[Elecraft] [Sorta OT]: Does terrain affect HF radiation patterns?

[Jim Brown]

On Mon,9/15/2014 6:54 PM, Al Gulseth wrote:
> Greetings all,
>
> I've been following some of the antenna-related discussions here recently, and
> I've decided to see what the "gurus" here have to say about a question I have
> related to my QTH. As my post title indicates, what (if any) effect does
> nearby terrain have on HF radiation patterns?

The short answer is that terrain has a MAJOR effect on the vertical 
patterns of antennas, and that effect can be predicted by modeling. The 
effects are very different at HF as compared to VHF.

RUN, do not walk, to the closest place you can buy the ARRL Antenna 
Book. It includes both a good discussion and a very useful piece of 
software called HFTA (high frequency terrain analysis) by N6BV. I and 
many of my contesting cohorts have used it extensively, and are true 
believers.

This is one time you do NOT want a used copy of the book, because the 
software is on a CD that will likely not be in a used copy.

You can probably find a lot of stuff on the web by searching on HFTA. 
The author, N6BV, did a nice webinar a couple of years ago. PVRC, a big 
contesting club based around MD/VA/EPA organized it, and it was on their 
website.

73, Jim K9YC