This is just a quick snippet on me adding solar power to my Yaesu FT-950 and an introduction to the Solar-600 Solar Analyzer that I will be reviewing soon.
The Amprobe Solar-600 Analyzer has been provided by Comtest: www.comtest.co.za
Video Rating: 5 / 5
This was one of those confounding weeks when the average daily sunspot number was down, while the average daily solar flux rose. Compared with the previous seven days, for November 6-12 average daily sunspot number declined 10.7 points to 85, while average daily solar flux rose 11.5 points to 139.4.
The latest prediction from the USAF/NOAA 45 day outlook has solar flux at 165 on November 14, 180…
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Solar activity softened a bit this week. From October 30 through November 5 the average daily sunspot number was 95.7, down 24.2 points from the previous seven days. Average daily solar flux declined from 198 to 127.9.
On November 5 Penticton reported the noon solar flux reading at 145.2, but it must have been flare-enhanced because NOAA scaled it back to 135 in their data.
The latest forecast ha…
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Strong solar activity continued this week, with average daily sunspot numbers rising 36 points to 119.9 and average daily solar flux up 24 points to 198. The X-Ray background flux from GOES-15 has ranged from C1.2 to C2.6 since October 19. RWC Prague predicts a range from B2.0 to C1.5 from October 31 through November 6.
You can see daily X-ray flux at http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/ftpdir/latest/DSD.t…
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Solar activity is making a healthy comeback, just in time for the SSB weekend of the CQ World Wide DX Contest. The contest begins tonight at 0000 UTC and ends Sunday October 26 at 23:59:59 UTC. See http://www.cqww.com/rules.htm for rules. The contest is always held on the last full weekend of October, while the CW contest is the last full weekend in November.
A series of large solar flares erupt…
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Solar activity declined this week, with average daily sunspot numbers going from 98 last week to 55.1 in the week ending Wednesday, October 15. Average daily solar flux went from 131.9 to 117.4.
Average planetary A index rose from 6.4 to 10.4. The most unsettled geomagnetic day was Tuesday, October 14, when the planetary A index was 18, and the planetary K index reached 5 for 9 hours overnight. …
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This is my portable power box 2.0 designed to run a 100 watt HF amateur transceiver (or two) nearly indefinitely! Below are the links I promised and some mor…
Video Rating: 4 / 5
Average daily sunspot numbers from October 2-8 dropped from 170.1 in the previous seven days to 98. Average daily solar flux also declined, from 168.9 to 131.9.
Predicted solar flux for the near term is 120 and 115 on October 10-11, 110 on October 12-14, then 115 and 125 on October 15-16, 145 on October 17-18, 140 on October 19, 135 on October 20-21, and 140 on October 22-25. The next day solar …
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We saw a rise in solar activity this week. Last Friday and Sunday, September 26 and 28, the daily sunspot number was 203 and 200 respectively. This level of activity was last seen on July 4-8, when sunspot numbers were 199, 213, 256, 197 and 209.
Geomagnetic indicators were stable this week, but the latest 45 day forecast shows some active days ahead.
Average daily sunspot numbers increased from …
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Solar activity was down this week (September 18-24) when compared with a week earlier, but solar flux is on a rising trend.
Average daily sunspot numbers dropped from 124.9 (for September 11-17) to 80.9, and average daily solar flux slipped from 139.8 to 128.3.
The latest predicted solar flux and planetary A index has flux values at 165 on September 26-28, 170 on September 29-30, 165 and 160 on O…
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A demonstration on how to install a solar panel and a Buddipole battery and current converter (also from Buddipole). Ultimax end fed antenna used with an alu…
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On September 11 and 12 two powerful CMEs hit Earth, producing a G3 class geomagnetic storm. The result was a planetary A index of 44 on Friday, and during the final three hours of the UTC day (2:00 PM to 5:00 PM PDT) the planetary K index reached 7, which is very high.
Overall solar activity is down, with the average daily sunspot number declining from 152 to 124.9 in the latest reporting period…
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We saw a nice increase in the level of solar activity this week, and the outlook for the near term looks good, or at least, interesting.
