Extra exam question E3B06
Subelement E3, RADIO WAVE PROPAGATION· Group E3B
On which of the following amateur bands is long-path propagation most frequent?
- A.160 meters and 80 meters
- B.40 meters and 20 meters (correct answer)
- C.10 meters and 6 meters
- D.6 meters and 2 meters
WhyLong-path propagation occurs most frequently on the 40 meter and 20 meter bands. Long-path propagation, where a signal travels the longer way around the globe instead of the direct great-circle route, shows up most often on 40 and 20 meters, bands where ionospheric conditions frequently support skip distances long enough for the roundabout path to actually work, answer B. 160 and 80 meters are typically too heavily absorbed for long-path work, and the higher VHF-adjacent bands, 10 meters and 6 meters or 6 meters and 2 meters, don't support ionospheric long-path propagation the way HF does.
Published 2026-08-28 · Last updated 2026-08-28 · Question text is verbatim from the 2024-2028 NCVEC Element 4 pool (public domain); the explanation above is original writing, see our methodology.
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