Well, the days of unbelievable Es seem to be diminishing. There will still be openings, but not so often. They do not call it "the magic band" for nothing! 6m has a habit of producing the totally unexpected, such as the Europe to Australia openings more than once of late. This is where FT8 or WSPR can be so useful as there can be lots of people monitoring on specific slots so even fleeting openings are noticed. This is much harder on CW or SSB.
This morning, I am again monitoring 6m FT8 RX, It is now 0857z and, so far this morning, 6 Gs spotted. I was very briefly on TX with 2.5W and the V2000 omni, but just spots by G stations.
No signs of Es here yet today on 6m.
UPDATE 1043z: 13 stations spotted on 6m FT8 RX with the furthermost F5PSR
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| Stations spotted on 6m FT8 RX to 1417z |
UPDATE 1505z: Now 34 stations spotted on 6m FT8 RX with the furthermost K0GU (7431km). Judging by the other reports, I think he is genuine. No other USA stations spotted on 6m FT8 RX today.
UPDATE 2121z: QRT for many hours due to the storm risks. As Bas says in a comment below, Es can be good at any time, so it pays to be vigilant. I have had QRP SSB QSOs on 6m via Es as late as September. With FT8 or WSPR more openings will be spotted.
It still is not the end of the ES season Roger. Amazing propagation is possible till the end of august is my believe. As a matter of fact propagation was poor over the day today. The secret however is to listen near twilight. As a matter of fact I just finished a QSO on 6m with HK3PJ from Colombia....an amazing 9000km on UHF! 73, Bas
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