[50mhz] 6m Yesterday

[Ray W2RS via 50mhz]

Yesterday (July 5) started out frustrating.  From here in DM41 I heard  W5s 
and W0s working all sorts of 50 MHz DX that I could not hear.  I worked  a 
few East Coast stations on double-hop Es, but that was all.
 
Finally (1747Z), I worked EA8DBM, a new one for me on 6 and the only DX  
station I heard all day.  I wonder, though, about the propagation  mode.  I 
gave him a 55 report, but his signal later built up to  S8.  That seems 
awfully strong for 4- or 5-hop Es (the distance  is 5456 miles).  With the solar 
flux so high, could it have been F2?
 
On 6 I am running 150 watts to a multi-band vertical (Hy-Gain AV620).
 
73 Ray W2RS