WI-FI RADIO PROPAGATION BETWEEN A RECEIVER AT GROUND LEVEL AND A TRANSMITTER AT FIXED HEIGHT

摘要

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the distance between a transmitter and a receiver on the loss of signal power. Unlike other studies of its kind, it emphasized on the behavior of radio wave propagation when the receiver was strictly at the ground level while the transmitter was at a fixed height above ground. The relevant theoretical backgrounds were first reviewed. The study involved three trials at each of the eleven distance locations. The measurement process was repeated in four meter increments to forty-four meters. The analysis of experimental results showed that the attenuation factor was found to be between two and three. This study was novel in that it was the one that examined the boundary case of the two-ray model where the receiver height was zero. The results could help in designing radio links to control machines or sensors that have antennas that are at or near the ground level. In addition, follow-up research can further verify the findings by changing the frequency of the transmitted signal or changing the height of the transmitter itself.