[AFMUG] NLOS, 5ghz, Foliage, and Rain

[Nate Burke]

I have a PTP NLOS link which is working the opposite of what I expect, 
and I'm having trouble understanding it.  It is a NLOS link in 5ghz (2.5 
mile link, Urban area, <1/8 Mile is NLOS).  UBNT, 2' dish to a 
Powerbridge.  Here's the part I can't figure out.  Over the summer, when 
the trees are leafed in, the link is rock solid, no signal change, No 
modulation change. Rain, Shine, Night, Day, stays exactly the same.  
However, over the winter, when there are no leaves, it loses signal, and 
the signal and modulation fluctuate dramatically. Rain will drop the 
link out.  I have tried re-alignment after the foliage has dropped off, 
and was not able to gain signal, or change the pattern at all.  I'm 
guessing it must be some sort of Multi-path/reflection that the foliage 
is blocking. Would a different radio handle this better than the UBNT?  
Like if I changed it to EPMP, AF5x, or PTP600 would it act differently?  
Or is there something else at play that I haven't thought of?