Measurements of the critical current dependence on the angular
orientation of the applied magnetic field for
(Bi, Pb)2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10
(BSCCO-2223)/AgMg-sheathed, mono-core BSCCO-2223/Ag-sheathed and
Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 (BSCCO-2212) dip coat tapes are presented. We have demonstrated
that the procedure of measurement is an important factor for the angular
effect to show. For a magnetic field only applied during the measurement of
Ic(θ) (during the rotation the magnetic field is set to zero) we have found a
symmetric curve, while when the magnetic field is applied during the rotation
the curve is asymmetric. Moreover, we found a large difference in the critical
current value between the different procedures. From our measurements, we
imply two conditions are necessary to have an angular effect: (1) the magnetic
field must be applied during the rotation and (2) we have to start the
rotation for a magnetic field parallel to the c-axis. The results are
discussed in the context of the accommodation of vortices to planar defects
and surface pinning.