From: fisher2557@iscsvax.uni.edu
Newsgroups: rec.radio.cb
Subject: Re: AM or SSB
Date: 13 Apr 92 14:17:06 -0500
Organization: University of Northern Iowa

In article <11337@ksr.com>, jfw@ksr.com (John F. Woods) writes:
>>with skip, ANYTHING'S possible.  Point-to-point (ground waves; the reliable
>>ones) normal for me is 30 miles.  That's my base (ground plane just abouve my
>>house) to a mobile with a k-40.  If I had a beam, and was talking with another
>>base with another beam, I could expect in excess of 100 miles.  When you get
>>going THAT far, though, you're not really throwing the signal thru the air;
>>your signal is almost totally on your ground-plane, so if you don't have a
>>WELL grounded antennae, you're S.O.L....
> 
> "Ground wave" and "ground plane" have nothing to do with each other.
> Quoting from the 1984 Radio Amateur's Handbook:
>   The "ground wave" is that portion of the radiation which is directly affected
>   by the surface of the earth.  It has two components, an earth-guided surface
>   wave, and the space wave.  The latter is the resultant of two components,
>   direct and ground reflected.
> 
(some lines removed)
> 
> Your local ground plane will not affect ground wave propagation much, unless
> it happens to be a couple of hundred miles across.  Its design may lower the
> angle of radiation and help some; a poor ground plane will make a vertical
> antenna work poorly, both for ground wave and other forms of propagation.
> 
> The ARRL Antenna Book contains a lot of information about propagation and
> antennas (naturally).
> 
> John Woods, WB7EEL

I guess I did not use the right words in my posting....  What I was trying to
say is that the antennae has *two* parts, the stinger and the ground plane. 
Normally, you use the stinger as your main element of transmission.  The
stinger accounts for about 91% of your radiated power.  The other 9% is put out
on the ground radials.  (recall that the rf bleeds off the high voltage nodes
of the stinger (at the tip of a 5/8) and there has to be a SOURCE of those
electrons...  they're "pulled" from the ground plane, and generate a signal) 
The action of the ground plane would be 50/50 with the stinger if the ground
weren't such a good source of electrons, flooding out the signal.  When you
talk much beyond 20% past line-of-sight (the antennae's sight, not yours on the
ground) you CANNOT put a stinger signal through without bouncing it off
something like an atmospheric layer.  Any two people 100+ miles away that do
not have *high* antennaes or a valley between them are talking purely on .....
I lack the proper term....  I wanna say "ground waves" but as you pointed out,
that's not right...  UNDERground waves.  that's the word.  Beam antennaes also
direct this signal. (I don't believe polarization matters underground,either)
By the way, I've got the 1990 ARRL at home, too.  BIG book!  I wish they had
some info on VOXes.....  I'd REALLY like to make one. :(  Thanks for the
correction, though.  Gotta have somebody keep me on my toes.


later,
 Nathan
  FISHER2557@ISCSVAX.UNI.EDU      (this tag line is umop ap!sdn)
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Newsgroups: rec.radio.cb