Radio propagation

draft

Radio waves can travel short distances in a straight line (line-of-sight propagation).

Under certain conditions (time of day, frequency of the transmission), they also can bounce off various layers of the atmosphere and travel surprisingly long distances, even with a weak signal.

Propagation by "Ground wave"???

• transmission/reception problems with Electra
• daytime/nighttime frequencies (disappearance of ionosphere in daylight): "The higher the sun, the higher the frequency."
• Betty's notebook can only be authentic if the conditions were right for the signal to bounce off the ionosphere and reach her home in Florida.

"I will foolishly tread forward here. Perhaps the phenomenon of 'skip zone' was responsible: too far for good reception of ground wave, or direct wave, and not far enough away to receive her signal via skip propagation (sky wave.) I think i have seen old propagation charts which actually give distances for the skip zone, a dead zone of no reception, around the transmitting station."

Hue Miller 23 February 2009 Forum