PropLoss, the iOS7 iPad application, is a calculator for computing the propagation losses from precipitation, atmospheric gases, clouds & fog and scintillation for a geosynchronous satellite communications system using the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Recommendation ITU-R P.618-10 model.
PropLoss is useful for anyone dealing with systems with propagation losses, including satellite communications engineers, regulatory agency workers (FCC, NTIA, ITU), telecommunications consultants, amateur radio operators (hams) and others.
Using PropLoss is a simple process:
Enter the inputs (frequency, availability, satellite longitude, ground station longitude and latitude, antenna diameter and efficiency).
Calculate and view the precipitation, atmospheric, cloud, scintillation and total attenuation per the ITU model. Additionally, the elevation angle from the terminal to the satellite and the ground station height above sea level (per the ITU model) is also provided.
A map is used to both display the location of the ground terminal and satellite, and can also be used to place the ground terminal in lieu of entering the longitude and latitude.
PropCalc is based on the following ITU recommendations:
P.618-10 (10/2009) "Propagation data and prediction methods required for the design of Earth-space telecommunication systems"
P.676-9 (02/2012) "Attenuation by atmospheric gases"
P.836-4 (10/2009) "Water vapour: surface density and total columnar content"
P.838-3 (03/2005) "Specific attenuation model for rain for use in prediction methods"
P.839-3 (02-2001) "Rain height model for prediction methods"
P.840-5 (02/2012) "Attenuation due to clouds and fog"
P.1144-6 (02/2012) "Guide to the application of the propagation methods of Radiocommunication Study Group 3"
P.1510-0 (02/2001) "Annual mean surface temperature"
P.1511-0 (02/2001) "Topography fro Earth-to-space propagation modelling"
PropLoss is brought to you by LoveMyTech.com and Marc R. Bjorkman. Contact me at [email protected] with praise, constructive criticism, bug reports and feature requests for future versions.
Note that LoveMyTech and PropLoss are not associated with the International Telecommunications Union. PropLoss is not sanctioned by the ITU and is subject to differences due to changes in the ITU models. LoveMyTech will strive to update the app model when the associated ITU models are updated.