[South Florida DX Association] ARLP016 Propagation de K7RA

[Bill Marx]

 ZCZC AP16
> QST de W1AW  
> Propagation Forecast Bulletin 16  ARLP016
> From Tad Cook, K7RA
> Seattle, WA  April 21, 2006
> To all radio amateurs 
> 
> SB PROP ARL ARLP016
> ARLP016 Propagation de K7RA
> 
> Geomagnetic activity was higher over the past week, with the average
> daily planetary A index rising over six points to 18.  The most
> active days were Friday and Saturday, April 14 and 15, when the
> planetary A index was 58 and 29.  All this and auroras too were
> caused by a stiff solar wind meeting an interplanetary magnetic
> field pointing south, making Earth vulnerable.
> 
> Otherwise, geomagnetic activity has been low and should stay that
> way.  Sunspot numbers and solar flux should rise gradually, reaching
> a peak around April 29 through May 3.
> 
> Predicted planetary A index for April 21-25 is 8, 8, 10, 8 and 8.
> Geophysical Institute Prague predicts quiet to unsettled conditions
> for April 21, unsettled conditions April 22-23, quiet to unsettled
> April 24-25, and quiet conditions April 26-27.
> 
> For this week's report we were missing solar flux data for April 18.
> For some reason the report from observatory in Penticton, British
> Columbia did not show any noon data on that date.  See 
> http://www.drao-ofr.hia-iha.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/icarus/www/current.txt
> 
> So we averaged the morning (75.4 at 1700z) and afternoon (75.8 at
> 2300z) readings with the solar flux from NOAA (74) and came up with
> 75.1.  At Penticton they measure the 10.7 cm solar flux three times
> per day, at 1700z, 2000z and 2300z, but it is only the local noon
> reading at 2000z that gets reported as the official flux value for
> the day.
> 
> Several hams reported interesting or unusual propagation recently.
> Grant Hollands, VA7GO of Victoria, British Columbia (on Vancouver
> Island) reports that last week (April 12) he was sitting on a bench
> on Mt. Tolmie (a park in Victoria) running 2.5 watts into a home
> made whip.  After sunset around 0300z he heard a strong signal from
> W5QG in Texas on 14.21 MHz and gave him a call.  W5QG gave him a 4x6
> signal report.  Then he worked ZK1JD at South Solomon Islands, who
> gave him a 3x4 report.  Well, maybe none of that is unusual, but it
> is nice to know that running a couple of watts from a park bench
> using a whip antenna does allow you to make some contacts.  Grant
> said that in February 2005 on 6 meter SSB using 2.5 watts and a
> handheld he worked Hay River in the Northwest Territories.  Hay
> River is about 60.8 degrees north latitude, 115.8 degrees west
> longitude.  He notes that so far this year he hasn't worked any 6
> meter QRP DX.
> 
> Mike Giddings, G3XLB writes that even when the geomagnetic
> conditions were acting up recently, he still made contacts over long
> distances.  Mike is in London, and says that he couldn't hear any
> North American stations on April 14, but worked Asia, Malaysia,
> Cambodia and Indonesia with reports over S9.  Yet recently when the
> K index was low, conditions seemed worse.
> 
> If you would like to make a comment or have a tip for our readers,
> email the author at, k7ra at arrl.net.
> 
> For more information concerning radio propagation and an explanation
> of the numbers used in this bulletin see the ARRL Technical
> Information Service propagation page at,
> http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/propagation.html. An archive of past
> propagation bulletins is found at, http://www.arrl.org/w1aw/prop/.
> 
> Sunspot numbers for April 13 through 19 were 69, 62, 45, 45, 48, 46
> and 38 with a mean of 50.4. 10.7 cm flux was 80, 78.9, 78.4, 76.5,
> 77.9, 75.1, and 75.8, with a mean of 77.5. Estimated planetary A
> indices were 13, 58, 29, 10, 6, 6 and 4 with a mean of 18. Estimated
> mid-latitude A indices were 9, 32, 18, 8, 4, 5 and 2, with a mean of
> 11.1.
> NNNN
> /EX
>