Just a slight difference with Lew's post.  Typically, if it is sporatic E, 
you will find the MUF and things from there down in frequencies will be 
hopping.  With tropoducting, it is typically a VHF/UHF phenomenom, so if you 
see it on FM broadcast frequencies, you would certainly expect to see it on 
144MHZ.  Usually, as Lew notes, you will get longer distances with sporatic 
E as you often get multiple hops.  The other thing you see with Sporatic E 
is that if the one station from Florida starts fading out, you might see a 
station from Virginia or the Carolinas come in quickly and fade as the 
ionized layer disintegrates.

Steve, K8SP
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Louis Kim Kline" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, August 03, 2006 6:28 PM
Subject: Re: rare FM DX catch from Michigan!


> Hi.
>
> Another thought on Howard's post.  To really determine the mode of
> enhancement, it is helpful to look at a variety of VHF and UHF 
> frequencies,
> and see which end of the spectrum the enhancement is predominant on.  If 
> it
> seems like it is starting at the upper frequencies and working down, i.e.
> FM and the upper TV channels, it is usually ducting or some tropospheric
> effect as Howard mentions in his post.  This is more common on FM
> broadcast.  However, if it is starting at the low VHF frequencies and
> working up, and it is marked by rapid fading, and appears to keep 
> switching
> where signals are coming in from, then it is usually sporadic E skip.  The
> FM broadcast band is at a unique spot in the spectrum because it can get
> enhancement from either mode.
>
> When sporadic E is the mode, you can also often get much greater 
> distances,
> especially if a good enough sporadic E event occurs to get a double hop.
>
> As I said, tropo is more common on the FM band, but occasionally sporadic 
> E
> does happen.  The best way to figure out what is going on is to look at a
> bunch of different frequencies.  If 6 meters is open, and 2 meters isn't,
> or if the lower TV channels are absolutely dead, but your weather radio is
> jumping off the table, those are good clues as to what is going on.
>
> By the way, the weather radio can often be a real good thing to observe
> when looking for two meter band openings because while many frequencies on
> 2 meters may just not be active when the opening occurs, weather stations
> provide nice steady signals that can make some effective propagation 
> beacons.
>
> 73, de Lou K2LKK
>
>
>
> At 09:00 PM 8/2/2006 -0500, you wrote:
>>I'd doubt if you found e-skip that high in frequency, more like it is
>>tropo or tropospheric bend skip.  This is caused by ducting of layers
>>of air where warmer air is layered on top of cooler air.  Common in
>>summer, especially near large bodies of water.  It's really fun and
>>you can work  often for hundreds and hundreds of miles.
>>
>>
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>
> Louis Kim Kline
> A.R.S. K2LKK
> Home e-mail:  [log in to unmask]
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>