A Simple Field Strength Model for Broadcast Application in VHF Band in Minna City, Niger State, Nigeria

Abstract

It is important to understand the impact of physical surroundings on a propagating signal because the propagation characteristics of any radio channel are severely affected by objects that surround the transmitters and the receivers. So, the propagation characteristics limit the performance of in-building high capacity wireless communications. This research work adapted some field strength models that are best suitable for Minna city in Niger State, Nigeria. This is done by optimising some existing field strength models which are: Free space, Hata, ITU-R P.529-3 and ERC Report 68 models to suit Minna city using a VHF television signal of Nigeria Television Authority (NTA), Minna. This station transmits at a frequency of 210.25 MHz for video signal. The signal levels of the transmitted signal were taken along five radial routes from the transmitting station using a digital signal level meter and the corresponding distances were also measured using Global Positioning System (GPS). Data processing and computation were carried out using MATLAB. The results obtained show that the Hata model gives a more accurate prediction for field strength in Minna city after general modification with the correction factor of 3.08 and Root Mean Square Error of 6.35 dBμV/m.