Effects of Radio-Climatic Variables on Signal Propagation in Kebbi State

Abstract

This study presents the effects of Radio-climatic variables on signal propagation
in Kebbi State of Nigeria. The primary Radio-climatic data used in the study
include temperature, pressure and relative humidity. The analysis was focused
on the study area in question which spans across all major signal propagation in
the study area. The measurements of the average monthly primary variables
(temperature, relative humidity and air pressure) were made from January 2016
to December 2016. In this work, mathematical model were used using an excel
spread sheet to compute the secondary radio-climatic variables which also
include graphical representation (Surface Refractivity, Refractive Index (n), and
Effective Earth Radius (k-factor). The results obtained shows seasonal variation
of the temperature and relative humidity. The k-factor calculated has a value
which ranges from 1.77 to 2.33 in the Months of January and April respectively.
The higher the value of k-factor greater than 1.33 is an indicator of possible
causes of signal interference in the study area. The correlation between the
primary and secondary radio-climatic variables were not affected except for the
refractive index (n) which increases to a maximum value of 1.0005 slightly
greater than the recommended value as the temperature increases. The results
compared well with other literature.