Category Archives: Propagation

CWops CWT Silver Medal Achieved

Posted on July 21, 2023 by robert

As of early yesterday morning (3 AM), I completed CWT #90 on the year.  This earns the Silver Medal (which I achieved my first year).  I need 30 more contests to get to 120 and earn the Gold Medal (which … Continue reading →

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Solar Cycle 25 now out of prediction bounds…

Posted on July 11, 2023 by robert

As I type this, my side of the planet has undergone a sudden R2 radio blackout due to a M 6.8 solar flare.  Sadly no 40/20/15 meter contacts for the next few hours. As I was confirming the flare, I … Continue reading →

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Added Hawaii to POTA WAS list

Posted on March 26, 2023 by robert

The Parks-on-the-Air (POTA) program is somewhat unique in that they have 51 entities listed for Worked All States (WAS); the usual 50 plus DC as a “wildcard”.  I had worked DC, so when I had 49 states confirmed this January, … Continue reading →

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Park #51 in Rhode Island Activated

Posted on April 2, 2022 by robert

I had forgotten how long it had been since my last activation (November 9, 2021), and how nice it was to be outside.  My wife, dog Jaclyn, and I drove to Beach Pond (K-6980) which is on the boarder of … Continue reading →

Posted in Activation, HamStick, IC-7300, Portable, POTA, Propagation | 3 Comments

Solar Cycle 25 Continues to Amaze

Posted on January 15, 2022 by robert

The official prediction for Solar Cycle 25 was a bit disappointing, with most forecasters agreeing that it would be similar to Solar Cycle 24, and only a few suggesting it might be better. Well, in the 15 months since Solar … Continue reading →

Posted in Propagation, Solar Cycles | 4 Comments

Increasing Solar Activity in Cycle 25 == DX fun!

Posted on November 1, 2021 by robert

Solar Cycle 25 is well underway with Sunspot Numbers at values not seen in six years! (Above the prediction for this early in the cycle 25).  I’ve been having fun on all the higher frequency bands recently, with 10/12/15 open … Continue reading →

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NEVER seen this much 6m activity

Posted on July 14, 2021 by Bob Beatty

Six meters is open to the mid-west.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen this many stations decoding.  I noticed that 10 meters was also quite hot today. Boy Cycle 25 is getting hot, even here close to the bottom! The … Continue reading →

Posted in 6-Meters, Propagation | 2 Comments

Solar Cycle 25 OFFICIALLY Underway

Posted on September 15, 2020 by robert

NASA and NOAA made the announcement earlier today: Solar Cycle 25 is underway, with Cycle 24 ending in December of 2019.  Their best estimate is that it will be similar to Cycle 24, so nothing to write home about, but … Continue reading →

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Use Propagation Tools but check outside times too!

Posted on February 26, 2020 by Bob Beatty

Just worked VP8PJ on 10.105 MHz at 21:45 UTC.  Propagation chart says very small chance of working them now.  That said, their signal is 3 to 4 S-units above the noise floor.  I worked them with 100 watts on CW. … Continue reading →

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Who says HF is dead during the solar minimum?

Posted on October 30, 2019 by Bob Beatty

A friend of mine, Bob W1YRC, has often said that some of his best DX happens during sunspot minimums.  He certainly is right.  While it is true that we lack effective sunspots, so our Solar Flux readings are very low, … Continue reading →

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