G0ISW Sporadic-E theorised ingredients

 Well, after around 40 years of Amateur Radio operation experimenting with VHF propagation on the 50-144 MHz bands, I have finally reached a firm conclusion as to what theorised ingredients are required for Sporadic-E to form.

This has come about from a combination of my own observations, reported DX cluster spots, published articles since the 1940's, mathematical formula, geography, scientific facts, meteorology and space weather to name a few.

Link to a clearer image here https://www.qsl.net/g0isw/g0iswpropident.htm

73 de Philip G0ISW

2026 Sporadic-E propagation

2026 has so far been a very good year for Sporadic-E propagation on the 50 MHz and 70 MHz bands here in IO84oq.

I have kept a daily table of openings which shows just how good conditions have been almost every day. New Countries worked by me shown as DXCC and missed as DXCC

73 de Philip G0ISW

DATE	TIME UTC	BANDS	DXCC FROM ENGLAND IO84
Wednesday 22nd April 2026	1600-1630	50 MHz	Spain, Portugal
Thursday 7th May 2026	1300-1430	50 MHz	Spain, Portugal
	1800-1915	50 MHz	Italy, Spain, Portugal
Friday 8th May 2026	1930-2000	50 MHz	France
Saturday 9th May 2026	1700-1800	50 MHz	Spain, Ceuta
Sunday 10th May 2026	0930-1040	50 MHz	Italy, Austria, Croatia, Bosnia
Tuesday 12th May 2026	1430-1545	50 MHz	France, Italy
Wednesday 13th May 2026	1500-1525	50 MHz	Spain, Portugal
	11540-1900		Italy, France, Spain
Thursday 14th May 2026	0945-1145	50 MHz	Spain, Portugal
Saturday 16th May 2026	1045-1145	50 MHz	Spain, Ceuta
Wednesday 20th May 2026	0730-1030	50 MHz	Spain, Portugal
	1245-1400		France, Spain
Friday 22nd May 2026	0730-2025	50 MHz	Slovenia, Croatia, Italy, Ukraine, Macedonia, Bosnia, Switzerland, Germany, Turkey, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Poland, Belarus, Portugal, Spain
Saturday 23rd May 2026	0700-2005	50 MHz	Romania, Germany, Hungary, Croatia, Bosnia, Italy, Spain, France, Serbia, Austria, Ukraine, Corsica, Portugal
	1450-1505	70 MHz	France, Germany
Sunday 24th May 2026	0735-2050+ shutdown	50 MHz	Hungary, Israel, Austria, Cyprus, Croatia, Bosnia, Slovenia, Iceland, Italy, Bulgaria, Spain, Finland
	1230-1855	70 MHz	Switzerland, Croatia, Austria, Poland, Germany, Slovenia, Spain
Monday 25th May 2026	Ended before 1600	50 MHz	Not monitored
	1000-1300	70 MHz	Estonia, Sweden
Tuesday 26th May 2026	0955-1900	50 MHz	Belarus, Poland, Croatia, Austria, Italy, Spain, Portugal
Wednesday 27th May 2026	1020-1035	50 MHz	Sardinia
	1150-1205		France
	1320-1335		Croatia, Austria, Italy
Friday 29th May 2026	NO	NO	NO
Saturday 30th May 2026	1500-1815	50 MHz	Spain, France, Italy, Portugal
Sunday 31st May 2026	0555-1430	50 MHz	Italy, Corsica, France, Sardinia, Spain
	1625-2035		Balearics, France, Spain, Portugal, Brasil, Morocco
Monday 1st June 2026	Before 1500-1605	50 MHz	Slovenia, Spain, Portugal, Croatia, Canary Islands
	1500-1505	70 MHz	Croatia
Tuesday 2nd June 2026	0715-1750	50 MHz	Slovakia, Turkey, Italy, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Cyprus, Germany, Bosnia, Spain, Portugal, Morocco
Wednesday 3rd June 2026	0900-1620	50 MHz	Hungary, Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia, Germany, Lebanon, Belgium, Luxembourg, Italy
	0940-1050	70 MHz	Czechia, Slovenia, Austria, Poland
	1525-1530		Slovenia
Thursday 4th June 2026	0930-1230	50 MHz	Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, Austria, Spain, Belarus, Portugal
Saturday 6th June 2026	1620-1710	50 MHz	Slovenia, Italy, Germany
	2005-2030		Iceland, France, Spain, Sardinia, Italy
