Topband: Long Path Direction!]

[Milt Jensen]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ken Brown" <ken.d.brown at verizon.net>
To: "topband" <topband at contesting.com>
Sent: Tuesday, March 30, 2004 11:24 PM
Subject: [Fwd: Re: Topband: Long Path Direction!]



> So all this discussion about azimuths of incoming signals expressed in the
precision I see here is rather silly, isn't it? Sure it is fun to
> speculate about which path a signal followed to get to your receiver. I
think you may be trying to split hairs just a little too thin though.
>
> DE N6KB

Ken,

With regards to my low level experience with Beverage antennas please accept
this observation.  I have 16 Beverages, spaced 22.5 degrees one to another
for complete 360 degree coverage.  A number of years of operation with these
antennas has shown them to be VERY directive.  I cannot vouch for the
aperture in the vertical plane (wave arrival angle) but azimuthally, the
antennas are markedly directive day in and day out.

My on the air operation is on 160 Meters (no 80 or 40 Meters) but I do my
performance and operability testing in the daytime using the MF AM broadcast
stations.  At midday, I can hear very well stations KSL (1160 kHz) from Salt
Lake City and KOA (850 kHz) from Denver.  By selecting the antennas adjacent
either side to the favored direction antenna, the signals from these
stations are nearly inaudible.  I am in SW New Mexico, just 80 miles from
the Mexican border.  KSL and KOA are approximately 600 air miles from my
location.  Other examples could be given.

The evening of March 24 local (0135 Z March 25) the 3B9C 160 Meter signal
was much stronger at its best time on the 45 degree antenna than the 22.5
degree or the 67.5 degree antennas.  When the signal was first detectable, I
could hear it on the 45 degree antenna and no other.

To be certain, I cannot tell you the signal was arriving from an azimuth of
39.3 degrees.  But I can tell you that the signal was arriving at an azimuth
of 34 to 47 degrees, a ~23 degree window.  There is no speculation as to the
signal arrival azimuth from 3B9C to the N5IA QTH.

73, and have a good day.

Milt