Re: auroral conditions at night

["Tim Davisson" <timdav@bright.net>]

Sounds like auroral. With the sunspot cycle
where it's headed, signals on the middle and 
upper shortwave bands to FM/VHF/etc. should
get better in the next couple years.

It's been very, very auroral in NE Ohio for the past couple evenings with
semi-local WTIG/
Massillon, Ohio  (satellite sports prgmg.) heard
 like a local with just 125 watts at night. WTIG
is 3-tower directional SOUTH...and I am north
of them by 20 miles.....just one example.
Many other regional AMs that are seldom heard
after sunset were coming in well.

FYI...Tim, Akron, Ohio
- ----------
> From: Martin J. Waters <mwaters@wesleyan.edu>
> To: boston-radio-interest@khavrinen.lcs.mit.edu
> Cc: dan.strassberg@worldnet.att.net; dlh@donnahalper.com
> Subject: Unusual AM skywave propagation
> Date: Sunday, August 09, 1998 1:28 PM
> 
>         As was the case over a very wide area a few months ago (May?) for
> several nights, last night brought a severe suppression of most AM
skywave
> reception -- in this case, at least here in Connecticut. I suppose it's
the
> sunspot situation. Nearly all the regular nighttime Class A stations were
> almost totally absent. WBAL is a litmus test for me -- it normally
thunders
> in. It was simply not there. Ditto up and down the dial, with a couple
> exceptions. Beyond WBZ, which I think of as a nighttime local, and which
> was weaker than normal, there was almost nothing. The exceptions were
WBT,
> very strong, and WTOP, weaker than usual, WWKB, very weak, and WSAI, very
> poor. But normally very strong signals such as WJR, WTAM, WOWO, were not
> discernible, either at around 9-10 p.m. or at around 1-2 a.m.
>         The most interesting thing was, though, that this must be some
sort
> of phenomenon in which at the same time other skywaves from a particular
> area were coming in unusually strongly instead. There were
Spanish-speaking
> stations all up and down the dial where normally there are other
stations.
> I was getting Spanish on 580, 620, 630, 640, 670, 680, 750, 810, 900, and
> 990, among others. I did not get the high-power station in the Caribbean
> that sometimes shows up on 1020. On 1180, which is Radio Marti in the
> Florida Keys and the corresponding Cuban shooting back, I was getting an
> incredibly strong signal and no WHAM at all. Normally, if the Spanish is
> heard, it is way in the background -- never on top. I did not get any
good
> IDs for any of these Spanish stations, however.
>         On the theory that these were all Cuban and/or Mexican and/or
even
> central and South America, I tried to get some U.S. stations from the
same
> direction, but WWL, which I normally can't hear anymore, was not there.
The
> station in Miami on 710 was not bothering WOR. WSB was not there. WOAI
was
> not there. So, go figure.
>         The other interesting thing about this is that local groundwave
> signals sounded much better because of the lack of interfering skywaves.
I
> think of this as probably what they sounded like 50 years ago at night,
> before too many stations were put on the air. For example, WDRC (AM) in
> Hartford sounded good at my location, as I'm told it once did, whereas at
> night normally it's way down in the mud. My litmus test for the
groundwaves
> is WWCO, 1240, in Waterbury, which normally is lost in the muck before
> sunset where I am but was quite listenable last night.
>         I pass this along for those who might be interested, with the
> thought that tonight might bring more of the same. For example, the
> historical branch of the newsgroup could listen to 1260 in Boston if this
> phenomenon were occurring and perhaps hear what its nighttime coverage
was
> like in the 1940s when it was WNAC, the Yankee Network flagship station.
> 
> 
> 

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