Some Tropo on 1296MHz.

This is interesting.

The last few days we have had some good tropo over the Baltic.

Yesterday the SR1KOL in JO74TE came through a good deal of the afternoon and evening. It did fade in the late evening, and it may have been there through the night.

Distance from JO65CP is close to 270km. Given that I am using a vertical omnidirectional antenna, I am impressed of the signal coming through.

Today, I started listening in the early afternoon, and it was already there. Through the whole afternoon until writing this about 2230 (2030UTC), the signal has been there consistently. Many times with S5.

I am still impressed. Others around me with horizontal antennas hear it S9 a lot of the time, not surprising.

I checked on the map. It turns out that I have an excellent path from my antenna, sloping down to Koege Bugt, then more than 250km across the Baltic Sea. It may not be so surprising that I have heard this beacon quite often. Only a tiny low lying piece of Sweden (Falsterbo) is "in the way. When I get a horizontal antenna up again, I will monitor this path on a more regular basis.

In another direction I have the DB0VC beacon in JO54IF, I have heard it once or twice with the vertical with a more obstructed path. When I had a small horizontal yagi up about 7m, I heard it regularly at just over 180km.