Office of Telecommunications OT Report 74-38

Man-Made Radio Noise - Part I: Estimates for Business, Residential, and Rural Areas

June 1974

A. D. Spaulding and R. T. Disney

Abstract: The Office of Telecommunications, Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (OT/ITS), over the past several years, has accumulated a data base of man-made radio noise measurements in the frequency range from 250 kHz through 250 MHz taken in a number of geographical areas. This data base has been analyzed to provide estimates of the expected characteristics of man-made radio noise in business, residential, and rural areas. The parameters used are the average available power spectral density, the ratio of the rms to the average voltage of the noise envelope, and the ratio of the rms to the average logarithm of the envelope voltage. The variation of these parameters as a function of frequency, location, and time are shown and discussed. Examples of amplitude and time statistics of the received man-made radio noise process also are shown and discussed. The use of the estimates is shown (principally by references in Part II, Bibliography) in the solution of problems encountered in frequency management and telecommunication system design.

Keywords: Man-made radio noise, noise levels, noise characteristics, non-Gaussian noise, impulsive noise, system performance

• Table of Contents, List of Figures, List of Tables

• Chapter 1: Introduction; Chapter 2: Noise Parameters; Chapter 3: Estimation Methods and the Data Base

• Chapter 4: Man-Made Radio Noise Estimates, pp. 12-22
• Chapter 4: pp. 23-32 (4.8 MB)
• Chapter 4: pp. 33-42 (9.1 MB)
• Chapter 4: pp. 43-52 (9.1 MB)
• Chapter 4: pp. 53-62 (4.5 MB)
• Chapter 4: pp. 63-72 (10.7 MB)
• Chapter 4: pp. 73-85

• Chapter 5: Use of the Man-Made Noise Estimates in Determining System Performance; Chapter 6: Mathematical Modeling of the Noise Process; Chapter 7: Conclusions and Discussion; Chapter 8: Acknowledgments (5.2 MB)

• Chapter 9: References

• Appendix A: Measurement Methods Used to Obtain the Data Base

• Appendix B: The Use of Traffic Density Information as a Noise Predictor (5.3 MB)

Disclaimer: Certain commercial equipment, components, and software are identified in this report to specify adequately the technical aspects of the reported results. In no case does such identification imply recommendation or endorsement by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, nor does it imply that the equipment or software identified is necessarily the best available for the particular application or uses.

To request a reprint of this report, contact:
Margaret Luebs, Publications Officer
Institute for Telecommunication Sciences
Voice: (303) 497-3572
info@its.bldrdoc.gov

For technical information concerning this report, contact:
Robert Achatz, Electronics Engineer
Institute for Telecommunication Sciences
Voice: (303) 497-3498
rachatz@its.bldrdoc.gov