The Calculation of Ionospheric Doppler Spread on HF Communication Channels

Using some basic concepts of ionospheric propagation, multipath and Doppler spread calculations are obtained for the HF ionospheric communication channel. Because of sensitivity to the solar control mechanism, the Doppler spread results are found to demonstrate a pronounced dependence on time of day and operating frequency. The practical consequences of these calculations are discussed in detail. This includes the definition and generation of the "Doppler reduction factor," comparable to the "multipath reduction factor," which can be used to determine the appropriate operating frequency on a given HF link.