• [EI7GL] Lightning detected on the 28 MHz band - 23rd July 2021

    From EI7GL via rec.radio.amateur.moderat@21:1/5 to All on Sat Jul 24 14:46:48 2021
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    EI7GL....A diary of amateur radio activity

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    Lightning detected on the 28 MHz band - 23rd July 2021

    Posted: 24 Jul 2021 10:54 AM PDT https://ei7gl.blogspot.com/2021/07/lightning-detected-on-28-mhz-band-23rd.html





    Friday 23rd July 2021: During the afternoon of the 23rd, I noticed what
    sounded like a continuous stream of static crashes on the 28 MHz band. I checked the Irish weather website Met Éireann and sure enough, there was a huge thunder storm crossing Ireland about 130-150kms to the north of me.
    I have heard static crashes from lightning before but never on this scale.
    It's usually a static crash every 10-20 seconds but this one was almost continuous.
    I was wondering at first if it was some local noise source but I could hear
    the number of static crashes reduce as the storm moved west.
    Even though I am using just a basic CB type half-wave vertical on 28 MHz, I
    do have a good view to the north. If some of these strikes were from cloud
    to cloud at a km or two above the ground then I was probably line of sight
    to some of them.

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    FM radio stations from the Azores (87-93 MHz) are heard in Newfoundland -
    23rd July 2021

    Posted: 23 Jul 2021 11:52 PM PDT https://ei7gl.blogspot.com/2021/07/fm-radio-stations-from-azores-87-93-mhz.html



    Friday 23rd July 2021: Larry Horlick, VO1FOG in Newfoundland reports that
    he heard FM radio stations from the Azores on frequencies ranging from 87
    to 93 MHz. The opening lasted one hour.
    * * *
    UTC QRG ITU Station, location Details, remarks Distance km Received by/in
    kW ERP Pol
    22:30 UTC 90.50 MHZ AZR RTP Antena 1, Serra de Santa Bárbara (tce) Live Stream, 2309kms 35 h
    21:51 UTC 92.70 MHz AZR RTP Antena 1, Pico Bartolomeu (smg) Presumed,
    reference to Ponta Degada, 2524kms 0.5 m
    21:14 UTC 87.70 MHz AZR RTP Antena 3, Pico da Barrosa (RDP) (smg) Live
    stream, 2501kms 40 v
    * * *
    It's interesting to see that Larry also heard the Azores two days earlier
    on the 21st of July.
    Propagation Mode: It's almost certainly single hop Sporadic-E with a
    possible small tropo extension near the Azores.
    In a message, Larry VO1FOG notes that during this reception of Band 2
    signals up around 88 MHz, the 6-metre band at 50 MHz appeared closed. It's
    very likely that there was a good single hop Sporadic-E opening from Newfoundland to the East but there is nothing out there in the mid-Atlantic.
    As Larry notes, it's wrong to assume that just because there is nothing on
    50 MHz, the higher bands will be closed.
    Analysis: Even though reports of FM radio stations from the Azores being
    heard in Newfoundland were only documented for the first time in 2021, it's likely that this 2300-2500km path is open every year. What is different
    this year is that there is someone activity logging these stations from the Newfoundland end.
    While single hop Sporadic-E openings on Band 2 are nothing special, I would suggest that the ones between the Azores and Newfoundland are. Not in terms that they actually happen but in terms of what times they happen.
    The more Newfoundland to Azores reception reports that are logged then we
    might be able to see a pattern of what is the most likely time of day that these openings happen.
    If the maximum usable frequency gets up to 88-108 MHz on a regular basis
    then there may be times that it goes up as far as 144 MHz. Add in a tropo
    duct at the eastern end and a trans-Atlantic path from Newfoundland to
    Spain or Portugal might be possible.Links...
    1) VO1FOG's reception log on the FMLIST website
    2) More examples of Band 2 reception reports on my 88-108 MHz page

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