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September 27, 2020 6:35 am  #1


More Tropo

This time out to Ozarks of AR and MO, St. Louis, IL MO IN OH and now have Paducah KY 93.3...
From Kawartha Lakes ON
 

 

September 27, 2020 10:28 am  #2


Re: More Tropo

In and around downtown Toronto, 88.5 is usually static or a very faint (weak) Jewel 88five.
I'm not even getting Jewel. 
Instead, I've managed to pick up WEFR (playing Polka music right now) 
with absolutely NO Jewel cut in.
I don't think I've ever been able to pick up WEFR before. 
Usually it would be Jewel pulling in, sounding like an AM station during a Tropo.  


I am also getting 103.7 FM (Star 104) loud and clear, stereo light lit up and all.
Rocket 105 pulls in, but no stereo light. Sounds like an AM station in quality. 

Last edited by Radiowiz (September 27, 2020 10:30 am)


RadioWiz & RadioQuiz are NOT the same person. 
RadioWiz & THE Wiz are NOT the same person.

 
 

September 27, 2020 3:23 pm  #3


Re: More Tropo

Maybe lack of sleep but I have no idea where WEFR is. I'll look it up later. Was up till 7 am, slept two hours, DXed mobile a bit en route home from north Kawartha. Don't tell me ... it'll be fun to look it up ... when I'm awake. Had AR KY MO IL IN last night. En route home had Syracuse LP station on 87.75 and someone on Bills NFLnetwork briefly overriding Durham 95.9, and a translator from Syracuse area taking out Kingston.

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September 27, 2020 4:00 pm  #4


Re: More Tropo

Actually, I think it was WMCE playing the Polka music @ 88.5 earlier. WEFR was leaking into 88.3, intended to be @ 88.1 FM. I still shouldn't be able to pick up 88.5 for anything else outside of Jewel FM though.


 


RadioWiz & RadioQuiz are NOT the same person. 
RadioWiz & THE Wiz are NOT the same person.

 
 

September 27, 2020 7:15 pm  #5


Re: More Tropo

oh man I missed this one. Looking at the Hepburn maps. May be over too bad.


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September 27, 2020 10:19 pm  #6


Re: More Tropo

very much over, Fitz, it came and went, lasted pretty much just the overnight, fizzling at dawn. Great signals across the lake, though, well past noon. When I drove home from Kawarthas I parked on a hill and had low-power translators out of Syracuse are 98.3, Geneva 95.9 (killing Durham), and a low-power thing on 87.75 (ch 6 audio station) out of Syracuse. all new catches here. You probably would have had an unbelievable blast across the lake like from Pickering/Scarboro. Seeing interest on this board, I'll try and remember to post a heads-up if Bill Hepburn's forecast maps look like there's potential. I didn't think it would get as great as it did - the map had us in a good zone only in the dying few hours of a push northward of a ducting zone from the US south. Dxers were getting well into Texas from Illinois and Indiana in the day or so leading up to what we got last night. An Arkansas DXer got FM from southern Ont.

I have a feelinmg not to expect much for a few weeks ... we're entering a major cool-down... pay attention if things warm back up and weather is relatively stable. But I don't see that for at least a week, maybe two or more...

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September 27, 2020 10:24 pm  #7


Re: More Tropo

88.5 Newmarket can be overridden by Erie, and I think I had Rochester there this morning. I didn't pay much attention to 88.5 this morn, focusing on getting a few low-power translators and seeing how far out it was going (for me, at least, not past the PA border except for strong Erie). DXer(s) in Niagara area managed to get St. Louis on 88.1 despite Toronto. I had Penetanguishene to contend with (Toronto was in second place). But an hour's drive s.e. of Orillia I managed to get IL on 105.9, IN on 104.1 and St. Louis on 101.1. I love taking the semilocals for a ride though I wouldn't wish it on them too often... 

