hop
1. The excursion of a radio wave from the Earth to the ionosphere and back to the Earth.
Note: The number of hops is synonymous with the number of reflections from the ionosphere.
2. A waveform transmitted for the duration of each relocation of the carrier frequency of a frequency-hopped system.
3. To modify a modulated waveform with constant center frequency so that it frequency hops.
4. An intermediate network connection consisting of a leg from one router to another router and over which a packet travels to reach its destination.
Note: Hops can be traced using ping or other trace utilities.