The Sporadic E season is trying to get started now as we
approach May First. I have been hearing illegal CB QSO's if one
wants to dignify them that much on 27.025 or CB Channel 6. There
are a large number of folks who hang out there and use way, way
more power than 5 watts. Most are running AM and they are one of
the best indicators that something is going on somewhere that I
know.

	When you hear skip signals there, you know that ten
meters should be alive but one can tune up there and listen for
quite a while and hear nothing.

	Last night around 0 hours UTC, I heard CB'ers and
Mexican TV audio on Channel 2 so you know ten and six should
have been open to at least Northern Mexico. I must admit I did
not check 6, but a quick sweep of ten from 28.3 to 28.4 or 28.5
turned up nothing but power line buzz and birdies from my
computers.

	The 20-MHZ frequency of WWV is usually inaudible in
Oklahoma except for when there is Sporadic E favoring the
Northwest at which time it booms in here. I imagine Phil is too
close to Fort Collins to hear that but it is a good indicator of
Sporadic E. It is a shame that WWV stopped using the 25 MHZ
frequency around 30 years ago. It was also a really good
indicator.

Martin McCormick WB5AGZ  Stillwater, OK 
Systems Engineer
OSU Information Technology Department Telecommunications Services Group

Phil Scovell writes:
> When I check propagation, I also check W1AW transmissions.  For example, I
> can sit and hear not one peep anywhere on 17 meters; not even any of the 
> CW
> beacons on 18.110 MHz.  Yet, at 9 PM at night W1AW, on 18.097 MHz, will be
> S9 sending away bulletins and CW practice.  So I always check beacons, 
> WWV,
> CHU in Canada, and other such sources.