Two Solar Cycles at Once & A Big Meteor Nearly Hits | Space Weather News 10.10.2019

I HEAR YOU learned SIR !!!! I recall when my friends and I got licensed at AGE 12 and we were HIGHLY ADVANCED !!!! We used Q codes for EVERYTHING !!! The sun spots were more POWERFUL back then , even 1 spot was enough for talking to ST. LOUIS !!! wE Did CW ONLY and this "single sideband" NONSENSE was not allowed in my neighborhood !!!

 

cycle 25 start up must be near....20 was loaded all day today dx stations ,open all day; 17 was open mostly all day with the same as 20; 15 was open this afternoon quite a few psk stations on 15 meters and nothing on 12 or 10 meters.

 

Not coddling anyone. Just reporting the facts.

The bands aren't dead, but the stream of newer hams on HF is close to dead. Its important to ask them why.

 

..who is dead.

That's the point: we don't want the bands to end up like him.

 

Poor solar conditions mean the propagation paths, when they occur, are more lossy then usual.

To use the cliche, when solar conditions are good, with 100 watts to the wet noodle, one can "work every thing that is heard".

These days I hear many stations calling and calling DX peds over and over to no avail until they give up. They obviously hear them well but can not be heard. I try calling barefoot and get the same results.

Then I turn on an amplifier, adding instantly 10 db to my xmitted signal. Voilla! I get a response within a few calls.

DX'peds are not using 100w, pretty much they are all QRO these days, so the reason they can be heard is they have that 10 db already added, and yet they are often at the margins of receivability.

The effect can easily be seen, even measured, on FT8. DX decoding at -20db doesn't respond to my 100w; because my sig is probably -30db there. Add that KW and bingo! Red stripe.

They don't hear stations calling because those peanut-whistles are using TOO LITTLE POWER.

RF power amplifiers - an elegant solution for poor propagation conditions.

Life is too short for QRP.



John, WØPV

 

Well, that's half of it John. Its not just that the path loss is far worse now; the actual NOISE OF THE MEDIUM (QRN) is 10-30 dB higher.

73
Chip W1YW

 

I’ve got plenty of time. But thanks for your concern!

 

Right. I should have said SNR. Thanks!

 

Nothin' like your lit up KPA500 footwarmer to generate a youthful feeling!

Kitty has a wary eye on it - what is his/her name; 2nd Op?

 

If life is too short for QRP, they should use their cell phones.

 

bet your fun at parties

 

I'm spankin'.

 

Thats too much info chip.

 

Means something different on various sides of the pond...

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TOP DEFINITION
spankin'
cool. Good. Great.
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Kinda like 'keep your spirits up...'...innocuous in the US and means something different.

I am also a shredder....you can explain that to the group. Shud be the same in W and G land...

Has nothing to do with lettuce nor cabbage.

 

Her spankin is something you do with your bint when your not burning up the fretboard.