[AK-VHF] Aircraft Scatter

[Craig Bledsoe]

Good Morning Hudson >>>

     Thanks for your comments about working Aircraft Scatter (AS) and the attached paper discussing this concept in greater detail.  Given my location on the Eagle River hillside with an unobstructed view towards both JBER/Elmendorf AFB (EDF) and the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC), I have had multiple opportunities to experiment with assorted modes on various frequencies on all of our ham bands from HF through 23 cm.

     The best signal strengths that I have personally observed have been on the 1.25M / 220 MHz band and the 33cm / 902 MHz band.  The 1.25M band has been better overall because of the longer peaks relative to the velocity of the aircraft enable conventional CW and (really quick) voice QSOs to take place.  902 MHz has the look and feel of a meteor scatter QSO with specialized digital modes being the best way to go for a successful contact.

     Hope that this helps a bit.  Please e-mail or call me anytime if you would like to run some tests.

                                                              Good luck and 73,

                                                              Craig, KL7H


________________________________
From: ak-vhf-bounces at mailman.qth.net <ak-vhf-bounces at mailman.qth.net> on behalf of hspil via ak-vhf <ak-vhf at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Thursday, July 2, 2026 13:30
To: AK-VHF <ak-vhf at mailman.qth.net>
Subject: [AK-VHF] Aircraft Scatter

Howdy everyone,

>From reading this: NEW_W3SZ_AircraftScatterPaper2023.pdf<https://w3sz.com/NEW_W3SZ_AircraftScatterPaper2023.pdf>

I think aircraft scatter between Fairbanks and Southcentral is doable, especially with the regular commercial flights between ANC and FAI.

I've been working on building a weak signal setup for 902 MHz based on a Pluto SDR. I haven't done the math yet on the path budget, but I think a relatively modest setup is workable on Q65.

If 432 or 1296 is more amenable, I could be convinced to switch gears.

73,
Hudson, KL4LJ
North Pole, AK BP64HR