The current state of HF ham radio and the solar cycle. Breaking down a few more Solar Weather issues in simple layman’s terms #hamradio #solarcycle #HFpropagation
Saturday (5/10/24) proved that CW can power through solar disturbances, depending on the severity and the band in question. I'd set up at The Narrows at US-1299 about 1700z. For the next 2 hours, I was able to log 31 CW contacts on 14060 khz! After that, I did manage 5 P2P contacts on 20m phone. The entire activation, signals varied wildly. A signal that was 57 or 59 one transmission could be 21 the next. That activation capped off a very successful first time ever POTA activation at US-0413 (42 phone/1 CW) just over the line in NC, followed by another back in VB at US-3997 (15 CW/1 phone). All QSO's both days were on 20m, 20 watts using a hamstick! Have fun in Xenia! 73 de KC4JGC.
I built that same Radio Shack Globe Patrol in 6th grade. It didn't work and had to have someone help me get it working. Spent many nights listening to HF and trying to decode CW.
Salty Walt for the Propagation 101 Win 🎤! Walt, I built the 20-10 Meter Vertical Half Wave that you did a video on a few weeks ago. I took a screen shot of the hand written drawing you had in the video. I used it on my current POTA Road trip to Florida. Worked like a Charm during my activation of “Lake Louisa State Park US-1893”, last week before HF took a 💩. I will definitely be using it again.
I came here for all the comments from people saying it wasn't the sun, but rather HAARP then realized it was only posted an hour ago. :) On a more serious note, great video. I got my start in shortwave radio back in the day, but before I got my first shortwave radio in 1985 from Radio Shack, I would do AM dxing in the night since the late 70s. I love watching a video and learning something new in ham radio. Thanks again, Walt.
Terrific positive message, Walt! Am so glad I subscribed to this amazing channel! Thanks and all the best to you and your most excellent subscribers...RC
Thanks Walt for the explanation and the details on propagation. Always learning from your videos. Have a safe trip to Ohio this week. Looking forward to your videos when you get back, showing goodies that you find at the show. AC3EA
Great video, Walt! Thank you for breaking some of this stuff down. I didn't understand d-layer abortion till this video although it drastically affected my sota activation(s) recently. I didn't understand why the storm caused super high SFI and yet I had to go down to 40m and work hard for a hand full of qsos. Took an hour for what I can typically accomplishin a few minutes. Keep.the videos coming! 73 de N4AAJ
Thanks for covering this topic. I'm less than a year into ham radio. This video helped me to gain a better understanding of propagation and how it relates to solar. High numbers in the D layer, bad. High numbers in the F layer, good. Those two points make it a lot easier to understand solar charts. Great video and topic Walt. 73 KD9ZRO
Be happy your not in the RF/Radio field, Walt. I got into it a few decades back, Installation and service of Marine HF SSB & VHF FM radios, Satellite Comm's, Radars... on the inland waterways. It was interesting BUT it sucked the joy out of ham radio for years. I guess being on call 24/7 didn't help either. Thank Gawd for retirement! BTW, Never claim to be an Expert, 'caues Benny Hill defined it as... EX is a has been, and sPURT is a drip under pressure. Thanks for spreading the good word! 73 -mike
The conditions are already improving. I went out today to my local "park" and made 64 contacts, SSB, using 100 watts and the 20m vertical EFHW. Took about just over an hour. AI5NQ
Your log shows a 15 meter contact to Easter Island on May 1st. Good Job Walt! I talked to a descendant on Pitcairn once - on 10 meters with a homemade 4 element quad. Wahoo.
Saw the aurora in the Silicon Valley CA. That G4 didn't total wipe out FT8 you just had to find the band that was alive. I enjoyed this video as you hit some of my hot buttons. I am late the game at 72 and doing Technician to Extra in 362 days. Over this time I have done my best to absorb as much knowledge as I can about my hot buttons, digital, antennas, and propagation. This video was beneficial in that regard. 73 de KN6ZVI (L&S)
I was really hoping to meet you at Dayton Hamvention. I only live 20 minutes south of Xenia. I’m a new HAM, only six weeks old, and you explain things on a level I can understand. Maybe next year. All the best. 73 my friend.
Recently came accross your Channel, and was surprised when I saw the Trans World Radio from Bonaire QSL Card. I worked for Trans World Radio for a few years in Vienna Austria.
