I read Cary Oler's post with all of the fancy theory.
The NL7Z/K1ZM path reminds me a lot about W0ZV's (now W4ZV) sunrise QSO
with a UA9, which Bill said was long path, but he did admit that the
signal peaked out of the SW from his Colorado QTH. There was no mention
of echos.
I believe that the echo phenomenon on 160m is really due to the same
thing so common on higher frequency bands -- scatter from an area which
has better propagation to both ends of the QSO than the direct path.
It's not uncommon to work JAs from here beaming southwest on ten meters
while the direct path to the northwest is dead.
When there are no noticeable echos, some call it "skew" path. This
implies that the signal is following a curved route. My opinion is that
a "skew" path is really due to backscatter ("sidescatter" might be a more
appropriate label - or just plain "scatter").
I guess it's not my nature to accept a theory that signals follow a
curved path. I feel they travel in a straight line until they are
refracted by the ionosphere or bounced in another direction (like a
billiard ball on a pool table). If the "bounce" occurs on uneven terrain
or the choppy seas (as is probably always the case), then some of the
signal is scattered in other directions than the primary one.
But, maybe my logical conclusion isn't good enough to accept in these
days of scientific knowledge, hi.
Just consider that "skew" (scatter) paths, which are predominently south
of the direct path (north if you're in the southern hemisphere), are not
subject to the high absorption associated with the high latitudes,
therefore the "skew" path may often be the better path. When both direct
and "skew" paths are open, you'll hear an echo!
Jeff, K1ZM wrote:
"Competition is TOUGHER today that 10 years ago!"
Boy, am I aware of that! 15 to 20 years ago I "owned" the west coast on
160m. That's definitely no longer true!
73, de Earl, K6SE
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