Gary, K4FMK wrote:
"Do the same in the vertical plane also."

Never had a minor lobe identification problem.

Never improved over the bubble-level set of vertical elevation angle on
long paths either, but I always tried.

I had always calculated my path gains and losses, and my best received
carrier power was very nearly always within a db of my calculations. If
not, I had a problem. Fortunately, that was very rare.

Best regards, Richard Harrison, KB5WZI