Average daily sunspot numbers for the period September 4-10 increased from 85.1 to 152.1, and average daily solar flux rose from 126.7 to 155.8. Geomagnetic indicators were quiet, with average planetary A index declining from 14.7 to 7.9, and average mid-latitu…
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Sunspot activity continued to weaken over the past seven days (August 28 through September 3). Average daily sunspot numbers declined from 113.4 to 85.1, and average daily solar flux went from 130.5 to 126.7. Geomagnetic activity was up recently, with average planetary A index increasing from 7.4 to 14.7, nearly double the values from the August 21-27 period week earlier.
The latest predicted so…
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Average daily sunspot numbers this week moved from 101.7 to 113.4, while average daily solar flux changed from 111.8 to 130.5. The active day according to geomagnetic indicators was Wednesday, August 27, when the planetary A index reached 20. This was the result of a CME which created aurora at both north and south poles.
Predicted solar flux is 115 on August 29-31, 120 on September 1-2, then 11…
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Solar indices and outlook are stronger this week. Average daily sunspot numbers rose 19.7 points to 114.6, while average daily solar flux increased 25.7 points to 138.8. Average daily estimated planetary A index dropped from 7.4 to 4.3. This compares the August 14-20 period against the previous seven days.
The day with the greatest geomagnetic activity was Tuesday, August 19 when the planetary A…
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Solar activity showed further signs of weakness this week, with the average daily sunspot number dropping 41.8 points to 94.9, while average daily solar flux declined 36.5 points to 113.1.
In the 45-day forecast for solar flux, it was surprising back on August 3 to see a new solar flux prediction of 150 for August 31 through September 3. I suspected this prediction would come down to a lower lev…
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We saw rising solar activity over the past week, with average daily sunspot number increasing from 107.7 to 136.7. Average daily solar flux went from 125 for the previous seven days to 149.6 for the current period, July 31 through August 6. Thursday, August 7 saw the sunspot number increase to 158 with solar flux at 136.
Predicted solar flux is 130 on August 8, 125 on August 9-10, then 120, 110 …
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Spaceweather.com reports that a CME has been coming toward us since July 30, when a magnetic filament erupted on our Sun. It may sideswipe our magnetic field on Saturday, August 2, and there is a 30 percent chance of geomagnetic storms in polar regions.
Right now there are plenty of sunspots, but they are magnetically weak.
Since July 24, the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory in Penticton,…
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Tad Cook, K7RA, in Seattle, Washington, reports: Last Thursday, July 17, there were no sunspots at all, a sobering reminder of how weak this solar cycle is. We have to go way back to August 14, 2011, to find the last “spotless” day; the Sun exhibited no spots on January 27, 2011, as well.
On July 18 two new sunspot regions emerged, but the sunspot number was only 26. Two days later, on Sunday, J…
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Solar activity is suddenly weakening, and yesterday, Thursday, July 17 the daily sunspot number was zero. We had no other zero sunspot days so far this year, none last year or in 2012, and only two in 2011, on January 27 and August 14.
We had 48 days with a sunspot number of zero in 2010 (although Spaceweather.com reports 51 days, and they may be correct), and 260 days with a daily sunspot numbe…
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Solar activity strengthened recently, with average daily sunspot numbers for the seven days ending June 25 at 72.3, rising 43.3 points to 115.6 for the seven days ending July 2, then rising 89.5 to an average of 205.1 for the period ending July 9.
Similarly, average daily solar flux for the seven days ending on June 25 was 98.8, which rose 30.7 points to 129.5 on July 2, and then rose 64.4 point…
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This bulletin is a day early, as Friday is the day the United States celebrates its independence from the British Empire. Next week we will be back on the regular schedule.
The Earth-facing side of our Sun is suddenly crowded with clusters of sunspots, so this cycle definitely is not over. Over the past week average daily sunspot numbers rose 43.3 points to 115.6, while average daily solar flux …
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Solar activity continues to weaken, with average daily sunspot numbers dropping nearly 69 points to 72.3, and average daily solar flux down nearly 36 points to 98.8.
On Wednesday the predicted solar flux on Friday through Sunday, June 27-29 (Field Day weekend) was 105, 110 and 115, but on Thursday those numbers were revised downward to 100, 105 and 105. Predicted planetary A index for those date…
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The daily sunspot number rose dramatically this week on June 13 when it increased to 276, but two days later it was back below 100. The resulting weekly average for June 12-18 (141) was actually down 2.3 points from the previous seven days. Average daily solar flux was down 11.7 points to 134.7.
