This line of sight calculator calculates how far the horizon is from an antenna placed at a particular height. The calculators also calculates the radio horizon. It assumes there is nothing between the radio signals and the antenna horizon. To get maximum line of distance you need to enter the height of the antenna.
Calculate the Line of Sight & Radio Horizon
Line of Sight or LoS is a type of electromagnetic radiation where the electromagnetic waves will travel only along a direct path from the transmitter to the receiver. This means that there are no obstacles in between them. Typical electromagnetic signals used for transmission include radio frequency (RF) and optical or light waves. Since the ability to visually see the transmitting antenna roughly (due to the inherently present path loss) corresponds to the ability to receive the signal at the receiving antenna, this propagation characteristic is referred to as the line-of-sight.
The distance over which the signal travels is called the line of sight distance. The signals may also get refracted, diffracted, and/or reflected from the Earth’s atmosphere, which causes them to bend and propagate along a slightly curved path over long distances. These distances are much greater than the line of sight distance. This farthest possible distance of propagation is called the radio horizon.
This calculator calculates the line of sight distance between the transmitter and receiver, and the radio horizon for a given height of the antenna (in metres).
The line of sight distance is given by the following equation,
The radio horizon is given by the following equation,
where,
‘h‘ is the height of the antenna
‘R‘ is the radius of the earth
‘dl‘ is the total line of sight, and
‘dr‘ is the radio horizon (actual service range)