[VHFcontesting] If the Jan. VHF SS had been this weekend...

[jon jones]

Regarding stations "working the contest" this weekend, there was an Es 
opening on 6 Meters Saturday evening. Stations in Colorado, Nebraska and 
Missouri had a nice opening into W3, W4, W5, and W8 from 2300 utc Jan 17 to 
0030 utc Jan. 18. Had the contest been this weekend, there would have been 
some good 6 M QSO and grid totals. The Es died, then picked up again at 0300 
utc.

Jan18 03:05 N8PUM/b 50067.5 EN65 559 Es returns   K0GU  DN70mq

I began CQing towards the north and was rewarded with a Manitoba report:

Jan18 03:10 n0jk 50.125 calling cq on cw from em17 de ve4amu en19 rick

I believe VE4 to KS was off the same Es cloud Jay was hearing the N8PUM/b. 
Based on these and other recent Es openings early evening and mid-morning 
seem to the peak times to watch for late season Es on 6M. But Es can occur 
at "any time" though, as the 2003 Jan. VHF SS Sunday Es opening started 
around 1930 utc and last Friday evening there were 6M Es at local midnight 
from Colorado to Louisana.

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