Predicted solar flux has weakened lately, and for the near term flux values are predicted at 105 on J…
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Last week’s bulletin opened with your author (me) moaning about a decline in solar activity, but this was short lived. The current week saw average daily sunspot numbers more than double, rising from 60.1 to 144.3, and average daily solar flux rise from 104.1 to 146.4. In addition, on June 12 the daily sunspot number was 196, and solar flux was 174.5. It actually was not long ago when sunspot n…
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Boy, has solar activity declined this week, and the near term outlook weakened as well!
Average daily sunspot numbers for May 29 through June 4 dropped from 103.3 (for the previous seven days) to just 60.1. Average daily solar flux declined from 110.3 to 104.1. Last week the predicted solar flux for Field Day weekend was 108 and 110, and on June 2 that changed to 95 and 110.
Predicted solar flux…
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Solar indicators continue to weaken. Average daily sunspot numbers declined from 129.4 to 103.3, and average daily solar flux went from 128.5 to 110.3. This is comparing data from May 22-28 to the previous seven days.
The instruments used to measure solar flux at the observatory in British Columbia were overloaded on May 24, and the estimated solar flux was 118. The actual measured value was 124…
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Over the past week we saw a decline in solar activity, and the 45-day outlook showed progressively weaker numbers as well.
Average daily sunspot numbers for May 15-21 were 129.4, while the previous average was 142.4, a 13 point decline. Average daily solar flux drifted from 157.5 to 128.5. The daily sunspot number on Wednesday dropped down to 100 and on Thursday it was only 70, a level unseen se…
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Nice numbers this week, with average daily sunspot numbers rising from 118.4 (during May 1-7) to 142.4 in the past reporting week, May 8-14. Average daily solar flux rose from 135.6 to 157.5.
The latest prediction from USAF/NOAA has solar flux values of 155 and 150 on May 16-17, 145 on May 18-20, 140 on May 21-22, 120 on May 23-26, 115 on May 27-29, 120 and 125 on May 30-31, 135 on June 1-2, 140…
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We saw an uptick in solar indices over the past reporting week (May 1-7) compared to the previous seven days, with average daily sunspot number rising from 73.4 to 118.4, and average daily solar flux up 13 to 135.6. The most active geomagnetic days were May 4-5, with planetary A index at a relatively moderate 16 and 10, mid-latitude A indices of 15 and 11, and the high latitude college A index …
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Solar and geomagnetic activity slackened over the past week, with average daily sunspot numbers declining from 202.7 to 73.4, and average daily solar flux dropping from 160.4 to 122.6.
The latest outlook has solar flux at 125 on May 2, 130 on May 3, 135 on May 4-6, 140 on May 7-9, 150 on May 10-13, 145 on May 14, 140 on May 15-17, 135 on May 18, 130 on May 19-20, and 125 on May 21. It then reach…
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Amateur Radio propagation and solar phenomena authority Carl Luetzelschwab, K9LA, said in an April 27 webinar, “Are We Headed into Another Maunder Minimum? What Does That Mean for Propagation?” that most solar scientists believe several low solar cycles lie ahead, ushering in periods of diminished HF propagation, especially on the higher bands. Luetzelschwab, who maintains K9LA’s Amateur Radio …
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Average daily sunspot numbers during the past week rose 84.3 points, from 118.4 to 202.7. Average daily solar flux was up 11.3 points to 160.4.
The predicted average solar flux on April 19 for the next four days, April 24-27, was 150, but this was downgraded yesterday. On April 23 the average for the same period was adjusted down to 122.5, and on April 24 the average over the same period was 123…
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ARRL Headquarters is closed for Good Friday on April 18, so the bulletin comes to you a day early.
After a few days in the doldrums on April 8-13 with sunspot numbers in the double digits, solar activity made a strong recovery over the following three days, with daily sunspot numbers of 105, 149 and 245. Sunspot numbers have reached this level several times in the past 12 months. On February 28,…
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Average daily solar flux weakened over the past seven days, and so did the outlook for the near term, at least until Thursday, April 10. Average daily solar flux declined from 149 to 142.2, while average daily sunspot numbers remained about the same, moving from 130.4 to 129.3
From the NOAA/USAF 45 day forecast, predicted solar flux is 140 on April 11-12, 145 on April 13-15, 150 on April 16-18, …
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Average daily sunspot numbers declined over the past reporting week (March 27 to April 2) from 135.6 to 130.4, compared to the previous seven days. Likewise, average daily solar flux drifted lower, from 153.2 to 149.
