[Lowfer] The Friday Expedition

[JD]

While working on the fence row with the tractor yesterday, I let the CR-1 do 
what it does reasonably well...keep a watch on HF.  HiFER reception has been 
poor recently, but there were hopeful signs at mid-day yesterday.  NC and EH 
were fading in and out over roughly 3 minute cycles, and no SIW yet, but 
every so often I could see MP in there too, so I had hope.  I turned on 
captures and went outside to work.

At mid-to-late-afternoon, there was once capture showing a single very 
strong upstroke of SIW slant mode--nothing before, nothing after, just that 
one slope!  Meanwhile, down about 13555.3, there was a complete set of WM 
IDs on screen.  By late afternoon, SIW slant faded in abruptly and WM was 
consistent for a while.  Then, equally abruptly, the ionosphere kicked in 15 
or 20 dB of attenuation on the path from Elgin, IL, and a minute later did 
the same to WM.  That result can be seen here:

http://lwca.org/mb/msg/5115.htm

Everything at 22 meters seemed abrupt yesterday, in fact. Codar seemed to be 
switched on and dominate everything for a while, and then attenuation would 
be switched in again, leaving it just a mild clatter.

Today I'm on my way out to listen for daytime LF with the Kenwood, if the 
thunderstorms on the Nebraska-Iowa border aren't too noisy.

John