Modelling and measurement of man-made radio noise in the VHF-UHF bands

This paper describes three aspects of a study on the statistical modelling and measurement of man-made radio noise. Firstly, methods of modelling man-made radio noise were analysed in terms of their suitability for radio system performance analysis and ease of derivation of model parameters from measurement. The radio systems which are of main interest are those based upon the digital GSM mobile communications standard, and also analogue FM private mobile radio (PMR) systems. These systems are typically vehicle mounted and hence are required to be able to operate in the presence of ignition noise which is the prevalent and increasing feature at many frequencies due to the increasing numbers of vehicles using the roads. Secondly, on the basis of the above analysis, a measurement system was designed and incorporated into a mobile measurement laboratory. The design of this system along with the associated data logging and analysis is described. Finally a comprehensive programme of measurements is being carried out. The main requirement of this programme is that the results are site-independent, within predefined classes. This is so that the measurements may be repeated in the future to identify any long-term trends in man-made radio noise due to changing use of technology in the radio environment.