The current prediction (from USAF/NOAA on April 3) has solar flux at 155 on April 4, 160 on April 5-8, 150 on April 9-10, 140 on April 11, 135 on April 12-13, then 140 and 145 on Ap…
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NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) has reported that a brief radio blackout “event” occurred on March 29 at 1748 UTC, the result of an “impulsive” or short-lived R3 (strong) solar flare. Extreme ultraviolet radiation from the X-1 class event “sent waves of ionization rippling through Earth’s upper atmosphere and disturbed the normal propagation of terrestrial radio transmissions,” Sp…
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Solar activity increased over the past week, with average daily sunspot numbers rising from 129 to 135.6, while average solar flux increased by nearly 13 points to 154.3. This compares the recent March 20-26 period with the previous seven days, March 13-19.
The latest predicted solar flux from the current 45 day forecast has 10.7 cm flux values at 145 on March 28-29, 140 on March 30 through Apri…
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Average daily sunspot numbers decreased from 138.7 to 129 on March 13-19, compared to the previous seven days. Average daily solar flux went from 149.7 to 141.4.
The latest 45 day forecast shows online australian casinos solar flux at 150 on March 21-22, 145 on March 23, 140 on March 24-26, then 135, 145 and 160 on March 27-29, 165 on March 30-31, 160 on April 1-2, 155 on April 3, 150 on April 4-7, 145 on April 8-9, 140 …
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This week saw sunspot numbers and solar flux decline. Average daily sunspot numbers declined from 199.3 to 138.7, while solar flux dropped from 162.9 to 149.7.
Sharp eyed readers may notice that we reported average daily sunspot numbers last week at 202.4, not 199.3, but we just noticed a discrepancy between what last week’s bulletin reported for March 4-5 and what we see now from NOAA. I don’t …
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Average daily sunspot numbers were up for the recent reporting period (February 27 through March 5) and average daily solar flux decreased slightly, compared to the previous seven days. Average daily sunspot numbers increased nearly 29 points to 202.4, and average daily solar flux was off a little more than four points to 162.9.
The latest predictions for solar flux over the near term have stead…
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Earth’s geomagnetic field has been quite active. On February 19 at 0234 UTC the Australian Space Forecast Centre issued this warning: “Increased geomagnetic activity expected for February 19.” Then on February 20 at 0439 UTC they issued an identical warning for February 20. This was the result of two coronal mass ejections in two days.
The planetary A index went to 47 on February 19, the result …
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There seemed to be a disconnect between daily sunspot numbers and solar flux over the past reporting week (February 6-12), with the average daily sunspot number rising 28 points to 184.3, and average daily solar flux declining 8.5 points to 171.9. Perhaps this reflects the general weakness in the energy and magnetic complexity of recent sunspots. Many days we see a substantial number of sunspot…
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Average daily sunspot numbers increased slightly this week from 111.4 to 113.3, but average daily solar flux declined by 22 points from 155.4 to 133.4. Although there seems to be no shortage of sunspots, they are anemic and not magnetically complex, and thus radiation from the spots is feeble, indicated by lower solar flux values.
Predicted solar flux for the near term is 135 on January 24, 130 …
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Solar activity suddenly weakened during this bulletin’s reporting period, January 9-15, and the lower activity and expectations continue. Average daily sunspot numbers declined from 188.1 to 111.4, and average daily solar flux went from 201.6 to 155.4. Those drops compare the January 9-15 period to the January 2-8 week. Daily sunspot numbers dipped below 100, to 95, 87 and 77 on January 14-16.
T…
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The 10.7 centimeter solar flux index (SFI) jumped to a Cycle 24 record of 262 on January 4, suggesting that Cycle 24 has not yet begun drawing to a close and may be approaching or at a “second peak.” The previous peak for the current cycle was 190 on September 24, 2011. As NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) explains, the flux of the sun’s radio emissions at 10.7 centimeter (2.8 GHz) is …
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Average daily sunspot numbers for the past week declined from 114.6 to 107.4, and average solar flux went from 138.8 to 139.2. This is comparing the period from December 26 through January 1 with the previous seven days.
The average daily sunspot number for the entire year of 2013 was 97.1, the highest since 2003. For 2008-2013 the yearly average was 4.7, 5.1, 25.5, 80.1, 82.3 and 97.1.
