TopBand: Re: Echos

[Phil Clements]

At 02:28 AM 3/24/98 K6SE wrote:

Snip....

>I guess it's not my nature to accept a theory that signals follow a
>curved path.  I feel they travel in a straight line until they are
>refracted by the ionosphere or bounced in another direction (like a
>billiard ball on a pool table).  If the "bounce" occurs on uneven terrain
>or the choppy seas (as is probably always the case), then some of the
>signal is scattered in other directions than the primary one.


I once sat in on a talk by Frank, W3LPL, that cleared up a lot of my
questions.
He correctly pointed out that not only is the earth's surface and the sea
surface uneven, but the ionosphere can also be equated to an "upside down"
ocean that is seldom level and even, but is constantly rolling like waves
into shore. It does not provide a level surface in which to bounce off of
like a billiard table, so there is scattering at the top AND bottom of the
bounce.

The best series I have ever read on this subject was the March and April
1998 articles in CQ. Kudos to Oler and Dr. Cohen...very thought provoking!


>Jeff, K1ZM wrote:
>
>"Competition is TOUGHER today that 10 years ago!"
>
>Boy, am I aware of that!  15 to 20 years ago I "owned" the west coast on
>160m. That's definitely no longer true!

Just think what it will be like in another ten years when the baby boomers
all have their dream antenna farms in operation!

(((73)))

Phil, K5PC

"To do is to be".....Sartre
"To be is to do".....Aristotle
"To be or not to be".Shakespere
"Do be do be do".....Sinatra


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