What made this 15 meter opening so unusual is that I heard 
stations as close in as Birmingham consistently for at least 
5 hours between about 3:00 and 8:00 PM. There was QSB, of 
course, but signals would be as high as 20 over.

The last time I saw anything near that was on Memorial Day 
in 2004 when I talked with a station in Shreveport on 29 
MHZ. That short distance opening didn't last but a half hour 
or so, which is usually how they work.

As expected, 6 meters was pretty hot during the same time.

I didn't hear them, but a small portion of east Texas 
experienced what will most likely be determined to be triple 
hop E skip into Japan on 6 meters. The Texas stations were 
somewhere between Dallas and the Louisiana line. Stations in 
Houston and along the gulf could not hear the JA stations, 
and I have not heard from anyone outside that small area of 
Texas who heard them.

Who says the magic is gone?



Mike Duke, K5XU
American Council of Blind Radio Amateurs