HF Propagation: Have You Ever Wondered?

Anyone who turns on a shortwave receiver or an amateur HF radio in any mode (AM or SSB) may notice that the signal comes and goes. This is called fading. Although fading isn't always bad, there are times when it's bad enough that you turn your radio off in disgust. Many people blame bad HF reception on near-by electronic sources and this can sometimes be the case, but if you have your listening station properly set up, then you may be no victim of local interference, but to a change in ionospheric propagation. This well written piece over at QSL.Net says it is a beginner's introduction to understanding propagation, however, it is so well written and so concise that you just might become an expert just by reading and understanding everything.That said, it would be understandable if a person wanted to further pursue the subject of ionospheric propagation. There will be more coming on the subjects of antenna's and propagation in the future. The follow up posts to using antennas will be forthcoming and is under development.