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.