Hi Pat,
Do you remember where the station was in Michigan?
For, who knows, about 10 years now, maybe more, here in Michigan, we have a linked repeater system, using the call sign of w8hvg. People call it the link system. There are who knows how many repeaters on it, all over Michigan, and it's on 147.150.
It also could have been the arrow link system, on 147.150.
That system goes all along I94, from Detroit to the border with Indiana. Other than that, I can't remember what else was on 147.150 in Mi., in 1979.
However, I'll tell ya another story about the opposit thing that happened. In 1977, it was a Saturday morning, and it was in I think, the spring, and I had one of those allband radios with AM, fm, ham band, weather band, airplanes, etc.
I was listening on the Clarkston repeater, 146.25.85, wich is now on 146.24.84. I'm listening to a QSO between 2 local hams, and all the sudden, I hear this, "break from w3VA."
"W3VA, go ahead, from w8MNL, and my name is Chuck and I'm in Clarkston, Michigan, between Pontiac and Flint."
"W8MNL, this is w3VA, and I'm in Valley Forge, Pensylvania."
Pat, it blew my mind, never heard a band opening before that, in my life, I didn't even know that kind of communication was possible!
Trippy, ac8s
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: PATRICK GORMLEY 
  To: [log in to unmask] 
  Sent: Wednesday, May 02, 2012 6:10 PM
  Subject: Re: It's Sporadic E time, Folks!


  the altoona repeater is 147.15 I believe the pl is 123.  
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: "Harry Brown" <[log in to unmask]>
  To: <[log in to unmask]>
  Sent: Wednesday, May 02, 2012 4:19 PM
  Subject: Re: It's Sporadic E time, Folks!


  > Hi there,
  > What was the frequency of the Altoona repeater?
  > Trippy, ac8s
  >  ----- Original Message -----=20
  >  From: PATRICK GORMLEY=20
  >  To: [log in to unmask]
  >  Sent: Tuesday, May 01, 2012 7:56 PM
  >  Subject: Re: It's Sporadic E time, Folks!
  > 
  > 
  >  Back in 1974, I was tuning around the fm band and heard Tulsa Oklahoma =
  > 
  >  Galveston Texas and port arthur texas.  When I got my ham ticket, =
  > perhaps=20
  >  the wildest sporadic e I heard was when weather for St. Louis, Kansas =
  > City=20
  >  and Galveston Texas came in and I was able to work stations on 52 =
  > simplex=20
  >  from the d.c. are with an omni at 70 feet in Little Rock, St. Louis, =
  > Kansas=20
  >  CIty, Galveston and Port Arthur Texas and juarez mexico.  Back in 1979 =
  > we=20
  >  had band openings associated with Huricanes Frederick and David =
  > allowing me=20
  >  to work a fellow running a 1-watt handitalkie going into Metropolitan=20
  >  Airport in Detroit via the altoona repeater all from Deale Maryland =
  > about 20=20
  >  miles south of Annapolis.
  >  ----- Original Message -----=20
  >  From: "Steve" <[log in to unmask]>
  >  To: <[log in to unmask]>
  >  Sent: Tuesday, May 01, 2012 6:51 PM
  >  Subject: Re: It's Sporadic E time, Folks!
  > 
  > 
  >  > Yeah, I enjoy that also.  Back in 1978 I think it was, the sporadic =
  > E was=20
  >  > so
  >  > good that there were Florida stations on our Central Michigan =
  > repeater.  I
  >  > listened to a couple Florida stations on FM broadcast band, and the =
  > weird
  >  > thing was, when the  ionization level started to disintegrate, it =
  > did so=20
  >  > at
  >  > a pretty rapid pace, but it was still slow enough that I caught some
  >  > Virginia FM stations as the skip completely disappeared.
  >  >
  >  > Steve, K8SP
  >  > ----- Original Message -----=20
  >  > From: "Gary Ketler" <[log in to unmask]>
  >  > To: <[log in to unmask]>
  >  > Sent: Tuesday, May 01, 2012 5:53 PM
  >  > Subject: Re: It's Sporadic E time, Folks!
  >  >
  >  >
  >  >>I liked to do FM broadcast dx.  I haven't had any sporadic E =
  > openings in a
  >  >> few years now.
  >  >
  >