[Elecraft] Es Season seems to have arrived

Fred Jensen k6dgw at foothill.net
Mon May 23 13:09:48 EDT 2011


On 5/23/2011 3:33 AM, Bill W4ZV wrote:
>
> g3ymc wrote:
>>
>> Sporadic E does not really affect 20m.
>>
>
> N6BV makes a good case that Es on 10m-20m was a factor in the extremely high
> number of EU QSOs (ITU Zone 28/29) experienced by the competitors near
> Moscow at the WRTC in 2010.  He does this by comparing VOACAP predictions
> using F2 only versus F2 plus Es.

Perhaps the trap here is "sporadic," and maybe I fell into that trap by 
calling it "Es" to be short.  There really is a non-sporadic E-layer, 
generally around 100 Km high, formed by longer wavelength X-rays and 
hard uV from the sun.  At that height, the atmospheric density is high 
enough that recombination proceeds at roughly the same rate as 
ionization, so generally, and especially in the winter when solar 
radiation is more oblique, the E layer is weak at best and disappears 
completely at night.  In the summer [either hemisphere], it is stronger 
and can begin to reflect [or refract] frequencies up to about 10 m.  Es 
OTOH is very highly ionized [and small and very temporary] patches in 
the E-layer which accounts for many summertime 6m openings.

Kevin is about 770 Km from me.  On 20, he is at best just discernible in 
the winter, but is reliably S6-8 in the summer at ECN-20 time [1500 PDT 
which is really 1400 for the sun].  I've always assumed this was E-layer 
propagation.  It certainly could be some other effect that is just 
positively correlated with summer, and of course, correlation does not 
imply cause.

In Jun 2008, with my brand new K3 [#642], I decided to see if it really 
worked on 6m.  The ATU matched my tribander, and I heard KH6FI calling 
CQ on SSB at about S6.  I called him, he gave me 56, on a 3,900 Km path. 
  I don't know what that propagation mode was, possibly multi-hop 
E-layer?  Maybe F2, I don't remember the SFI.  Incidentally, that is the 
only 6m QSO I've ever made in 57 years as a ham.  In fact, it's the only 
time [to my knowledge] my call has been on 6m.  At any rate, it is 
summer, and for whatever reason(s), six meters is opening a lot.

73,

Fred K6DGW
- Northern California Contest Club
- CU in the 2011 Cal QSO Party 1-2 Oct 2011
- www.cqp.org


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