One of the most interesting propagation phenomena is Aurora propagation. To make use of this phenomenon, radio amateurs actually bounce their signals off of the Aurora Borealis, also known as the “Northern Lights.” All of these choices are correct when talking about effects Aurora activity has on radio communications (E3C01):
- SSB signals are raspy
- Signals propagating through the Aurora are fluttery
- CW signals appear to be modulated by white noise
The cause of Aurora activity is the interaction of charged particles from the Sun with the Earth’s magnetic field and the ionosphere. (E3C02) Aurora activity occurs in the E-region of the ionosphere. (E3C03) CW is the emission mode that is best for Aurora propagation. (E3C04) From the contiguous 48 states, an antenna should be pointed North to take maximum advantage of aurora propagation. (E3C11)
Normally, we think of the ionosphere as a mirror, reflecting HF signals back to Earth at the same angle at which the signal hits the ionosphere. While this is normally the case, sometimes the ionosphere does not get refracted sufficiently to return directly to Earth, but instead travels for some distance in the F2 layer before finally being returned. The name of the high-angle wave in HF propagation that travels for some distance within the F2 region is called the Pedersen ray. (E3C08)
While we say that VHF/UHF communications is “line of sight,” the distance that a VHF/UHF radio wave will travel is slightly longer than the line-of-sight distance. We call this distance the “radio horizon” or “radio-path horizon.” The VHF/UHF radio-path horizon distance exceeds the geometric horizon by approximately 15% of the distance. (E3C06) The radio-path horizon distance exceeds the geometric horizon because of downward bending due to density variations in the atmosphere. (E3C14)
Another phenomenon that sometimes makes VHF signals beyond the line of sight is tropospheric ducting. Tropospheric ducting is usually responsible for causing VHF signals to propagate for hundreds of miles. (E3C09)
One of the most frustrating propagation phenomena is selective fading. Selective fading is partial cancellation of some frequencies within the received pass band. (E3C05) It is frustrating because it sometimes makes portions of an otherwise perfectly readable signal unreadable.
Amateur radio operators may sometimes use ground-wave propagation to communicate. One important thing to know about this type of propagation is that the maximum distance of ground-wave propagation decreases when the signal frequency is increased. (E3C12) Vertical polarization is the best type of polarization for ground-wave propagation. (E3C13) So, if you really want to make a contact via ground wave, use a vertical antenna on the 160m band.
To take advantage of some of these phenomena, or to just make your antenna work better, you should know how antenna’s performance changes with changes in its design or installation. For example, the radiation pattern of a horizontally polarized 3-element beam antenna varies as the height above ground changes. What happens is the the main lobe takeoff angle decreases with increasing height. (E3C07)
The performance of a horizontally polarized antenna mounted on the side of a hill will be different from the performance of same antenna mounted on flat ground. Specifically, the main lobe takeoff angle decreases in the downhill direction. (E3C10)
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