I keep checking the mailbox, but my helicopter kit hasn't shown up yet :-)
My personal *opinion* is that the results do include some groundwave
energy, along with a fair amount of energy scattered from the main lobe.
>From what I have heard about the various manufacturers and their test
ranges they use distances from 300 to 2200 feet (Boeing has one that's
about a mile, even.) None of them have anything that can test up in the
air more than ten degrees or so. Several sound pretty suspect. I think
we're all pretty much in the same boat on this one.
Frankly, I would LOVE to have somebody put the same antennas on a 500'
open test range and try to validate the protocol. Another possibility
would be to put them at the edge of a cliff and measure across a canyon to
a similar setup. Just like those ultra-steep volcanic dropoffs on the
island of Kauai!
73, Ward N0AX
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