144 MHz Es Summary 2003

						UTC

Sporadic 'E' in 2003 - A summary | Last update 29.09.03, 17:00 UT | You are on /..May 20.

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Is Sporadic 'E' predictable? Read what Keith, G4FUF writes on this item.
Discussion of the May 20. 2003 DX opening. By DF5AI and DK5YA.

May 20. 2003 - And another big one... | Please send your comments/reports/log-sheets/audios to DK5YA

Again MUF was rising high pretty fast in the morning and at 11:03 UT the band was open from CT to 9H1. That one lasted for some 40 minutes. MUF reached 144 MHz again at 15:42 UT when EA7 and EA5 was into DL and a few minutes later CT into OE and OK. But then, surprise, suddenly EB8BTV reached the band working DL, OK, HB9 and OE. Some cracked the 3.000 kilometers, OK1TEH made the ODX with 3567 km! The cloud was moving west slowly bringing PA0, ON and F into the game to EA7 and EA4/5 and at 16:51 UT EA8 was 59+++ into G and later into F too. Now we saw EA7 into EI and GW and suddenly CT again into Italy while EA8 was heard in Ireland. Wow, ping pong across Western Europe :-).
And the cloud came back to the east, EB8BTV was very busy working OK, DL (yes, me too...), heard in HA. At that time (17:00-17:40 UT) MUF reached almost 220 MHZ cause F was working into CT on a QRB below 800 km! EA9 came to 144 while CT was working into DL, PA0, I, S5, 9A and F made 7X. Great deal today!
Involved DXCC: 9H1, CT, CT3, EA, EA8, EA9, F, G, GW, HA, EI, PA0, ON, LX, DL, OK, OM, HB9, HA, OE, S5, 7X, 9A, I.

CT1ANO, IN51re
15:47 I4OTM JN54PR
15:58 I4MK JN54PR
16:18 I1DMP JN35UB
17:26 EA8TJ IL18RI
17:32 S52LM JN65TX
17:34 IV3DXW JN65QQ
17:34 S51KK JN76HB
17:35 IW3QTJ JN35PF
17:37 IW2BSQ JN45UJ
17:40 IK2DDR JN55GN
17:52 IW2NOR JN45ON
17:59 IW2HAJ JN45NO
18:00 IK2YXK JN50OP
18:04 IK2EGC JN35UF
18:02 IZ2AAL JN54OP
18:03 IK3HAR JN55RK
18:04 IN3ZTI/P3 JN55OL
18:05 IK2GSO JN45NP
TS 2000 100W ANT. 10 ELE. PKW LONG-YAGI

CT1EAT, JM68da
17:00 F6DKW JN18cs
17:03 F5GHP IN96le
17:04 F1OOG JN08qj
17:04 F6GYH JN18fv
17:05 F6GGI JN18nt
17:06 S51KK JN76
17:06 S55OU JN76hd
17:09 F1ORL JN08vp
17:11 F6FLV JN18
17:12 IV3DXW JN65qq
17:13 S53VV NC
17:14 F5MUX JN08tf
17:15 S52LM JN65tx
17:16 F6FYA JN07gj
17:17 HB3MAT NC, again!
17:18 DK3RQ NC
17:19 F5FTK JN18do
17:20 F1BZG JN07vu
17:21 F0DYA/M JN07vt
17:23 F0DSJ JN17bt
17:40 DG9MAQ JN58
17:41 DF1GL JN47co
17:42 HB3YBQ JN47gl
17:43 HB9DPO JN47ho
17:43 HB9JAW JN47
17:44 DG1SZ JN58ao
17:44 DL1GGT JN58ao
17:45 HB9RNL JN37sn
17:46 HB3MAT NC
17:51 DK5YA JN49 <<<< TNX QSO [TNX too, Ed.]
17:53 HB9B JN37sn
17:54 DJ5RE NC
17:55 DH0GDE JN37ts
17:56 DJ5RE JN59wk
17:56 DL6NAA JO50vf
17:57 DC6RN JN59wk
17:58 DC5TD NC
17:58 OK1MZM JN69
17:59 F5JNX JN37pv
18:00 F1TRE JN37
18:01 DG4FDI JN49gm
18:01 DL1SDN JN48pp
18:02 DL1GST JN38vo
18:03 DB9IZ JN49di
18:04 F1BZG JN07vu
18:05 DH0GHU JN38vn
18:08 DL2IAN NC
18:09 DF0HF JO50jf
NC-No contact (QSO wasn't complete)
I was one of the lucky guys, who was on the right place at the right moment :0). I was driving home after work, when I noticed several european FM stations on my car radio.
I rushed home, and I pick the Es opening right at start
on my locator (IM68da)!As you can see, the opening wasn't continous, but with 3 periods instead: 1700-1723, 1740-1746 and 1751-1809z. Signals were strong most of the time, but ocasionaly weak. There was also several deep QSB moments who made me lost the contact with several stations before finishing the QSO :o( Even so, this was my best Es, ever!!! In total I have worked 2 new DXCC (HB9+OK) and 15 new Grid squares!!!I just hope this is the first long opening of many more to come! Good luck to you, and to all your web site viewers.

