800 MHz mobile radio propagation prediction using Kalman filtering techniques

A method is presented to derive a propagation model to predict the received median signal voltage for an 800-MHz mobile radio system. Results are given of an investigation into the performance of a particular model that was derived using this method. The method uses a Kalman filter that uses propagation measurements to derive a best fit for a particular propagation model to the measured data. The model that was derived is based on propagation measurements made in the State of Florida. The new propagation model uses a plane-Earth propagation model that is corrected with an environmental propagation loss term that takes into account the various environmental effects near the mobile unit. The parameters in the environmental propagation loss model were determined using a Kalman filter that computes minimum mean square estimates of the parameters using measured propagation data. The environmental propagation loss term accounts for the effects of Earth diffraction, hills, valleys, urban and suburban areas, bare and grass-covered ground, bushes, trees, swamps, and propagation over fresh and salt water. It was found that, with the 800-MHz propagation model derived with this method, the prediction error for the received median signal voltage had a standard deviation of 5.08 dB