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Band Conditions

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Karl Larsen

Band Conditions

This morning the Flux was 70 and the K index was 0. This is "Sunspot
Minimum" readings of the sun. What does this mean to a QRP Operator?

Do not re-align your K2 receiver, or re-tune the transmitter for
another 0.1 Watt of output. Leave it alone because the bands are broken,
not your radio. It will be very seldom that you hear anything much on 20
meters. And 40 meters is noisy right now.

In a couple of months we should see the K index get active (a
little) and the Flux will zoom up to 90. When that happens get on the
air :-)

You can get the Flux and K index from listening to WWV. At 18
minutes after the hour a muffled voice gives you these current numbers.
WWV is on 2.5, 5, 10, 15, and 20 MHz. They run 25 KW so you hear them
even when conditions are poor!

In about 6 years QRP will be a lot of fun.

73 Karl K5DI
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Stephen W. Kercel

Re: Band Conditions

".....the bands are broken, not your radio. It will be very seldom
that you hear anything much on 20 meters. And 40 meters is noisy right now."

How's that again? In the NA QSO party yesterday, both 15 and 20
meters were in fine fettle. On 15, I worked stations as far away as
the west coast. On 20 I worked Brazil and Russia. On a very quiet 40
meter band I worked Samoa. On 80, I worked N6ZZ in New Mexico.
Overall I had about 200 QSOs in 8 hours of operating. All this was
with 5 Watts and dipole antennas from Maine.

The bands are far from broken, and QRP is readily workable.

The only thing to be concerned about is when K>2 or A>10, working DX
on QRP can become frustrating.

Anyway, one does not need to wait for the flux to come up. There's
plenty of activity for QRPers right now.

73,

Steve
AA4AK

At 11:59 AM 8/6/2006, Karl Larsen wrote:

> This morning the Flux was 70 and the K index was 0. This is
> "Sunspot Minimum" readings of the sun. What does this mean to a QRP Operator?
>
> Do not re-align your K2 receiver, or re-tune the transmitter for
> another 0.1 Watt of output. Leave it alone because the bands are
> broken, not your radio. It will be very seldom that you hear
> anything much on 20 meters. And 40 meters is noisy right now.
>
> In a couple of months we should see the K index get active (a
> little) and the Flux will zoom up to 90. When that happens get on the air :-)
>
> You can get the Flux and K index from listening to WWV. At 18
> minutes after the hour a muffled voice gives you these current
> numbers. WWV is on 2.5, 5, 10, 15, and 20 MHz. They run 25 KW so
> you hear them even when conditions are poor!
>
> In about 6 years QRP will be a lot of fun.
>
>73 Karl K5DI
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roncasa

Re: Band Conditions

UNH??
Band conditions may not be wonderful, but I'm having lots of fun NOW.

I can still work the world (and State side) with my K1.
I don't have to wait for 7 years! (smile)

How about it folks.
Lets hear about your fun filled experiences!

Ron, wb1hga
"CW, an esoteric experience"

someone wrote:
> ".....the bands are broken, not your radio. It will be very seldom that
> you hear anything much on 20 meters. And 40 meters is noisy right now."

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w6jd

Re: Band Conditions

In reply to this post by Karl Larsen

The bands, even 17 meters, were perfectly adequate for the Montenegro (4O3/YU6) and Swains Island (KH8S) operations and I've been working Europe, including YU6AO, routinely on 30 meters with a Force 12 vertical dipole. I think that the perception that the bands are in bad shape feeds on itself and becomes a self full filing prophecy. Get on and listen! If all else fails call CQ.

Make your own ionosphere!

Doug
W6JD

-------------- Original message --------------
From: ron <[hidden email]>

> UNH??
> Band conditions may not be wonderful, but I'm having lots of fun NOW.
>
> I can still work the world (and State side) with my K1.
> I don't have to wait for 7 years! (smile)
>
> How about it folks.
> Lets hear about your fun filled experiences!
>
> Ron, wb1hga
> "CW, an esoteric experience"
>
> someone wrote:
> > ".....the bands are broken, not your radio. It will be very seldom that
> > you hear anything much on 20 meters. And 40 meters is noisy right now."
>
> _______________________________________________
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w6jd

Re: Band Conditions

In reply to this post by Karl Larsen

However I must confess to running 200 watts on 30 meters and 500 on the other bands.

Doug
W6JD

-------------- Original message --------------
From: ron <[hidden email]>

roncasa

Re: Band Conditions

heh heh

Ron, wb1hga

[hidden email] wrote:
> However I must confess to running 200 watts on 30 meters and 500 on the
> other bands.

