[BC] RE: DRM

[R J Carpenter]

Sorry to try to rain on your parade, but you all seem to have 
forgotten that we are at the bottom of the 11-year solar cycle and the 
MUF never gets very high these years.

Wait 3 or 4 years and there will be transcontinental propagation to 
above 30MHz  ___EVERY___ afternoon for many hours.  And this will last 
for 3 or 5 years.
I live on the East Coast. I can remember listening to "Radiopage 
Sacramento" on maybe 35MHz every afternoon during some long-ago 
sunspot high years.  Really strong signal.

Sporadic-E (short-skip) is pretty common at 28MHz as well.  Perhaps 
30% of the time in the summer and around Christmas.  Es distances are 
typically 600 to 1200 miles. Transcontinental double-hop isn't rare. 
There is a blank space on my bookshelf where EK Smith's "Ionospheric 
Sporadic-E" should be located.  I wonder where it has escaped to.....

bob c.