[UK-CONTEST] Re 23cm UKAC

[Ken Eastty]

Ray,

I understand that only 75% of commercial aircraft are fitted with ADS-B 
transponders and that no military aircraft are fitted with ADS-B so 
there's no certainty that just because there's nothing showing on 
virtual radar that there's not an aircraft up there somewhere.
I frequently see aircraft flying over here that aren't on the virtual 
radar screen.

It seems that aircraft reflections play a much greater part on 
VHF/UHF/uWave propagation than we appreciate, even reception of the 
GB3RAL 10m beacon only ~50 miles away is very much dependent on aircraft 
reflections.

73...

Ken

G3LVP
> Message: 5
> Date: Fri, 24 Feb 2012 01:03:12 +0000 (GMT)
> From: Ray James<gm4cxm at yahoo.co.uk>
>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
>
> Tuesday's 23cm UKAC was certainly a mixed bag of highs and lows from this quarter.
> The most striking aspect was the conditions.
>
> I never hear radar interference unless a tropo lift is actually in progress yet on a couple of occasions in the first hour and a quarter, such was heard and coincided with enhanced signals from vastly different areas and when it disappeared I went on to struggle to work the same neck of the woods. The joys of microwaves!
>
> When it first occurred I was called by Richard G4HGI, normally a bit of a struggle to dig out his 3w/35el but very comfortable copy and quickly followed up by a schedule with 2E0NEY in Wiltshire without me looking at Planefinder for aircraft.
>
> When I did look it dawned that there were no aircraft anywhere near our mid-point and with the radar noise I thought it would never come off. Wrong, Pete's 45w/35el made it fine on SSB.