On Tue, 5 Apr 2005 02:44:10 -0700, "Ed Price" wrote:


"Wes Stewart" *n7ws*@ yahoo.com wrote in message
.. .
On Mon, 04 Apr 2005 00:27:17 GMT, Jim - NN7K
wrote:

[snip]

|Thanks, Cecil -- what got me thinking about it was a friend
|brought up this discussion of , say Moonbounce , with say
|Lefthand circular polarization , as observed from Earth.
|(which on reflection should be RIGHT HAND circular polarization
|upon return to earth, if to a Linear , Flat plane, like a billboard)
|and one of the experts there said to him "NOT so fast about the
|signals being 100 % out of phase" ( think had to do with
|Faraday effect)

Faraday rotation takes place in the Earth's ionosphere. The less than
perfect 180 degree phase shift in polarization is caused by the fact
that the lunar surface isn't a flat metallic surface but is instead,
as everyone knows, a lumpy green cheese ball.



If the moon were green cheese, wouldn't the increased conductivity present
lower return loss?

Not compared to a perfect reflector. The RL of the moon is about 11
dB.