CT1EKD, IM58jr
EB8BTV 1715
EA8BPX 1717
F0DJK JN15AG
F5VHX JN04FT
F4BNJ IN93MP
F5ADT IN94
F1BPK JN03AX
F1MOZ IN93RS
F1OMQ JN25
F5SPA JN04 1817
DF1GL JN47
DH0GDE JN31TS
EA8TA IL18RI
UHF
EB8AYA UHF
EA8TA IL18RI in 432.200mh UHF
On 20 May 2003 I was on my Mobile/portable station at IM58JR, at the time I only knew I was at IM58. Now I can say that I was at IM58JR. I start with EA8 stations comming 59++, then when I start to listen for Europe, (please follow the map) I heard east France, then central and then Oest France . then I heard 2 or 3 stations from DL land. Heard CT3H. I also made some contacts to EA8 land on UHF.

CT1FAK, IN50qo
17:07 F1JRD JN13WO 59 59 SSB 1082
17:18 IK1EGC JN35 59 59 SSB 1382+-
17:18 IZ2AAL JN45OP 59 59 SSB 1547
17:18 IW2NOR JN45ON 59 59 SSB 1545
17:19 IK2GSO JN45NP 59 59 SSB 1541
17:20 IK2YXK JN45OP 59 59 SSB 1547
17:20 IW2DVK JN45MQ 59 59 SSB 1536
17:37 IW2HAJ JN45NO 59 59 SSB 1540
17:38 IK2DUV JN45KO 59 59 SSB 1521
17:39 IW2LC JN45OL 59 59 SSB 1543
17:39 I1LSN JN45AN 59 59 SSB 1458
17:39 IZ1ERW JN45AM 59 59 SSB 1456
17:39 IK2DDR JN55QN 59 59 SSB 1709
17:39 IW3QTG JN65 59 59 SSB 1836+-
17:39 IV3DXW JN65QQ 59 59 SSB 1865
17:39 S52LM JN65TX 59 59 SSB 1889
17:45 S55OO JN76HD 59 59 SSB 1969
17:46 IK2ABJ JN45RH 59 59 SSB 1557
17:46 S55KK JN76HB 59 59 SSB 1967
17:46 IW2BSQ JN45OL 59 59 SSB 1543
17:46 IK1ZOF JN35UB 59 59 SSB 1418
17:46 S51WI JN75CS 59 59 SSB 1930
17:46 S51AT JN75GW 59 59 SSB 1958
17:53 IQ2CJ JN45ON 59 59 SSB 1545
17:57 HB9TIH JN46 59 59 SSB 0
17:57 OE8FNK JN66TR 59 59 SSB 1906
17:57 HB9OAB JN46ME 59 59 SSB 1552

DB9UH, JN49ws
1803 UTC EB8BTV, IL18QI
After being QRT for 17 years I went to the station for the first time and made EA8 as a new DXCC and square. Thats a come back, isn't it :-) ? Rig: FT847, 50W, log-periodic.

DD3DJ, JO31ol
1602z ea7it 144.300 John in im87xi 59+/59
1607z eb7nk 144.200 im86rq 59++/59 (CQ CQ, no takers)
Rig: X6000 (3-band omni) 100W PEP

DF1CF, JN57fp
15:45 CT1DIZ 59 59 IM58hs
15:59 EA4LU 59 59 IM68tv
16:05 EA4EHI 59 59 IM68tv
17:14 EA7RM 59 59 IM87cl

DF1GL, JN47co
16:01 EA7HBP 59 59 IM76mg 1665 km
16:55 EB8BTV 59 59 IL18qi 3051 km
17:23 CT1EKD 57 59 IM58ml 1725 km
17:38 CT1EXR 59 59 IM57pd 1811 km
17:40 CT1EAT 59 59 IM68da 1679 km
17:44 EA4LU 59 59 IM68tv 1527 km

DF2ZC, JO30rn
15:56 EA1AK/7 IM66 59 59 SSB 1938+-
15:57 EA7CD IM86RQ 59 59 SSB 1736
It was an opening with ups and downs here, nothing stable at all: I heard my first sig with EA1AK/7 at s1 only but just two minutes later it looked like someone had pulled a switch: s9+++ for some minutes. Many more EA7s from IM66, IM86 were heard here (also on FM but they wouldn't answer my calls in Spanish or English) but I was mainly looking for stations in missing grids (IM77, IM79). Sadly EB8BTV was not audible at all.

DF7KF, JO30gu
EA9AI 17:55 IM75
EA1AK/7 18:10 IM66
nil frm EA8 (-(

DF8IK, JO30jt
15:55 EA1AK/7 59 59 IM66
16:00 EB7NK 59 59 IM86RQ
16:02 EA7IT 59 59 IM87XI
16:13 EA7ERP 59 59 IM87EE
17:40 EA7AJ 59 59 IM87CS
17:42 EA7DUD 59 59 IM76SR
17:45 EA7RM 55 55 IM87CS C? lost in qsb
17:54 EA9AI 59 59 IM75IV
Again nil from EA8 :-(.

