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Dead bands

John - KC3FL
 

20 mtrs dead, net even any FT8, same with 40 mtrs.  Plenty of FT8 on 17 and a little on 15 so I'll hang out on 17 till abt 18:00 if anyone wants to give it a try.

John
KC3FL
Jerry N9AVY
 

20 almost dead here... hearing TX and one other station.  Yesterday was pretty much the same.  So, where cycle 25 we hear everyone bragging about ???

Jerry 

On Tuesday, March 2, 2021, 10:18:45 AM CST, John - KC3FL via groups.io <kc3fl@...> wrote:


20 mtrs dead, net even any FT8, same with 40 mtrs.  Plenty of FT8 on 17 and a little on 15 so I'll hang out on 17 till abt 18:00 if anyone wants to give it a try.

John
KC3FL
Dave Tucker Nu4N
 

Well I have worked 2 on 40 this am and 1 on 20. Slim pickens.
--
Dave NU4N #1657 73's
N6MG - Milt.
 

Bands aren't dead. 20m & 17m are full of FT8 traces.
There's just no psk31 traces.
Milt.
N6MG
070-650
LONP #76


-----Original Message-----
From: Jerry N9AVY <n9avy@...>
To: main@070Club.groups.io <main@070Club.groups.io>
Sent: Tue, Mar 2, 2021 9:10 am
Subject: Re: [070Club] Dead bands

20 almost dead here... hearing TX and one other station.  Yesterday was pretty much the same.  So, where cycle 25 we hear everyone bragging about ???

Jerry 

On Tuesday, March 2, 2021, 10:18:45 AM CST, John - KC3FL via groups.io <kc3fl@...> wrote:


20 mtrs dead, net even any FT8, same with 40 mtrs.  Plenty of FT8 on 17 and a little on 15 so I'll hang out on 17 till abt 18:00 if anyone wants to give it a try.

John
KC3FL
Matthew King - AK4MK <kk4cps@...>
 

There is a very large solar storm in progress.  The "A" index is *** 26 *** right now!  The "K" index is 4.   For reference, an "A" index over 11 is considered BAD.  The "K" index is considered BAD at 3, and VERY BAD at 5.

It's very handy to keep an eye on this data.  It's always on the QRZ.com home page.

image.png

Here's an excerpt from my QRZ page that explains a lot of what you see in the picture.  


Interpreting Solar Data

“A” INDEX … 1-6 BEST 7-9 FAIR 11+ BAD - Represents overall geomagnetic condition of the ionosphere over a given 24 hour period.

“K” INDEX … 0 or 1 BEST … 2 OKAY .… 3+ BAD .…. 5 VERY BAD - This is the overall geomagnetic condition of the ionosphere averaged over the planet over the past 3 hours. K index indicates geomagnetic storms. Below 10 MHz, K of 5+ increases noise level appreciably, K of 7+ degrades HF significantly.

“SFI” … 70 NOT GOOD … 80 GOOD … 90 BETTER …100+ BEST - SFI is the Solar Flux Index and is a measure of total radio emissions from the sun.

  • Higher Solar Flux generally suggests better propagation on the 10, 12, 15, 17, & 20 Meter Bands. Solar Flux rarely affects the 30, 40, 60, 80, & 160
  • Generally, propagation conditions are best when the A index is 10 or lower, and the K index is 3 or lower.
  • SFI Solar Flux Index: When >70 then 20m opens. When > 90 then 15m opens.
  • X-Ray : Solar X-Ray emissions will cause shortwave fadeout. Classification from weak to strong X-Ray emissions : A, B, C, M, X
  • During a solar X-ray outburst, the lower frequencies are the first to suffer, with subsequent fading up the frequency spectrum over a short period (usually less than a hour). Signals crossing daylight paths will be the most affected (obviously as X-Rays come from the sun).
  • If you cannot hear signals there may be nothing wrong with your receiver or antenna. To see if a fadeout has occurred go to http://www.solarham.net/xray.htm
73

Matt
AK4MK
070 #1708  



On Tue, Mar 2, 2021 at 1:51 PM Dave Tucker Nu4N <dwtucker19@...> wrote:
Well I have worked 2 on 40 this am and 1 on 20. Slim pickens.
--
Dave NU4N #1657 73's

Jerry N9AVY
 

I don't do FT8 and probably never will.  