Sunday 7th June 2026	0720-1355	50 MHz	Italy, Sardinia, Portugal, Spain, Balearics, Poland, Lithuania, Germany, Algeria
	1535-2040		France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Croatia, Bulgaria, Iceland
Monday 8th June 2026	0610-1110+ shutdown	50 MHz	Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia, Italy, Balearics, Portugal, Spain, Denmark, Sardinia
Tuesday 9th - Thursday 11th June 2026	Not monitored away on holiday
Friday 12th June 2026	1550-1655	50 MHz	France, Italy, Belarus, Ukraine
	1725-2110+ shutdown		Iceland, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Hungary, Serbia, Austria, Western Sahara, Morocco, Croatia, Bosnia
Saturday 13th June 2026	Before 0620-1000	50 MHz	Poland, Bosnia, Italy, Sweden, Portugal, Germany
	1635-2040+ shutdown		Portugal, Spain, Balearics, Latvia, Estonia, Sweden, Finland, Germany, France, Ceuta, Greece, Italy, Czechia, Austria, Slovenia
Sunday 14th June 2026	0740-0940	50 MHz	Spain, Portugal
	1020-1925		France, Hungary, Bosnia, Croatia, Turkey, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Sardinia
Monday 15th June 2026	Before 0445 to before 1500	50 MHz	Italy
	0935-0940	70 MHz	Slovenia
Wednesday 16th June 2026	1810-2045	50 MHz	Portugal, Spain, France, Romania
Thursday 17th June 2026	0850-1335	50 MHz	Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Algeria, Canary islands, Morocco
	1610-2030+ shutdown		Italy, Spain, Sardinia, France, Balearics, Western Sahara
	1740-1845	70 MHz	Spain
Saturday 20th June 2026	1140-2000	50 MHz	Croatia, Romania, Sardinia, Bosnia, Italy, Spain, Balearics, France, Morocco, Sardinia, Iceland
Sunday 21st June 2026	1350-2050+ shutdown	50 MHz	Italy, France, Sardinia, Germany, Switzerland, Bosnia, Greece, Slovenia, Poland, Spain, Hungary, Austria, Czechia, Portugal
	1450-2030	70 MHz	Austria, Slovenia, Slovakia, Balearics, Bosnia, Croatia, Switzerland, Poland, Hungary, Spain, Bulgaria, Czechia
Monday 22nd June 2026	0845-1250	70 MHz	Spain, Austria, Croatia, Slovenia, Switzerland
	1615-1710		Spain
	Before 1530-2045	50 MHz	Not monitored
Tuesday 23rd June 2026	1120-1125	50 MHz	Newfoundland Canada
	1530-2120		Sardinia, Balearics, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Canaries, Azores
Wednesday 24th June 2026	0620-1955	50 MHz	Spain, Portugal, Israel, Croatia, Norway, Sweden, Poland, Ukraine, Belarus, Greece, Slovakia, Lebanon, Cyprus, Germany, Switzerland
	0820-0825	70 MHz	Spain
	1145-1325		Spain, Balearics
Thursday 25th June 2026	0600-2035+ shutdown	50 MHz	Balearics, Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Morocco, Bosnia, Sardinia, Italy, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Ukraine, France, Switzerland
	1015-1130	70 MHz	Spain
	1625-2025		Austria, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Bosnia, Cyprus, Romania, Spain, Greece, Czechia, Poland, Germany, Italy, France
	1720-1955	144 MHz	Serbia, Croatia, Italy, Slovenia, Hungary
Friday 26th June 2026	Before 1500-2100+ station shutdown	50 MHz	Iceland, France, Bulgaria, Morocco, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Romania
Saturday 27th June 2026	0505-0610	50 MHz	Slovenia, Italy
	0850-2135		Finland, Lithuania, Ukraine, Iceland, Latvia, Sweden, Estonia, Poland, Belarus, Russia, Germany, Spain, Poland, France, Italy
	1630-1730	70 MHz	Spain
Sunday 28th June 2026	0600-1200+	50 MHz	Croatia, Italy, Spain, Morocco, Algeria
	1200-2005+ station shutdown	70 MHz	Spain, Balearics, Portugal, Greece, Austria, Slovakia, Croatia, Lebanon, Czechia, Bosnia, Slovenia, Poland, Hungary, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden
