Extra exam question E3B07
Subelement E3, RADIO WAVE PROPAGATION· Group E3B
What effect does lowering a signal’s transmitted elevation angle have on ionospheric HF skip propagation?
- A.Faraday rotation becomes stronger
- B.The MUF decreases
- C.The distance covered by each hop increases (correct answer)
- D.The critical frequency increases
WhyLowering a signal's transmitted elevation angle increases the ground distance each ionospheric hop covers. Lowering the elevation angle at which a signal leaves the antenna sends it toward the ionosphere at a shallower, more grazing angle, and that geometry increases the ground distance each ionospheric hop covers before the signal comes back down, answer C. It doesn't change Faraday rotation strength, doesn't lower the MUF, and doesn't affect the ionosphere's own critical frequency, those depend on the ionosphere's ionization level, not on the antenna's takeoff angle.
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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