Jerry

On Tuesday, March 2, 2021, 01:02:43 PM CST, N6MG - Milt. via groups.io <n6mg@...> wrote:


Bands aren't dead. 20m & 17m are full of FT8 traces.
There's just no psk31 traces.
Milt.
N6MG
070-650
LONP #76


-----Original Message-----
From: Jerry N9AVY <n9avy@...>
To: main@070Club.groups.io <main@070Club.groups.io>
Sent: Tue, Mar 2, 2021 9:10 am
Subject: Re: [070Club] Dead bands

20 almost dead here... hearing TX and one other station.  Yesterday was pretty much the same.  So, where cycle 25 we hear everyone bragging about ???

Jerry 

On Tuesday, March 2, 2021, 10:18:45 AM CST, John - KC3FL via groups.io <kc3fl@...> wrote:


20 mtrs dead, net even any FT8, same with 40 mtrs.  Plenty of FT8 on 17 and a little on 15 so I'll hang out on 17 till abt 18:00 if anyone wants to give it a try.

John
KC3FL
Jerry N9AVY
 

Saw on station in TX whose 070# I needed, but "poof!" he was gone !.  Just not my day ...

jerry n9avy

On Tuesday, March 2, 2021, 01:09:02 PM CST, Matthew King - AK4MK <kk4cps@...> wrote:


There is a very large solar storm in progress.  The "A" index is *** 26 *** right now!  The "K" index is 4.   For reference, an "A" index over 11 is considered BAD.  The "K" index is considered BAD at 3, and VERY BAD at 5.

It's very handy to keep an eye on this data.  It's always on the QRZ.com home page.

image.png

Here's an excerpt from my QRZ page that explains a lot of what you see in the picture.  


Interpreting Solar Data

“A” INDEX … 1-6 BEST 7-9 FAIR 11+ BAD - Represents overall geomagnetic condition of the ionosphere over a given 24 hour period.

“K” INDEX … 0 or 1 BEST … 2 OKAY .… 3+ BAD .…. 5 VERY BAD - This is the overall geomagnetic condition of the ionosphere averaged over the planet over the past 3 hours. K index indicates geomagnetic storms. Below 10 MHz, K of 5+ increases noise level appreciably, K of 7+ degrades HF significantly.

“SFI” … 70 NOT GOOD … 80 GOOD … 90 BETTER …100+ BEST - SFI is the Solar Flux Index and is a measure of total radio emissions from the sun.

  • Higher Solar Flux generally suggests better propagation on the 10, 12, 15, 17, & 20 Meter Bands. Solar Flux rarely affects the 30, 40, 60, 80, & 160
  • Generally, propagation conditions are best when the A index is 10 or lower, and the K index is 3 or lower.
  • SFI Solar Flux Index: When >70 then 20m opens. When > 90 then 15m opens.
  • X-Ray : Solar X-Ray emissions will cause shortwave fadeout. Classification from weak to strong X-Ray emissions : A, B, C, M, X
  • During a solar X-ray outburst, the lower frequencies are the first to suffer, with subsequent fading up the frequency spectrum over a short period (usually less than a hour). Signals crossing daylight paths will be the most affected (obviously as X-Rays come from the sun).
  • If you cannot hear signals there may be nothing wrong with your receiver or antenna. To see if a fadeout has occurred go to http://www.solarham.net/xray.htm
73

Matt
AK4MK
070 #1708  



On Tue, Mar 2, 2021 at 1:51 PM Dave Tucker Nu4N <dwtucker19@...> wrote:
Well I have worked 2 on 40 this am and 1 on 20. Slim pickens.
--
Dave NU4N #1657 73's

John
 

Started calling cq on 14070 khz at 2100z, checking to
see if I can get a signal thru that signal sucking D layer
and the aurora.
73 de AL7JK #2094
Jerry N9AVY
 

Almost 2300 UTC here and just seeing a couple CA stations on 20. One is in QSO with a K1, I think - signal was a bit disjointed !

Jerry  n9avy

On Tuesday, March 2, 2021, 03:23:46 PM CST, John <al7jk.john@...> wrote:


Started calling cq on 14070 khz at 2100z, checking to
see if I can get a signal thru that signal sucking D layer
and the aurora.
73 de AL7JK #2094
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