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k6dgw

Re: Band Conditions

In reply to this post by Stephen W. Kercel

Stephen W. Kercel wrote:

> How's that again? In the NA QSO party yesterday, both 15 and 20 meters
> were in fine fettle. On 15, I worked stations as far away as the west
> coast. On 20 I worked Brazil and Russia. On a very quiet 40 meter band I
> worked Samoa. On 80, I worked N6ZZ in New Mexico. Overall I had about
> 200 QSOs in 8 hours of operating. All this was with 5 Watts and dipole
> antennas from Maine.

> At 11:59 AM 8/6/2006, Karl Larsen wrote:

>> In about 6 years QRP will be a lot of fun.

Nor does one have to wait 6 years either ... SS cycles typically rise a
lot faster than they decline, and the band improvements are much more
noticable since we compare conditions to those at the minimum. I
suspect we will begin seeing improvements by this time next year, and
major improvements by winter 2008.

Some prognosticators are predicting Cycle 24 will rival Cycle 19 (I was
a new teen ham in 53 and thought it just stayed that way all the time!).
Others are not so sure. I'm with the first group since my current
life expectancy is slowly closing in on the length of a cycle at about
minus one year per year (I hope!), and this may be the last full cycle I
get to see (again, I hope!).

73,

Fred K6DGW
Auburn CA CM98lw

CU in the Cal QSO Party 7-8 Oct 2006
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Stephen W. Kercel

Re: Band Conditions

In reply to this post by roncasa

>
>How about it folks.
>Lets hear about your fun filled experiences!
>
>Ron, wb1hga
>"CW, an esoteric experience"
>
>

>Ron:

I had 21 QSOs (19 QRP) on 15 meters between 1900Z and 2000Z
yesterday. I admit that when the flux is 70, it is rare to have 15
meter openings like the one that happened yesterday.

On the other hand, except for 0500-1100Z, 20 meters is practically
always open from here in Maine to somewhere interesting.

There was 5W0 was on 40 m at about 0620Z on Sunday morning. He was
calling CQ, and had few takers although he was a solid S8 in Maine.
He gave my 5 watt signal a 599, but I suspect that is what he had
programmed into his keyer.

Last night, 80 meters was extremely noisy, but I did work several
stations west of the Mississippi on QRP.

Many hams besides me have observed what might be called the "contest
effect." A band normally seems dead, but somehow bristles with
signals during a contest. One problem is that everybody assumes a
band is dead and nobody calls. I suspect that another part of the
problem during low flux is strong and fast QSB; the band has many
brief openings on specific paths. For example, I might hear several
California stations on 15 or 20 meters, but not be able to hear the
W6WX beacon at all.

Yesterday, on 15 meters I could sometimes hear west coast stations as
if they were across the street. A few minutes later they would fade
into the noise, and a few minutes after that, they'd be back as
strong as ever. This might account for the "contest effect." When
there are lots of contesters on, one hears somebody on those paths
that are temporarily open. Since those spot openings come and go
quickly, one hears a pretty broad sampling over time.

73,

Steve
AA4AK

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Brian Murrey-2

Re: Band Conditions

In reply to this post by Karl Larsen

The bands could be better, they could be worse. I think the real knowledge we
have about propagation of radio waves is that it is always changing.

In the NAQP yesterday, I worked CA, FL, and ME on 20 meters, in the late
afternoon, with a homebrew fishing pole vertical, and my KX1 at about 3w.

About an hour later, I worked CA, NY, and FL with the same antenna and my
SW20+ at about 1.5w

San Diego is about 2200 miles from me....both QSO's were with stations in San
Diego. I also worked San Francisco.

During NAQP the 20m band was buzzing with stations from all over. At about
5PM I tuned around 40m and there were stations everywhere.

Keep trying Karl, maybe your antenna needs adjusted?

73

=========================================
Radio Amateurs - Fill your junk box, from my junkbox!
http://www.hamradparts.com
73 de KB9BVN
=========================================

----- Original Message -----
From: "Karl Larsen" <[hidden email]>
To: "Elecraft" <[hidden email]>
Sent: Sunday, August 06, 2006 11:59 AM
Subject: [Elecraft] Band Conditions

> Leave it alone because the bands are broken,
> not your radio. It will be very seldom that you hear anything much on 20
> meters. And 40 meters is noisy right now.

