Great-Circle Paths and Beam Headings for Ham Operators

Great-Circle Paths and Beam Headings for Ham OperatorsHow great-circle bearing and distance work for ham radio paths. Short-path vs. long-path beam headings, why great circles look curved on flat maps.A great-circle path is the shortest distance between two points on a sphere — the path a radio signal actually takes between your station and a DX target.Short-path vs. long-path

Short-path (SP): shorter arc, what you usually use

Long-path (LP): 180-deg-opposite bearing, goes the long way around

Operators chase LP as a deliberate technique on 20m / 40m around grey-line.The Ham Shack DX Target stripComputes path color (MUF interpolated at target), beam SP (cardinal direction), LP, distance (mi + km), local time at target, sun at target, weather at target.Part of the BloomWX learn library — beginner-friendly explainers covering every surface of the BloomWX weather dashboard. Open BloomWX to see live data for any U.S. county.