An analysis of multipath for frequency hopping spread spectrum ranging

Frequency hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) ranging is a newly developed radio frequency (RF) technique. With slow frequency hopping, a propagation phase can be obtained for each frequency that is sent. However, each phase is corrupted with multipath, which is a major source of error in RF ranging systems. It is imperative to mitigate this effect for the purpose of achieving the highest-level of accuracy. This paper analyzes the effects of multipath to single frequency ranging and its relationship to the accuracy of the range. Three key factors, reflection coefficient, signal frequency and antenna height, were studied in an attempt to find the optimal combination. Finally, this paper gives some insight as to how the effect could be countered