Monday 29th June 2026	Not monitored
Tuesday 30th June 2026	0730-1650	50 MHz	Serbia, Portugal, Croatia, Morocco, Sardinia, Estonia, Portugal, Germany, Cyprus, Bosnia, Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, Italy, Finland, Slovenia
Wednesday 1st July 2026	0530-1440	50 MHz	Italy, Croatia, Spain, Hungary, Poland, Germany, Portugal, Austria, Ukraine, Morocco, Croatia, Slovenia, USA, San Marino
	1625-1815		Spain, Portugal, Canaries
Thursday 2nd July 2026	0720-1230	50 MHz	Portugal, Canaries, Iceland, Spain, Canada
Friday 3rd July 2026	Before 1515-2120+ station shutdown	50 MHz	Spain, Italy, Sardinia, Poland, Portugal
Saturday 4th July 2026	0810-1145	50 MHz	Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Sardinia
	1845-2130+ station shutdown		Croatia, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Italy, Bosnia, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Turkey, Czechia, Switzerland, Serbia, Luxembourg, N.Macedonia, Netherland, Belgium, Spain
Sunday 5th July 2026	0730-2010	50 MHz	Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Croatia, Bosnia, Austria, Slovenia, N.Macedonia, Greece, Italy, Sardinia
Monday 6th July 2026	Before 1515-2045+ station shutdown	50 MHz	Austria, Italy, Sardinia, Greece, Croatia, Germany, Ukraine, Switzerland, Norway, Montenegro, Belarus, Poland, Czechia, USA, France, Romania, Hungary
Tuesday 7th July 2026	0545-0725	50 MHz	Italy, Austria, Bosnia, Croatia, Sardinia, Spain, Iceland
Wednesday 8th July 2026	0620-1755	50 MHz	Spain, Hungary, Slovenia, Greece, Sardinia, Croatia, Portugal, Balearics, Slovakia, France, Norway, Sweden, Austria, Poland, Iceland, Bosnia
Thursday 9th July 2026	0920-1300	50 MHz	Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland, Germany, France
	1605-2055		Spain, Italy, Portugal, Norway
Friday 10th July 2026	Before 1220-2055+ station shutdown	50 MHz	Spain, France, Portugal, Italy, Iceland, Finland, Sardinia, Poland, Austria, N.Macedonia, Bosnia
Saturday 11th July 2026	0750-2205	50 MHz	Italy, Croatia, Slovenia, Poland, France, Czechia, Ukraine, Germany, Spain, Greece, Switzerland, Canary Islands, Sardinia, Morocco, Norway, Bulgaria
	1045-1155	70 MHz	Spain, France, Canary Islands, Slovakia, Austria
Sunday 12th July 2026	0900-1055	50 MHz	Italy
	1645-1950		Sweden, Finland, Italy, Iceland, Estonia
Monday 13th July 2026	Before 1505-1635	50 MHz	Croatia, Ukraine, Sardinia
Tuesday 14th July 2026	0700-1810	50 MHz	Slovenia, France, Italy, Balearics, Spain, Sardinia, Portugal, Canary Islands, Morocco
Wednesday 15th July 2026	0715-1615	50 MHz	Portugal, Spain, Italy, Slovenia, France, Ceuta, Balearics, Switzerland, USA, Sardinia, USA, Kuwait, Germany, Canada
Thursday 16th July 2026	0815-1315	50 MHz	Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Sardinia, France
	1600-1610		Spain, Portugal
	1825-2025+ station shutdown		France, Italy, N.Macedonia, Sardinia, Algeria
Friday 17th July 2026	Before 1525-2035+ station shutdown	50 MHz	Spain, Balearics, France, Italy, Poland, Corsica, Morocco, Croatia, Slovenia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Serbia, Montenegro, Russia, Germany, Crete
Saturday 18th July 2026	0910-2250	50 MHz	Italy, France, Lebanon, Greece, Montenegro, Slovenia, Hungary, Cyprus, Israel, Bosnia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Algeria, Sardinia, Kuwait Serbia, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Switzerland
Sunday 19th July 2026	0520-1315	50 MHz	Italy, Croatia, Slovenia, Germany, Sardinia, Spain, Bosnia, Ukraine, Austria, Iceland, Slovakia, Romania, USA, France

