2020 FM E-Skip Year in Review

The 2020 Sporadic E season has come to an end.  While the season concluded with a few surprising things, it was largely a disappointment, on par with recent years.

Sporadic E is a method of signal propagation that, when in effect, allows broadcast signals, especially those in the FM broadcast band of 88.1-107.9 MHz, to be received up to 1500 miles away with clear local reception. It can happen any time of the year, but it is most common during the summer months.

READ MY PREVIOUS YEARS’ E-SKIP SEASON REVIEWS DATING BACK TO 2011

After reading about other DXers recording large portions of the radio band RF during sporadic E via their software-defined radios, I decided to upgrade my equipment shortly before the season started in May so I could do the same.  This upgrade gave me the ability to record an almost 10 MHz “swath” of FM (i.e. 88.1 to roughly 97.3 FM) for over a full day nonstop with the ability to rewind and listen to every single frequency in that range like a DVR, increasing my chances of hearing new logs via Sporadic E.  This method replaced my previous ability using two physical radios to record two individual FM frequencies in hopes of finding skip.

Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans.  The 2020 Sporadic E season began in May with

2019 FM E-Skip Year in Review

Sporadic E is a method of signal propagation that, when in effect, allows broadcast signals to be received up to 1500 miles away with clear local reception. It can happen any time of the year, but it is most common during the summer months.

I have been DXing FM radio since 1999.  Although I received my first Sporadic E signal a year later, I didn’t monitor the FM band daily for FM Es until 2006.  From 2006 to 2009, I experienced hours of skip most days of the annual season, which usually falls between mid-May and July 31.  I often had to put off social events because the FM band was always inundated with skip.  Starting in 2009, however, things started to plummet.  I received 22 FM Es openings that year, and by 2016, it was down to 8.  The amount of skip heard during that time dwindled, going from 24 hours some years, to only 33 minutes total in 2017.  I experienced 100 minutes of FM Es during one opening alone last year, when I was on vacation in New York.  Although that opening was stunning given the annual downturn, the rest of the 2018 season was a dud, on par with 2017.

READ MY PREVIOUS YEARS’ E-SKIP SEASON REVIEWS DATING BACK TO 2011

2019 was one for the record books, and not in a good way.  There were four Sporadic E openings during the entire of the season.  Of the four 2019 openings, only one of the them had signals that came in for more than a few seconds at a time.  Overall, the 2019 season netted me two new FM logs, one of them remarkably a weak 250-watt translator.  Skip was heard about 1 hour and 4 minutes total in 2019.

I used to give detailed reviews of the season’s FM Es openings, but it has gotten to the point where I can sum it up in a brief post.  Hopefully there will be some respectable skip in 2020.  Even though each year seems to be worse than the last, I still keep my hopes up.

2018 FM E-Skip Year in Review

It started out with a bang but ended without fanfare.  The 2018 Sporadic E-Skip Season is no more, but even though this season has failed to live up to what I thought it would be, I still feel like it was a step in the right direction.

Sporadic E is a method of signal propagation that, when in effect, allows broadcast signals to be received up to 1500 miles away with clear local reception. It can happen any time of the year, but it is most common during the summer months.

When I started to monitor daily for FM Es in 2006, living in the summer months usually meant having to plan everything around an always-present Sporadic E opening.  I’ve turned down social invitations and put off errands countless times because a mammoth FM Es opening was brewing on the dial.  Beginning in 2009, Sporadic E came in less and less, getting progressively got worse each year until it hit a lowpoint in 2017, where I only received 33 minutes total of Sporadic E the entire season — compared to 1471 minutes in 2014.

READ MY PREVIOUS YEARS’ E-SKIP SEASON REVIEWS DATING BACK TO 2011

On the surface, 2018 seemed to be the first skip season in years where things started to turn around.  This year, I received 347 total minutes of skip with 5 new FM logs from 8 openings.  During this season, I logged my 1900th FM station, and 4 of my 5 new FM logs were received from one unattended opening on 6/6/18.

I was on vacation on June 16-24, 2018.  During that time I had two FM Es openings: one on 6/20/18 while I was outside of New York, NY, which lasted 100 minutes and brought in 26 stations from the Midwest and Upper Midwest.  This opening was very strong, with many distant signals toppling the local NYC FM stations in a manner that I haven’t seen since 2016.  Another respectable opening into the same general area was also observed on 6/26/18 while I was in Providence, RI, with a few RDS decodes but not as strong as the NYC opening.  Within the same time period and weeks thereafter, reports of top-of-the-band FM Es from other DXers flooded into

2017 FM E-Skip Year in Review

Record lows, a stunning lack of signals, and lots of frustration.  Those words sum up the 2017 Sporadic E-Skip season in Northern Virginia.

Sporadic E is a method of signal propagation that, when in effect, allows broadcast signals to be received up to 1500 miles away with clear local reception.  It can happen any time of the year, but it is most common during the summer months.

