‰  NOW 30 WPM  ‰  TEXT IS FROM AUGUST 2019 QST  PAGE 40‰

THE NEXT 4 HOURS FOR A TOTAL OF 337 BEACONS BY 1300 UTC.  THEN, THE
PRESENCE OF BEACONS, NEW OR NOT, SIMPLY STOPPED.  UNLIKE AFTER SUNSET, THEY
DIDNT FADE OUT SLOWLY AND STEADILY, THEY SIMPLY DISAPPEARED.  IN LESS THAN
HALF AN HOUR, THE NUMBER OF BEACONS FELL FROM 146 AT 1300 UTC TO THREE THE
NEXT HOUR AND THEN ONLY FIVE MORE BEACONS FROM THEN UNTIL SUNSET.  ALSO,
THE SEPARATION BETWEEN SUNSET/ SUNRISE PHENOMENA AT LF IS VERY SHORT.  ONLY
3 HOURS ELAPSED BETWEEN DOUBLE DIGIT RECEPTION OF BEACONS AT SUNSET 0100
0200 UTC AND AT SUNRISE 0901 1000 UTC.  BETWEEN THOSE TIMES, FOUR BEACONS
WERE HEARD AT 0601 0700 UTC AND THREE AT 0801 0900 UTC, WITH THE MIDDLE
HOUR 0701 0800 UTC DEVOID OF BEACONS.  GIVEN THAT, THE BRIEF PERIOD OF 3
HOURS COULD BE VIEWED AS A LULL OR PAUSE RATHER THAN A SEPARATION,
SUGGESTING THAT SOME LEVEL OF COMMUNICATIONS COULD BE MAINTAINED
CONTINUOUSLY FROM SUNSET TO SUNRISE.  PROPAGATION ALSO VARIED ACROSS A
CUMULATIVE 12 MONTH YEAR.  THE BEACON SEASON, OF COURSE, DEPENDS ON YOUR
LOCATIONS LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE, WHICH DETERMINE HOW MUCH ATMOSPHERIC
NOISE IS PRESENT DURING THE YEAR AND WHEN SOLAR CONDITIONS BEGIN TO FAVOR
‰  END OF 30 WPM TEXT  ‰  QST DE W1AW  ƒ