Signals from the Deep South region of the United States were heard in Northern Virginia during the first sporadic E opening of the 2023 season on May 31.
Sporadic E was first observed upon turning on my SDR radio at 11:17 AM, with signals mostly from the Florida panhandle and the state’s west coast were heard. At the same time, some brief signals from the Midwest, in what I assume to be a separate Es cloud, were also heard.
While most stations were weak, some signals boomed in like locals, such as 92.1 WCTQ and 97.9 WXTB and there were plenty of RDS decodes from other stations. The opening lasted a little over an hour and had a MUF, or highest frequency skip was observed, of 105.7 FM. Most signals heard were below 103.1 FM.
FM radio signals from South Dakota were heard in Northern Virginia via Sporadic E on July 19, 2022 after a quiet month in the middle of the skip season. I turned on my car radio at 8:04 PM to find fairly strong signals on a handful of signals, mostly 92.3 and 93.1. The opening lasted until about 8:45 PM with about 10 minutes of cumulative skip. It had a MUF, or highest frequency of skip heard, of 100.7 FM.
My Airspy SDR at home was recording all signals from 93.1-102.7 FM, but it didn’t observe the strong signals that I was getting at my car at the same time. It only received a brief, weak fade-in from 93.5 KIPI.
My DX Logs page have been updated with the new logs below.
= new station logged
unID = unidentified signal
90.3 unID NPR 92.3 KQRQ Rapid City, SD, 1391 miles
92.3 unID rock
92.3 unID country
93.1 KKYA Yankton, SD, 1088 miles
93.1 unID CHR, likely KRCS Sturgis, SD 93.5 KIPI Eagle Butte, SD, 1303 miles
A very weak and short sporadic E opening brought FM signals from Oklahoma to Northern Virginia on June 9, 2022.
At 6:22 PM, 92.1 KFXI faded in, and shortly afterward, KOSU 91.7 was heard. The opening itself was very weak, and while ending at 6:33 PM, I only heard about 1 minute of combined DX. The MUF, or highest frequency FM Es was heard for the opening, was 92.1 FM.
Signals heard (all previously logged):
91.7 KOSU Stillwater, OK, 1130 miles
92.1 KFXI Marlow, OK, 1180 miles
A massive, record-breaking Sporadic E opening blanketed the Eastern Seaboard of the United States on July 13, 2021, bringing in FM signals from Yucatán to Minnesota to my radios in Northern Virginia in a manner not seen in 11 years.
The banner day opening started at 8:30AM in earnest, with signals from Florida and Texas coming in off and on until about 2:30pm, when signals from Mexico were heard. The skip returned at 7:10PM with two separate, simultaneous openings that shot up to the top of the FM band almost instantaneously without warning: one to the Upper Midwest, and a much more potent opening to the Deep South. The skip ended at 10:10PM, resulting in 5.5 hours of cumulative Sporadic E reception. The majority of signals from the evening opening were from Southern Georgia, an area that is extremely rare to get here in Virginia due to distance and a usual deluge of signals from Louisiana and Tkexas that usually dominate the dial when skip is coming from that region–something that was largely absent this opening.
What set this e-skip opening apart from others in recent memory was its sheer force. Most frequencies on the FM dial were full with at least four to five stations coming in at once, making identification of any of them very difficult. Many of my local Washington, DC and Fredericksburg, VA local stations (89.7, 90.1, 92.7 97.1, 98.7, 99.1, 99.5, 100.3, 101.1, 101.5, 102.3, 107.3, and 107.9) were clobbered by Sporadic E-reflected signals, some completely gone without a trace at times. In fact, I feel the only reason why I was able to get so many new logs was that I had my Airspy R2 SDR recording all frequencies between 88.7 and 98.3 FM. Many of the new signals logged below were only received by a split-second RDS decode that I would’ve never received if I was manually dial scanning. The amount of new logs from this opening, 39, is also something I have not achieved since an Es opening on 6/12/2009. The July 13 opening also netted me my 2000th FM station logged, something I’ve been working toward since 1999.
