I never been much into 6m until now; I have been told that one needs at least 3-el beam to make a QSO by means of E-skip propagation. I don't have a place to put a beam; I live in a condo unit and rules regarding antennas are very strict. My HF antennas are hidden in the attic or strung along the roof so they are invisible. But, somehow my MFJ-2286 17-ft wip sways between the trees which surround my patio, 24/7, unnoticed. Until recently, I used it for HF. Couple of weeks ago I tuned to 6 testing my Flex 6300 and noticed a bunch of FT8 signals at 50.313 MHz; since then I'm hooked into sporading E.

Now a few words on the necessity of a beam. Well, of course if one wants to challenge the limits of VHF propagation, be successful in VHF contests, shoot for the Moon and alike then yes, the beam is due. But as my experience in HF shows the beam is often present on the other side! And because beam antenna is so popular and easy to install for VHF, most of my VHF QSOs is between my antenna -- in this case, a vertical, and a multi-element beam on the other side!

As a proof, here is a map of my recent contacts on 6m:

...and here is how I was heard yesterday, during the CQ WW VHF Contest in which I participated and made some 28 QSOs:

So, if all you have is a simple vertical antenna, do not hesitate and try VHF during sporadic E season: it might surprise you!

73!