AmateurRadio.com

I saw another e-mail in my inbox this morning from Marv K2VHW with the subject "Another flare". I groaned loudly, inwardly, because no one near me would have understood.  Then, just before heading out to the Jeep at lunch time, I checked http://www.bandconditions.com/index.htm

That had me shaking my head even more.

I'm glad I didn't give in to the temptation to chuck it all for today, because I had the best QRP lunch time that I've had in a while - numbers and predictions be damned!

I started out on 17 Meters which seemed to be in great condition. Low noise level and some loud signals. I worked EA6NB, Jaime in the Balearic Islands.  From there I wandered around a bit and worked W4B a Special Event Station for Earth Day in Florida.

After that, I switched bands and called CQ near the 20 Meter QRP Watering Hole and was answered by Dick K5TF in Atlanta, GA.  Dick had a gorgeous signal. He was pushing 5 Watts out of his K2 to a Hexbeam (secretly, I am lusting for one of these babies.  Bob W3BBO and I always dream about getting one for our stations and my good friend and fellow DXer/QRPer Steve WX2S is in the process of installing one). Not only was Dick's signal excellent, but his fist was a dream to copy. The words were appearing in my brain as if I were reading a teleprompter. It was a very enjoyable, but short chat.


From there, I decided to spend the last bit of time that I could squeeze out of lunch break by calling CQ at the 15 Meter QRP Watering Hole on 21.060 MHz.  I was greeted there by Alberto WP4L for another 2X QRP chat. Alberto was pushing 5 Watts out of his Yeasu FT-450 and sounded like he was just down the street. And I might add, another excellent fist that was bliss to copy.

If the flare that Marv e-mailed me about helped provide the kind of band conditions that I experienced today, then I hope we get them all the time! Loud signals, quiet background noise - what more could you want or ask for?  The only bad thing was having to stop so that I could come back inside in order to finish the work day out.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to senf the very least!

Sharp-eyed Roger, G3XBM, has brought attention to the recent news of a new amateur allocation granted to South Africa's amateur radio community! It's just a small slice of a band but in an exceptionally interesting part of the spectrum ... 40MHz!

Amateurs have been given 'propagation studies' permission to transmit between 40.675MHz and 40.685MHz as 'primary users' and use up to 26dBW (400Watts) of power ... a healthy assignment.

I'm not sure where the push for this new band has risen from but no doubt from within the amateur radio community of South Africa ... and kudos to the SA radio authority for establishing this unique amateur band.

Myself and others, have often stated that an amateur allocation in the 40MHz region would be a wonderful part of the spectrum in which to experiment. Almost midway between the two "magic bands" (10m and 6m), the propagation opportunities of 40MHz would be most unique and abundant.

With Solar Cycle 24 being such a weak cycle, most of North America and particularly the western half, saw almost no F2 openings of any significance. Absent were the all-day long bone-crushing signals from the east coast, followed by the spotlight propagation-sweep down to South and Central America and finally over to Japan for another few hours of ear-shattering JA signals ... none of this for Cycle 24. Yet, in spite of the lower MUF's, I noted dozens and dozens of days when the F2 MUF would shoot up to the high 43MHz region and hang in for hours and hours ... just as it did on 6m in previous cycles.

Having even a small slice of spectrum at 40MHz would give amateurs a golden opportunity to follow some exceptionally interesting propagation trends during the next few cycles ... all predicted to be stinkers, some saying even worse than '24'. With 40MHz supporting the F2, Es, TEP and Auroral modes, there would be much exciting propagation to support activity in this region.

Maybe it's time North American amateur's start talking about a new slice of the 40MHz pie ... surely there is enough space to share.

courtesy: http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/

A swift-moving Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) arrived earlier than predicted, slamming into the earth's atmosphere shortly after 0430z yesterday morning. What begin as a small K5 disturbance quickly grew to a K8, signalling the strongest geomagnetic storm of Solar Cycle 24.

courtesy: http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/

It didn't take long for the VHF bands to start filling up with auroral signals as 6m diehards soon discovered that something was amiss.