Thanks Walt, I've been looking for something like this. I've been trying to learn more about solar weather impacts to earth communication and solar weather is quite a bit different than earth weather. While I've gained a great deal of understanding since I started, some things are still a bit difficult. I think anyone that operates HF should at least try to gain a basic understanding of what it is and its effects on communication, as you've provided, and think some of this should make it's way into the question pools for General and Extra. 73, KS5KY
Interesting times, Walt. We certainly can't complain about things being boring! Even at solar minimum, there's plenty to do on HF. It was solar minimum when I was first licensed and it didn't stop my QRP station making contacts all over the place. Now the sun's burping almost daily and we're being treated to some spectacular conditions. A bit of radio down time isn't necessarily a bad thing. It stops us being complacent.
Hey Walt thanks for bringing up the European ham radio show onRU-vid I subscribed and really like the podcast you guys are a great group keep up the good work
Similar background Walt. Built an Allied Radio ‘Star Roamer’ shortwave radio kit in 1967. Attic antenna. Waited up until 3 am to hear Radio Seychelles, NHK Japan…. Big Radio Nederland listener. Jerry & Dody Cowen show (Tuesdays) fan. You can still see the barren ground where the transmitting antennas used to be on google maps = Netherlands Antilles. See “1000 Steps (middle south of island). Good video. Thanks.
It wasn't pretty for us radio nuts, but it sure was pretty if you were watching the skies. The bands have been flat-lined here in Idaho, yesterday I barely heard anyone on my daily 40 meter net. That said, the bounce-back should be spectacular. Thanks for another informative video, Walt.
Great video Walt, I'd be sharing this one with friends, I also keep an eye on the KP index, this weekend it maxed out at KP8 that's the highest I've ever seen lt, I'll be looking for a higher SFI NB and a low KP index number.
Thanks for sharing. Seen quite a few of these events over the years, but if I had to read all the info about them, I would never get on the air hi. Apart from one evenings disturbence on hf, iam still working big dx , and just using my lic and getting on the air. These things come and go, but my cw qsos keep going. 73.
Great video Elmer ... errr Walt! The bands indeed experienced a massive absorption event. But, hears looking forward to some more awesome field activity videos! 73 - KF6IF
Enjoyed, as always Walt. I got good 5w contacts (20M) yesterday afternoon Colorado-North Carolina and Colorado-Louisiana. All with a ham stick. We've got a long way to go. And I might be hooked on QRP.
Nicely done as always Walt. Some predictions say the Sun Spot max could be early and in the second half of this year. It will be interesting to see if they are correct.
Bringing order out of chaos is a mindset. All we need to do is adjust our timescales - if today is not working ride it out and tomorrow is another day. I have been busy on lots of other things whilst HF has been poor and my wife is pleased that the fencing is done, the garden dug and planted and junk taken to the tip. All this should release time to play radio when conditions come back. 73 M7BLC.
Thank you for the very informative video. None of my other radio channels are making this content at the moment . Are you concerned keratin event situation.? I put my SDR player on a faraday cage along with a portable PC and some batteries lol
Walt, all of the static and the interference on the bands isn't really any different than trying to have a conversation with my kids. I may try using CW on them. Maybe that will help?? 😜 After your explanation, I think maybe the D layer must be owned by our government.
good job Walt ! Just enjoy the northern lights. we can see them in NY . lots of video's on internet ! this is just the Earth magnetic field protecting us. How I check bands often is listen to station WWV . they on 2.5/5/10/15/20/25 MHZ . transmitting 24/7 from Ft Collins CO. they send time info to set clocks and soral data as well. male voice ID is the US station and Femail voice ID is Hawaii station. you can set your radio dial to them. if you know how to zero beat SSB you can get your radio right on frequency. that station is linked to a atomic clock. also the station is on long wave. WWVB on 60 KHZ . don't have internet still can get solar weather info on HF . if you can get the station. if you can't get any the bands are really bad. the NOAA cite is great . not only do they do weather on Earth they do weather on the SUN. with all this solar going on some times DX at night 10/11/12/6 meters can open up. 6 meters would be the E layer. 73's
With radio its impressive with LW MW SW How the sun Soler winds & Soler Storm (Day and Night Cycle) Can shape the earth magnetic field That also more Radio & TV Frequency Do Atmospheric Ducting even dynamic moving Skywave Skip (multi hop) Zones
7:51 I was intrugued by the wording "baking the F-layer, and making it stronger and stronger". Got me thinking about how durable are the effects of Sun's activity on the layers. Is ther really an incremental build-up effect with sustained high Sun activity? And on the flip side, if the Sun activity would theoretically diminish or sieze tomorrow, would the charged up atmosphere continue to exhibit the same characteristics for a while? I wonder what the "time constant" is, how quickly that "momentum" gets gained or lost.
Did you notice propagation dropped the cliff april 8 the eclipse day before i had 15+s signal of just noise yhen quiet on the 8th and ever since skip few far between
