Radio propagation at the Battle of Arnhem

摘要

Radio communication at Arnhem was described by Tom Robinson, GOSBW, in RadCom, February 2005. He described some on-site tests made with modern equipment and also with one of the radios used by the British infantry, the WS68P. In both cases, the transmitter power was 0.25W. He found that the longer paths involved at Arnhem were difficult, signals over the 5.5km path between the bridge and the 1st Airborne Division HQ at the Hartenstein Hotel being only occasionally audible. As I am interested in aerials and propagation, I decided to calculate the likely results over such a path. I quickly came across a large unknown factor - the ground losses associated with a portable MF whip aerial. So I carried out some aerial measurements and propagation tests to Investigate further.