On Mon, Jan 01, 2007 at 02:55:17PM -0800, Lee K7TJR wrote:
> Sometimes I think our signals going up to the atmospheric reflective
> layers is a lot like shining a laser pointer on a sheet of crumpled
> aluminum foil. You never know where the beam will go or what it will
> look like when it gets there.
I love this analogy. Sometimes, the laser reflects back into your face:
http://www.kkn.net/~tree/sounds/echo.wav (yes, I am only sending two
of the four dits you are hearing).
I often think about seeing a "mirage" up ahead on the road, where the
light is reflected/refracted to make it appear the road is wet up
ahead. As you travel closer to the spot, the mirage disappears and
new ones appear. They are seldom continuous.
QSB is when they move around.
One interesting QSO I had was OX3PG - who had the typicaly deep and long
QSB that I experience from JW5NM all the time (several minutes between
20 second peaks). Thanks to his patience and excellent operating technique,
we were able to finish the QSO.
We need a word for the feeling you have when a station is peaking up so
you can copy him well (and know he could hear you), but he is in the
middle of a QSO with some other station (typically someone who could work
this station anytime). Then of course, they can't hear each other during
this time and have to ask for repeats, because all the RF is coming your
way.
Tree N6TR
tree@kkn.net
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