[160m] Spot Light Effects...

[Pete Rimmel N8PR]

Ford,

 You wrote:

What is of interest is the so-called spot light effects on
longer paths, of which I am a firm believer, but fail to
understand the physics.  There are loads of speculations but
little 'proof' and even considerable numbers of people that
believe these effects to be nothing short of fairy
tale--pure randomness.  I have worked enough 160M contests
to know that NFL/WCF/FL in general is a difficult path to MN
for some reason.  I can also demonstrate from numerous logs
on different weekends that the MN/SC, MN/FL, MN/AL, MN/MS,
MN/LA (and others) can be a similar difficult path.  Nothing
in the log and then suddenly 3 or 4 stations (or more) from
a single section will appear consecutively with good signal
strength--never to be heard from again the entire night.
Weird and too coincidental to simply dismiss as a fairy
tale.
-----------------------

I find this interesting, since I live in South Florida
(Hollywood) and have data that would disprove your premise.
I don't have any trouble working MN on 160.  My Contest logs
will show that.   Perhaps it is a charaqcteristic of your
antenna system that you do not put a good signal into FL.
( I do note that sometimes I work 2 stations from the same
state in a row... coincidence or 'spotlight propagation?  I
can't say. )

However, I have had a similar quandry, with Ohio and
Michigan stations, UNTIL this year.  In past years (5 or 6),
I have noted that I had to wait until close to midnight
local time to get a good signal into that area from here in
a contest.  I found, after many early attempts, that I just
couldn't work the '8' area until, in my estimation the band
'lengthened out'.  However, I was using a full wave delta
loop for the past several years.  This year, due to all the
hurricane activity, I took that down, and put up an inverted
vee.  The apex of the vee was at the same height and the
antenna was broadside to the same direction, since the end
supports weren't moved.  This year I was working into OH/MI
much earlier in the evening.  Why?

One of two rezsons comes to mind.  1:  The band was
different this year;  2:  the pattern of the Vee was
different, and most likely the take off angle was higher,
with more signal coming down into that area.  (the Loop was
fed 1/4 wave down from the apex, making it 'vertically
polarized')

Just some food for thought...

73 and HNY,

PeteR   N8PR