We saw another week with no sunspots, which were last observed just briefly over two weeks ago on two days, March 8-9. Spaceweather.com reports that so far in 2020, the percentage of days that have no sunspots is the same as all of 2019, when it was 77%.
Last week we saw the spring equinox, always a good seasonal indicator for better HF propagation.
Last week’s bulletin ARLP012 reported the average daily solar flux at 70.1. This reporting week is just one point higher on average, at 71.1.
Geomagnetic indicators remain quiet, with average planetary A index at 7.7, a little higher than the previous week’s average, which was 5.9. Average mid-latitude A index was also 5.9, up from 4.1 last week.
This point in the solar cycle is a great time for 160-meter propagation because of quiet geomagnetic conditions, although as the seasons change, we no longer enjoy those long winter nights, and will eventually see the return of summer conditions with increased atmospheric noise.
Predicted solar flux for the next 45 days is 71 on March 27 through April 3, 70 on April 4, 72 on April 5-18, 70 on April 19 through May 1, and 72 on May 2-10.
Predicted planetary A index is 5 on March 27-29, 12 on March 30-31, 8 on April 1-3, 5 on April 4-5, then 10 and 8 on April 6-7, 5 on April 8-13, then 8, 12 and 8 on April 14-16, 5 on April 17-22, then 12 and 8 on April 23-24, 5 on April 25 through May 2, 10 and 8 on May 3-4, and 5 on May 5-10.
Geomagnetic activity forecast for the period March 27 until April 22, 2020 from F.K. Janda, OK1HH of the Czech Propagation Interest Group, who has been compiling this report for the past 42 years.
Geomagnetic field will be
quiet on: April 10
quiet to unsettled on: March 30, April 2-3, 7, 11-13, 20
quiet to active on: (March 27-29,) 31, April 1, (4-6, 8-9, 16-19)
unsettled to active on: (April 14-15, 21-22)
active to disturbed: None
Solar wind will intensify on: March (28-31), April (1-6,) 9, 12-13, (15,) 16-19, (20)
– Parenthesis means lower probability of activity enhancement.
– The predictability of changes remains lower as there are no indicators.
This is probably unrelated, but I happened across this video of OK1HH, with CW on the soundtrack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cut9P0MYAzU
Chip, K7JA, reports from his shack in Garden Grove, California. “Between 0238 and 0338 UTC on March 23 (the evening of March 22 Pacific Time, 1938-2038 local), I worked 3D2AG, VK4WDM, JR6EZE, and KH6U on 28 MHz FT8. Several other Australian and Japanese stations were heard at the same time. 3D2AG was loud enough to have been a solid almost-local-sounding contact on FM!
“In the same time frame but extending later in the evening (until 0410 UTC or 9:10 PM local), 15 meters was alive with Asian and Pacific stations including Hong Kong, China, Japan, Indonesia, and even JD1BHA on Ogasawara Island.
“Twenty meters was open to the Pacific and South America until almost midnight local time.
“It’s fun to catch these little “tidbit” openings; they give hope for better propagation ahead! Hope all is well–stay away from the corona bugs!”
Corona Bugs? Weren’t they a brand of semi-automatic keys? https://binged.it/2Jix2Zl
Here is the latest from WX6SWW, who sees evidence that our Sun continues to wake up: https://youtu.be/zJv8fQFb4-g
Upcoming, this weekend is the CQ World Wide WPX Contest, SSB: https://cqwpx.com/
If you would like to make a comment or have a tip for our readers, email the author at k7ra@arrl.net.
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 March 19 through 25, 2020 were 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, and 0, with a mean of 0. 10.7 cm flux was 72.1, 71.7, 70.8, 70.2, 70.4, 71.2, and 71.2, with a mean of 71.1. Estimated planetary A indices were 12, 7, 8, 7, 12, 4, and 4, with a mean of 7.7. Middle latitude A index was 7, 5, 5, 7, 10, 4, and 3, with a mean of 5.9.
Source:ARRL
News
New at ICOM Hamvention 2022!
