Radio signal

Definition and stakes

United States. Department of Defense United States Army Field Manual 7-93 Long-Range Surveillance Unit Operations… (1995)

If the radio signal having a frequency above the critical frequency is sent at an angle, the signal is bent back to earth instead of passing through the region. This can be compared to skipping stones across a pond. If a stone is thrown straight down at the water, it penetrates the surface. If a stone is thrown at an angle to the pond, the stone skips across the pond. For every circuit, there is an optimum angle above the horizon called the takeoff angle. It produces the strongest signal at the receiving station. This optimum takeoff angle is used to select the antenna for a specific circuit.
Source: Wikisource

United States. Department of Defense United States Army Field Manual 7-93 Long-Range Surveillance Unit Operations… (1995)

Because the radio signal travels in the air, any obstruction (such as a mountain) between the antennas can block or reduce the signal. For an antenna 10 feet above the ground, 8 kilometers (5 miles) is the maximum line-of-sight distance. (2) The reflected wave reflects off the earth in going from the transmitting antenna to the receiving antenna. Together, the reflected wave and the direct wave are called the space wave. (3) The surface wave travels along the surface of the earth. It is the usual means of ground-wave communication.
Source: Wikisource

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