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indicate the area in which a certain signal strength is delivered. Even if it is 100% accurate (which it never is), a major factor on whether a signal is receivable depends very much on whether the receiving apparatus is sensitive enough to use a signal of that level. Commercial receivers can vary
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The quality of reception can be very different at places only short distances apart, and this phenomenon is more apparent as the transmission frequency increases. Inevitably small pockets of poor reception may exist within the main service area that cannot be shown on the map due to scale issues.
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Typically a coverage map will indicate the area within which the user can expect to obtain good reception of the service in question using standard equipment under normal operating conditions. Additionally, the map may also separately denote supplementary service areas where good reception may be
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There are limitations inherent to the way in which data collection for coverage maps is carried out. Traditional coverage maps are based on models, constructed from readings taken by dedicated network testers. This often means that coverage maps show the theoretical capacity of the network rather
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Often coverage maps show general coverage for large regions and therefore any boundary indicated should not be interpreted as a rigid limit. The biggest cause of uncertainty for a coverage map is the quality (mainly sensitivity) of receiving apparatus used. A coverage map may be produced to
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The receiving antenna height of 10m dates from the 1950s when receivers were relatively insensitive and used rooftop antennas. Although this may seem unrealistic for typical situations today, when combined with the above threshold it is considered a good
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have emerged that provide coverage maps based on information crowdsourced from consumer applications. The advantage of this approach is that the coverage maps show network reach and performance as it is experienced by its users.
179:, or simply being located on high ground can yield good signal strengths well outside the indicated area. The significance of local geographical conditions cannot be over emphasised and this was underlined by
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The field strength that the marked service boundary on a coverage map represents will be defined by whoever produces the map, but typical examples are as follows:
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defines the daytime service area boundary as a minimum field strength of 2 mV/m. At night, the service area of mediumwave services can be drastically reduced by
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to fill in bad reception areas that become apparent once the high power transmitter's coverage map has identified where the network is deficient.
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obtained but other stations may be stronger, or where the reception may be variable but the service may still be usable.
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which revealed the signal reception conditions around a typical house. The site did not have the critical "
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for providing coverage to more sensitive modern receivers used without external rooftop antennas.
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defines the service area boundary for stereo services as corresponding to an average
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than its real-world performance. In recent years companies such as
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in their sensitivity, thus perception of coverage can vary widely.
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transmitting stations. Typically these may be produced for
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Map indicating service areas of transmitting stations
240:"Top 10 Cell Phone Coverage Map Comparison In 2022"
172:Conversely, the use of sensitive equipment, high
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42:networks. Such maps are alternatively known as
198:attempt to design their networks to eliminate
22:are designed to indicate the service areas of
50:networks, a coverage map is often known as a
274:An example of a crowd-sourced coverage map
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269:TV Fool: Index of US TV coverage maps
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70:Example radio coverage map
185:line-of-sight propagation
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153:co-channel interference
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58:Definition of coverage
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220:satellite stations
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24:radiocommunication
289:Mobile technology
83:VHF(FM) / Band II
75:Technical details
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299:Broadcasting
244:. Retrieved
242:. 2021-11-22
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159:Limitations
46:maps. For
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283:Categories
246:2022-01-15
226:References
208:OpenSignal
200:dead zones
145:Mediumwave
32:television
190:Although
52:footprint
48:satellite
40:satellite
212:Sensorly
192:carriers
177:antennas
97:Band II
166:widely
147:, the
107:of 54
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294:Radio
129:proxy
123:/m).
28:radio
210:and
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174:gain
139:For
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149:BBC
101:BBC
89:VHF
30:or
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141:MF
121:μV
117:dB
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109:dB
93:FM
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