Wideband propagation characteristics at 312 MHz in Eastern Norway and impact on waveform requirements

A wideband Pseudo-Noise channel sounder built by CRC in Canada has been used to measure the wideband channel characteristics in three different types of terrain in Eastern Norway. The channel characteristics at 312 MHz are described in terms of path loss, RMS delay spread and maximum delay interval. The multipath delays were found to be quite long containing considerable power, particularly in the mountain valley. The long delays require extensive equalization of a single carrier wideband waveform, and for a typical high data rate 5 MHz waveform at UHF, the required equalizer depth was found to be more than 100 symbol periods.