=  NOW 40 WPM  =
WHICH MAY BE AVAILABLE AS A KIT, AND IT IS ALSO EASY TO HOMEBREW.
ON 160 AND 80 METERS WHERE THE ANTENNA GAIN IS 63 AND 52 DBI,
RESPECTIVELY, I SOMETIMES SWITCH TO A HIGHER GAIN DUAL BAND PREAMP
TO HEAR WEAK LEVELS OF RFI.  THAT PREAMP, DESIGNED BY DOUG DEMAW,
W1FB EXPLAINED IN THE AUGUST 1988 ISSUE OF QST, OFFERS MORE THAN 40
DB OF GAIN.  A 9 V BATTERY POWERS THE W7IUV AND W1FB PREAMPS.  THEY
WORK JUST FINE DOWN TO 7 V.  AS YOU APPROACH THE SOURCE OF RFI, YOU
WILL LIK WHAT TO EXPECT DURING THE RISE OF SOLAR CYCLE 25 SOME
PREDICTIONS FOR HOW THE NEXT 4 YEARS OF THE SOLAR CYCLE WILL AFFECT
HF PROPAGATION.  FRANK DONOVAN, W3LPL SOLAR CYCLE 25 IS AFFECTING HF
PROPAGATION IN UNEXPECTED WAYS SINCE WE REACHED THE SOLAR MINIMUM OF
CYCLE 24 IN DECEMBER 2019.  THE NEXT 4 YEARS, WHICH INCLUDE CYCLE
25S RISE TO SOLAR MAXIMUM, WILL PROVIDE MANY OPPORTUNITIES TO ENJOY
GREATLY IMPROVED HF DX PROPAGATION, ESPECIALLY WITH EFFECTIVE
ANTENNAS FOR 30 THROUGH 10 METERS, WHICH BENEFIT MOST FROM
INCREASING SUNSPOT ACTIVITY.  MY OWN EXPERIENCE ON HF BEGAN 1 YEAR
AFTER CYCLE 19S SOLAR MAXIMUM IN 1958.  HOWEVER, I WASNT ABLE TO
PARTICIPATE IN THE BEST HF PROPAGATION IN HISTORY BECAUSE I COULDNT
MAKE CONTACTS BEYOND A FEW HUNDRED MILES ON 80 METERS WITH MY 35
FOOT WIRE ANTENNA.  LISTENING TO THE LOCALS SNAGGING DX ALL OVER THE
WORLD ON 10 METERS CONVINCED ME THAT I, TOO, COULD ENJOY DXING IF I
HAD BETTER ANTENNAS.  SEVERAL LOCAL HAMS HELPED ME ERECT SOME SIMPLE
HORIZONTAL DIPOLES AND SOON I WAS MAKING CONTACTS AROUND THE GLOBE,
EARNING DXCC IN JUST 1 YEAR.  AFTER EXPERIENCING SEVERAL SOLAR
CYCLES, I BEGAN TO UNDERSTAND THAT EACH ONE HAS ITS OWN PERSONALITY,
AND THEY ALWAYS DEFY PREDICTION.  HIGHER SMOOTHED SUNSPOT NUMBERS
SSNS INDICATE IMPROVED HF PROPAGATION, AND A LARGE NUMBER OF
SPOTLESS DAYS WITH NO SUNSPOTS AT ALL OFTEN INDICATE A PRECURSOR OF
A WEAK SOLAR CYCLE TO FOLLOW.  FORECASTS AND TRENDS AT LEAST 70
FORECASTS FOR CYCLE 25 HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED IN SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS,
PREDICTING EVERYTHING FROM A VERY WEAK TO A VERY STRONG CYCLE.  THE
RESPECTED NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION NOAA
FORECAST, AS WELL AS MOST OTHER FORECASTS, ANTICIPATES CYCLE 25 TO
BE SIMILAR TO CYCLE 24.  REFERRING TO TABLES 1 AND 2, CYCLE 24 HAD
LOW SSNS DURING ITS RISE TO SOLAR MAXIMUM COMPARED TO OTHER CYCLES,
AS EVIDENCED BY ITS SSNS AT 12, 24, AND 36 MONTHS AFTER SOLAR
MINIMUM.  CYCLE 24 TOOK 64 MONTHS TO REACH SOLAR MAXIMUM LONGER THAN
ANY CYCLE SINCE 1945.  THE SUN RECENTLY PRODUCED MORE SPOTLESS DAYS
THAN USUAL DURING THE THIRTEENTH AND FOURTEENTH MONTHS AFTER SOLAR
MINIMUM.  THE SUNSPOT INDEX AND LONG TERM SOLAR OBSERVATIONS SILSO
WORLD DATA CENTER AT THE ROYAL OBSERVATORY OF BELGIUM ANTICIPATES UP
TO 1,024 SPOTLESS DAYS BEFORE THE TRANSITION TO CYCLE 25 COMPLETES,
LIKELY BEFORE THE END OF 2021.  A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO CYCLE 25
CYCLE 25 PRODUCED 180 SPOTLESS DAYS AND SOME OCCASIONAL WEAK
SUNSPOTS THROUGH OCTOBER 2020.  THE WEAK SUNSPOTS HAD LITTLE EFFECT
ON HF DX PROPAGATION, AS EVIDENCED BY THE 10R7 CENTIMETER
=  END OF 40 WPM TEXT  =  QST DE W1AW  <