2024 Sporadic-E poor but one highlight ZD7BG

The 2024 Sporadic-E season has not been good for me this year, a few openings as high as 70 MHz, but no Band II FMDX except for one day when I was away at work so missed it.

Best DX for me this year was at 1900 UTC on Monday 1st July 2024 on 50 MHz FT8 when I worked ZD7BG on Saint Helena island in locator square IH74DB, a distance of 7830km.

The propagation was a combination of TEP+Es, with the Es having a good open path at the time between the UK and North Africa.

SDR and other FM DX equipment in use for 87.5-108 MHz

 

SDR and other FM DX equipment in use

Yesterday, 12:21 PM

Hello all,

Thought I would share details of the different SDR and other FM DX equipment, I have setup here now, as a newcomer to FM DX.

My location is Penrith, IO84, at the very top of England close to the border with Scotland.

I have a SDRPlay RSP1A receiver, 1kHz-2000 MHz coverage, which has up to 10 MHz wide bandwidth, although I typically view 8 MHz. I find this wide bandwidth useful for viewing a good portion of the FM Broadcast Band II 87.5-108 MHz here. I can easily spot tropo stations and of course any via Sporadic-E, the only downside is this radio is susceptible to RF from my Amateur Radio operation, so I use the automute feature with SDR Console software. I also sometimes use SDR# v1913 software as it has an auto logging RDS scanner feature, so when not at home or overnight it can monitor the FM band for me. Finally the SDRPlay RSP1A has the ability to record IQ files in up to 10 MHz widths, really useful for later analysis of openings.

My second SDR is a new AirSpy HF+ Discovery, a couple of times each year AirSpy discount their products by 15-20% from their approved dealers. I managed to get mine for only £116 and it arrived here in less than one week. Coverage is 1 kHz-31 MHz and 60-260 MHz, with a maximum viewable bandwidth of 768 kHz. The disadvantage is I can only view a small part of the FM Broadcast band at a time, but the advantage is the filtering, it is not affected at all by my Amateur Radio transmissions. I use SDR Console software with this receiver and have it monitoring three FM frequencies 87.5, 87.6 and 87.7 MHz for any RDS catches via Sporadic-E.

Using data from FMlist I have been able to import every FM radio station details and RDS identifier into the SDR Console database, I have imported all of Europe and North Africa. I could import the entire World if I wish. Having this database means when an RDS code is received the software checks the database and records the details automatically for me, telling me also if that RDS is a match.

My last FM radio is a ready built self contained portable SDR called a TEF6866, which I managed to find online for only £94 and again arrived in less than one week from purchase. this radio is very sensitive, the inbuilt RDS decoder is excellent.

For aerials I am limited by not being allowed visible external ones. So I use a combination of Wellbrook 1530+ Loop outdoors, or AirSpy loops indoors and telescopic whips. Not ideal, but I have managed when not at work to catch some Sporadic-E openings this season and receive stations from both Spain and Portugal so far. My best being a station from Portugal on 92.1 MHz on 7th June 2023 at a distance of 1673 km or 1040 miles.

A friend who follows me on Twitter saw my interest in FM DX and told me on 26th May 2023, whilst driving his car near to my location in Penrith, IO84, that on 94.2 MHz he received a station from Algeria, North Africa at a distance of 2100 km or 1300 miles. I clearly need to try harder.😂

VHF Propagation identification determined by Min/Max distances (V3.0)

 

VHF Propagation identification determined by Min/Max distances (V3.0)
Distance	Less than 110km	110-400km	400-800km	800-2350km	2350-4700km	4700-8000km	Over 8000km
Propagation type	Line of Sight (LOS)	Tropo Scatter (TRS)
		Tropo Ducting (TRD)				TRD + Es
		Aurora (AU)
		Aircraft Scatter (AS)	Sporadic-Es (ES)		Sporadic-Es (ES) x2 hops	Sporadic-Es (ES)x3 hops	Sporadic-Es + TEP
			Meteor Scatter (MS)		Trans Equatorial Propagation (TEP)
						F2 Layer reflection (F2)
Required conditions or assists with ID	True Line of Sight is up to 50km, but can be extended by height i.e. elevation ASL or by refraction (LOS)	Stable High Air Pressure, as often seen with fog (TRD)	Raspy distorted tone & audio distortion (AU)	April to September with peak in June, small opening in December possible near Equinox (ES)	Sea path required for longest rare distances (TRD)		Often misidentified as ES alone on DXcluster, which is impossible. Main distance component is TEP and both stations need to be on opposite sides of Magnetic Equator
		Typically around 4 minutes duration (AS)	Mostly short duration pings of seconds or shorter, but can be minutes (MS)		Stations need to be either side of Magnetic Equator (TEP)	Favours Autumn to Spring months during Solar Cycle Peaks, approx every 11 years