Recent content by Deepstar

I think your limiting factor is going to be more related to line of sight rather than antenna performance. I assume you're aware already, but if not a simplified radar/radio horizon is given by: Horizon in nautical miles = 1.25*√(Antenna height in feet) Which for your setup gives: 11.1nm =...

Thanks all, these are good questions and the kind of sanity check I was looking for. - My MSc contained no astronomy or astrophysics content at all, I was thinking I might meet the entry criteria of "successful applicants need to have gained an MPhys or MSc degree in an appropriate subject...

Hi all, I'm hoping this is the correct place to ask this kind of question. By way of context, I'm currently 38 and serving in the military, with a background in aviation including flight test. About 5 years ago I completed a full-time MSc in aerospace systems and I really enjoyed the experience...

Thank you both for your replies. After reading the info and links above, I managed to find the following equation related to single slit diffraction experiments: d sin(theta) = n * lambda Re-arranging to find theta, there is a clear mathematical link between reduced wavelength and a smaller...

I'm currently trying to get my head around the properties of UHF vs VHF propagation, specifically to do with diffraction around terrain and obstacles of various sizes (i.e buildings, vegetation etc). I understand from experience that UHF is generally more suitable in built up, urban...

Thanks again, I always find it's the basics which trip me up. I'm returning to study in my 30s for an MSc and have been given these questions as part of some pre-course work to do to refresh my maths - despite having done well at maths in the past, it turns out there are more than a few gaps in...

So, in answering your question I've realized the following: (-4)^2 = 16 -4^2 = -16 This seems to be the source of my confusion for the first question, so thank you. This also seems to apply for the second question where I think I should have used: (-2)^-2 = 1/4 Thanks again - I thought it...

I am able to simplify/evaluate the above equations correctly, however I end up with an incorrect sign for each answer (i.e positive when it should be negative) and I can't see where the error is. I feel I am clearly missing something but having checked my working including with a calculator for...