FCC antenna height vs range information in the database for SIRN sites

[richardbritt]

Hi. I am working on plotting all the SIRN towers on a map and looking at the sites in the database and see a lot with short ranges. For example Elkins has a range of 15 miles and so does Keyser. The FCC license info on the FCC site lists the antenna height, elevation of the antenna on the tower and elevation of the land the tower is on. I know how to determine line of sight range on flat sea level areas. How accurate are the ranges in the RR database based on real range in a vehicle? 15 miles seems very low given the area. But again the surrounding areas are similar in elevation and towards Seneca Rocks is higher. What do you folks in the mountains do for a SWAG regarding the antenna height vs range? Thanks

Regards Richard

RR database admin in Eastern NC

 

[nd5y]

How accurate are the ranges in the RR database based on real range in a vehicle?

The db range circles are don't represent the actual real life range of a system. If they did then they wouldn't be perfect circles.

 

[richardbritt]

Very true. I might have to see if I can find a topographical map of West Virginia and using the ERP off the tower license approximate the range