30 GHz skynoise site diversity and concurrent rain rate measurements

Since 1984, the Research Institute of the Deutsche Bundespost has carried out a diversity experiment at 30 GHz with three radiometers in the Rhine valley. The antennas have been pointed towards the envisaged position of ESA´s Olympus satellite, which is due for launch in 1989. The skynoise measurements have been supplemented by concurrent rain intensity recordings at the radiometer sites as well as other localities to enlarge the database for studying the site diversity gain as a function of site separation. The authors present some of the results obtained, and show in particular that predictions from Hodge´s empirical diversity model are in good agreement with their rain and skynoise measurements