DF9IC, JN48iw
17:53 EB8BTV 55 55 IL18

DG2GEP JN48dl
16:00 EA1AK/7 59 59 IM66 1765km
I start monitoring 144,300 at 14:00 UTC. At 16:00 EA1AK/7 came out of noise for 10 Minutes S9. Heard and worked only EA1AK. Strong winds here, signal with fading. Very short ES for me. My RIG: 150W 9ele Tonna QTH: 950m asl.

DG8UAW, JN48br
- QRL until 17.00z (normally)
- 16.30z got Sporadic-E warning on my mobile phone from DXRobot [read here how to get spots on your cellphone]
- 16.31z logged into dx-cluster via WAP
- 16.32 -> 17.00z observing cluster reports while still working (fast...hi)
- 17.20z still customers at QRL (i want to go... please!)
- 17.25z end of QRL - finally
- 17.26z still ES on 2m, I am hopeful !
- 17.30z I am in my car, tune the IC-706MK2G on 144.320MHz
- 17.40z I am on the motorway to home (still 40km to go)
- 17.45z till 18.00 while driving on the very left lane at 200km/h I copy EB8BTV wid 41qsb on my 1/4 wave mobile antenna he must be vy strong on a normal rig....I am still hopeful and thinking to myself "yes, you will get him when you´re at home"
- 18.05z I AM AT HOME ! oops...never been so quick before
- 18.06z my rig is on, BUT: no EB8BTV, just hrd CT1EXR IM57 fading out on 144.305
- 18.10z ES seems to be over here
- 18.11z the next opening starts: a bottle of beer, relaxing
The conclusion:
1) does this hobby still drives you as crazy as me?
2) if you want to have a rare ES opening on 2m -> go to work longer than usual. Murphy will do the rest!
[ Red.]

DG9MAQ, JN58lj
17:38 UT 144 MHz SSB wkd CT1EAT IM68DA 59 59
17:40 UT 144 MHz SSB hrd CT1EXR IM75PD 59 --
Heard others guys wkg EA8, nil here.

DH0GHU, JN38vn
17:40 utc EB8BTV IL18QI 3069km
17:42 utc EA8TJ IL18RI 3064km
17:59 utc CT1EXR IM57PD 1843km
18:03 utc CT1EAT IM68DA 1712km

DJ2QV, JO31pf
16:09 EB7NK IM86
16:15 EA1AK/7 IM66
17:37 EA7ERP IM87
17:39 EA7AJ IM87
17:54 EA9AI IM75
nil frm EB8BTV
Rig:200 W und 9 ele Yagi, 335m asl

DK1FUN, JN49mr
EA4EHI 16:16UTC 59
EA8BTV 17:53UTC 59
EA4CTF 18:01UTC 59
CT1EAI IM68DA HRD 59
100Watt 11Ele. Tonna

DK5YA, JN49nx
16:02 EA7AJ 59 59 IM87cs
16:04 EA7HBP 59 59 IM67
16:16 EA4EHI 59 59 IM68tv
17:42 EB8BTV 59 59 IL18qi (booming, 30 minutes S9++)
17:51 CT1EAT 59 59 IM68da
17:58 EA4CTF 59 59 IM89at
18:00 EA4LU 59 59 IM68tv
18:02 EA1AK/7 59 59 IM66vp
18:04 CT1EXR 59 52 IM57pd
hrd mni more EA/EA9 and CT's incl. several in FM (Spanish Fisherman singing on 144325.0) Was called twice by another EA8(?A) and missed him always due to FM-QRM.

DK5RQ, JN68bv
16:04 EA7HBP 59 59 IM67MG 2008km
16:05 EB8BTV 59 55 IL18QI 3348km (perhaps 1st QSO by EB8BTV today...)
16:12 EA4EHI 59 59 IM68TV 1845km
16:16 CT1DIZ 59 59 IM58KP 2041km

DK6AS, JO52jj
17:59 EA1AK/7 59 59 IM66

DL0UL, JN48
1614 EA7HBP 59/59 IM67MQ
1736 CT1EXK 59/59 IM57
1738 EB8BTV 59/55 IL18QI

DL1GNM, JN38wb
17:49z EB8BTV 53/59 IL18QI

DL1GGT, JN58ao
1612 EA7HBP 59/59 IM67
1721 CT1CPC 59/59 IM68
1732 CT1EXR 59/59 IM57
1726 EA8BTV 59/59 IL18QI 3204km!
1743 CT1EAT 59/59 IM68
1800 EA4LU 59/59 IM68

DL1KDA, JO30fq
15:40 EA7DUD IM76SR 59 55 SSB 1778
16:06 EB7NK IM86RQ 59 59 SSB 1713
16:06 EB7BMT IM86SU 59 59 SSB 1693
16:17 EA1AK/7 IM66 53 59 SSB 1903+-
17:54 EB7HAF IM76SR 59 59 SSB 1778
17:58 EA9AI IM75IV 59 59 SSB 1894

DL2ALF, JO50iw
was monitoring the .320 for more than 2 hours and failed, at least. Signals were too weak in JO50. The last time I heard EA8 I was an SWL... Caught EA4CTF instead fm IM89 59/59. Not bad.

