operators thru the use of the "VHF Reflector" via emails. Late in June of
1995 the word got out that WB9AJZ/6 was hearing the KH6HME beacon with his mobile rig around 1900Z down in the SF Bay area.
de Dave, N7DB CN85
The first known station to have heard the KH6HME beacon was Arliss, W7XU, when he lived in Damascus (about 15mi. SE of Portland.) This was once in the earlier part of the '90's.
The next time the KH6
Duct made it into the Northwest, a number of
stations actually made contact.
By the middle of the
'90's, the Internet was just starting to be used by
operators thru the use of the "VHF Reflector" via emails.
Late in June of
1995 the word got out that WB9AJZ/6 was hearing the KH6HME beacon
with his mobile rig around 1900Z down in the SF Bay area.
Note:on this picture,
you can make out some of the snow capped peaks here in
the Northwest.
Now, the weather condition
you should keep in mind is that a HOT thermal
low was in the Portland area around this time. Hot Gorge winds and
temperatures in the low 100's. The next picture is from the evening.
You
should still be able to make out the cloud bank along the coast.
The
picture is at 0300Z (8PM PDT.) Later this evening, N7AVK (now W7EW)
worked KH6HME on 2M via the KH6 Duct (0640Z.)
Our third picture is
from the next morning around 9AM. By midday, N7AVK
was reporting the KH6HME beacon at 10/S9 on 144.170. Note how the
cloud
bank has moved up the coast from the previous day shot.
Picture number 4 is from
the following morning. The Duct was still in
play. Operators in the Seattle area had worked KH6HME around midnight
(0700Z.) N0XX/7 near Eugene was the only station to work(?) KH6
later
this day.
N0XX/7 may have worked
KH6HME this afternoon. N7AVK could not hear Paul
by this time (2100Z.)
This last picture shows
the cloud pattern when the KH6 Duct left us. Note
how the cloud bank went to the south and broke up the pattern. You
can
also see the cooler air coming in from the northwest.
There was at least one
other time later in the '90's that the Duct was
into the Northwest, but not to the extent as in the summer of '95.
Seems
like this other time was in August. Similar condition with the thermal
low up here, but not as hot.
So, what should one look
for? The first tip off will be reports of the
KH6 beacon into California. Chances are, we will be experiencing
very HOT
weather with a thermal low pressure area over us. Probably have
hot Gorge
winds in the Portland area. The next thing to watch are the VISIBLE
weather satellite photos. The cloud banks we are looking for are
at low
levels and do not show up on the IR and water vapor photos.
The following links should
come in handy when the KH6 Duct makes a run
into the Northwest:
The NOAA GOES site:
<http://www.goes.noaa.gov/>
The US Navy weather
satellite site (excellent data):
<http://www.nrlmry.navy.mil/sat-bin/epac_westcoast.cgi>
The 2M Propagation Logger:
<http://dxworld.com/144prop.html>
And the KH6FOO site:
<http://www.hiloweb.com/kh6foo/index.html>
This page gives you some info on the KH6HME beacon and other data.
So, please keep a copy
of these images as they give you a clue to the way
the weather pattern will look in the eastern Pacific when the KH6
Duct
makes its way up the Coast. The next time we get KH6 via the Duct,
be
sure to download the weather satellite images as there is very short
time
frame that archived images may be available.
de Dave