Category Archives: Propagation

Spectacular Auroral Display

Posted on October 11, 2024 by robert

Solar Cycle 25 has been an exciting one for sure, with many X-level solar flares and a few excellent opportunities for those of us who live around 41 degrees latitude to see auroral activity. This past week several notable flares … Continue reading →

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N5J Contact on 17m FT8

Posted on August 18, 2024 by robert

I’ve been casually looking for N5J on Jarvis Island for the past week or so.  I heard them once on 12m CW early on, and have seen many spots.  Since my operating time has mostly been between local noon and … Continue reading →

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A POTA Aurora?

Posted on May 11, 2024 by robert

Aurora watching turned into a thing when the largest Geomagnetic Storm in more than two decades gave us Earthlings a spectacular view of the power and majesty of our sun last night.  Sadly, Rhode Island weather wasn’t as cooperative as … Continue reading →

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Amazing Times for Solar Cycle 25

Posted on May 10, 2024 by robert

The Kp index reached a value of 8 today, after the planet was struck by one or more CMEs, pushing the planet into a Severe Geomagnetic Storm (G4), something we haven’t seen for 20 years.  Multiple additional CMEs are headed … Continue reading →

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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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