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Concept
Skywave
Summary
In radio communication, skywave or skip refers to the propagation of radio waves reflected or refracted back toward Earth from the ionosphere, an electrically charged layer of the upper atmosphere. Since it is not limited by the curvature of the Earth, skywave propagation can be used to communicate beyond the horizon, at intercontinental distances. It is mostly used in the shortwave frequency bands.
As a result of skywave propagation, a signal from a distant AM broadcasting station, a shortwave station, or – during sporadic E propagation conditions (principally during the summer months in both hemispheres) – a distant VHF FM or TV station can sometimes be received as clearly as local stations. Most long-distance shortwave (high frequency) radio communication – between 3 and 30 MHz – is a result of skywave propagation. Since the early 1920s amateur radio operators (or "hams"), limited to lower transmitter power than broadcast stations, have taken advantage of skywave for long-distance (or "DX") communication.
Skywave propagation is distinct from line-of-sight propagation, in which radio waves travel in a straight line, and from non-line-of-sight propagation.
Skywave transmissions can be used for long-distance communications (DX) by waves directed at a low angle as well as relatively local communications via nearly vertically directed waves (Near Vertical Incidence Skywaves – NVIS).
The ionosphere is a region of the upper atmosphere, from about 80 km to 1000 km in altitude, where neutral air is ionized by solar photons, solar particles, and cosmic rays. When high-frequency signals enter the ionosphere at a low angle they are bent back towards the earth by the ionized layer. If the peak ionization is strong enough for the chosen frequency, a wave will exit the bottom of the layer earthwards – as if obliquely reflected from a mirror. Earth's surface (ground or water) then reflects the descending wave back up again towards the ionosphere.
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