A positive connection to toerail

[btrayfors]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

Dave-

There are some times when "simple" radio just isn't the answer, because of physics and the limits of how radio waves travel. I think at 300 miles, the answers are for both parties to be using NVIS, or some other "linked" systems that don't require direct radio communications. Or...honest...if you can put enough power in it, you beam the signal the other way and try to bounce it around the globe the long way to him.

Sorry, hellosailor, this just isn't right. You can communicate reliably with someone 300 miles away IF you use the correct HF frequency. As I said,
7 mHz will do it fine during the day, 3.5 mHz at night. Occasionally, you can even use higher frequencies, e.g., 14 mHz when high-angle radiation is in.

None of this is NVIS (which is more like I described before with very low frequencies and bouncing signals near vertically). It's just plain everyday practice by hams the world over. Listen to any 7 mHz net during the day, and you'll see.

Bill

[hellosailor]

Thanks, Bill. Looks like I'm off on figuring my skip zones. I'm in a "black hole" location myself--urban politics make HF rather problematic for me.<G>

[btrayfors]

"Urban politics"???

Nothing could be worse than here (D.C. area). What a big friggin' mess :-)

Bill