Last edited by Saul (September 27, 2020 10:25 pm)

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October 2, 2020 5:28 pm  #8


Re: More Tropo

Saul or anyone. I wish I had not missed this last DX event but am glad that I caught the one just before. I just looked at the Hepburn maps and looks like nada for the next week. Would you say that the two recent events were a once in a decade type thing or are they known to happen more often ?


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October 3, 2020 3:58 pm  #9


Re: More Tropo

- I have had this same area once before in an even more major way in that it lasted much longer — more than a day — and my two most distant stations, both 96.9, were in Poteau OK and in Pittsburgh KS. I also had Kansas City. That was August 24-25 2009 from Kawarthas. So once in a decade? Maybe so. I have missed out on awesome openings since then by simply being unavailable. Once other DXers had into South Dakota and Iowa etc. I was in Toronto, tired from work, had a busy day the next day, and decided to stay home. A couple years ago I was in Kawarthas and nabbed South Dakota and New Brunswick by Tropo on consecutive days. I have had other monster ducts over the 40 years I've done this. Once had Hope AR 104.9 from nw of Toronto (Snowball). And into Nebraska from roughly same locale. I'd say one wild ride every year or two or three and at least two or three decent openings every summer-fall.
 

Last edited by Saul (October 3, 2020 3:59 pm)

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October 3, 2020 5:32 pm  #10


Re: More Tropo

I only started looking at those Hepburn Tropo maps this summer and right now they look quite bleak in terms of DX;ing. How accurate are they ?

E-Skips I belive can not be predicted or can they ?

 

Last edited by Fitz (October 3, 2020 5:32 pm)


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October 4, 2020 8:25 am  #11


Re: More Tropo

I started DXing e-skip in the mid 1960's.  It is predictable that Es will occur primarily April-August.  There have been openings in December but only rarely in this part of the world.  So the likelihood of seeing a skip opening - which incidentally only effects VHF channels 2-6 and the FM band - between now and next spring, is very low.   E-skip will never affect the UHF band, which is where over 90% of US TV channels are located on channels 14-36 after repack.

 

October 5, 2020 9:30 am  #12


Re: More Tropo

There is a very weak winter season, and E skip can happen Dec-Jan. But it's nowhere close to the summer season. Once was driving from Toronto to Peterborough in late evening on Jan 6, 1992, when I heard CBC French pop in on 88.5 (before Newmarket had a station), then country on 99.1 and then rock and Oz-FM on 84.7... this totally threw me for a loop because I was just tuning around to find music to enjoy!

Auroras can also induce E-Skip off-season. Strong ones are worth paying attention to.

Jan 6 Es (Between TO and Ptbo, @ 35/115 junction)
2235 CBAF     88.5 NB Moncton            CBC-FF, j
2245 CKIX     99.1 NF St. John’s        k
2251 CHOZ     94.7 NF St. John’s        Oz-FM, r
2258 CBAF     88.5 NB Moncton            Still in with FF sports

 

Last edited by Saul (October 5, 2020 9:31 am)

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October 5, 2020 2:02 pm  #13


Re: More Tropo

When I said predictability of E-Skips I was thinking in terms of the tropo ducting maps. I don't think there's any way to do the same with E-Skips and I would guess that it would be random one would be lucky to pick up one. That is what happened to me in the car about four summers ago when I got a station from Wyoming. At that time though I was not even looking at tropo maps nevermind E-Skip.


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October 21, 2020 9:19 am  #14


Re: More Tropo

Attn Tropo fans. I guess due to the changing weather and if I am reading the Hepburn maps correctly, tropo should be at least moderately good from 5 PM tonight till 2 AM


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October 21, 2020 7:22 pm  #15


Re: More Tropo

Yes, it will be very brief if it happens, maybe a few hours. I am keeping a radio on but not much yet. MI DXer had into middle IL and into Indy, Cinci this afternoon. It should start west, then turn eastwards...if it materializes. Front moving through.

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