‰ NOW 35 WPM ‰ TEXT IS FROM DECEMBER 2013 QST PAGE 90‰ THE WORLD ABOVE 50 MHZ JON JONES, N0JK, N0JK ARRL. ORG 50 MHZ DX DURING A SOLAR GRAND MINIMUM EVEN IF SUNSPOTS TAKE A NOSEDIVE, THERE ARE STILL WAYS TO KEEP YOUR CONTACT COUNT RISING. LAST MONTHS COLUMN MENTIONED THE GLEISSBERG SOLAR CYCLE AND THAT SOME SOLAR SCIENTISTS THINK WE MAY BE ENTERING ANOTHER SOLAR MINIMUM AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF LOW SOLAR ACTIVITY. GRAND MINIMUM IS THE GENERAL TERM FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF LOW SOLAR ACTIVITY, OF WHICH THE MAUNDER MINIMUM AND DALTON MINIMUM ARE SPECIFIC EXAMPLES. DURING SOLAR CYCLE PEAKS, F LAYER PROPAGATION COULD BE AMAZING ON 6 METERS. STATIONS WITH 10 W AND A DIPOLE COULD WORK EUROPE AND JAPAN FROM NORTH AMERICA. DURING SOLAR CYCLE 21, A STATION IN KANSAS CITY RUNNING A 3 W ICOM 502 RADIO AND A THREE ELEMENT YAGI ON HIS CHIMNEY ACHIEVED WORKED ALL CONTINENTS ON A NOVEMBER AFTERNOON IN 1979. WITH 100 W AND A SMALL YAGI, DEDICATED OPERATORS WOULD WORK 100 COUNTRIES ON A REGULAR BASIS. IF A GRAND MINIMUM WERE TO OCCUR F2 PROPAGATION SUCH AS APPEARED IN RECENT SOLAR CYCLES 22 AND 23 ON 6 METERS WOULD BE ALL BUT GONE IN CYCLE 25 AND BEYOND. EVEN 10 METER F2 DX MAY BE RARE. BUT DONT TEAR DOWN YOUR 6 METER ANTENNA DX DOES NOT END ON 6 METERS IN A GRAND MINIMUM. SO HOW CAN YOU WORK THE FOREIGN DX ON 6 METERS? HOW CAN YOU EARN THE DXCC AWARD UNDER THESE CONDITIONS? IT WILL BE POSSIBLE USING SOME MODES YOU MAY BE ALREADY ‰ END OF 35 WPM TEXT ‰ QST DE W1AW ƒ