Characteristics of a mid-latitude NVIS HF radio channel

Abstract

This paper reports on the initial findings of measurements taken using a low cost, near vertical incidence skywave (NVIS) single channel sounder. The path investigated is unique in that although it is truly non-line-of-sight, operational results have been documented for coverage just beyond the ground-wave range; in the literature to date a commonly suggested NVIS lower boundary is 80 km. The consistency of the link reflects the potential of the NVIS technique for many practical short- to medium-range data communication scenarios, especially if store-and-forward techniques can be adopted.