Nick’s Signal Spot is a new feature in which Nick Langan explores RF signals, propagation, new equipment and related endeavors.
The magic of the E-skip propagation for VHF long-distance signal hunters is that so much about it is unknown.
So we’re often left with resorting to old axioms to figure out what kind of activity we might be in store for during the lion’s share of the season in the Northern Hemisphere, which is usually the months of June and July.
My statistics professor would yell at me for offering, “we’re due,” as a reason to expect an uptick in activity this season, but, since I’ve been tracking these things, 2024 was the least active E-skip season I’ve observed, and while last year was better, it had long dormant periods.
We’re also on the downswing of the current Solar Cycle, as James Careless has written about, and some observers believe that the downturn might have a positive correlation with E-skip activity. Again, speculation.
But so far, the early returns have been positive on this season in North America. Here’s what one of my favorite DXers, Randy Zerr (KW4RZ) in Goldfield, Nev., received on June 5. These Savanna, Ga., signals are squarely double-hop receptions at over 1,900 miles. Using his Airspy SDR, he was able to record them all!
June 8, meanwhile, featured nearly four hours of E-skip between the Great Plains and eastern United States, the type of opening I’ve not observed since the epic 2021 season. You can see all of the logs FMList users reported.
Did you hear any of the E-skip? Send me an email and I’ll feature some catches in my next Signal Spot column.
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