How would you rate the Summer 2010 E Season So Far?

[N1LF]

With the CQ Worldwide VHF Contest completed, it seems a good vantage point to begin to judge the 2010 Summer E's season.

Personally, I can't recall a better June with E-Skip nearly every day of the month and some maximum usable frequency days that went higher than Channel 6. On the amateur side, we had multiple days of 2 Meter skip, and some of the best (Non F-2) 6 Meter conditions that anyone can recall.

But then when the calendar page turned to July, the bottom seemed to fall out, at least here in EM63. While a few days revealed a mixture of Mexican and Canadian E-Skip on the TV low band channels, there was no hint of the fireworks we saw in June.

The CQ VHF Contest was the worst that I've participated in so far (this is only my third one). I felt like Captain Sig Hansen on "Deadliest Catch"...I kept telling myself "You just have keep grinding it out when conditions are like this". The only way to increase totals seemed to be staying in the chair, and at the mic/key.

No strategy, no science, no anticipating changing conditions to stay ahead of your competition--no just hard work. This was a great year to have big antennas and big amps...and a voice keyer.

Overall, I'd have to rate the season a 6 out of 10. High band and 2 Meter E-Skip is nothing to be ungrateful for...but I could live without another July like this.

[crainbebo]

I said "Well Above Average."

I've picked up 33 new logs on FM this summer via Es, one via Tropo (and two TVs too!), and the Es season isn't over yet (or is it? :banghead:)

The thirty-three FM (and two TV) logs I got this summer (and it's not over yet?) were:

E-skip
89.9 KUNM Albuquerque, NM on 5/4.
89.9 KZAI Superior, AZ on 5/4.
88.7 KNAU Flagstaff, AZ on 5/4.
91.5 KJZZ Phoenix, AZ on 5/4.
96.9 KMXP Phoenix, AZ on 5/4.
88.9 KNPR Las Vegas, NV on 5/27.
92.1 KZUA Holbrook, AZ on 6/14.
92.1 CITI Winnipeg, MB on 6/18.
92.1 CHMX Regina, SK on 6/18. (817 miles, closest station by E-skip)
TV6 CBWT Winnipeg, MB on 6/18.
88.9 K205CW (KJIL) Follett, TX (226w!!) on 6/29.
93.7 KRAI Craig, CO on 6/29.
96.9 KCCY Pueblo, CO on 6/29.
101.1 KOSI Denver, CO on 6/29.
99.5 KQMT Denver, CO on 6/29.
95.1 KATC Colorado Springs, CO on 6/29.
93.9 KZRD Dodge City, KS on 6/29.
94.7 KRKS Denver, CO on 6/29.
94.5 KSKL Scott City, KS on 6/29.
94.5 KRFD Merino, CO on 6/29.
95.1 KCGY Laramie, WY on 6/29.
91.9 KUWR Laramie, WY on 6/29.
101.1 KFNF Oberlin, KS on 6/29.
101.9 KBTO Bottineau, ND on 7/5.
93.7 WDAY Fargo, ND on 7/5.
92.9 KKXL Grand Forks, ND on 7/5.
96.1 KQHT Crookston, MN on 7/5.
100.3 KSNR Fisher, MN on 7/5.
95.1 KBVB Barnesville, MN on 7/5.
103.1 CKMM Winnipeg, MB on 7/5.
89.9 KTMH Montrose, CO on 7/5.
105.7 KPMX Sterling, CO on 7/5.
93.7 KIZZ Minot, ND on 7/5.
91.1 XETRA Tijuana, BCN on 7/5.
TV6 XETV Tijuana on 7/5.
91.7 XHGLX Tijuana, BCN on 7/5.

TROPO
91.9 KDNA Yakima, WA on 7/11.