We’ve als…
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This is the slide show and audio from a presentation I gave at the August 2012 Alexandria Radio Club meeting. This presentation is based on information I hav…
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An amateur Radio Repeater (kb5avy) on 444.150 MHZ, following Hurricane Katrina, became one of the few link between New Orleans and the outside world. Old fas…
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This is the last bulletin of 2013. In the first bulletin of 2014 we will review the previous year, and look at some averages to give us perspective on the current solar cycle 24.
Solar activity declined somewhat this week. The average of daily sunspot numbers retreated nearly twenty points from 134.4 to 114.6, and average solar flux was off nearly 21 points to 138.8. Geomagnetic indices were qui…
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Geomagnetic conditions were more stable than expected last weekend, good news for participants in the ARRL 10 Meter Contest. Planetary A index on Friday through Sunday was 3, 16 and 7 and mid-latitude A index was just 3, 10 and 5.
Still, there were some scary moments, such as Saturday night in North America (0035 UTC December 15) when the Australian Space Forecast Centre issued this alert: “INCR…
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Solar indicators rose over the past week, for both solar flux and sunspot numbers. The highest were on Tuesday, December 10 when the sunspot number was 169 and solar flux 175.2. In an otherwise quiet week the planetary A index reached 26 on Sunday, December 8, sparked by a strong solar wind surging from a coronal hole. We could see a repeat this weekend. Geomagnetic activity during the ARRL 10 …
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Due to the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States (Canada celebrates the same holiday on the second Monday in October, same as Columbus Day in the United States) we had a short bulletin on Wednesday last week, and a catch-up bulletin on Monday morning, December 2. If you missed it, you can catch up at http://www.arrl.org/w1aw-bulletins-archive/ARLP049/2013 and see last week’s early bulletin …
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Because of the Thanksgiving holiday tomorrow, we have a shortened bulletin two days early, and another one will follow on Monday, December 2 which will contain the data for our regular reporting week, which is November 21-27.
But being one day short of a full week of data, we can see that so far, the average sunspot number for November 21-26 fell 131.8 points to 61.5, and average daily solar flu…
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Sunspot numbers made a profound leap over the past week, with the sunspot number on November 15 reaching 272, then 282 on November 17. This is a record for the current solar cycle, and this level of activity has not been observed for over a decade. Unfortunately the sunspot number declined rapidly since then, falling below 100.
You can check in the ARRL Propagation Bulletin archives to see what …
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
Solar activity remains robust. Yesterday, Thursday, November 14 the daily sunspot number rose to 234, a number not seen since the last blast of the second peak of the previous solar cycle, exactly a decade ago.
Way back on October 27 through November 1, 2003 the daily sunspot numbers were 238, 230, 330, 293, 266, and 277. That was it. Nothing as high as a sunspot number of 234 since then.
But the…
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Solar activity eased off over the past week, with average daily sunspot numbers declining nearly 30 points from 161.6 to 131.7, and average daily solar flux down over 12 points from 158.3 to 146. Geomagnetic indicators were quiet. Still, activity remains strong. The last three days of the reporting week (November 4-6) had increasingly stronger sunspot numbers, all higher than the week’s average…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
It’s been a lively couple of weeks, with plenty of sunspots and great HF propagation. Average daily sunspot number for the week was 161.6, unchanged from last week’s average of 162. Solar flux values were up quite a bit though, rising from 139.6 to 158.3, quite a healthy jump.
On October 26 the Penticton solar flux reading was 171.8, but NOAA downgraded it to 165, probably because the higher val…
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Solar Activity remains high, as participants in the CQ World Wide DX Contest (phone) experience openings on the higher bands. NOAA forecasters are estimating a 70 percent chance of M-flares and a 35 percent chance of X-flares during the next 24 hours. According to NOAA, M-class flares can cause brief radio blackouts affecting Earth’s polar regions, while X-class flares are major events that can…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources
Solar activity is increasing, suggesting that perhaps now in Fall 2013 we are in the midst of a second peak in cycle 24. We hope it sustains.
Sunspot numbers this week ran up all the way to 228, a level not seen in the past decade since October 27 through November 1, 2003 when the daily sunspot numbers were 238, 230, 330, 293, 266 and 277. Prior to that, on January 11, 2003 the daily sunspot num…
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources