RF Propagation

Site and terrain visualization, propagation model specification, communication links, signal strength, signal coverage maps, Longely-Rice

RF propagation describes the behavior of electromagnetic radiation from a point of transmission as it travels through the surrounding environment. The analysis of RF propagation is essential in understanding how electromagnetic waves incur losses from a transmitter to a receiver in different scenarios.

Objects

`txsite`	Create radio frequency transmitter site
`rxsite`	Create radio frequency receiver site
`siteviewer`	Create Site Viewer map display for visualizing sites

Functions

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Map

`addCustomBasemap`	Add custom basemap
`addCustomTerrain`	Add custom terrain data
`removeCustomBasemap`	Remove custom basemap
`removeCustomTerrain`	Remove custom terrain data

Site

`show`	Show site location on map
`hide`	Hide site location on map
`distance`	Distance between sites
`angle`	Angle between sites
`elevation`	Elevation of site
`location`	Location coordinates at a given distance and angle from site
`coverage`	Display coverage map
`pattern`	Plot antenna radiation pattern on map
`sinr`	Display signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) map
`link`	Display communication link on map
`sigstrength`	Signal strength due to transmitter
`raytrace`	Plot propagation paths between sites
`los`	Plot or compute the line-of-sight (LOS) visibility between sites on a map

Propagation Loss

`propagationModel`	Create RF propagation model
`rainpl`	RF signal attenuation due to rainfall
`gaspl`	RF signal attenuation due to atmospheric gases
`fogpl`	RF signal attenuation due to fog and clouds
`fspl`	Free space path loss

Blocks

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Propagation Loss

Free Space Path Loss

Reduce amplitude of input signal by amount specified

Topics

Site Viewer

Site Viewer basics, basemaps, and troubleshooting.

Troubleshooting Site Viewer

When you start Site Viewer up on showing a txsite or rxsite object, a check is made to make sure that you have an internet connection to retrieve the default basemap and terrain data.

Access Basemaps and Terrain in Site Viewer

You need an active internet connection for all basemaps except Dark Water.

Featured Examples

RF Propagation and Visualization

Compute and visualize outdoor wireless coverage between a transmitter and receiver. This includes:

Open Live Script

Visualize Antenna Coverage Map and Communication Links

Calculate and visualize signal strength between a transmitter and multiple receivers. The visualizations include an area coverage map and colored communication links. The example also shows selection of a directional antenna in order to achieve a communication link to a specific location.

Open Live Script

Urban Channel Link Analysis and Visualization using Ray Tracing

Use ray tracing to analyze a communication link in an urban environment. Buildings data is imported into Site Viewer from an OpenStreetMap file corresponding to Hong Kong. Transmitter and receiver sites are placed in the city, and ray tracing is used to plot multiple propagation paths. The ray tracing results are recorded from Site Viewer and used to define a channel model for filtering a signal.

Open Live Script