[PPRAANet] QRP To The Field (QRPTTF) is this Saturday

[Paul Signorelli]

Msg from NA5N via w0rw...
A reminder that QRP To The Field (QRPTTF) is this Saturday and the bands
are hopping.
http://www.zianet.com/qrp/qrpttf/pg.html
or on the WA7BNM Contest Page:
https://www.contestcalendar.com/weeklycont.php

Yesterday I worked Italy, France and Japan QRP on 15M and a PY2 (Brazil) on
10M with SFI=135 and 559 reports.  Now it's 160.  Haven't seen conditions
like this in years.  You don't have to wait until Saturday for some QRP
fun, check out the bands now as well.

Take a look at the Space Weather summary at:
https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/communities/space-weather-enthusiasts

The visible light image shows four large sunspot groups moving towards the
center of the sun producing M and X class flares past three days, and will
no doubt continue to do so over the next week.  Showering the Earth with
ionizing radiation will keep the solar flux and MUF high for 15M and 10M
openings daylight hours.  Even 20M remained opened last night well past
sundown.

Of course, solar flares also produce coronal mass ejections (CME) that can
trigger strong geomagnetic storms.  With the sunspots on the limb of the
sun, we'll likely get only a glancing blow from the recent flares.
However, large flares over the next few days will be more Earth directed,
causing geomagnetic storms about 3 days later.  A huge flare later today
COULD cause lousy conditions on 40 and 80M, but only improve the higher
bands.

GENERAL "RULES OF THE THUMB"

Monitor the NOAA SWPC website above for solar flares (the x-ray flux
graph).  A large flare (M.5 or higher) will ionize the D-layer for an HF
blackout.  However, this is short lived, an hour or so.  Once that boils
off, there will be a boost to the solar flux and the E and F layers will be
very reflective on 20M and above for good propagation on the higher bands
the rest of daylight hours.  So don't let reports of a large solar flare
scare you off the bands.  A flare will quickly recover for good higher band
propagation.

Any Earth directed CME from a large flare will hit the Earth about 3 days
later, which generally causes high noise and weak signals on 10MHz (30M)
and below, but little effect on the higher bands.

During daylight hours, there is little reason to work 40M, when 20M and
above will be the working bands.

I'll be setting up in the back yard and probably spend as much time on 15M
as I can, checking out 10M now and then.

GL to all.  Dust off your QRP rig and enjoy the bands.

72, Paul NA5N