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FORMULAS

1. K – Curve/K – Factor
𝒓𝒆
𝒌=
𝒓𝒐
Where:
k = k – factor, unitless
re = effective earth radius, Km
ro = True earth radius, (≈6370 Km), Km

k – curve conditions
𝒌<𝟏 Substandard The beam is bent away from the Earth

𝟒 The fictitious earth radius appears to the microwave beam to be

𝒌= = 𝟏. 𝟑𝟑𝟑 Standard
𝟑 longer than the true earth radius

𝟒 This results in an effective flattening of the equivalent earth's

𝒌> Super Standard
𝟑 curvature
Results in ZERO curvature and the
𝒌=∞ Flat Earth (Infinity) microwave beam follows the curvature of the earth
As if the earth is FLAT

2. Effective Earth Radius (re)

𝒓𝒐
𝒓𝒆 =
𝟏 − 𝟎. 𝟎𝟒𝟔𝟔𝟓 𝒆 𝟎.𝟎𝟎𝟓𝟓𝟕𝟕 𝑵𝑺
Where:
NS = Surface Refractivity (Typically 300), unitless
re = effective earth radius, Km
ro = True earth radius, (≈6370 Km), Km

3. Surface Refractivity (NS)

𝑵𝑺 = 𝑵𝑶 𝒆 −𝟎.𝟏𝟎𝟓𝟕 𝑯𝑺
Where:
NS = Surface Refractivity, unitless
NO = Mean Sea Level Refractivity, unitless
HS = Elevation of Link above Sea Level, Km
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4. Earth Bulge Clearance (eb)

𝒅 𝟏 𝒅𝟐
𝒆𝒃(𝒇𝒕) = (𝒎𝒊)
𝟏. 𝟓

𝒅𝟏 𝒅𝟐
𝒆𝒃(𝒎) = (𝒌𝒎)
𝟏𝟐. 𝟕𝟓

5. Effective Earth Bulge Clearance (eb)

𝒅 𝟏 𝒅𝟐
𝒆𝒃(𝒇𝒕) = (𝒎𝒊)
𝟏. 𝟓𝒌

𝒅 𝟏 𝒅𝟐
𝒆𝒃(𝒎) = (𝒌𝒎)
𝟏𝟐. 𝟕𝟓𝒌

6. Effective Height Clearance (He)

𝑯𝒆 = 𝑯𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍 + 𝑬𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝑬𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝑩𝒖𝒍𝒈𝒆

7. Antenna Height (Ht)

𝒅 𝟏 𝒅𝟐
𝑯𝒕(𝒇𝒕) = (𝒎𝒊)
𝟐
𝒅 𝟏 𝒅𝟐
𝑯𝒕(𝒎) = (𝒌𝒎)
𝟏𝟕
8. Maximum Range (d)

𝒅(𝒎𝒊) = √𝟐𝑯𝒕 + √𝟐𝑯𝒓 (𝒇𝒕)

𝒅(𝒌𝒎) = 𝟒√𝑯𝒕 + 𝟒√𝑯𝒓 (𝒎)

9. Fresnel Zone/Fresnel Clearance

𝒅𝟏 𝒅𝟐
𝑭𝟏 = 𝟕𝟐. 𝟏√
𝑫𝑭𝑮𝑯𝒛
Where:
F1 = radius of the first Fresnel zone, feet
d1 = distance in statute miles from one end
d2 = distance from the other end of the path, miles
D = total distance, miles
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𝒅𝟏 𝒅𝟐
𝑭𝟏 = 𝟏𝟕. 𝟑√
𝑫𝑭𝑮𝑯𝒛
Where:
F1 = radius of the first Fresnel zone, meters
d1 = distance in kilometers from one end
d2 = distance from the other end of the path, kilometers
D = total distance, kilometers

𝑭𝒏 = 𝑭𝟏 √ 𝒏
Where:
n = nth Fresnel Zone