DL2ARD, JO60ar
Came to the shack at 16.45 UT and thought I was to late as usual. Heard EB8BTV at 17:30 UT max. S3, no way to catch him. Later EA8BPX was calling CQ on .300, split .370, worked him easily with 55/55. Same time EB8BTV disappeared on .320. 1 QSO, 1 DXCC, 1 square. Better than nothing.

DL3JIN, JO60lx
16:05z wkd EA1AK/7 59/59 IM66-JO60LX 2m
nothing else heard. I was at the most northeastern edge of the hop, bad luck...

DL5FDP, JN49lp
16:14 UTC EA7HBP HRD 53
17:56 UTC EB8BTV 59/59 IL18QI 3213KM
wrkd here 80W-9ele es Backside!!

DL6BF JO32qi
ea7dud 1544 59 hrd im76sr
ea7it 1606 59/59 wkd im87xi
ea7agx 1606 59 hrd im76
ea7hbp 1607 59 hrd im76mg
eb7bmt 1611 59/59 wkd im86
ea7rm 1736 59/59 wkd im87cs
eb7haf 1742 59/59 wkd im76sr
ea7aj 1743 59/59 wkd im87cs
ea7erp 1748 59/59 wkd im87ee
ea7aj 1806 59/59 wkd im87cs
Terrible static rain S5-9 during the whole opening, grrrr....

DL6WU, JN49ht
1751z eb8btv il18qi
1804z eh8bpx il18sk
plus some more EA

DL8EBW, JO31nf
1840 MOF 144 EA/CT AFU[6m,2m]TV,B2,VOR
1535 MUF 148 EA7AJ IM87 55 / hrd AFU [2m] hrd only*1
1545 MUF 147 EA7DUD IM76 59 / hrd AFU [2m] hrd only*1
1547 MUF 148 EB7NK IM86 59 / hrd AFU [2m] hrd only*1
*1 from my car with FT480R and 1/4wave vertical antenna! No chance to come through the pile up!
1606 MUF 148 EB7NK IM86 59 / 59 AFU [2m] QSO-C
1609 MUF 148 EA7IT IM87 55 / hrd AFU [2m] hrd only
1613 MUF 148 EB7BMT IM86 59 / 59 AFU [2m] QSO-C
1621 MUF 146 EA1AK/7 IM66 55 / hrd AFU [2m] hrd only
1709 MOF 88,20 EA CadCien, Granada B2 - PI:E2CE
1713 MOF 91,50 EA UNID B2 - PI:UNID
1724 MUF 146 EA1AK/7 IM66 52 / hrd AFU [2m] hrd agn
1735 MUF 147 EA7DUD IM76 55 / hrd AFU [2m] hrd only
1739 MUF 148 EA7ERP IM87 59 / 59 AFU [2m] QSO-C
1741 MUF 148 EA7AJ IM87 59 / 59 AFU [2m] QSO-C
1751 MUF 146 EA9AI IM75 52 / 59 AFU [2m] QSO-C
1800 MUF 146 EA1AK/7 IM66 NC / 55 AFU [2m] QSO-NC

EA1AK/7, IM66vp
15:42 DK8VS JN39
15:54 DF2ZC JO30
15:55 DH1NFL JO50
15:56 DF8IK JO30
15:57 DK3EE JO41
15:57 ??1JX ?? NC
15:59 DJ2NR JO50
16:05 DL3JIN JO60
16:06 DG2GEV JN48
16:07 DH8JBT ?? NC
16:10 DJ2QV JO31
16:10 DL8YHR JO41
16:14 DG0WJ JO60
16:15 DJ2QV JO31
16:15 DB4ET JO31
16:16 DH2DAM JO31
16:17 DL1KDA JO30
16:17 DF0WD JO42
16:18 DK1VC JO31
16:19 DL5YEE JO42
16:19 DF0OL JO41
17:21 G3WZT IO90
17:40 DL6WU JN49
17:43 DL8GP JN39
17:45 ???VW ?? NC
17:51 DJ8ZJ JO32
17:53 F5SVD JN29
17:55 DL2FDL/M JO32
17:55 G4EAT JO01
17:56 DL1EAP JO31
17:58 DK6AS JO52
17:59 ??BKM ?? NC
18:00 DM1HD JO31
18:00 DB8KJ JO30
18:00 DB4ET JO31
18:00 DC9YC JO31
18:01 DC6IA JO30
18:01 DB2KA JO30
18:01 DL8ET ??
18:02 DF7KF JO30
18:02 ON4KRI JO20
18:02 DB5KN JO31
18:03 DK5YA JN49
18:03 DK5DQ JO31
18:03 DK5WO JO30
18:04 DL7OK JO31
18:04 DL2YFT JO31
18:04 DJ6JJ JO31
18:04 DK3DS JO31
18:07 DO9PL JO31
18:07 DL8EBW ?? NC
At the end of the opening I had a wonderful pile-up !. It is my first REALLY BIG opening, because I am relatively new to VHF. 73 de Nacho, EA1AK/7 , IM66vp

