Hi Ed,
The efficiency of a horizontally polarized antenna over salt water
or a salt marsh improves by one dB or less compared to the same
antenna over fertile farm soil in a flat (or nearly flat) Fresnel Zone.
Even desert soil degrades the performance of horizontally polarized
antennas by only a few dB.
On the other hand, salt water significantly improves the efficiency
of vertically polarized antennas particularly at low elevation angles
but only if most of the antenna's Fresnel Zone is over salt water or
a salt marsh. Only a few U.S. contesters have vertically polarized
antennas in or at the edge of a salt marsh or salt water such as
K1DG (at his Maine QTH), W1KM and K3ZM.
When K3LR and W3LPL are working Europe, the most important
factor is the MUF at our first ionospheric reflection points at
roughly 60 degrees magnetic latitude over eastern Canada.
Coincidentally 60 degrees magnetic latitude is a region of high
interest to ionospheric scientists, including PVRC's N3HBX who
wrote a scientific paper about his research into ionospheric
behavior at that latitude when he worked at MIT's Haystack
Observatory researching a well known (to ionospheric scientists)
phenomenon known as the m id-latitude i onospheric t rough or
simply the Mid-Latitude Trough.
For any propagation path to Europe, K3LR's ionospheric
reflection is about 200 miles northwest of W3LPL's reflection
point in the immediate vicinity of the mid-latitude trough. While
the trough isn't present every night, it is present very frequently
and it causes significantly lowering of the MUF over a distance
of just a few hundred miles to the north as dusk approaches
eastern Canada. The reduced MUF to Europe steadily becomes
more severe during the night until the trough suddenly disappears
as sunrise illuminates the ionosphere as it approaches eastern
Canada.
Those interested in exploring this phenomenon can Google
"mid-latitude trough" and "magnetic latitude"
73
Frank
W3LPL
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ed Sawyer" <sawyered@earthlink.net>
To: cq-contest@contesting.com
Sent: Monday, February 29, 2016 5:56:25 PM
Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] Ohio is now West Coast - rebuttal
Arguing the "West Coast" is not NM is no different than calling W1 just W1.
W1 and W2 are equally as capable in the DX contests to win, it depends on
where you are in W1 or W2. And the area is not homogenous in capability.
W1WMU, K8PO, K1DG, K1ZM, and W1KM are all within the Fresnel zone of salt
water or salt march to EU. There are equally great areas in W2 and all the
way down to K3ZM's location that define as much a universe within W1, W2, W3
as NM vs CA.
As a W1 that is 50 miles from the Canadian border and literally 350 miles in
the EU direction from salt water, I can tell you that W1 is NOT all the
same.
Don't get me wrong, its better to EU than W6/7, but I drool listening to the
saltwater stations run loud and early just like you do listening to W1 in
general. There are time when it matters BIG and times when it doesn't
matter as much.
K3LR's more northern path to EU vs W3LPL was "just enough" with disturbed
conditions that I witnessed much further north than them to change the game
on K3LR.
Broad brushing conclusions is not a wise idea.
73
Ed N1UR
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