Experimental Investigation of the Effects of Snowdrifts and Ice Deposit on Linear Wire Antennas at 2.4 GHz

An experimental evaluation of the possible effects produced on wireless links operating at 2.4 GHz by snow and ice accumulation over the antennas is presented. The measurement outcomes show that an additional loss increasing with the dimension of the snow/ice coating must be expected. If the antenna is only partly covered, snow and ice seem to produce similar extra loss, whereas ice appears a much more serious threat than snow if the antenna is completely submerged. The achieved experimental data are in a rather satisfactory agreement with the analytical prediction carried out with an existing theoretical model.