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E3A11

RADIO WAVE PROPAGATION · Electromagnetic Waves and Specialized Propagation: Earth-Moon-Earth (EME) communications; meteor scatter; microwave tropospheric and scatter propagation; auroral propagation; daily variation of ionospheric propagation; circular polarization

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What is a typical range for tropospheric duct propagation of microwave signals?

  1. A10 miles to 50 miles
  2. B100 miles to 300 miles
  3. C1,200 miles
  4. D2,500 miles
Why Tropospheric ducting happens when a temperature inversion creates a layer of warm, dry air over cooler, moist air, forming a waveguide-like duct that traps VHF/UHF/microwave signals and keeps them from spreading upward. Signals can travel far beyond the normal radio horizon with low loss, and the commonly cited working range is on the order of 100 to 300 miles. Exceptional ducts over water can stretch farther, but the pool's expected answer is the few-hundred-mile figure.
Watch out The 10 to 50 mile choice is just ordinary line-of-sight VHF/UHF range with no duct at all, and the 1,200 and 2,500 mile figures are more typical of ionospheric F-layer HF hops, which microwaves do not use.
Ducting = a few hundred miles: remember 100-300. Anything over 1,000 miles is ionospheric, not tropospheric.
HamSandwich explanation, first draft. The question and answers are the NCVEC text.
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The rest of E3A

  1. E3A01 What is the approximate maximum separation measured along the surface of the Earth between two stations commu…
  2. E3A02 What characterizes libration fading of an EME signal?
  3. E3A03 When scheduling EME contacts, which of these conditions will generally result in the least path loss?
  4. E3A04 In what direction does an electromagnetic wave travel?
  5. E3A05 How are the component fields of an electromagnetic wave oriented?
  6. E3A06 What should be done to continue a long-distance contact when the MUF for that path decreases due to darkness?
  7. E3A07 Atmospheric ducts capable of propagating microwave signals often form over what geographic feature?
  8. E3A08 When a meteor strikes the Earth's atmosphere, a linear ionized region is formed at what region of the ionosph…
  9. E3A09 Which of the following frequency ranges is most suited for meteor-scatter communications?
  10. E3A10 What determines the speed of electromagnetic waves through a medium?
  11. E3A11 What is a typical range for tropospheric duct propagation of microwave signals?
  12. E3A12 What is most likely to result in auroral propagation?
  13. E3A13 Which of these emission modes is best for auroral propagation?
  14. E3A14 What are circularly polarized electromagnetic waves?
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