As promised, today I am monitoring 2m FT8 but using my V2000 vertical instead of the horizontal big-wheel. This was suggested by my old work colleague Richard G3TFX in Cambridge.
Already I am surprised by the number of stations still being received. This suggests that these stations are less dependant on polarisation than I thought, suggesting either aircraft reflection or random MS rather than tropo.
UPDATE 1015z: 12 uniques in 4 countries, despite being vertically polarised.
UPDATE 1130z: Now 19 uniques in 4 countries.
UPDATE 1405z: Now 28 uniques in 4 countries.
UPDATE 2105z: Well, the experiment has ended. Conclusion? Polarisation does not matter, so probably most DX received by aircraft reflections. Amazing. Map show stations received on 2m FT8 today with vertical polarisation.
Maybe a lot of other stations are using verticals for FT8, to get omni coverage?
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