EA5AGR, IM88wv
18:06 PE1RLF JO32CG 59 59+

EA7ERP, IM87ee
15:35 DO2JQ JO31HL 55 55 SSB 1782
15:36 F1CXW JO20JD 59 59 SSB 1589
15:37 PA0BAT JO31FX 59 59 SSB 1824
15:38 ON1BG JO20FJ 59 59 SSB 1603
15:39 PA3CEG JO33FB 59 59 SSB 1929
15:39 PE9GG JO33NA 55 55 SSB 1947
15:40 ON4KBE JO20BI 59 59 SSB 1588
15:40 PA5WX JO33GP 59 59 SSB 1989
15:43 PA0WWM JO22FE 57 57 SSB 1783
15:44 ON4AVJ JO11UB 57 57 SSB 1648
15:45 PE1HWO JO31GV 59 59 SSB 1819
15:46 PE1FEI JO22VQ 59 59 SSB 1872
15:46 ON7EH JO20FV 59 59 SSB 1653
15:47 PD2DB JO22MD 59 59 SSB 1795
15:48 PA3DYS JO21JP 59 59 SSB 1738
15:54 DL6WV JN49HT 59 59 SSB 1711
15:59 DK4FVW JO40IT 59 59 SSB 1802
16:02 PA1GYS JO32WW 59 59 SSB 1964
16:04 DJ6GK JO40JT 59 59 SSB 1806
16:05 DL8GP JN39LH 59 59 SSB 1594
16:06 DK8KS JN39 59 59 SSB 1616 Aprox.
16:07 PE1HWO JO31GV 59 59 SSB 1819
16:10 DF8IK JO30IK 59 59 SSB 1686
16:11 DH2DAM JO31PH 59 59 SSB 1790
16:17 PA3BIY JO22EB 59 59 SSB 1768 RT
17:07 EI5FK IO51RT 59 59 SSB 1671 NEW SCUARE
17:35 DH2DAM JO31PH 59 59 SSB 1790
17:35 DJ2QV JO31PF 59 59 SSB 1782
17:36 DB2KA JO30JT 59 59 SSB 1725
17:36 DL8EBW JO31NF 59 59 SSB 1776
17:37 ON4LN JO20IV 59 59 SSB 1660
17:37 ON4KRI JO20VQ 59 59 SSB 1676
17:38 DM1HD JO31GD 59 59 SSB 1747
17:39 DL7OK JO31KL 59 59 SSB 1790
17:40 F5SE JN29AF 59 59 SSB 1474
17:41 PD0HCV JO21FW 59 59 SSB 1758
17:42 DL6YPD JO32MF 59 59 SSB 1868
17:43 PA9RX JO32MT 59 59 SSB 1924
17:44 PE5TDM JO32FD 59 59 SSB 1840
17:45 PA0PVW JO32VA 59 59 SSB 1875
17:45 DL6BF JO32QI 59 59 SSB 1891
17:50 DK7BY JO33RJ 59 59 SSB 1994
17:52 DL6YDP JO32MF 59 59 SSB 1868
17:53 PA2CHR JO32XA 59 59 SSB 1881
17:54 DL7OK JO31KL 59 59 SSB 1790
17:55 DL1EAP JO31IK 59 59 SSB 1781
17:56 PA9RX JO32MT 59 59 SSB 1924
17:57 DF2JQ JO31HL 59 59 SSB 1782
17:58 F1ISM JN19AG 59 59 SSB 1418
17:58 DL0GL JO31LN 59 59 SSB 1801
17:59 DL2YFF JO31OR 59 59 SSB 1826
18:00 DL2VB JO31LN 59 59 SSB 1801

EA7RM, IM87cs
17:04 EI5FK JO51RT 59 59 SSB 1962
17:14 DF1CF JN57FP 59 59 SSB 1595
17:37 DL6BF JO32QI 59 59 SSB 1838
17:38 PA0BAT JO32JF 59 59 SSB 1805
17:38 PD0HCV 59 59 SSB 0
17:39 DO3VG JN39GV 59 59 SSB 1579
17:39 PD1ANQ JO31EW 59 59 SSB 1763
17:42 DF2JQ JO31HL 59 59 SSB 1728
17:42 DB5KN JO31NA 59 59 SSB 1705
17:43 DO4KM 55 58 SSB 0
17:44 DL1EAP JO31IK 59 59 SSB 1728
17:44 DB2KA JO30JT 59 59 SSB 1673
17:45 DF8IK JO30JT 55 55 SSB 1673
17:45 DH3YAK JO31RS 59 59 SSB 1787

