Bryan,
My slang references to turkeys, geese, and doorstops do have meaning,
"...but that's not important right
now." [from our classic comedy movie "Airplane!"] :-)
> I am even a little rusty on 'general azimuth'.
Azimuth references points around a circle when viewed from above.
> So, what can I do Fred? Can I chop a bit off,
> somewhere or do I need a new radio?
First an airborne check, listening to a continuous broadcast, or a
real chatty Approach freq, at a distance that is very weak at best
while doing the test. Fly big, lazy 360-deg circles, and listen for
where there's loss of signal. If necessary fly further away and try
again. If significant voids around the circle, that says antenna
installation problem (location with the A/C).
It's helpful for me to know about distance from an ATC facility and
your AGL altitude, and flatness of the terrain. For example, 2,500
AGL, 40 nm from a smaller field with a control tower who uses a 10W
transmitter. Actually, their actual xmit power doesn't matter too
much. 2,500 may enough above line-of-sight to allow for rolling
terrain. You're nominally receiving 90 microvolts, and you should
hear them if a decent antenna and up-to-spec comm radio.
Reg,
Fred F.
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