6m super-DX

About now each year, we hear of DX openings between Europe and Japan on 6m VHF. I believe there have already been 6m openings from Western Europe to Australia. One has always to watch for pirates who are actually much closer! I very much hope these QSOs are confirmed as genuine.

The regular 6m Japanese openings (and to the Far East more generally) seem to be linked to mesospheric noctilucent clouds that form about now. I am sure this is E-layer, but not Es. I also wonder about some of the very long transatlantic 6m openings. Some may be multi-hop Es, but I suspect many are not. E layer - yes. Es - no.

They do not call 6m "the magic band" for nothing. Well equipped stations can work some amazing DX. Even very modest stations can have plenty of fun with QRP and simple antennas.

This why a future 8m allocation could be so informative to radio science: midway between 6m and 10m could be so interesting. We could all learn so much.  

I am convinced there is a great deal for us to find out about E layer propagation and this is one area in which radio amateurs can really contribute to radio science.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/vhfuhfmicrowaves/super-dx .

Nocilucent clouds and DX

According to Southgate News this has been a good year for noctilucent clouds (NLCs). The path from western Europe to Japan (a very long way!) seems to open up for a short-time in June each year on 6m. This is just the time NLCs form in the mesosphere. There seems to be a direct correlation. 2 years ago, despite using a V2000 omni vertical fed with lossy CB coax I copied 13 Japanese stations on 6m JT65. For the last 2 summers I have been monitoring 6m FT8. As yet, I have not copied Japan on 6m FT8, which is a bit less sensitive.

See http://southgatearc.org/news/2019/june/mysterious-moisture-in-the-mesosphere.htm#.XQtBAvZFy00

See also https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/vuhf/noctilucent

CQ Japan on 6m JT65

It is that time of year when 6m opens from Europe to Japan on 6m. This morning I see that Spanish stations are calling JA on 6m JT65. This path opens every year on 6m around this time. The conventional view is this is multi-hop Es. Sorry, but I don't go for this. It may have something to do with E layer ionisation as a result of noctilucent clouds?

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/vuhf/noctilucent .