Selective fading - Definition and Overview

Selective fading is a radio propagation anomaly caused by partial cancellation of a radio signal by itself — the signal arrives at the receiver by two different paths, and at least one of the paths is changing (lengthening or shortening). This typically happens in the early evening or early morning as the various layers in the ionosphere move, separate, and combine. The two paths can both be skywave or one be groundwave.

Selective fading manifests as a slow, cyclic disturbance; the cancellation effect, or "null", is deepest at one particular frequency, which changes constantly, sweeping through the received audio.

The best way to counteract the effect is to use two receivers with separate antennas spaced a quarter-wavelength apart, or a specially-designed diversity receiver with two antennas. Such a receiver continuously compares the signals arriving at the two antennas and presents the better signal.