We just experienced a nearly two-week period of sunspots appearing every day.
It’s been quite some time since we’ve witnessed a continuous string of sunspot activity such as what we’ve experienced over the past two weeks. Back on January 24 through February 1, 2020 were nine consecutive days with sunspot activity, but to find any longer period of sunspot appearances requires a look back to May 3-18 of 2019. Perhaps this is an indication we’ve now moved past the sunspot minimum. You can access these older records via ftp://ftp.swpc.noaa.gov/pub/indices/old_indices/.
Average daily sunspot number for this reporting week (June 11-17) was 7.9, down from 14 over the previous seven days. Average daily solar flux slipped from 71.3 to 70.
Planetary A index went from 5.1 to 3.9, and average middle latitude A index changed from 6.1 to 4.9.
Predicted solar flux for the next 45 days is 70 on June 19-26, then 68 on June 27 through August 2.
Predicted planetary A index is 5, and nothing other than 5, every day over the next 45 days, from June 19 through August 2.
Regular followers of solar flux and planetary A-index predictions may find the forecast from June 17 amusing. None of it is correct. See it at ftp://ftp.swpc.noaa.gov/pub/forecasts/45DF/061745DF.txt. I alerted NOAA, and it was fixed in the following day’s forecast.
Geomagnetic activity forecast for the period June 19 until July 14, 2020 from OK1HH.
Geomagnetic field will be…
quiet on: June 22-24, 29-30, July 1-3, 8-10
quiet to unsettled on: June 19 -21, 27-28, July 7, 11, 13-14
quiet to active on: (June 25-26, July 4-6, 12)
unsettled to active on: not predicted
active to disturbed: not predicted
Solar wind will intensify on: June (26-30,) July 4-7
Remarks:
– Parenthesis means lower probability of activity enhancement.
– The predictability of changes remains lower as there are very few
indications.
Ken Brown, N4SO, is enjoying using the map at pskreporter.info as a propagation tool. “With the PSKreporter map set for 21 MHz, FT8 mode, call sign N4SO with the time set for last hour, do I have propagation to China, Japan or Taiwan between 2100 to 2200 UTC?
“The map shows that yes, I do have spots in the FT8 mode, from my CQ and working a station a few minutes ago from a couple of stations in China, multiple stations in Japan, and one in Taiwan, as seen on the display map on the right side of the image. It shows a path to China when I do not have decoding from any Chinese stations in the FT8 mode on 21.074 MHz from the software. The other spots on the PSK map are also mine from previous transmissions.”
Michael, W6MVT, in Upland, California wrote, “A most amazing evening here on the west coast, as ten meters was open and pretty strong to most of the country. Along with another station I had a chance to work ten stations leapfrogging all the way to the east coast. The bad news: I had to be reminded to be a courteous operator and not hog the calling frequency. A good reminder while carried away in the heat of the QSO moment.”
I will assume he was using FT8, but this is a good time to remind readers, when sending in reports, don’t forget important details, such as the mode you were using.
Here is an interesting article about the Solar Orbiter: https://bit.ly/2BkzZIc
On Monday Ken Brown, N4SO, sent this report on FT8 on 15 meters:
21.074 MHZ
Digital mode FT8
“Early morning propagation to Asia on 21 MHz is now consistent
with end of decoding signals averaging local time 2:30 AM (0730 UTC).
I have Japan and this Indonesia station for example.
“072600 -16 0.3 1442 ~ CQ YG9WKB PI88 Indonesia
Also, early in the evening, local time 9 PM (0200 UTC), there is
propagation on 21 MHz on a path to Virginia (WZ4K), Michigan (W2GLD)
extending all the way to Asiatic Russia and RV0AR, Pavel in Sosnovoborsk, Russia. This station was easily worked at 0248 UTC.
“024800 -16 0.1 1121 ~ N4SO RV0AR R-18”
For more information concerning radio propagation, see http://www.arrl.org/propagation and the ARRL Technical Information Service at http://arrl.org/propagation-of-rf-signals. For an explanation of numbers used in this bulletin, see http://arrl.org/the-sun-the-earth-the-ionosphere.
An archive of past propagation bulletins is at http://arrl.org/w1aw-bulletins-archive-propagation. More good information and tutorials on propagation are at http://k9la.us/.
Monthly propagation charts between four USA regions and twelve overseas locations are at http://arrl.org/propagation.
Instructions for starting or ending email distribution of ARRL bulletins are at http://arrl.org/bulletins.
