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Re: Topband: Top-band Prop along grayline

To: <topband@contesting.com>, "Bill Tippett" <btippett@alum.mit.edu>
Subject: Re: Topband: Top-band Prop along grayline
From: "Tom Rauch" <w8ji@contesting.com>
Reply-to: Tom Rauch <w8ji@contesting.com>
Date: Fri, 11 Mar 2005 13:57:50 -0500
List-post: <mailto:topband@contesting.com>
>          Here we go with our every few year semantic
> discussion.  "Long path" has long been used (since
> ~1976 at least) to mean approximately 180 degrees...
> otherwise wouldn't it be called "longest" path?  ;-)  In
> fact, I'll bet there are very few cases on the low bands
> of pure 180 degree long path.

This is a lot like being a good used car salesman.

If I work ZL3REX (and I have on more than one occasion) when
he comes in via NW path, I can make a ho-hum contact sound
much more significant by calling it "longpath".

That's OK as long as we know I really didn't work him at my
sunset looking east around the world, and the "long" in
longpath might have been only 50 miles more than a SW path.
It's misleading if it makes people think I worked him over a
significantly longer or more difficult path, like it was
some special accomplishment.


>          "Skew" path is OK but I feel it is important to
> distinguish two very different types of skew paths.

I think it's significantly less misleading than claiming
longpath when it clearly isn't. I understand it's a tough
sell, since it doesn't sound like nearly as large an
accomplishment.  :-)

I don't know of anyone who actually *knows* what happens,
although there are some good theories.

73 Tom

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