2007/08/11 F2 skip

[kkn50]

2007/08/11
QTH: South Texas, EL09
Rig: BCD396T w/ dipole & ARC logging/recording software

There appears to be a F2 opening to Mexico/Central America from Texas this afternoon with 30.220 being most active. Also heard 32.180 and 32.400.

30.220 was monitored very frequently during F2 openings over the last few winters.

We have not determined the country of origin of the 30.220 signals but I have several good wav files of today's transmissions that I will post later with the hope that someone will recognize the accent and can associate it with a particular area.

 

[nightwatch]

i had gema 45.56 at 4pm fdoc 45.42 and 45.16 .spanish 41.975 40.11 40.15 gulf fleet marine 31.48
ico=new freedom pa pcr2500 pcr1000 r7000

 

[kb2vxa]

F skip at that frequency is rare and only happens around the peak of the sunspot cycle when the MUF can rise that high on occasion. Are you sure it wasn't E skip? That distance is awfully short for F but sounds about right for sporadic E. BTW at the last peak I got F from the southern tip of Argentina to central NJ on 6M but like I said it's rare, only the one contact in my ham career.

 

[kkn50]

Since I posted I that I have been thinking about it and waiting for a comment with correction or clarification. I said F2 because normally I hear those stations only in the winter during high MUF at times with no Es and because they were monitored in New Jersey at the same time I heard them. But I don't know -- multi-hop Es?

F skip at that frequency is rare and only happens around the peak of the sunspot cycle when the MUF can rise that high on occasion. Are you sure it wasn't E skip? That distance is awfully short for F but sounds about right for sporadic E. BTW at the last peak I got F from the southern tip of Argentina to central NJ on 6M but like I said it's rare, only the one contact in my ham career.

 

[kkn50]

32.180 is back this afternoon with strong signals but only a few hits on 30.220.

 

[brandon]

VHF Dx map showed multi-hop Es into the Carribean/MEX yesterday afternoon