Gery Gaubert writes:
> Not sure if this is a trend, or a freek thing but where I live in
> Louisiana for the past 2 days 10 meters has been open.  I didn't get up
> the nerve to talk but I did hear some k3 and n9 calls.  Not sure where
> that is though.  I plan to have a listen tomorrow when I get in from
> work to see if it is open again.

	It is a freekish trend during the months of May through
Early August, peaking in June around the Solstice.  It is called
Sporadic E.

	Nobody knows precisely what causes it but it is a very
intensely ionized cloud of air at about 60 miles above the
Earth's surface.  That puts it above weather as we know it but
below the F and F2 layers of the Ioni sphere which are
responsible for world-wide short wave radio communications.

	The Earth's atmosphere is divided in to layers based
upon what usually happens at various altitudes.  We live in the
A layer which touches the ground.  I am not sure which altitudes
denote the B, C, and D layers, but the D layer is the first one
that effects radio due to Solar radiation.  The D layer is kind
of the rain at the picknick in that it absorbs low-frequency
radio when the Sun is shining.  At night, the D layer melts away
which is why AM broadcasting and 160-meter signals travel much
farther at night or during Solar eclipses.  The E layer helps
reflect AM radio signals at night and, occasionally, it becomes
extremely ionized and that's when ten and six meters start to
get interesting.

	Most of the E skip you will hear will be during the day,
especially during mid morning and mid afternoon to early
evening.  It can, however, happen in the middle of the night or
any other time for that matter.

	You will hear band openings on ten, six and even two
during the Summer and then, about August first, it will all die
away.

	There is a second Sporadic E season around Christmas but
it is usually a pale echo of the Summer E season.  The openings
will normally not be as strong and won't last for as many hours,
but they certainly can be good.  Enjoy.

	In another 4 or 5 years, the Sun spots will multiply
again and ten will be full of signals all day long.  Those
signals will be being propagated via the F2 layer.  For now, one
must patiently listen for Sporadic E and strike when the iron is
hot.  If you have a receiver with a squelch, put it on just
about any of the ten-meter FM frequencies and then go about your
business.  Suddenly, signals will start to flood in and you will
know the bands are open and the fun is starting.  Usually, it
all fades out in a couple of hours and we are back to cosmic
hiss and receiver noise.

Martin McCormick WB5AGZ  Stillwater, OK 
Systems Engineer
OSU Information Technology Department Network Operations Group