The record breaking didn’t end there. The July 13 opening brought in the closest FM station I have ever received in 21 years via Sporadic E: 89.9 WJWJ at 453 miles. WJWJ’s state of South Carolina, with this opening, is the first new state received via Es in years, the closest state I’ve received skip from, and the only U.S. state I have received signals from both via tropospheric ducting and Sporadic E. The day’s opening also added a new estado from rarely-received Mexico to my logbook, Yucatán.
89.1 WSMR Sarasota, FL, 852 miles
89.1 WUFT-FM Gainesville, FL, 683 miles
89.5 KYFL Monroe, LA, 934 miles
89.5 WAYJ Naples, FL, 904 miles
89.5 WGSG Mayo, FL, 682 miles
89.7 WUSF Tampa, FL, 801 miles over local W209BY
89.9 WJWJ-FM Beaufort, SC, 453 miles
89.9 WMAB-FM Mississippi State, MS, 758 miles
89.9 WWNO New Orleans, LA, 945 miles 90.1 WXVS Waycross, GA, 594 miles over local WCSP-FM
90.1 WFRU Quincy, FL, 689 miles over local WCSP-FM
90.3 WJLH Flagler Beach, FL, 679 miles
90.3 WHCJ Savannah, GA, 505 miles
90.3 WEJF Palm Bay, FL, 758 miles
91.3 WLRN-FM Miami, FL, 893 miles
91.7 WMVV Griffin, GA, 529 miles
92.1 WCTQ Venice, FL, 850 miles
92.1 WNFK Perry, FL, 690 miles 92.1 WBTR-FM Carrollton, GA, 557 miles
92.1 WKXY Merigold, MS, 816 miles
92.1 WZEW Fairhope, AL, 834 miles
92.3 WWKA Orlando, FL, 731 miles
92.3 WCMQ-FM Hialeah, FL, 906 miles
92.3 WZRH Laplace, LA, 974 miles 92.5 KVPI-FM Ville Platte, LA, 1014 miles
92.5 WYUU Safety Harbor, FL, 807 miles 92.5 WPAP Panama City, FL, 730 miles
92.5 WEKS Zebulon, GA, 556 miles
92.9 WMFQ Ocala, FL, 717 miles
92.9 WIKX Charlotte Harbor, FL, 862 miles
92.9 WBLX-FM Mobile, AL, 810 miles 93.1 WKRO-FM Port Orange, FL, 690 miles
93.1 WFEZ Miami, FL, 894 miles 93.1 WBBK-FM Blakely, GA, 672 miles
93.5 XHPTLM-FM Tulum, YUC, 1408 miles
93.5 WFDZ Perry, FL, 690 miles 93.5 WZFL Islamorada, FL, 965 miles
93.5 WMRG Morgan, GA, 628 miles
93.5 WKWX Savannah, GA, 645 miles
93.5 KKOT Columbus, NE, 1094 miles
93.7 WGYL Vero Beach, FL, 785 miles 94.3 WNFB Lake City, FL, 670 miles
94.5 WARO Naples, FL, 890 miles
94.5 WFLF Parker, FL, 762 miles (received detuned on 94.467 MHz due to local 94.7 WIAD’s IBOC sideband)
94.9 WWRM Tampa, FL, 803 miles
94.9 WZTU Miami Beach, FL, 894 miles
95.7 WBTP Clearwater, FL, 807 miles 96.1 WEJZ Jacksonville, FL, 627 miles
96.1 WHBX Tallahassee, FL, 705 miles
96.1 KMRX El Dorado, AR, 936 miles
96.1 WXFL Florence, AL, 617 miles
96.5 WZNS Ft. Walton Beach, FL, 779 miles
96.5 WPOW Miami, FL, 894 miles
96.9 WDJR Enterprise, AL, 719 miles 97.1 WOKK Meridian, MS, 776 miles over local WASH 97.3 WGEX Bainbridge, GA, 661 miles
97.7 XHGL-FM Mérida, YUC, 1424 miles
97.7 WTCQ Vidalia, GA, 531 miles
97.7 KNBB Dubach, LA, 608 miles
97.9 WXTB Clearwater, FL, 790 miles
97.9 WTSM Woodville, FL, 692 miles
97.9 WRMF Palm Beach, FL, 839 miles 97.9 WIBB-FM Ft. Valley, GA, 556 miles
98.5 KQKQ-FM Council Bluffs, IA, 1007 miles
