RT Clay: What is your call? I’m not sure where you are.
Chuck W5PR
On Wed, Apr 1, 2026 at 10:40 AM RT Clay via VHFcontesting <
vhfcontesting@contesting.com> wrote:
> Two years ago during the 144 MHz spring sprint there was a super tropo
> opening in the southeast/Carribean. I was copying HI8D (1561 miles) and
> NP4BM heard me (1706 miles), but we couldn't make a two-way qso. I think
> W5EME did make a qso with NP4BM (1935 miles?) however. I hope we get such
> conditions again!
> Tor N4OGW EM53
> On Wednesday, April 1, 2026 at 09:12:10 AM CDT, Ron Klimas WZ1V <
> wz1v@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>
> If April showers bring May flowers,
> does April Fools bring May Tropo ?
> No joke, it did just that 38 years ago.
> But never again since as far as we know.
> On May 10 1988, call areas W1 and W2 enjoyed
> a rare 2M and up 1300+ Mile Tropo opening to
> the Turks and Caicos islands. VP5D in FL41
> was 59 on SSB for several hours that night.
> You'll hear several familiar callsigns working him.
> Joe Reisert W1JR wrote it up in his column in
> the September 1988 issue of Ham Radio magazine:
>
> https://ia800806.us.archive.org/24/items/hamradiomag/ham_radio_magazine/Ham%20Radio%20Magazine%201988/09%20September%201988.pdf
>
> There were some discrepancies in the reporting,
> but the actual date was May 10, and the
> grid square Bob gave that night was FL41.
> It was only later discovered that he was in FL31.
> His signal at my QTH was between S9 and +20,
> just amazing for a 1365 mile path.
> What's also remarkable was the duct was narrow enough
> to exclude Florida. VP5D was in all by himself.
>
> Audio originally recorded on cassette tape
> from my then Bristol CT hilltop QTH in 1988:
>
> https://www.newsvhf.com/audio/vp5d-wz1v.mp3
>
> Besides Ham Radio, Bob Cooper was well-known
> for his pioneering work in developing affordable
> TVRO home satellite TV systems, featured in
> a series of articles in Ham Radio magazine.
>
> 73 Ron WZ1V
>
>
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