The direction and amplitude of reflections from meteor trails and sporadic-E ionization on a 1740 km north-south path at very high frequencies

The paper reports measurements made at Winkfield, near Slough, on signals received from a transmitter at Gibraltar operating on 37.3 Mc/s. A diurnal variation of the mean bearing of meteor-trail reflections is found, and the angles of elevation are consistent with those to be expected from the path geometry. The rates of reception are found to be consistent with an inverse amplitude law for the weaker reflections and with an inverse fourth-power law for the strongest. The bearing of the strong persistent reflections obtained from sporadic-E ionization lies close to the great-circle bearing. Applications to practical transmissions are briefly considered.