99.3 WEBZ Mexico Beach, FL, 754 miles
99.3 WKCN Lumpkin, GA, 621 miles
99.7 WJMI Jackson, MS, 854 miles
100.1 KRVV Bastrop, LA, 919 miles 100.1 WWLY Panama City Beach, FL, 759 miles
100.5 KIKN-FM Salem, MO, 1099 miles 100.5 WJQX Helena, AL, 677 miles
100.7 WDMS Greenville, MS, 849 miles
100.9 WJXN-FM Utica, MS, 865 miles
101.3 WJDQ Meridian, MS, 777 miles 101.3 KDPX Pine Bluff, AR, 865 miles
101.7 KYDA Azle, TX, 1183 miles
101.9 KMVX Monroe, LA, 944 miles
101.9 WWGR Ft. Myers, FL, 882 miles 102.1 WWAV Santa Rosa Beach, FL, 778 miles
102.1 KYBG Basile, LA, 1044 miles 102.9 KRFG Nashwauk, MN, 993 miles
103.3 KIXB El Dorado, AR, 951 miles
103.9 WYAB Flora, MS, 843 miles 105.5 WSSQ Sterling, IL, 691 miles
105.5 WYZB Mary Esther, FL, 779 miles
106.1 KXRR Monroe, LA, 928 miles 106.1 KLSS-FM Mason City, IA, 881 miles
106.1 KXKU Lyons, KS, 1114 miles
106.1 KHKS Denton, TX, 1180 miles
107.1 WURN-FM Key Largo, FL, 943 miles
107.1 WCKT Lehigh Acres, FL, 891 miles 107.3 KISX Whitehouse, TX, 1097 miles over local WLVW
Radio signals from the Canadian Maritimes, and an outlier from Nebraska, were heard in Northern Virginia on July 9 via Sporadic E. While I missed this opening live, my Airspy SDR was recording all frequencies from 89.3 to 98.3 FM. Upon reviewing the unattended recordings, I found 96.1 KICX from Nebraska in for some time at 3:31 PM. Skip then dipped and returned with signals from the Canadian Maritimes between 5PM and 7PM. Overall, skip was in FM for about 20 minutes cumulative throughout the day with a MUF of 96.1 FM. Here’s what I heard:
(unID=unidentified) = new station logged
Early opening into Nebraska:
96.1 KICX Mccook, NE, 1250 miles
Later opening into Canada:
90.3 unID CBC News, suspect CBNM-FM 90.3
90.7 CBN-FM-1 Grand Falls, NL, 1303 miles
91.7 unID CBC Music, suspect CBN-FM-5 Marystown, NL
92.1 unID CBC News, suspect CBHY-FM Yarmouth, NS
92.3 unID French talk
92.5 unID French talk
93.5 unID French talk
96.1 unID syndicated talk
96.1 unID French soft AC/standards music
My DX Logs have been updated with the new logging above.
Radio signals from Florida to Manitoba were received in Northern Virginia via Sporadic E on June 15, 2021, resulting in 3 new FM logs. At about 9:39 AM, stations from Mississippi and the panhandle of Florida slowly came in with RDS strength. Soon afterward, a few Miami-area low band FM stations were seen, also with RDS. The paths shifted slightly to Texas and Louisiana, bringing in signals from Houston and New Orleans, respectively, before flipping back to the southeastern Florida and back to Lousiana by 11:40AM. The skip dissipated by noon, but was quickly back at about 3:12PM, this time bringing in signals from northern Minnesota and Manitoba very briefly before ending for good. All in all, about 95 minutes of cumulative skip with a MUF, or highest frequency skip was observed on, of 105.7 FM.
