Coast Guard Communication Coverage of the Gulf of Mexico at 500 kHz

Leslie A. Berry and Gene G. Ax

Abstract: The area in the Gulf of Mexico covered 85 percent of the time in the noisiest CCIR time block by the Coast Guard is calculated based on standard ground wave propagation and CCIR noise predictions. Most of the Gulf within 300 miles of the shore is covered except for a region west and south of Florida. The non–Coast Guard station at Tampa covers this region 9 hours per day, The changes in area coverage caused by increasing the power at New Orleans and Galveston to 10 kW, and/or moving the station at Galveston to Corpus Christi are also shown.

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