EB7HAF, IM76sr
14:42 DL6BF JO32QI 59 59 SSB 1968
15:48 ON4AMX JO2ØKV 59 59 SSB 1740
15:49 PA2CHR JO22XA 59 59 SSB 1886
15:49 PAØBAT JO32FX 59 59 SSB 1996
15:50 PE9GG JO33UA 59 59 SSB 2042
15:51 PDØHCV JO31FW 59 59 SSB 1896
15:52 PA2DB JO22MD 59 59 SSB 1869
15:54 PA3DYS JO21JP 59 59 SSB 1811
15:57 PE3EHH JO23XH 59 59 SSB 2012
15:58 PDØEBF JO31 59 59 SSB 1878+-
16:03 PE3ECU 59 59 SSB
16:04 ON4LN JO2ØIV 59 59 SSB 1735
16:04 PDØHCV JO31FW 59 59 SSB 1896
16:05 PAØPVW JO32VA 59 59 SSB 1953
16:06 PE1RLE 59 59 SSB
16:07 PD2DB JO22MD 59 59 SSB 1869
16:10 ON4EH 59 59 SSB
16:12 PA3CEG JO33FB 59 59 SSB 2004
16:36 DL7OK JO31KL 59 59 SSB 1868
16:36 DF2JQ JO31HL 59 59 SSB 1858
17:15 GW3LEW IO71PS 59 59 SSB 1672
17:15 G3LEW IO9Ø 59 59 SSB 1558+-
17:16 F8DBF IN78RI 59 59 SSB 1292
17:17 MW1MFY IO81FL 59 59 SSB 1641
17:42 DL7OK JO31KL 59 59 SSB 1868
17:42 DL2YFT JO31 59 59 SSB 1878+-
17:43 DL6YDH JO32MF 59 59 SSB 1944
17:43 DF2JQ JO31HL 59 59 SSB 1858
17:43 DB8KY JO3Ø 59 59 SSB 1786+-
17:45 PAØHCV JO42FO 59 59 SSB 2032
17:45 PDØMNF JO3ØAV 59 59 SSB 1782
17:47 F5FSE 59 59 SSB
17:49 DL1KDA JO3ØFQ 59 59 SSB 1778
17:55 PA3DZL JO21HM 59 59 SSB 1794
17:55 F5HRY JN18EQ 59 59 SSB 1440
17:55 F1ORL JNØ8VP 59 59 SSB 1418
17:55 PA3DOL JO22MT 59 59 SSB 1935
18:00 F6GYH JN19FI 59 59 SSB 1510
18:01 PA3DOL JO22MT 59 59 SSB 1935
18:01 ON1IM JO11UB 59 59 SSB 1720
18:01 GW7SMV IO81LO 59 59 SSB 1657
18:04 F6DKW JN18CS 59 59 SSB 1444
ICOM 275 25W 13 ELEM CC

EB8BTV, IL18qi
10:54 CT4RK IM57 tropo qso
16:00 DK5RQ JN68
16:00 OK1TEH JO70 ( THE ODX FOR 20 DAY 3562KM. )
16:00 OK1MZM JN69
16:10 HB3YBQ JN47
16:11 DJ5TC JN58
1615 CT1EKD IM59 tropo qso
16:15 DH1NFL JO50
16:35 F6DKW JN18
16:35 CT1FRZ tropo qso
16:44 F6FYA JN07
16:46 F1OOG JN08
16:48 F5DCQ
16:50 G7RAU IO90
16:51 F1OMQ JN25
16:52 DF1GL JN47
16:55 F5HLY JN08
16:55 F5RRT JN25
16:55 F1ARQ
16:59 F1ORL JN08
17:10 F0DSJ JN17
17:17 F1BZG JN07
17:17 IK2YXK JN45
17:17 IZ2ALL QSO NC
17:17 IZ1BPN QSO NC
17:20 F5GHP IN96
17:27 HB9DFG JN37
17:30 F5JNX JN37
17:35 OK1FFD JO60
17:37 DL0UL JN48
17:39 DH0GHU JN38
17:39 DK5YA JN49
17:39 DL1SDN JN48
17:39 DH0GDE JN37
17:44 OK1ZTZ JO60
17:45 F6FXU JN37
17:45 DL6NAA JO50
17:45 DJ2NR JO50
17:46 DK2EA JO50
17:46 DL0HF JO50
17:46 F1TRE JN37
17:46 DL1GNMJN38
17:50 DL6WU JN49
17:50 DB5WC JN49
17:52 DK1FUN JN49
17:52 DK1FJ
17:55 DF9IC JN68
17:56 F6FXU JN37
17:56 DL1GGT JN58
17:56 DK1FG JN59
17:56 DL0AR JO50
17:56 DL5FDP JN49
17:56 DK1FUN JN49
17:56 DL2JAN JN49
17:59 OK1FFD JO60
17:59 DL3UP JN48
17:59 DB9IZ JN49
18:00 DF6IY JN48
18:00 DH1NVM JO50
18:00 DH1NAR JO50
18:05 DB9UH JN49
20:40 EB1EWE IN53 Tropo qso
The QTR is more or less 5 minuts, because i dont have time to look the watch, hi,hi. Many thank to the people that call me and sorry for the NC qso. For me is very interesting the swl report, if you heard me, please send to me report or e-mail.

EI5FK, IO51rp
17:04 EA7ERP IM87EE 59 59 SSB 1671
17:04 EA7RM IM87CS 59 59 SSB 1604
17:11 EA7AJ IM87CS 59 59 SSB 1604
17:20 EA7RZ IM86 59 59 SSB 1756+-

F4BWJ, IN93mp
17:04 CT1EKD/M IM58 59 59 SSB
17:06 CT1DRB IM58 53 51 SSB
17:11 CT1DIZ IM58KP 53 59 SSB 880km (MUF 215 MHz!!)
17:35 CT1DIN IN6ØIM 53 51 SSB 627 must be tropo!!!