If not for the huge drought between July 5th and now, it would be an A, but I'm giving it another A- right now. 33 new FMs via Es is great for the IBOC-friendly Seattle area :mad:

[Russ-PA]

Definitely mixed. Seems like only a few good solid openings, but lots of brief hits with low MUF to the point of not even being able to identify things because the opening didn't last.Were it not for my first Mexico logging this season, I'd be tempted to rate it even lower.

[Mike-CT]

I would say it was "interesting". The double hop on TV was very interesting. The carriers from RTP Portugal was interesting, as well.

FM...well, not so interesting except for that unknown on 87.9 that could have been a low powered Guatemalan and the Mexican 2-hop on 89.1.

I'm talking quality here this year, not quantity. Much of the FM Es I had this year was boring and I never thought I'd say that.

[dlp85x]

I voted 'mixed.'

There has been absolutely no FM Es here at all since July 3 (minus 2-3 days ago when I had two FM signals in, weakly of course, via Es.) July has been a complete bust. I haven't seen anything like this since I actively DXed Es openings in 2006. July usually is usually at least 2x better as June is.

In a stark contrast, late May/June were great, way above average. As of now, I have logged 134 new FM signals in the two months. There was a six-day stretch of Es every day from 6/12-6/18 (no new logs on 6/13-14, but it was into FM.) I have never seen that before. Plus, HD radio decodes were very common this year, unlike the last two years I have had IBOC capabilities. Some of these decodes were over local IBOC signals, too. I also was able to log stations from relatively remote and rural areas in some openings that (usually) would have been impossible due to nearby major market 100kw signals coming in on the same frequencies.

Local signals this year seem to have vanished more easily than previous years to allow distant Es signals to overpower them (especially local blowtorches on 89.3, 90.5, 94.7 & 101.5.) Almost every opening I have had this year involves a start in the deep south (TX/MS/LA/AL), and then I get Miami/Tampa FMs at the end of the opening, with no Es noted between the two areas, like in the FL panhandle. There has also only been one opening noted here into the Canadian Maritimes (usually there's at least 3 in one season here.) I also had no major openings into the midwest states (most notably KS, MO, IA.) This is an area that I usually get countless openings from throughout the year. And, ironically, I had a huge opening into Wisconsin--a state that I rarely get any Es from.

So, barring any major opening from now until July 31, I would say that this season has been one of the worst observed here in FM18. However, at the same time, the season has had its own quirks and merits that make it a fairly good season at the same time.

As for some DXer's hopes for an extended Es season into August--I wouldn't count on it. :( Hopefully I'll be proven wrong, though!

[NN2E]

Let's not forget that E-skip's first name is "Sporadic."

I'm not ready to pronounce time of death on the 2010 E-skip season, yet.

73, Ed NN2E
Owner / Operator - Murphy's Law Test Site & Thunderstorm Proving Grounds

[Jim Thomas]

It think it really depends on where you live. There have been only three really good Es days into the Front Range Rocky Mountain region and to the same typical region that occurs almost all the time - the southern tier states.

For Colorado, so far, it has been a poor season.

[Russ-PA]

A couple of the things about this season that've been different from past seasons are 1) the number of short relatively weak openings ( resulting in lots of days with Es, but none of them significant ) and the high proportion of openings which have occurred between 0800 and 1500 ( prime work hours ).

Most seasons there's been two or three good openings starting late afternoon and running into the evening - a rarity this time around here.

[H Hayes PA]

I rated this season "mixed", because of the poor showing of Es in July, but perhaps I'm voting too early. Last year a blowout opening occurred on 7/29 after which Es made very few showings in August. I have a feeling that we will see one of these big openings at the end of this month and that we will have an above average showing of Es in August. Making this a memorable year for me is the fact that I experienced some Es on FM on April 24th, the earliest ever, also the 2X Es observed on FM by other Dxers.

[KY-Near-Cincinnati]

Fair at best a few OK openings.

I saw the many DX robot reports of 144 Mhz this season...non of it occurred here. I think the E-Skip cloud was right over us more than once. There was no blockbuster or memorable openings this year like when we had New York and other East Coast States in 2004. Or the time when the Dallas area over rode many of my locals two years ago.