The opening has been the best so far in the 2021 season. Signals, although with deep fades, were strong enough to decode RDS and be “seen” under local radio station IBOC sidebands on the Airspy R2 radio. The stations received were not strong enough to decode HD Radio, nor did anything overpower a local radio station, although a few semi-local signals disappeared to skip signals.
Stations received on June 15, first opening into the southeastern USA:
88.1 unID religious talk
88.1 unID ccm
88.9 unID public radio
88.9 unID religious talk
89.1 WPAS Pascagoula, MS, 847 miles
89.1 WUFT-FM Gainesville, FL, 683 miles
89.1 WSMR Sarasota, FL, 852 miles
89.9 unID religious talk
90.7 unID jazz, suspect WWOZ New Orleans, LA, 945 miles
91.7 unID religious talk
92.1 KROI Seabrook, TX, 1212 miles
92.1 KTSR De Quincy, LA, 1082 miles
92.3 WZRH Laplace, LA, 974 miles
92.3 WCMQ-FM Hialeah, FL, 906 miles
92.9 WMFQ Ocala, FL, 717 miles
92.9 WIKX Charlotte Harbor, FL, 862 miles
93.1 WFEZ Miami, FL, 894 miles
93.1 KQID-FM Alexandria, LA, 972 miles
93.5 either WZFL Islamorada, FL, WBGF Belle Glade, FL, or W228BY Miami, FL (simulcasts)
93.7 unID ads
94.3 WTIX Galliano, LA, 953 miles over local 94.3 WLZV
94.5 WJZD Long Beach, MS, 877 miles
96.5 unID CHR, suspect WPOW
97.7 WAVK Marathon, FL, 984 miles
99.9 WKIS Boca Raton, FL, 891 miles
100.7 unID ads, suspect miami
101.3 unID ads
101.7 unID local ads, either WCZR Vero Beach, FL, 777 miles, or W269DS North Palm Beach, FL, 819 miles
102.1 unID country
102.5 unID talk, suspect tampa
102.9 WJGO Tice, FL, 884 miles
103.1 WIRK Indiantown, FL, 821 miles
103.9 unID CHR 104.3 WSFS Miramar, FL, 891 miles
105.7 WGAY Sugarloaf Key, FL, 997 miles
Stations received on June 15, second opening into the Upper Midwest:
92.5 KKWQ Warroad, MN, 1140 miles
92.9 unID hot AC
93.5 unID french talk
93.5 CJEL-FM Winkler, MB, 1255 miles
93.7 unID CHR
96.1 KQHT Crookston, MN, 1166 miles
103.3 unID classic rock
103.7 KKBJ-FM Bemidji, MN, 1072 miles
103.9 unID country
A few days prior, on June 11, a much briefer and weaker opening into South Florida and Bermuda brought in two previously logged signals, as listed below. Even with about 10 minutes of skip and a MUF of 92.9 FM, this opening did net my first RDS decode from Bermuda, a country rarely logged here in Virginia.
