[Elecraft] Ice on dipole under snow under ice

[Fred Jensen]

Snow and/or natural ice that fell from the sky is barely conductive if 
at all and likely has zero effect.  All or part of your antenna laying 
on the ground will sure lower it's radiating efficiency [although maybe 
not as much as you might think], but HF radio is sometimes magic.  Like 
quantum mechanics, it's all probabilities.  Instead of "shouldn't work," 
ask "what's the probability that it will work?" 😁

73,

Fred ["Skip"] K6DGW
Sparks NV DM09dn
Washoe County

On 12/15/2020 9:45 AM, David Haines wrote:
> Update:
>
> With one-quarter of one leg of the dipole still under ice, I got a 
> reception report from PSKReporter on FT8 with 2 watts to Italy. That 
> shouldn't work, should it?  Maybe the ice doesn't matter?
>
> KD5VXH recalled a discussion in QST on this very subject, where 400W 
> AM melted the ice on one leg of the dipole (fed by coax), but not the 
> other.
> '
> You can follow the controversy in May and July 1960 letters in QST!
>
> david
> KC1DNY
>