This past week was characterised by low sunspot numbers and unsettled
geomagnetic conditions. The K index hit three and four during the week due to
yet another large elongated coronal hole on the Sun’s surface. But it wasn’t all
bad news as there was DX to be had if you employed the right equipment. Roger,
G3LDI reported working Hank, W6SX near the Yosemite region of California, USA,
on 20 metres during a CWops contest in the early afternoon on Wednesday. Hank
was using a basic wire antenna while Roger was using a SteppIR beam at height.
Both were using their respective full legal power limits.
The TX5T
DXpedition to the Austral Islands in the South Pacific proved to be a trickier
one to work, but a number of G stations did manage to make the trip, with 40 and
80m contacts surprisingly making a showing.
Next week NOAA predicts the
solar flux index will be around 66, which is about as low as it can get in any
solar cycle. The better news is that there appears to be a lack of solar coronal
holes for the time being, so geomagnetic conditions may be more settled, with a
maximum K index of two.
Expect maximum usable frequencies to be in the
14 to 18MHz range, with the potential for occasional Sporadic-E openings on the
higher bands, although we are now well past the summer peak.
It is
perhaps still a little too early in the season to see the expected autumn upturn
in F-layer HF conditions, but there is still DX to be had if you search for it.
This may be a good time to attend to your HF antennas before the autumn, ready
to make the most of potentially better DX conditions in a month or so.
It’s a much more unsettled flavour to the weather this week, with low
pressure close to northern Britain. What’s left of the high pressure will have
moved into the continent and retreated back to the Azores. This will probably
limit the Tropo activity compared with recent events although, as often is the
case, it will be mainly the south of the country that might see any temporary
Tropo at times. What that leaves us with is the prospect of some occasional
microwave band rain scatter in the unsettled phase of our weather.
There
remains the prospect of the dying embers of this year’s Sporadic-E season. It is
always worth a check on the clusters and HF/VHF bands from 10 metres up to 4
metres, but it is perhaps a bit late in the season to expect much on 2 metres.
The unsettled weather will bring some jet streams into play over northwest
Europe and that can be a good thing for turbulence and Sporadic-E.
Moon
declination is still negative and path losses are high today, but by the time we
get to next Saturday and Sunday’s EME activity from the 32-metre Dish at
Goonhilly in Cornwall it will be positive and losses lower. The team plan to be
active on 1st and 2nd September as GB6GHY, concentrating on 3.4GHz on the 1st
and 5.7GHz on the 2nd. Look for them on the HB9Q EME logger, between about 0800
and 1200UTC, earlier if possible, and if you can elevate your dish to the Moon,
take a listen. Their CW should be receivable on a 1m dish with a decent preamp.
