Long lasting tropo openings

[nd2023]

What's the longest lasting tropo you ever experienced? So far I have been able to pick up distant stations like they were locals for 6 days straight in NJ. This is ideal conditions for tropo with hot air temperatures and very cold water.

 

[gar hi]

It's been about a week here and only during this time of year.

Even during the best tropo events, it's not nearly as good midday as the night and early morning.

 

[BobOnTheJob]

On or near Thanksgiving weekend 1986 (or maybe 85) in central Indiana...4 days worth of local clobbering tropo that made class B's un-intelligible at 25 miles & made all cable TV systems lose over the air locals when more than 25-30 miles out. That was the most unreal band opening of any mode that I have ever witnessed. It takes a whale of a tropo to actually hit the newspapers...TV reception was so poor (for viewers) that it made the news!

 

[Raider57]

This past weekend was unusual. 2 days straight of tropo.

 

[nd2023]

I'm sure that in the 1986 tropo, when local stations were unwatchable, there must have been some distant stations of the network affiliates that came in clearly.

I remember when my cable system encountered tropo, all the NYC local TV channels would have co channel interference lines. Sometimes if the tropo was really good, the NYC TV stations would be completely replaced by the Boston stations on the same channel.

 

[BobOnTheJob]

I'm sure that in the 1986 tropo, when local stations were unwatchable, there must have been some distant stations of the network affiliates that came in clearly.

I remember when my cable system encountered tropo, all the NYC local TV channels would have co channel interference lines. Sometimes if the tropo was really good, the NYC TV stations would be completely replaced by the Boston stations on the same channel.

The 1986 opening was from many directions...all the cable TV reception was nothing but co-channel lines--even at 30 miles. Even DXers with directional antennas had a challenge to pull signals out of that mess. If ever there was too much of a good thing, this probably was close to being it.

 

[cd637299]

Here in south FL, from around July 1-3, 1992, the freakiest tropo came in here....from PR/Dominican Republic/Bahamas first, then the next night swung a bit further west to Cuba/Jamaica*, and possibly further west the next night.

I remember leaving work, hearing Spanish Gospel on 88.1, thinking "Nah! PR?" Sure enough when I got home, turning the antenna toward PR, a nice reception, along with stereo reception of WPRM 98.5, over 1000 miles.....The best reception of all was a faint pic of WKAQ 2 right around their signoff at 3am Eastern.

Nothing nearly like it (Tropo to the Caribbean, that is) since.

[ *I phoned what is now Thunder Country 100.3 in the Keys on the threshold of the Jamaica night, asking them to turn off for the night---usually they ran an open carrier overnights. I was rewarded with 100.3 Oracabessa, Jamaica @ 1,000 watts.]

cd

 

[8638]

I've had tropo last up to 5 days here in coastal New Jersey. Last year, for the first time, I heard WFCC Chatham, Mass. on 107.5 with good quieting, totally obliterating WBLS in NYC on the same freq. BLS is 58 air miles from me, the Cape probably 200 +.

 

[gr8oldies]

If the Thanksgiving 86 event is the one I'm thinking of, the midwest was shrouded in fog for those several days.