Comparison of the current methods for coverage area prediction for communication in the HF band

A comparative study of the commonly used methods for the prediction of the coverage area due to a transmitter operating at the HF hand is presented. Those statistical model-based tools are Ionospheric Communication analysis and Prediction Program; IONCAP, Ionospheric Communication Enhanced Profile Analysis and Circuit Prediction Program; ICEPAC, Voice of America´s VOACAP and ITU´s REC 533, and those are illustrated by computing the coverage area of a typical transmitter located at Oxford, England operating at 13.399 MHz (HF band I). Those results are compared with the experimental data measured at Istanbul, Turkey for a transmitter located at Oxford, England. Finally, the same problem is analyzed by the ray-tracing technique using the experimental data. The advantages and the disadvantages of the methods are discussed.