F5RRT, JN25gm
16h57 only EB8BTV 59 59 in IL18QI 2662km
FT 847 25W ant 17 el

F6FHP, IN94tr
17:00z EB8BTV only heard very weak signal here
(still need EA8)
17:08z CT1DRB 59/59 IM58LP *
17:11z CT1FRZ 59/59 IM58 *
17:11z CT1DIZ 59/59 IM58KP* and F on backscatter !!
17:38z CT3HF 58/55 IM12OP
* 6° elevation

F8DBF, IN78ri
17:18 EB7HAF IM76SR 1292km
Very short opening ,heard EA7DUD 55 but he don't listen me.
18:01 7X0AD JM16JR 1423 km 59+
What surprised ! Thanks for new one Enrique.
Also 7X2RF I think but QSO is not completed.
Conds: 100 W , 11 elements.

F0DSJ, JN17bt
17:10 EB8BTV IL18QI 51 51 SSB 2699 kms
17:16 CT1EXR IM57PD 59 52 SSB 1478 kms
17:24 CT1EAT IM68DA 55 58 SSB 1349 kms
YAGI 17 elements (6 meters high) and 100 Watts.
EB8 is a new distance record and both are new one dxcc.

G7RAU, IO90ir
17:54:46 EA9AI IM75IV 2m 59 59
16:50:52 EB8BTV IL18 2m 59 59

GW3LEW, IO71ps
1715 eb7haf im76
1715 eb7hag
1721 ea7dgr im76
73 Geoff

HB9AA, JN36bk
17h34 EA3ADW/P JN11nv S=52 R=51
17h40 EA4LU im69 S=59 R=59
100W 11y, HB9SJV/HB9AA

HB9JAW, JN47ce
17.44 ut CT1EAT IM68
At 16.15ut HB9FAP calls me up for E's warning! I went to the station and in 2 hours been standby I worked only
CT1EAT. I heard many times EB8BTV but to weak to work, but not one other station, nothing. Very frustration, when being activ, hearing all around you station working EA8 and yourself can't participate. All in all 1 QSO and 1 new loc.

HB9DFG, JN37sm
17:25 EB8BTV IL18iq 55 51 2982km
17.26 EA8TJ IL18ri 55 53 2977km
17.44 EA4LU IM86tv 57 59 1434km
Wow, it needed more than 20 years of my amateur radio activity on 2m to catch EA8 finally (do you feel with me?)!
The evening startet first very boring with hearing all other countries around HB9 working something via Sporadic-E (a fully normal situation as every year btw.). Even when I saw the first announcement of EB8BTV in the cluster I never
thought the path will reach especially my QTH, you know! Ït was very interesting to watch DL's and OK's working Fernando, but still not an only signal over here so far - even no EA7's or CT's...hmmm.
All of a sudden I saw an announcement of an HB3-station in JN47 working Fernando and since then I didn't move the VFO anymore and stayed tuned on 144.320 all the time with a lot of hope.
Finally at abt. 17.24UTC, EB8BTV came out of the noise CQ-ing. His signal sounded a kind like distorted but maybe that's normal with these distances. During the contact I remembered my ready tape recorder finally to start and
got about 5 min. of temporary very strong signals (later up to 58). I will send the audio file later to Udo as well.
After our contact, EA8TJ came back on the same QRG for my 2nd contact with EA8. Later on, EB8BTV CQ-ed anew and EA8TJ moved 20 up. A little later I managed in a short normal openig to work EA4LU. Heard also a
CT station but afterwards the band closed again.
I think the sommer condx could go on like that, you agree?

IV3DXW, JN65qq
1712 CT1EAT 59 55 IM68DA 1939
1734 CT1ANO 59 59 IN51RE 1837
1745 CT1FAK 59 59 IN50QO 1870
1746 CT2HSO 59 59 IN61CC 1783

OE5MPL, JN78cj
15:45Z CT1DIZ 59 59 in IM58kp 2.167 km
15:53Z EA4LU 59 59 in IM68tv 1.954 km
15:55Z EA4EHI 59 59 in IM68tv 1.954 km
very late, at 17:30 I heard backscatter of European station calling EA8BTV, then I copied and called him with rx 53 here, but he got better sigs from more western located Europeans.
rx only EA8BTV 17:45 wd 52 from IL18qi 3.449 km

OE8FNK, JN66tr
15:51UT CT1DIZ 55 59 IM58KR 2050 km

OK1MZM, JN69pr
15:56 EA7HBP 59 59 IM76MG 2095 km
16:07 EB8BTV 59 59 IL18QI 3466 km !!!!
17:47 EA4LU 59 59 IM68TV 1963 km
17:58 CT1EAT 59 59 IM68DA 2114 km

OK1TEH, JO70fd
16:19 UTC on 144,320 MHz EB8BTV 59 IL18QI 3567km!!!
hrd EA7HBP, CT1EXR
My QTH: Prague
ASL: 320m
RIG: FT-847(50W) + 40m long cable, ANT: 6el F9FT

ON1IM, JO11ub
17:19 CT1EAT hrd 5/2
17:40 EA7RZ 5/9 5/9 IM86
17:42 EA7BMT 5/2 5/9 IM86
17:43 EA5DIT hrd
17:52 EA9AI 5/9 5/9 IM75
17:54 EA7RZ 5/9 hrd
17:55 EA9MH 5/9 hrd
17:59 EA7HFA 5/9 5/9 IM76
18:06 EA7AJ 5/9 5/9 IM87

ON4KBE, JO20BI
15h43 gmt, EA7ERP, 59-59 in IM87EE, 1589 km

ON4KHG, JO10xo
17:55 UTC EA7RZ (IM86) 59/59
Rig : 3W & 11 el.

