Groundwave Propagation at Short Ranges and Accurate Source Modeling [Testing Ourselves]

Radiowave propagation models have long been used in long-range communication and/or radar systems. Different models use different sources. Observed and calculated results are therefore usually normalized, either against maximum or free-space values, or against values obtained above a non-penetrable flat Earth. This is acceptable and useful because excitation differences become negligible at long ranges. Today´s interests and priorities in propagation modeling have shifted to quite short ranges, which necessitates accurate source modeling. Short-range propagation problems, modeling, and simulation challenges and accurate source modeling, are discussed, and several useful MATLAB codes are presented.