On Sat, 4 Sep 2004 09:39:56 -0300, "Just a suggestion..."
wrote:

Is sea water a good reflector because it has good conductivity ?

If you think it has good conductivity, do you wire your house with it?
Do you have a radial field using #38 wire in a one meter grid? Both
laughable propositions here, but those tears of mirth turn to the
dewey eyed mist of religious belief when Salt Water "conductivity" is
mentioned.

Sand is the least lossy ground beneath your feet, but how well does it
contribute to DX? Add some water and the loss skyrockets - and this
is called the boon of conductivity!

No, it is called the boon of reflectivity. The Z changed and power
CANNOT penetrate the interface. If you cannot get power into it,
there is nothing to conduct (and it is the molecular polarization and
relaxation moment that causes this, not conductivity).

The legends of mature spinsters are many with respect to the qualities
of ground - they even inspire useless software as crutches. I have
seen NO ONE here who can recommend it (much less admit they don't even
have a clue on what values would be appropriate for their own locale).
Hence most discussion is either faith-driven, speculation, or simple
hucksterism.

73's
Richard Clark, KB7QHC