PA3BIY, JO22eb
16.20 EA7ERP IM87EE
17.40 EA7RZ IM86SR
17.42 EA7BMT IM86SU
17.56 EA9MH IM85MH
Today was a bit of a frustration, as the Es into EA remained just to the east of me most of the opening. Worse was the EB8..... He was worked all over Europe, but I never copied anything from him. However, BTV must have had the time of his life with such a tremendous double hop opening!

PA5KM, JO11wl
18:05 UTC 144.290 SSB EA7RZ IM86SU ( 1700 kms )
hrd EA9 and several other EA5 and EA7 stns...
my ant / trx : 6 el yagi indoor and 50 watts...

PD0HCV, JO31fw
16:07 EB7HAF IM76SR 5-9 SSB 1896
17:38 EA7RM IM87CS 5-9 SSB 1766
17:40 EA7DUD IM76SR 5-9 SSB 1896
17:44 EA7ERP IM87EE 5-9 SSB 1820
17:54 EA7DUD IM76SR 5-9 SSB 1896

PD2DB,JO22md
17:50 EA7ERP IM87EE 59 59 SSB 1795
17:56 EB7HAF IM76SR 59 59 SSB 1869
17:57 EA7DUD IM76SR 59 59 SSB 1869
19:44 EA7RZ IM86SU 59 59 SSB 1798
19:55 EA9MH IM85NG 59 59 SSB 1978
20:02 EB7BQI IM76SR 59 59 SSB 1869

Audios:
DL0UL with EB8BTV

EB8BTV and EA8TJ working

HB9DFG, DL1GGT, DL1SDN, DH0GDE, DH0GHU

Ionogram from Tortosa, northern Spain at 16.00 UT May 20. f0Es was close to 13 MHz that time. The main E-layer cloud was app. 150 Km northwest of this spot.

Ionogram Tortosa Spain May 20. 2003, 16.00 UT

Ionogram from El Arenosillo/Huelva, southern Spain at 16.00 UT May 20. f0Es was close to 10 MHz that time. This leads to the conclusion that we had NO double hop Es that day but a mix of tropo and Es that brought EA8 into middle Europe.

Ionogram Huelva/Spain May 20.

[By G4FUF]

Hi All,

Actually its just a little more predictable than you think. Its within the scope of most stations to find there own backscatter "echo" point(s). The opening on the 20th May from here (JO01gn) revealed 2 zones at 1400km and 3000km, a little short for most of the time to EA7/CT and too long to EA8. (This can vary dramatically with elevation but thats another story). As Graham F5VHX suggests, there was probably tropo at the EA8 end but I believe this only extends the virtual Es path by k1/k2, the ratio of the relative refractive indexes. Its unlikely that any real reflection occurs on the sea/land as the loss introduced would be very high at these wavelengths (can be quantified). Its not unusual to hear stations at the intermediate skip distance, this unfortunately gives the illusion that the signal has returned to earth somewhere.....

Anyway, that remains academic, whats more important is finding if the band is "open" and to where. Being pre-warned means being well-armed to take maximum advantage as the band suddenly opens. To detect your own BS echo does not require any special kit other than being able to fast switch between TX and RX. Invariably, you do not need high power either, 100W is sufficient on "good" days, on really good days you can hear your return, on exceptionally good days there is actually stations to work.....

A solid-state switch is relatively easy to implement (see the SM5BSZ pages). You need a means of generating a short "keying" tone or a gating pulse, in the order of 100 microseconds (10kHz), thats rather dependent on what range resolution you want to achieve and what your system will support. The shorter the better as Es is very range critical.
The amp usually has to be keyed live using electronic bias changeover. (At 300m/us *2 you calculate the necessary delay times, I use a sound card and Spectrum Lab, but this may cause problems with the latest modern rigs due to inbuilt TX/RX delay mechanisms).

You can process the received return either directly on a scope triggered from your TX pulse or run the output into a sound card and timer. No AGC on RX. This is not rocket science and this method has been used for plenty of
years here, mainly for F2 on 6m. There was a full description in QST many years ago (W5FF was the author I believe), I am sure there is a copy somewhere on the web archives. If you intend to go down this road I would suggest quantifying your RX system first, that is the delay time through your RX from antenna to audio output. Modern DSP radios screw up totally in this department as do noise blankers that are "active" all the time (i.e. un-modified FT1000's etc).

BTW there are at least 7 recorded Es incidents of OK1 to EA8 since 1982 and no doubt a lot more, this particular path is relatively common. Finally, to work Es succesfully, there is absolutely no substitute for being behind the radio and your finger on the dial....
73's Keith G4FUF
[published at Meteor-Scatter mailing list May 22. 2003]

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