[TowerTalk] HFTA interpretation

[Jim Brown]

On Wed, 30 May 2007 00:23:07 -0400, Peter Dougherty wrote:

>What I'm wondering, using a 3el antenna at 72 feet, if I'm hunting 
>Europe, am I better off beaming 20-30 degrees to make better use of 
>low-angle signals to my tower (but being 30-40 degrees off short 
>path), or should I just forget about the low-angle issue and go for 
>the directivity/gain of the antenna itself?

I assume that 60 degrees is EU from your QTH, and also the direction 
of the mountain. Aiming your antenna away from the mountain won't 
get RF around the mountain to EU, it will simply throw less at it 
and more to a direction that is less obstructed. 

Now, those who do far more of this than I do (I've never had an HF 
beam) tell me that there are times when the direct path is not the 
one that opens -- instead, the signals take some indirect path and 
are reflected/refracted by ionospheric activity in some region off 
the direct path. Out here on the west coast, we can sometimes work 
JA (NW) by pointing to VK (SW). 

And, of course, you can sometimes work long path -- that is, the 
other way around the earth. To work EU long path, we point SW. 

Jim Brown K9YC