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 Previous: New Schools Join ARRL Education and Technology Program |  Next: ARISS Delegates Urged to Cast Eye on Future of Ham Radio in Space |
FT WAYNE, IN, Aug 12, 2005--(Editor's note: Carl Luetzelschwab, K9LA, is filling in for Tad Cook, K7RA, this week.) Solar activity was low to very low during the reporting period, August 5-11, which started with a C2.8 solar flare--the biggest of the period--on the first day. Geophysical activity ranged from quiet (Friday, Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday) to minor storm (Saturday, Sunday, and Wednesday).
Very low solar activity and quiet to unsettled geophysical activity are predicted for the next three days.
[Larger Image] There have been several 50 MHz spots on PacketCluster during the reporting period. These spots reminded this reporter of an old plot of sporadic E probability versus month and time of day. Although the data are from 1957 and 1958, they still offer a good guideline for the probability of sporadic E occurrences. This plot comes from one of the old geophysics handbooks published by the USAF. Note that we are moving away from the high probability months for sporadic E. |
Some of the more interesting DX scheduled to be on this weekend includes PY0F, TK, 5X, HB0, P5, HS, and TY (thanks to The Daily DX and QRZ DX). The best bands for working these stations should be 40, 30, 20, and 17 meters. Use your favorite propagation prediction software to determine the best times of day.
Operating events this weekend include the Worked All Europe (WAE) DX contest (CW) and the Maryland-DC QSO party. It is likely that 20 and 40 meters--and, to some extent, 80 meters for the Maryland-DC QSO Party--will be the workhorse bands for these events.
For more information concerning radio propagation and an explanation of the numbers used in this bulletin see the ARRL Technical Information Service Propagation page. An archive of past bulletins is on the ARRL Web site.
Sunspot numbers for August 4 through 10 were 85, 74, 54, 67, 56, 51 and 34, with a mean of 60.1. The 10.7 cm flux was 106.1, 98.8, 93.4, 92.3, 86.4, 82.5 and 76.3, with a mean of 90.8. Estimated planetary A indices were 14, 9, 34, 18, 8, 10 and 22, with a mean of 16.4. Estimated mid-latitude A indices were 9, 6, 25, 12, 6, 8 and 9, with a mean of 10.7.
Amateur solar observer Tad Cook, K7RA, Seattle, Washington, provides this weekly report on solar conditions and propagation. This report also is available via W1AW every Friday, and an abbreviated version appears in The ARRL Letter. Readers may contact the author via e-mail.
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