Throughout all of the day, strong auroral signals were copied and many stations were worked from here in SW British Columbia. Having the peak conditions in the middle of a working day meant hearing fewer stations than might normally be expected compared with an evening event, yet dozens of stations, including Colorado, made it out west ... even on 2m!

courtesy: http://www.on4kst.org/chat/index.php

Strong auroral events like this, especially at the equinox, can trigger swift rises in the F2 MUF as conditions return to normal. Hopefully 6m will unleash some of its F2 magic for what might be one of the cycle's last big hurrahs.

Courtesy: http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/

I like to follow the sun, but ... that doesn't mean that I pack-up and head to Hawaii every winter. I like to follow what is happening on the sun as it so profoundly affects every aspect of skywave propagation.

Where do you get your propagation information?

If you're anything like the rest of us, you probably have two or three favorite sites that you visit to collect the latest data. The news of NOAA's new solar page has been making the e-mail rounds of late and just in case you've missed it....the "Space Weather Enthusiasts Dashboard" (and what ham isn't a 'space weather enthusiast'?) can be found here.

The new site provides an all-in-one viewing experience, with up-to-the-minute reports on such things as the 'K' index, dynamic solar images from various satellites and at various wavelengths, auroral conditions, CME impact predictions (dynamic), a TEC (Total Electron Count) map, sunspot and Solar Cycle activity graphs and more. I didn't see anything showing the daily solar flux numbers (SFI) but it may be there. There is now a growing belief that the SFI value is not that great an indicator of what will or won't be happening, radio-wise, especially when it comes to 50MHz.

Another feature that would be nice, is a display of the latest DST index. This number, based upon equatorial ring currents, is a valuable indicator for the trend in LF propagation. I use the Kyoto site, which provides a real time look at the numbers. Anything positive, or a positive-going trend, is always a good thing to see.

Courtesy: http://wdc.kugi.kyoto-u.ac.jp/

My favorite site is still SolarHam, manned by Kevin (VE3EN). It also provides a smorgasbord of solar information, even more than the new NOAA site!

If you haven't checked these three sites out, have a look...they're well worth a bookmark and a daily visit ... and, you won't have to go to Hawaii to follow the sun.

With the Bz component of the Interplanetary Magnetic Field turning southwards yesterday, an unexpected incoming stream from the sun was able to interact more intensely with the earth's magentic field , producing some fairly active auroral conditions overnight. The 'K' index numbers rose as high as '7'...a rare event, indicating a major disturbance. By dawn, much of the activity was winding down and the ensuing F2 MUF spike was not far behind.

The last class of our Technician License course was held last night. We had what I guess you could call a review session.  Drew W2OU provided me with two practice exams, which I printed out and distributed to the class members.  We treated last night as the actual exam session. So not only did they get practice, but they also now know what to expect for next week.

After each exam was completed, we went over the tests together as a group.  It appears that on both exams, no one got more than six answers incorrect.  Since a passing grade allows for nine incorrect answers, it would appear that we are looking at a bunch of new Amateur Radio ops as of next Tuesday night.


To break things up a bit, we showed an Amateur Radio video in between the two exams. In all, I thought last night's session was exceptional. Our class members have proven to be eager, bright, inquisitive, and open to what we have been presenting to them.

It has been an honor and a privilege to work with them, as well as with my two fellow instructors, Marv K2VHW and Drew W2OU.  These two are amazing Amateur Radio ops and have an amazing amount of experience behind them.  The fact that Marv K2VHW is a retired broadcast engineer from WABC with a couple of Emmy Awards under his belt doesn't hurt, either!

I am looking forward to next week, and I just sent the group a final e-mail, detailing what to bring next week and basically telling how proud of them that we are. It's great to be able to help increase the ranks of Amateur Radio.  I also reminded them to relax. This is supposed to be fun, and besides, in the scheme of things, it's not like we're looking to cure cancer or end world hnger.

Oh, and by the way, I did work John K4BAI in Georgia, one of the 40 Meter Foxes last night.  I tried to work Kevin W9CF in Arizona, but I think the good props between NJ and AZ were over by the time I got home and wolfed down dinner. I see from his Fox log that Kevin worked some NJ stations, but that was while I was still in class.  By the time I was trying to work him, he was 229 - 339 at best and I just couldn't make myself be heard. There is nothing more frustrating than calling a station who is sending a CQ in the clear, only to have them resume calling CQ after you send your call!

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!