NOAA WEATHER RADIO COVERAGE MAPPING SYSTEM

THE DISSEMINATION OF TIMELY WEATHER DATA IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT AS THE POPULATION DENSITY OF THE UNITED STATES INCREASES. AS THE SOLE GOVERNMENT OPERATED RADIO SYSTEM PROVIDING DIRECT WARNINGS TO PRIVATE HOMES, THENOAA WEATHER RADIO (NWR) SYSTEM IS CRITICAL FOR DISSEMINATING NATURAL DISASTER WARNINGS AND THE TIMELY DISSEMINATION OF WEATHER DATA. THE NEED FOR A LOW COST, REAL TIME COVERAGE MAPPING SYSTEM TO SITE, DESIGN, AND ANALYZE NWR BROADCAST STATIONS HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED. THE PROPOSED DESIGN OF THIS COVERAGE MAPPING SYSTEM WILL SUPPORTFREQUENCY PLANNING AND INTERFERENCE STUDIES AS WELL AS PROVIDE COVERAGE MAPS FOR SINGLE SITES, MULTIPLE SITES, AND THE COMPLETE SYSTEM SUPPORTED BY DEMOGRAPHIC COVERAGE DATA. THE DESIGN IS BASED UPON THE APPLICATION OF PERSONAL COMPUTERS FOR USE BY NWR PROJECT OFFICE PERSONNEL.