RF Line-of-Sight (Earth Curvature) + Overlapping Reach

Enter two Earth locations (lat/lon) and antenna heights. Click Calculate to compute distance, radio horizon, LOS clearance (with effective Earth radius), and draw: (1) top-down overlapping coverage circles, (2) profile view with Earth curve, towers, and LOS line.

Inputs

Location A
Location B
RF / Atmosphere
Notes:
  • "Reach" circles use radio horizon (distance to horizon) for each site, not guaranteed coverage.
  • LOS check includes Earth curvature (k-factor) but no terrain/obstructions.
  • Fresnel zone 1 clearance requires a frequency — enter MHz above to enable it.
  • Optional power shows free-space received power estimate (isotropic unless you enter dBi gain).
Results
Enter values and click Calculate.

Top-down Overlapping Reach (Circles)

A reach B reach overlap not to geographic scale (diagram)

Profile View (Earth Curve + Towers + LOS)

Earth curve uses effective radius (k-factor) line = straight LOS path Fresnel zone 1

What's being computed

  • Great-circle distance (Haversine)
  • Radio horizon per site: d ≈ √(2·Reff·h)
  • Earth bulge along the path: b(x)=x(d-x)/(2·Reff)
  • Clearance: LOS height − bulge (sampled along path)
  • Fresnel zone 1 radius: F₁(x) = √(λ·d₁·d₂/d) where d₁, d₂ are distances from each end
  • Fresnel margin: clearance − F₁ radius at each point; worst case reported
  • Optional FSPL & received power estimate if Tx power is provided