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Ron D'Eau Claire-2

RE: Band Conditions

In reply to this post by k6dgw

The 'bottom of the sunspot cycle' can be downright frustrating if one wants
to work DXCC in a weekend using a dipole, but it can be a very interesting
time to be 'spooking the aether'.

I work most of my DX when the bands are 'dead'. I don't band-hop much. I'll
pick a band - may favorite DX band is 20 meters - and spend an hour
listening to static if that's what's there while tuning across the band.
That's where I find a lot of interesting contacts. Much like 6 or 2 meters
when an opening hits, suddenly there will be a signal or two standing well
above the noise, and they're often long DX - sometimes long-path DX as well.
Sometimes we chew the rag for a while because he was listening to a 'dead'
band too. Maybe that happens more now because the guys looking for a
30-second QSO before jumping off to another station are punching the
band-buttons like crazy looking for a pileup or they've given up entirely.

I exaggerated. On 20 I don't think I've ever listened to static for a full
hour. Long before then I've scared up a QSO somewhere <G>.

The other night I was listening to a very quiet 40 meter CW band. I'm
currently on a temporary antenna. It's what most would call a NVIS antenna
on 40. It's an end-fed dipole less than 20 feet up. Virtually all of my
contacts are along the west coast from my QTH near the Oregon coast. I
normally don't expect to work anything east of the Rocky Mountains.

I called a brief CQ, and there was a reply just above the noise. Cool, I
thought; I always enjoy working a weak signal. It turned out to be N9DFM,
Dave in Minnesota, running 5 watts! So I cranked down my power from 100 to 5
watts and he copied me QRP as well. Not fantastic DX, I know, but a FB QSO
and over a 1,700+ mile hop I don't normally expect to work even when the
band is very active. And all on low-slung temporary antenna.

The bands aren't "out". They're just different than they were a couple of
years ago.

Ron AC7AC

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Karl Larsen

Re: Band Conditions

Ron D'Eau Claire wrote:

> The 'bottom of the sunspot cycle' can be downright frustrating if one wants
> to work DXCC in a weekend using a dipole, but it can be a very interesting
> time to be 'spooking the aether'.
>
> I work most of my DX when the bands are 'dead'. I don't band-hop much. I'll
> pick a band - may favorite DX band is 20 meters - and spend an hour
> listening to static if that's what's there while tuning across the band.
> That's where I find a lot of interesting contacts. Much like 6 or 2 meters
> when an opening hits, suddenly there will be a signal or two standing well
> above the noise, and they're often long DX - sometimes long-path DX as well.
> Sometimes we chew the rag for a while because he was listening to a 'dead'
> band too. Maybe that happens more now because the guys looking for a
> 30-second QSO before jumping off to another station are punching the
> band-buttons like crazy looking for a pileup or they've given up entirely.
>
> I exaggerated. On 20 I don't think I've ever listened to static for a full
> hour. Long before then I've scared up a QSO somewhere <G>.
>
> The other night I was listening to a very quiet 40 meter CW band. I'm
> currently on a temporary antenna. It's what most would call a NVIS antenna
> on 40. It's an end-fed dipole less than 20 feet up. Virtually all of my
> contacts are along the west coast from my QTH near the Oregon coast. I
> normally don't expect to work anything east of the Rocky Mountains.
>
> I called a brief CQ, and there was a reply just above the noise. Cool, I
> thought; I always enjoy working a weak signal. It turned out to be N9DFM,
> Dave in Minnesota, running 5 watts! So I cranked down my power from 100 to 5
> watts and he copied me QRP as well. Not fantastic DX, I know, but a FB QSO
> and over a 1,700+ mile hop I don't normally expect to work even when the
> band is very active. And all on low-slung temporary antenna.
>

Yes that is fun and 40 meters is where you will find activity at
night if the noise is low enough. But this is not as good as it will get
when conditions improve. And they will. Then you will work DX with a 6
foot mobile antenna QRP.

If you just turn on your radio right now you may hear nothing but
noise. As you say if you tune around for and hour you might hear
something. But if your looking for a friend across country your not
likely to hear him now. In a year or two it will get much better.

73 Karl

> The bands aren't "out". They're just different than they were a couple of
> years ago.
>
> Ron AC7AC
>
>

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Ron D'Eau Claire-2

RE: Band Conditions

Karl wrote:

If you just turn on your radio right now you may hear nothing but
noise. As you say if you tune around for and hour you might hear
something. But if your looking for a friend across country your not
likely to hear him now. In a year or two it will get much better.

---------------------

Of course you have to consider the general propagation that is pretty
independent of the sunspots. 40 meters and longer wavelengths are "local"
bands in the daytime, thanks to lower atmospheric ionization caused by solar
radiation.

