29 Aug 2020

2m aircraft scatter?

As many will know, I frequently try 2m FT8.  What puzzles me is that even will 10W and the big-wheel omni antenna (3dB over a dipole maximum) I seem to get great ranges at any time.  

This could be aircraft scatter, but I am puzzled why this is there all the time. If it was just at certain times I would be more inclined to think this is aircraft scatter. Just maybe, there are enough aircraft in the sky to allow brief 15 second periods of FT8 to be reflected at any time.

Another possibility is that FT8, with its additional sensitivity, allows other scatter modes to be possible. Whatever, 2m FT8 seems to allow me to reach incredible distances every single day, even with my very simple antenna and low power. If I had a big beam and 400W, some amazing distances should be possible.

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