ICOM Hamvention 2022! Take your contesting experience to the next level with the latest LDMOS power device with features supporting a SO2R operation i... Read more
AMSAT-UK announce the 2022 International Space Colloquium
AMSAT-UK is very happy to announce the 2022 AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium will be held as part of the RSGB Convention on October 8-9 at the... Read more
ICOM will announce news at Hamvention
This morning Icom announced that it will have “new and exciting is on the horizon” during Dayton Hamvention 2022 Will it be a new HF or VH... Read more
Annual Armed Forces Day Cross-Band Exercise Set for May 14
The US Department of Defense will host this year’s Armed Forces Day (AFD) Cross-Band Test on Saturday, May 14. While Armed Forces Day is May 21, the A... Read more
Global Radio Guide: Summer 2022
Global Radio Guide During times of crisis, radio hobbyists turn on their radios and tune to the shortwave “Global Radio” bands for context, perspectiv... Read more
VHF
Icom VE-SP1 LTE/PoC Radio Desktop Conference Microphone
A short video about the Icom VE-SP1 desktop conference speaker microphone which enables a simultaneous voice conference in multiple locations by combi... Read more
Iridium Command Center Explanation – ICOM
Icom’s satellite radios utilize Iridium’s constellation of Low Earth Orbit satellites. With this network, you can set up to 2,250,000 square kilometer... Read more
ICOM IC-T10 – Released April 2022. What are its Main Features
A first look at the new Icom IC-T10. Dual Band Transceiver ICOM IC-10 PDF File https://icomuk.co.uk/files/icom/PDF/newsFile/IC-T10_A4.pdf Read more
Icom ID-52 Quick Look And Highlights
My newest radio is the new ID-52 by Icom. I have had this a bit over a month and finally starting making videos on it, just to show you why I think th... Read more
Yaesu FTM-200DR Dual Band System Fusion Radio – FIRST LOOK!
Yaesu FTM-200DR “Join us for today’s lunchtime livestream as I welcome John Kruk from Yaesu back onto the channel to talk about the brand... Read more
Equipment
THE NEW HEIL HAM RADIO!
“First, we would like to thank you for your continued support of our company and products. As Heil Sound Communications continues to grow we wan... Read more
Introducing SDRconnect – SDRplay Hamvention 2022 demo
This video shows the demo we are showing this weekend (May 20-22) at Hamvention in Dayton, Ohio. This demonstrates the core underlying technology behi... Read more
ACOM 2020S | Solid-State 1.8-54 MHz Linear Amplifier
ACOM 2020S | Solid-State 1.8-54 MHz Linear Amplifier Easy to operateThe overall operation of ACOM 2020S is extremely simplified: the touch screen menu... Read more
MKU PA 23CM-1200W A – Power Amplifier
High power linear amplifier for the 23 cm Amateur Radio band Our high-performance amplifier for the 23 cm amateur radio band achieves great performanc... Read more
Antenna Genius
Did you know that Antenna Genius can be combined into a super switch matrix, expanding on the number of either antenna ports or the number of radios?... Read more
Antenna
You are using the WRONG toroid for an EFHW Antenna, Maybe!
Did you know, not all Toroids are created the same? They may look the same, but there is one big difference! UPDATE: I’m sorry, in the video I w... Read more
7 BAND HF COBWEB ANTENNA – 1 KW
COBWEB ANTENNA Multiband cobweb antenna works on 7 HF bands and up to 1000w. Bands are 14,18,21,24,28,50,70 MHz Built and modified by me for my friend... Read more
DIAMOND HF MOBILE “CL” SERIES ANTENNAS
The Diamond HF Mobile “CL” Series Antennas are a bit special. Centre Loafing is claomed to be superior to base loafing. Peter G3OJV, tests... Read more
Diamond D3000N Super Discone Ultra-Wideband Antenna
“In this video we cover the assembly, installation and testing of the 3000N Discone for use on an SDR and home scanner.” Ultra-wideband de... Read more
This Is Not A Tree – Disguised Radio Transmitter Towers
Disguised Radio Transmitter Towers Read more