TopBand: Ducts & Rain

[Bill Hohnstein]

Tom Rauch, W8JI wrote:
> 
> An observation I also made and mentioned a while back. The ducts are
> nearly always over a mostly saltwater path.

Does this mean that I 'almost never' have ducting from my location
(Nebraska) on 160?

Earl Cunningham, K6SE wrote:
>
> I often wonder if my normally dry Mojave Desert alkaline soil becomes
> more conductive when it rains.

What happens the majority of the time from here when it's raining:  
Propagation from my location is enhanced while the ground is WET.
Most of the time the static level is up even more, which defeats this
advantage.  However, I enjoy the benefits of a low level lightning
shower.  Also, shortly after the storm has ended (while the ground is
still WET) this enhancement continues.  DAMP is not good enough!  It
must be at near puddle WET!
I can only guess that this is due to ground conductivity enhancement.
But, given the normal conductivity here, the enhancement would have
to be to near 1000 mS to provide a noticeable increase.  Given the
high soil salinity here, perhaps that is a possibility.

73,  Bill     K0HA


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