[Slight thread creep]
Back in the 80s, I worked for an oil company in Jakarta and we used HF radio-teletype for communications with our field operations in North Sumatra, a distance of about 1500 km. We used directional Yagi antennas (multi-element antennas with varying element lengths, that look somewhat arrow-shaped). We had been having trouble with reception for a while and Hal, our communications guy (an ex-Bf 110 radar operator, so there is an aircraft connection), who was in Jakarta, was at a loss.
Then an engineer who had just come back from the field and obviously knew something about radios, said "Hal, shouldn't the narrow end of the antenna be pointing towards Jakarta?" Our radio operator in Sumatra had been sending his signals the long way round to get to Jakarta.
A quick re-orientation of the antenna and Hal's problems were solved. Well, not all of them. There was still the monthly delivery of a "facilitation" payment to the Telex office, to fix the Telex line which mysteriously went unservicable on the last day of every month.
[End of thread creep]