Evaluation of Polarization Diversity Performance

The performance realizable from the statistical relationship between the fading of signals received on vertically and horizontally polarized antennas has been evaluated by interpretation of the joint distribution of these signals. A brief description is given of special instrumentation which determined the joint distribution as the signals were received. Data were collected at 6.985 and 11.66 megacycles using unmodulated signals transmitted from Red Bank, N.J., and received near St. Louis, Mo. The performance at 11.66 megacycles was very nearly that expected of independent Rayleigh-distributed fading of the vertical and horizontal components of the received signals. At 6.985 megacycles the realizable diversity performance was somewhat less effective than would have been expected with independent fading.