Sunspot numbers for June 11 through 17, 2020 were 11, 11, 11, 11, 11, 0, and 0, with a mean of 7.9. 10.7 cm flux was 71.5, 70.5, 69.4, 70.2, 70.4, 69.3, and 68.8, with a mean of 70. Estimated planetary A indices were 4, 4, 3, 2, 4, 5, and 5, with a mean of 3.9. Middle latitude A index was 4, 6, 4, 3, 5, 7, and 5, with a mean of 4.9.
SOURCE:ARRL
Recent Posts
$760 Ham Radio Shack From Aliexpress?
$760 Ham Radio Shack From Aliexpress? Read more
ACOM – Manufacturers Showcase
ACOM team to discuss the latest amplifier technology. Tune in and ask the team questions. Read more
ARRL Interview Explains Background of Ham Radio in Space Film Short
Josh Tanner, the Australian filmmaker who produced the thriller Decommissioned by Perception Pictures, has explained how he came up with the idea to... Read more
Amateur Radio Helping to Fill Earthquake Report “Donut Holes”
An article describing how radio amateurs can help fill the information “donut hole” by providing post-earthquake “did you feel it” (DYFI) reports via ... Read more
Mystery Box! ARRL Expo At Home Surprise Pack
The ARRL offered surprise boxes as part of their ‘Expo at Home’ for the 2021 Orlando Hamcation. I ordered a mystery apparel pack and a mys... Read more
Another Difficult Antenna Situation
Tim, W4FTP, asks how he can use some tall but skinny trees along the back of his property as part of his antenna system. We take a look, and your comm... Read more
“Whirlwind Boom” Emergency Communications Exercise Set in Northern Florida
The amateur radio communications team of the Florida Baptist Disaster Relief has created a multi-site radio communications exercise dubbed “Whirlwind... Read more
ARES and Red Cross Cooperate to Assist Storm-Affected Residents in Texas
ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES®) and American Red Cross volunteers joined forces in Texas under the ARRL/Red Cross memorandum of understan... Read more
ARRL CEO David Minster, NA2AA, to Keynote QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo
ARRL CEO David Minster, NA2AA, will keynote the QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo March 13 – 14 weekend. Minster’s talk — part of an 80+ speak... Read more
23cm band in the spotlight with regulators
During the week 15 – 19 February, the preparatory work for WRC-23 agenda item 9.1b continued in ITU‑R Working Party 4C (WP4C)... Read more
How to Connect a Modern Radio to a Legacy Tube Amp
How to Connect a Modern Radio to a Legacy Tube Amp Read more
Ham Radio experiment – End fed half wave antenna sloper vs flat horizontal orientation
https://youtu.be/BgEtQOS8mY0 Read more
A Filament Slingshots Towards Earth | Solar Storm Forecast 02.22.2021
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNxuOtBMN2s Read more
SmartSDR for iOS v3.9.12 Now Available
Marcus, DL8MRE announces that release of SmartSDR for iOS v3.9.12 is now available for download or update from the Apple App Store. SmartSDR is a full... Read more
A direct hit! The solarstorm our Sun launched is confirmed to be Earth-directed!
A direct hit! The #solarstorm our #Sun launched is confirmed to be Earth-directed! NASA prediction models show impact early February 23. Because Earth... Read more
Radioddity Raddy RW3 Go-Kit-Type Radio AM/FM/WX, Phone Charger and More
Radioddity Raddy RW3 Go-Kit-Type Radio AM/FM/WX, Phone Charger and More [Small Size But All-Purpose] Unlike other FM/AM/NOAA radios, the RW3 is a Blue... Read more
Paper Logging and Using Fast Log Entry for POTA – Ham Radio Q&A
“I typically paper log my Parks on the Air contacts during an activation. After I get home I will transcribe and edit the log with Fast Log Entr... Read more
PANADAPTER For Any Radio DC – 160 MHz SDR Antenna Switch
PANADAPTER For Any Radio DC – 160 MHz SDR Antenna Switch Read more
German radio hams tackling RF noise pollution
DARC reports 35 Electrical Noise Area Monitoring Systems (ENAMS) have been delivered and another 20 locations are sought as part of the effort to moni... Read more
Permission granted for 60 foot ham radio masts
Joel Banner Baird Burlington Free Press SHELBURNE – One-on-one talks with fellow amateur radio operators as far away as Moscow are now firmly on... Read more