An accurate line of sight propagation performance model for ad-hoc 802.11 wireless LAN (WLAN) devices

Abstract

We propose a simplified and accurate path loss equation for calculating the free space path loss for 802.11 WLAN line-of-sight links with antennas between 1 and 2.5 meters in height. We validated the accuracy of our WLAN propagation model with empirical measurements using several wireless LAN systems. We compared our model with other models including Lee's (1986), free space's, Hata's (1980) and Cost231 models and found that our model is superior for predicting the propagation performance of radios with very low antenna heights. This result is very useful for modeling and simulation of wireless LANs and mobile ad-hoc radio networks.