Great Tropo tonight!

[VE3RADIO]

Getting NC, MO, and NE Highway Patrol/State Police on low band in addition to all of Western New York (Buffalo and Rochester) from North East of Oshawa.


Might post some videos

 

[acurayyz]

How do you get these channels? Just program the local freqs and listen with a huge antenna?

 

[Forts]

The search button does wonders

 

[ecps92]

Sorry mine is worn out, can't read it , but know exactly where it is.

The search button does wonders

 

[EJB]

The search button does wonders

All joking aside Forts, do I have a chance to get anything in lowband with a 1/4 wave antenna or a run of the mill KSMA one? Do I need a tower like Matt has or a Yagi like yours that I can move around?

I run my scannerts in all of the areas that you guys mention outdoors, facing the South and West, and hear nothing. I used to many yrs ago, hearing Oil crews in the Gulf or cops in southern states, but nowadays nothing. Also, you probably are in a more rural area that I, with towers on buildings all around me and intermod do I have a chance?

 

[Forts]

Obviously your chances aren't as good, being in the city. Many nights I have no problems pulling in lots of distance stuff using a rubber ducky and sitting the radio by the window (or going out on the deck). But as you can imagine having an exterior antenna of some sort helps significantly.

I recall one day I was driving down the 401 towards London around the Dorchester area and was doing some searching on my Pro-96 (before the distracted driving laws haha) and I pulled in a Motorola control channel that I didn't recognize (again this was just using the rubber duck). I checked the database when I got home and it turns out the system was from either Virginia or West Virginia, I forget which. Either way, I was pretty astounded by that one.

 

[Forts]

Another good opening today, and from the looks of it... all weekend. I've been pulling in stuff from Ohio loud and clear all day long.

 

[Jammin_Jay]

For those interested. There is a DX tropo forecast map, with color intensities to show RF strength in a given area in North EAST US and Southern Canada. Its called the Hepburn Tropo Index

http://www.dxinfocentre.com/tropo.html

According to the map, in Ontario, there is a good RF dome Owen sound to Toronto to Sarnia and back up again. (Yellow Shade) (Strong RF tropo)
That is for tommorow morning. 1200 UTC sat

Tonight another bubble of green from Cornwall to Lake Huron (Green shade) (Good RF tropo status)

Wow, it looks like Sunday night into Monday, Southern Ontario gets the strongest RF pattern yet. (keep the scanner in search mode then)
A big orange bubble extending from Tip of Georgian bay to Oshawa to Niagara then stretching down towards london and lake erie .With a small dark orange area around Hamilton. Orange status = Very strong. Dark orange status = Intense

 

[cg]

I was hearing analog traffic in French this morning on 165.7875 with no PL/DPL but a distinctive "boop" after each transmission. This is from Connecticut at the Massachusetts line.

chris

 

[VA3QRM]

more tropo mapping, enjoy

VHF Propagation Map

 

[Forts]

It looks like today and Monday should really be hopping, according to the forecasts.