I think this last cycle was my fifth sunspot maxima on the HF bands. My
first was the mega-cycle on the 1950's when I frequently chatted with South
American Hams on 10 meter AM phone running perhaps one or two watts into a
mobile whip on my way home from school in the afternoons in Southern
California. That cycle has never been repeated - yet.

Of course, what's different during the sunspot minimum is that the MUF runs
much lower than during the maxima. Instead of reaching 50 or 60 MHz at times
during a maxima, the MUF might not get above 15 or 20 MHz many days during
the minima; sometimes it won't reach 10 MHz. On the other hand, geomagnetic
storms are much less frequent, so "black out" periods are pretty rare during
the minima. Of course, atmospheric QRN is lower on the higher bands, so when
the MUF is high, the problem of band QRN is much reduced. That's a major
reason why so much spectacular DX on wavelengths shorter than about 20
meters turns up during the maxima: a signal that's Q5 on 15 meters might be
buried deep in the QRN on 40 or 80.

Another point is that propagation is more stable now. When sunspots are more
active, things change more quickly. Openings open and close much more
quickly. Now the bands change much more slowly and are predictable. If you
have a weekly sked with a buddy on a given band and time of day, you'll find
the signals much more consistent week in and week out now. Of course, if
you're trying to link up over a path that requires exceptional skip
conditions, you may be out of luck until things get more chaotic again with
the rise of the next cycle.

But that's only the propagation that has been identified well enough to
study and predict. There are other modes that appear that still confound the
scientists to identify, much less predict, and which definitely do not show
up in the computer models.

For example, I have experience with Marine CW communications in the 600
meter band (400-500 kHz). Some years ago a ship in the middle of the Pacific
heard an SOS on 500 kHz in the middle of the night. Sparky woke the Captain
and they immediately headed for the signal using the radio direction finder
all ships carried then. After several hours of chasing the signal and not
being able to find anything, they finally got the whole story. The signal
was real. It was a lifeboat radio with survivors aboard, but it was in the
middle of the Mediterranean Sea halfway around the world and in daylight!
There was no way a 500 kHz signal running a few watts into a miniscule
antenna should have been heard more than a few miles in daylight or perhaps
some dozens of miles at night, but there is was, rattling the automatic
alarms half a world away.

Also, the sunspot upswing tends to happen faster than the downswing. That
is, it won't be long before hints of future chaotic propagation heralding
the rise of the next cycle start appearing more often. So enjoy this period.
It can be as interesting as the peaks, in its own way.

Ron AC7AC

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Brian Murrey-2

Re: Band Conditions

In reply to this post by Karl Larsen

I worked LU5DYV in Argentina on June 10th, on 20m.

I did it with a Anttron Hamwhip on my Taurus while driving across I-70 in
Indiana.

The rig, was the awesome KX-1 at about 2w. A few mins later I hear N5KY in
QSO all the way from Albequrque NM...he gave me an honest to goodness 569 on
my KX1 2w mobile. He was running 500w and was blowing my headphones off.
GREAT fist.

I would suggest if you want to work DX on 20m, you turn on the radio and do
some listening for a bit. Seems like when it opens, it is really open...but
it may only last 20-30 minutes.

73

=========================================
Radio Amateurs - Fill your junk box, from my junkbox!
http://www.hamradparts.com
73 de KB9BVN
=========================================

----- Original Message -----
From: "Karl Larsen" <[hidden email]>
To: "Ron D'Eau Claire" <[hidden email]>
Cc: "'Elecraft Reflector'" <[hidden email]>
Sent: Sunday, August 06, 2006 4:39 PM
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Band Conditions

> Yes that is fun and 40 meters is where you will find activity at
> night if the noise is low enough. But this is not as good as it will get
> when conditions improve. And they will. Then you will work DX with a 6
> foot mobile antenna QRP.

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Geoffrey Mackenzie-Kennedy-2

Re: Band Conditions

In reply to this post by Karl Larsen

Karl Larsen wrote:

> Yes that is fun and 40 meters is where you will find activity at night
> if the noise is low enough. But this is not as good as it will get when
> conditions improve. And they will. Then you will work DX with a 6 foot
> mobile antenna QRP.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Worked K8HGY/ 3 mobile in motion in Virginia on 40m SSB this morning at
0141Z. I have heard Rich on occasion before when he was mobile, so this was
not a fluke QSO. 40m was hopping with Stateside signals during the NAQP.

73,
Geoff
GM4ESD

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