 should be applied, irrespective of the transmitting/base antenna height above ground. This correction does not apply for an open/uncluttered transmitter. The correction should be used in all other cases, including when the antenna is above the clutter height. The correction is zero when the terminal is higher than a frequency-dependent clearance height above the clutter.
Correction Image Removed                 dB

Mathinline
body$=-J(\nu )$
                dB(Eq. 1a)
where
Mathinline
bodyJ(
\nu )
is given by equation (12a) or (12b),
and:
 = !worddavd21f832b6e6abbc51cb22ab6d62a80ba.png|height=30,width=96!for R1ha
Mathinline
body$\nu ={{K}_{nu}}\ \sqrt{{{h}_{dif1}}{{\theta }_{clut1}}}$
 for R1 >= ha   (Eq. 1b)
Mathinline
body
= !worddava3c86d6a938a04ebeb3fbfd9711386b9.png|height=30,width=110!otherwise
\nu=-{{K}_{nu}}\ \sqrt{{{h}_{dif1}}{{\theta }_{clut1}}}
  otherwise  (Eq. 1c)
hdif1 = !worddavf2a36bc5d5325b67262e05dfb05de677.png|height=25,width=49!m
Mathinline
body{{h}_{a}}-{{R}_{1}}
 m (Eq. 1d)
Image Removed = !worddavefe85adef55d9a10e96cbb12d9ab2866.png|height=27,width=106!degrees
Mathinline
body{{\theta }_{clut1}} = \arctan ({{h}_{dif1}}/27)
 degrees (Eq. 1e)
= (Eq. 1f)
f: frequency (MHz).
And R1 is the height of clutter, m above ground level, in the vicinity of the transmitting/base terminal.


Location variability in land area-coverage prediction
Area-coverage prediction methods are intended to provide the statistics of reception conditions over a given area, rather than at any specific point. The interpretation of such statistics will depend on the size of the area considered.
When one terminal of a radio path is stationary, and the other terminal is moved, basic transmission loss will vary continuously with location, according to the totality of influences affecting it. It is convenient to classify these influences into three main categories:

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In Recommendation ITU-R P.1546-6, and generally, location variability refers to the spatial statistics of local ground cover variations. This is a useful result over scales substantially larger than the ground cover variations, and over which path variations are insignificant. As location variability is defined to exclude multipath variations, it is not dependent on system bandwidth. This definition will be appropriate when applying Annex 5, §  3.1.1 in the implementation of this of Recommendation ITU-R P.1546-6.
A second definition relates to the variability of field strength over a small area, typically represented by a square with a side of 50 m to 1 km, this definition is appropriate when using terrain information in the calculation of h1, as described in Annex 5, § 3.1.2 of Recommendation ITU-R P.1546-6.
Extensive data analysis suggests that the distribution of local mean field strength due to ground cover variations is approximately lognormal.
Thus, for a land receiving/mobile antenna location the field strength, E, which will be exceeded for q% of locations is given by:
Eq=Emedian+Qiq100σL                   dB(V/m) (Eq. 2)
where:
Qi(error):inverse complementary cumulative normal distribution as a function of probability

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σL:standard deviation of the Gaussian distribution of the local means in the study area.
An approximation to function Qi(error) is given in § 16 of Recommendation ITU-R P.1546-6.
Values of standard deviation are dependent on the prediction resolution and frequency, and empirical studies have shown a spread. In the case where terrain data is being used and the variation over a small area is required representative values of σL are given by Equation (34). The representative values relate to the 50th percentile of the cumulative distributions of measured standard deviation of location variability.
σL= 0.0024f1 000 + 0.52wa0.28               dB(Eq. 3)
where:
f: required frequency (MHz)
wa: prediction resolution (m).
The prediction resolution is the width of the square area over which the variability applies.
When using this Recommendation without terrain information the variation across the service area might be a more appropriate measure of σL. In this case no dependency on frequency is found however the environment type will impact the standard deviation of location variability values. Representative values of σL are 8, 10 and 12 dB for urban, suburban and open areas respectively.
Percentage location q can vary between 1 and 99. This Recommendation is not valid for percentage locations less than 1% or greater than 99%.
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The values given in Table 2 have been found appropriate for the planning of digital terrestrial television (DTT) services, this was found to be equivalent to the 93rd percentile of the measurement CDF for rooftop height antenna for a 100 × 100 m area.
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Table 2: Values of variability used in certain planning situations

 

Standard deviation (dB)

 

 

 

 

100 MHz

600 MHz

2 000 MHz

Broadcasting, DTT

5.5

5.5

5.5

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