On Jan 1, 9:28*am, Richard Fry wrote:


Again, I do not, and never have considered the surface wave to be
important in skywave communications. *The reason I referred to it was
to show that if it exists with substantial relative field close to the
radiator, then so does substantial radiation exist there at low
elevation angles, and which can serve the most distance ranges using a
single reflection from the ionosphere.

RF

I haven't really given this much thought, but seems to me the
low angle radiation that does reach the ionosphere and would
be useful for very long ranges would be considered the lower angles
of the space wave, and would be separate from the ground or surface
wave, whichever you would want to call it.. I tend to use "ground
wave",
but I've always considered it separate from the "space wave" as
I call it..
As a difference between the two, the ground wave would follow the
curvature of the earth, but the lowest angles of the space wave would
not. They would continue at the original angle, which naturally would
lead them to the ionosphere eventually. At low angles too if
measured from the transmitter location.
Anyway, seems to me almost all radiation that strikes the
ionosphere at low angles would be from the space wave, not the
ground wave.
I dunno if this makes any sense or is totally correct.. MPG will
vary..