The Summer Sporadic E season has definitely started. I
hadn't actually gotten to do much listening the past few days,
but I did do a bit of tuning around on April 30 around 20:00
local time in North Central Oklahoma and there was a mixture of
Sporadic E and F2 on ten meters. I have a receiver that will
tune up to 60 MHZ so I have 55.24, 55.25 and 55.26 MHZ which are
the video carrier frequencies for TV Channel 2. Since the United
States and Canada have turned off all analog TV, the only thing
left to listen for is TV from Mexico and the rest of Latin
America. There are a few US Channel 2's left, but they are all
digital and you will hear hiss plus a pilot carrier at 54.310
MHZ if any of the US Channel 2's come in. When Latin American TV
Channel 2's come in, you will hear multiple carriers fading in
and out on 55.24-26 which, of course, won't tell you where they
are so you need a receiver that will tune 59.75 in wide-band FM
or, of course, an analog television connected to an outside
antenna.

	Sometimes, sighted people can capture video from the
screen if the station identifies itself at the right time, but
normally, you need to listen carefully and the more Spanish you
know, the better as signals from many locales fade back and
forth giving you only a few seconds to try to hear one station
before another covers it up.

	My Spanish is rather poor, but I can usually hear ID's
and many of those signals are from Northern Mexico but
occasionally , there will be a real catch from Cuba or South
America so keep listening.

	When the carriers get very strong, start tuning the low
end of six meters for beacons and the calling frequency on
50.125 and you may hear DX. I've been doing this sort of thing
since the late sixties and I miss the state-side Sporadic E but
the fact that 54 to 88 MHZ is almost devoid of US and Canadian
analog TV makes those frequencies great for those times when the
Sporadic E occurs.

	As for April 30, I was hearing Spanish on TV Channels 2
through 4 with some signals reaching full quieting for a few
seconds.

	When things really get hopping later this Summer, we may
hear Spanish all the way in to the low end of the FM Broadcast
band and when it gets especially good, you will hear FM
broadcast stations from Mexico, Canada and parts of the United
States 4 or 5-hundred miles from where you live and you'll know
that ten, six and maybe even two meters are hot.

	It also dies out quickly so enjoy it when you can.

Martin WB5AGZ