Stations received on June 11:
89.1 ZBM-FM Hamilton, Bermuda, 829 miles
89.5 unID ccm
92.1 unID hot AC
92.9 WIKX Charlotte Harbor, FL, 862 miles
A very weak sporadic E opening was heard in Northern Virginia on June 6, this time into the deep south. I didn’t get to my radios until about 7:55PM, but unattended Airspy IQ recordings covering 88.1 to 96.5 FM found previously-logged 92.1 WECQ from the Gulf Coast of Florida in with advertisements at about 7:17 PM. From that time until I manned my radios at 7:55PM, a few other signals popped in, mostly weak, except for a very brief first-time RDS decode from relog 89.9 WWNO. Overall, the opening ended at around 8:05 PM and never really picked up. I added the screenshot from WWNO to my HD Radio/RDS Screenshots gallery page.
stations received:
89.1 unID ccm
89.9 WWNO New Orleans, LA, 945 miles
90.3 unID oldies music
91.7 WAOY Gulfport, MS, “AFR” – ccm, with legal ID, 866 miles
92.1 WECQ Destin, FL, with local ads, 768 miles
92.3 rock, suspect WZRH LaPlace, LA
93.5 unID urban
94.5 KRUF Shreveport, LA, “K94-5” – CHR, with local ads, 1021 miles
For the second day in a week, Sporadic E was observed on the FM dial in Northern Virginia. Starting at 7:30 PM, a few weak fade-ups in the lower FM band were heard, none with exact IDs, but I did hear local ads for “Lexington” on 93.1, which I am certain was previously-logged KRVN, based on other online reports at the time of other DXers getting signals into the Midwest. The opening lasted about 5 minutes total and had a MUF, or maximum usable frequency, of 93.5 FM.
Stations heard:
88.7 unID NPR, suspected KLNE Lexington, NE 91.7 unID religious 92.9 unID classic rock, suspected KTGL Beatrice, NE 93.1 KRVN Lexington, NE, 1202 miles 93.5 unID religious
On May 18, a strong overnight tropo event brought in the usual Richmond, VA, Norfolk, VA, and Outer Banks, NC-area signals from the southeast that I get many times each year. Surprisingly, the usually concurrent tropo-enhanced signals from the east (i.e. the Maryland Eastern Shore, Delaware, and New Jersey), were absent. Instead of hearing the usual occupant of 93.5 FM here during any tropo event, active rocker WZBH Millsboro, DE, I heard classic hits music. Intrigued, I stayed on the frequency, hearing a liner from 93.5 W228DX Williamsburg, VA, 98 miles @ 180 watts, “93-5 The Burg.”
The next day, sporadic E signals from Nova Scotia in Canada appeared on my radios at about 5:00 PM. The majority of the opening, which lasted 73 minutes, had a MUF, or maximum usable frequency–the highest frequency Es was observed, of 91.7, however there were a few fadeups mid-band and an outlier all by itself at 106.9 FM. Most of the signals were brief and not identified.
This first opening of the 2021 E-Skip season, although weak, by itself beat the entire cumulative duration of all FM Es openings observed on my radios in Northern Virginia in 2020, 2019, and 2017, by 34, 9, and 40 minutes, respectively. In the past five years, I’ve only seen more skip than this first 2021 opening twice, in 2018 (347 minutes) and 2016 (414 minutes). While I am cautiously optimistic of what the 2021 skip season may bring, today’s totals still pale in comparison to the 1471 minutes, or 24.51 cumulative hours I received of skip in 2014.
E-Skip signals heard May 19:
90.3 CBHN-FM New Glasgow, NS, 884 miles with a local weather forecast for St. John’s, NB 90.7 unID, suspect CBN-FM-1 with music 91.7 CBN-FM-5 Marystown, NL, 1256 miles, “CBC Music” – hot AC 92.1 CJOZ-FM Bonavista, NL, 1382 miles, “Oz FM” – rock, with RDS. Interestingly, the station’s PI code of A795 is incorrect and displays as WKOZ (the real WKOZ is on 98.3 FM in Carthage, MS).
93.7 unID with CBC news, suspect CBNL-FM Clarenville, NL 96.7 unID music fading in briefly over local translator 101.9 unID very weak signal fading in over semi-local WLIF Baltimore, MD 106.9 unID soft AC/standards music
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.
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
Signals from the Deep South region of the United States were heard in Northern Virginia during the first sporadic E opening of the 2023 season on May 31.
= new station logged
FM Radio DX 