If you guys are awake.. Check for Huge DX opening into Latin America on Fm

[Mid West Clubber]

So its 5:17 AM here in Indiana and cold as hell, certainly not optimum DX conditions, but im getting several stations in spanish that are smashing out my locals, and im getting spanish on 99.9 clear as bell..Probably CUBA... but one station I did manage to ID was TOP 40/Urabn/Dance station Magic 96.5 in Aruba... This is amazing,, Aruba is at least 2 or 3 thousand miles away from here,, When I first heard the CHR music on 96.5 on my way to get breakfast, I thought no big deal, im getting early morning extended ground wave from WAZY lafayette,, but flipping through the dial showed all my locals jammed with spanish music, so I thought, well maybe its power 96 in Miami,, a regular summer time Sporadic E catch here,, but no,,, I hear them ID as Magic 96.5 Aruba, and I checked the website when I got home to verify it,, the signal was pretty garbled and hard to ID, but I know what I heard,, its coming in clear off and on now, but some of the spanish stations are starting to fade already, so check this and your whole FM band for DX before it goes away,,, No one, even the pro DXers, will never believe me.. I tried to run a tape on my boombox to upload, but I have too much broadband noise in my room to hear it,, plus the radio is analog.. So please if anyone is awake,, Check your FM band for this very rare late fall Sporadic E,, and during early morning before sunrise is even more rare.. Please guys.. Help me out so everyone dont think ive lost it.  THANKS>

[gr8oldies]

I've heard that there are winter eS openings but have never experienced one. Nothing unusual on my dial after 8am.

[dx1ng]

Real nice DX!   Oranjestad, Aruba is about 2125 miles from Indianapolis.   This might have even been rare FM F-skip, which has a maximum single-hop range of about 2150 miles.  This is really off-season for Sporadic E, and double hop sporadic E would seem to be even rarer.  No matter what, that was some great DX!   Maybe you were also getting some Columbia or Venezuela.

[Peter Q. George (K1XRB)]

So its 5:17 AM here in Indiana and cold as hell, certainly not optimum DX conditions, but im getting several stations in spanish that are smashing out my locals, and im getting spanish on 99.9 clear as bell..Probably CUBA... but one station I did manage to ID was TOP 40/Urabn/Dance station Magic 96.5 in Aruba... This is amazing,, Aruba is at least 2 or 3 thousand miles away from here,, When I first heard the CHR music on 96.5 on my way to get breakfast, I thought no big deal, im getting early morning extended ground wave from WAZY lafayette,, but flipping through the dial showed all my locals jammed with spanish music, so I thought, well maybe its power 96 in Miami,, a regular summer time Sporadic E catch here,, but no,,, I hear them ID as Magic 96.5 Aruba, and I checked the website when I got home to verify it,, the signal was pretty garbled and hard to ID, but I know what I heard,, its coming in clear off and on now, but some of the spanish stations are starting to fade already, so check this and your whole FM band for DX before it goes away,,, No one, even the pro DXers, will never believe me.. I tried to run a tape on my boombox to upload, but I have too much broadband noise in my room to hear it,, plus the radio is analog.. So please if anyone is awake,, Check your FM band for this very rare late fall Sporadic E,, and during early morning before sunrise is even more rare.. Please guys.. Help me out so everyone dont think ive lost it.  THANKS>

It sounds more like auroral reception, based upon the the way you described it as "garbled".  Here in the Boston area, I've witnessed auroral reception by picking up WYFI/99.7 in Norfolk, VA and WQED-FM/89.3 in Pittsburgh. The audio usually just makes it over the noise level to allow you to barely discern the ID.  Generally, to see if it is an auroral reception, turn your antenna NORTH.  If you're still getting the "garbled" reception of that station, it's auroral scatter.  True, E-skip can happen at anytime, especially both during the summer months and the days around the winter solistice (December 21st).  But auroral reception is usually heard during the first few hours after a solar flare.  Let us know.

[gr8oldies]

I've always thought of auroral reception on FM as being from the north, not the carribean though. Auroral can knock out northern AM signals and sometimes uncover southern stations you normally wouldn't hear. Interesting phenomenon, wish I'd been up

[Peter Q. George (K1XRB)]

I've always thought of auroral reception on FM as being from the north, not the carribean though. Auroral can knock out northern AM signals and sometimes uncover southern stations you normally wouldn't hear. Interesting phenomenon, wish I'd been up

That's what I used to think.  But, to coin a phrase "when in doubt, aim north", to see if it is auroral reception.  The reflective properties of the auroral mass are rather unstable and make for a very poor reflector.  Add the high noise level of the aurora itself makes it sound garbled.   Also, the angle of the reflection (beam tilt) acts like "bumper shot" on a pool table.  You never really truly know how it's going to connect between the transmitter and the receiver until it happens. 

This could also be a rare instance of F2 or double-hop skip.   I tend to think that this is, more than likely, auroral reception.  Nonetheless, this sounds like a great catch indeed!  Congratulations "Mid West Clubber"!

[Nick]

Would it be possible for someone in Aruba to have heard Indiana stations that morning?

[BobOnTheJob]

Is there any chance that Magic 96.5 was in Birmingham,AL rather than Aruba? http://www.magic96fm.com/main.html

[gr8oldies]

Birmingham is almost doable for trop.

[BobOnTheJob]

Birmingham is almost doable for trop.

With ease...I tropped Meriden,CT from Cincinnati in the early 70's (640 miles). Birmingham to Clubber's location is just over 400 miles. Just checked...that station still has the same WKSS calls 37 years later. My best 10 watter was WBWC Berea,OH at 215 miles...incidentally, another station with the same calls today. Oh for the days when most stations signed off at 11 or 12...'twas a DX paradise.