Radio and Meteorological Observations on an obstacle diffraction communication link in Europe, Radio and Meteorological Observations on the 11. 1 -46 Radio Link of the ET-A System:

C. F. Peterson, Charles A. Samson, Joseph E. Farrow, and Evelyn M. Gray

Abstract: An investigation of the performance of a 405 km obstacle -diffraction radio link between Germany and Italy was made during June and July J 966 to evaluate contributions of both the antenna system and local meteorological conditions to propagation outages. Antenna gains were found to be close to theoretical, and no appreciable distortion of the antenna patterns was detected. The signal angle-of-arrival was measured at the southern terminal but no regular pattern of variation was found, and no significant improvement in received signal level could be obtained by signal tracking. Angle diversity produced a small improvement in signal level, especially during low-signal periods. Surface meteorological observations at the two sites during the test interval were not well correlated with short-term variations in signal level, but synoptic studies of the upper air showed that refractivity conditions were usually favorable for pronounced radio bending during periods of severe signal fading.

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