Topband: Interesting observation and comment (Skewed Path Vs. Horizontal/Vertical Polarization)

[Don Kirk]

Hi John,

Hard for me to argue your purely vertical antenna system skewed
observations.

Thanks as always.
Don (wd8dsb)

On Thu, Jun 3, 2021 at 2:06 PM John Kaufmann <john.kaufmann at verizon.net>
wrote:

> On 160 and 80, I have an 8-circle vertical receiving array.  On very long
> paths, it is not uncommon to see skewing.  The most common example is the
> path to JA, where the direct path heading should be about 330 degrees from
> my QTH in New England.  However, for the last couple winter seasons, when
> the path has been open, it has almost always been skewed to the west or
> west
> northwest.  It has been quite rare to have a true direct path to JA on
> either 160 or 80 from here.  Because my array is strictly vertically
> polarized with no horizontal component, the skewing appears to be occurring
> in the vertical polarization dimension.  I don't have a directional
> horizontal antenna to compare here.
>
> Coinciding with this skewing to JA has been the almost complete absence of
> a
> true northerly path over the pole into Asia, primarily zone 18.  In other
> solar cycles, the over-the-pole path has opened for at least one or two
> seasons at the bottom of the cycle, but not this most recent cycle.
>
> I might suspect there is some local source of skewing at my QTH that is
> deflecting signals from the direct path heading, yet from time to time my
> array does receive DX signals over the true short path to the northwest.
> In
> particular, KL7's are sometimes received from the correct NNW heading on
> 160
> and 80.  For that reason, I tend to discount the possibility of locally
> generated skewing.
>
> 73, John W1FV
>
>