I’ve been writing annual reviews of E-Skip seasons since 2011 and although I’ve often wrote that the current year’s season was bad, I really didn’t think it could get worse.  2017 is, categorically, the worst FM Es season that I’ve experienced since I started DXing in 1999 (monitoring daily for Es since 2006).  There’s no nice way of saying it.

READ MY PREVIOUS YEARS’ E-SKIP SEASON REVIEWS DATING BACK TO 2011

Think of it this way: FM Es was observed in Northern Virginia for 33 minutes total during the entire 2017 season.  Yes, you read that right.  Compare that to 6.9 hours of skip just a year ago, and a whopping 21.9 hours of FM Es in 2012.  Skip just wasn’t happening at all this year, and interestingly enough

2016 FM E-Skip Year in Review

Is it even summer?

That was a question that I asked myself multiple times this past few months, and I’m still asking it as the 2016 Sporadic E-Skip season came to a close in Northern Virginia on July 31.

One can receive FM signals up to 1500 miles away, on average, with local, stereo strength during a Sporadic E, or E-Skip opening.  Although it can happen at any time of the year, it most commonly occurs mid-May to late July, a period of which I consider a ‘skip season.’  This year’s season just ended, and with it came continued disappointment seen locally almost every year since the 2009 season.

The 2016 year seems to be a repeat of the 2015 season, with the few substantial openings observed occurring within a few days of each other late in the season.  2016 continues the local trend where long swaths of otherwise eligible weeks/weekends had no trace of FM Es at all.  2016 was just like 2015 where the first half of the season (May-mid June) saw few openings. This contrasts with the 2014 season, where the last half of the season (June-late July) saw no or little Es, but the beginning of the season had a lot of activity.  This is also the first year since I started to monitor daily FM Es in 2006 where there was no FM Es observed at all in the

2015 FM E-Skip Year in Review

It’s that time of year again–another Sporadic E season has concluded, and it–like previous years–leaves us with more to be desired.  2015 was surely a dud.

Sporadic E-Skip is a phenomenon which allows broadcast signals from up to 1500 miles away, on average, to be received in one location during the warmer months.  And in normal years, we usually have Es openings throughout May to the end of July.

But it seemed like this season never really picked up.  The season had absolutely zero openings in July–an otherwise fertile FM Es month–and only one opening where the MUF reached 107.9 FM.  All but one of the 23 new FM logs this year were received within the last

2014 FM E-Skip Year in Review

After a summer of deadband radio dials and yawn-inducing static on every empty frequency, DXers may be wondering “where’s the skip?”

But that question will likely remain unanswered until mid-2015, as this year’s FM Es season ended without fanfare on July 31.

Sporadic E-Skip is a phenomenon which allows broadcast signals from up to 1500 miles away, on average, to be received in one location during the warmer months.  This review focuses on its effect on the FM band in Northern Virginia.

After an acceptable 2013 E-skip season, I had high hopes that this year would compare, in terms of performance, with the great seasons of 2006-2008.  Unfortunately, 2014 didn’t

2013 E-skip season in review

Introduction

The 2013 Sporadic E-Skip season ended on July 31 in Northern Virginia.  For the first time in 4 years, Es seemed to improve in most graded categories, albeit slightly.  2009 marked the first year since I monitored daily for Es in 2006 where FM Es took a nosedive, with each year getting progressively worse to the point where last year I predicted almost no FM Es at all for the 2013 season.  Thankfully, I was proven wrong and am actually delighted to experience a slightly below-average sporadic E season (based on Es seasons 2006-2009).

The 2013 season started right on time on May 2.  Although May is typically a quiet month locally with one or two full-fledged, sustained openings later in the month, I received a healthy dose of Es 10 times throughout the month, the majority being weak and short openings, but Es nonetheless.  Even with most openings being weak, short and overall only bringing in relogs, the fact remains May 2013 has seen more

2012 E-Skip season in review

Introduction

The 2012 Sporadic E-Skip season officially ended on July 31 in Northern Virginia, and with it came a disappointment.

This year’s season continued a downward spiral in all aspects of DXing which has been locally experienced since 2009. Every year since then, the amount of new logs, openings, duration and general quality of Es openings have gotten worse.

There was no Es during 35 days of the season—between June 16 and July 24. The surprising lull in a typically-busy part of the season was equally shocking since it ended with an almost all-day marathon opening on July 24 which brought in 20 new logs with regional reports of a

2011 E-Skip season in review

Introduction

The 2011 Sporadic E-Skip season has unofficially ended in Northern Virginia on Sunday, July 31.

Straight on the heels of the abrupt ending of the 2010 Es season, which ended locally on July 3, about a month sooner than in previous years, I was expecting a huge comeback for 2011.

I was disappointed.

Instead, the lack of Es seen at the end of 2010 seemed plague the entire 2011 season, with the majority of openings only getting up to the mid FM band, or to the top but with weak, and sparse, signals.