[SlcDX]

I also rated mixed. As my third year doing this, last year in my opinion was better, especially July. June was awesome, I agree. Moving from Salt Lake also helped open up more frequencies and allowed me to get my longest Es path to date. Numerous times in June I had DTVs trying to decode (none ever doing so) but my goal of getting a DTV via Es this summer is rapidly diminishing. I did get my goal this year of RDS/HD via Es and it started becoming much easier in June. My computer's motherboard dying in May hampered things quite a bit and the computer is still not as it was when I bought it, so recording Es has become more difficult but still possible.

I can only hope I get a job in the midwest or elsewhere before Summer is over, so I can taste the tropo flavor I have so jealously lacked here in the west. If you guys want to put me in your prayers/thoughts about the job, you are more than welcome. My reward to you would then be a plethora of tropo and Es for the next few years :D. 6 out of 10 for me.

[KW4RZ]

The season was great.. right up to the Forth of July and it was as if we suddenly dropped off into winter.
Several great openings in late May and June to the northwest. Seems like Wyoming was in all the time. Even on 144 MHz in one opening. 20 years on 2 meter SSB and that was the first time hearing Wyoming. That super Es June 18 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M73T5KOIoIo) is one to remember.
92.3 KYUS in Miles City, MT was in not once but on two different openings. At 1499 miles that's rare and last heard in June 2005. Catching Jim's new local puny powered 93.9 KRKU (http://www.wtfda.org/kw4rz/mp3/93-9_KRKU_TOH_Jul01_10.mp3) in Colorado was schweet!

[SlcDX]

I have to admit, the openings in June were outstanding. I broke a record with my farthest skip to TN and Alabama. Right after I got back from vacation in July, the band went dead. I do also admit that having a quieter band helps, and I'm getting TrS practically every day.

[pjdyer]

Now that Aug is over, my raw minutes for the FM Es season
http://www.qsl.net/wa5iyx/fmes05bdd.htm
http://www.qsl.net/wa5iyx/fmes06bdd.htm
http://www.qsl.net/wa5iyx/fmes07bdd.htm
http://www.qsl.net/wa5iyx/fmes08bdd.txt (need to relocate that 2005 data)
http://home.swbell.net/pjdyer/iyxsusum.htm
giving the highest May-Aug total in over 20 years (tnx to a hefty June). This, of course, does not reflect "quality" (geographical distribution/distance of footprints, etc.)

73, Pat - WA5IYX

[Danny]

Like everybody else, I had plenty of Es in June and little in July (compared to an average July). June 18 was also the best day here.

Seven new ATVs and two new DTVs were logged via Es.

Oddly, one of the DTVs and two of the ATVs were logged in July: CJOH-6 ON on July 18, WHBF-DT-4 IL on July 26, and XHI-2 SIN on July 31.

[Paul logan]

From the other side of the pond all I can say is "What a season!"

End of May / June was amazing, then things started to fizzle out mid July with one big last hurrah on August 2nd. So, very fast start and quiet end.

I had 2xE to Romania, southern Italy, Greece, Crete, Cyprus, Turkey, Lebanon, Canary Islands, plus multi hop to Cape Verde and Puerto Rico. That was the quality, while quantity saw loggings up by 37% over 2009.

Possibly the best overall season I've seen in 27 years of DXing.

[K3PHL]

I missed the voting on this one. The season began early here (April) and ended early (mid July). However after logging 3 stations in Nevada and 1 in Utah on 6/29 via 2x and 92.1 KFRZ Green River, WY sneaking in on 6/30. I have to rate it the best ever here based solely on that fact.

But all considered, 2010 was not as good for number of openings and duration as 2008 and 2009.

At the new location here since April 2008 recording from 3 to 6 radios continuously, I have logged 40 of the lower 48 states from eastern Pennsylvania.