On previous occasions, the openings have been mostly confined to the western parts of the UK where there is almost a complete sea path to the Cape Verde Islands. On the 30th of December however, the opening was further east.
The map above and below shows the stations that heard the FT8 signals from D41CV or were heard by D41CV.
As you can see below, the opening seems to have been confined to a narrow corridor and had to cross over Brittany in France and the north-west part of Spain.
In a separate tropo opening a few months back, only the most westerly French station on the Brittany peninsula managed to work D41CV as they could just about clear the Spanish coast for a complete sea path. On the 30th of December however, more French stations got in on the action.
The most amazing reports however were those from around London. Up until the 28th of December 2019, the IARU Region-1 tropo record for 144 MHz stood at 4,431kms.
Now look at the map above. The distance from D41CV to the stations in London is...
G7LRQ (4,436kms), M0HRF & M0ICR (4,427 kms) and G7LXP (4,435kms).
In terms of making a two way contact, I believe G4DCV, G7LRQ and M0ICR were successful. Others may have been as well but I don't have any further info.
Now consider this. The distance from London to St.John's in Newfoundland, Canada is 3,735kms. The signal from Cape Verde Islands is an extra 1,000kms further.
It is really incredible that a signal a VHF signal at 144 MHz could travel 4,400+ kms from some islands off the west coast of Africa and get as far as the capital city of the UK.
Tropo ducting... The map below shows the tropo forecast from Pascal, F5LEN. As you can see, there is a maritime path from the west of Africa to the UK and Ireland.
Links...
1) F5LEN Tropo Forecasts
