Enhancements in the amplitude of returns from a medium-frequency (MF) radar at Davis, Antarctica, have been identified and their potential use as a measure of polar mesosphere summer echoes (PMSE) has been explored. A method for finding these enhancements has been applied to data spanning the period from mid-1995 to the end of 1997. The character of these enhancements on short and long timescales has been studied, and factors that may affect their detection have been considered. It has been found that they are short-lived (2 min or less being most common) and largely limited to the months around summer. Apart from describing the character of these amplitude enhancements, this study illustrates the potential pitfalls associated with identifying a proxy measure of PMSE. ¿ 2000 American Geophysical Union