Some tasty green & purple blobby tropspheric ducting goodness on the forecast map this morning. I can hear the 144.414MHz Nimmitabel #hamradio beacon, not terribly strong but consistent

Don't have to bend your ears too far to hear the VK2RSF CW beacon, but are condx strong enough for SSB voice contacts? Mmm mayyybe

Got a couple of quick #2nSSB #hamradio contacts in the books, Greg VK1AI in Canberra at 220km and Rod VK2TWR in Nimmitabel at 328km (yes, he operates the 144.414 beacon. an absolute ham radio saint)

Added a couple of vy strong easy #2mSSB #hamradio QSOs with John VK2BHO near Wollongong at 100km and Ian VK1BG in Canberra at about 220km

@shuttersparks I get to hear that beacon fairly regularly in the summer, usually via aircraft scatter. Aircraft queuing to land at SYD fly across my RF path making for vy strong sigs. When the tropo is going, it will be 5x9+10. Had a couple fantastic sporadic E QSOs with ZL on 27/12/22, that's 2100km!

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@weezmgk Wow. Nice! I'm an HF guy without much experience at VHF. 25 years ago I did a little bit of hilltopping during a contest. Had a 13 el yagi. Made one 400 mile shot up the central valley of California. But that's about the full extent of it. Hah.

I accidentally encountered tropo ducting. One time I was coming over the Cajon Pass near Los Angeles and heard KH6 calls. Pulled the car over and worked some repeaters in Hawaii from my handheld (!) They said it wasn't unusual. Crazy.

@shuttersparks HT FM QSO from W6 to KH6 is VERY unusual, anyone suggesting otherwise is into the Maui Wowee 😆

@weezmgk Well, that would make me happier. But the guys I talked to were nonplussed. They said the repeater up on the eastern flank of the volcano often catches tropo to Los Angeles. I dunno.

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