[UK-CONTEST] Re 23cm UKAC

[Ray James]

Hi Ken,

Yes, you're correct, but size matters when it comes to the volume of any reflective entity that is useful for contest stations to take advantage of to make contacts.
Invariably, an aircraft not required to be fitted with ADS-B will not be anywhere as large as your typical commercial jet so would produce minimal returns, if any.
Consider the visual size of a 747 or 737 on the ground, then overhead at 11km away, then what it would be 250km to 300km away to work stations 500km to 600km away. 

We're hitting something very small to start with at those distances so a turbo-prop or very fast moving military jet would be of insignificant benefit.

73 Ray GM4CXM

    

  



________________________________
 From: Ken Eastty <ken.g3lvp at btinternet.com>
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.

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