MDSR's Propagation monitor is available in realtime on the web

Hi Everybody;

The development of the "Scanning RF-Seismograph" continues and the deadline to measure the solar eclipse Aug 2017 is less than a year away.... we are in good shape! The the RF-Seismograph is already recording the activity of 6 bands and logging the data. Our software run continuously for more than 6 weeks and counting!
We are also looking for amateurs that are interested in joining the effort to record the solar eclipse in as many locations as possible. Please join our Yahoo group:
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/mdsradio/info

The MDSR Team has again come up with a cool new way to indicate band activity. We were able to extract the signal from the noise and and display the results in gray scale vertical lines (white is best propagation). This display is different from the noise level graph because it does not indicate changes in noise level and only indicates activity. This makes it easier to determine which band is open.
The new graph can be seen on our home page:
http://users.skynet.be/myspace/mdsr/

The solar flux indicator is only showing a global possibility for propagation. The "Scanning RF-Seismograph" takes the measurements at the spot it matters most - from your location! Now that we can separate the noise from the signals we can develop a notification system that sends an e-mail if there is propagation. Never miss an band-opening again!

All the best MDSR Team

Alex - VE7DXW

 

This is very interesting, Im on the West coast of Van Isl. and I will try this out over the next few weeks.

 

Hi John and Everybody;

I have just checked your location and found that you are located on the coast near mountains. We have found that stations that are near a slope and when clouds rise have a very hard time to hear other stations due to cloud to cloud discharge. Rising clouds will create a roar in your receiver and this is a very local event. Since the MDSR test station is located in Lynn Valley a bit removed from the local slopes the discharge is not as bad as location directly at the mountains.
Your propagation will not necessarily match the propagation I am getting!

Please do let me know how close my measurement is to your experience.

Alex - VE7DXW

 

Thank you ....I've signed up. I think I'll have some interesting information to contribute.
Eric

 

Here are a few other propagation websites you can also try ...

http://wsprnet.org/drupal/wsprnet/map

http://www.dxmaps.com

http://www.dxscape.com



HamCAP graphic prediction software - choose antennas, height, power etc. great for "what if I change this"

http://www.dxatlas.com/hamcap/

IonoProbe conditions monitor software - nice

http://www.dxatlas.com/IonoProbe/

VOACAP Online interactive graphic prediction= Absolutely simple to use

http://www.voacap.com/prediction.html

Global ionospheric map, near real time, Maximum F2 frequency

http://www.sws.bom.gov.au/HF_Systems/6/5


K5BIZ -- BIZ

 

The above is mostly obtuse, wildly inaccurate, and mostly wrong. Like the Horoscopes in newspapers. These systems work as long as you don't keep track or keep records. Nobody ever went to bed wondering why they didn't meet a tall dark stranger or why they didn't take a long business trip.

BUT, Contesters, such as myself, keep very detailed records. Being a retired Electrical Engineer and a professional computer programmer I knew this could done better.

So I put together my own ... and here comes the plug ... wait for it ...

http://www.bandconditions.com

 

Hi BIZ and Everybody;

We are fully aware of all of these propagation tools and they are great, but they do not take into effect the fact that a lot of propagation happens on a very small scale. All these models and propagation tools are designed for a global scale and they are all based on solar effects. It is like using one weather station to measure the temperature all over the world.

The difference is that you can use your station and your antenna to measure the propagation at your location. The geographic area that surrounds your station has a very big effect on propagation. To run your own propagation tool is the only way to get accurate readings and to understand the behavior of your section of the sky and your setup.

All the best;

Alex - VE7DXW

 

Hi BIZ

Propagation is a local issue and it can not be solved with a global tool!

Do you ever wonder why your neighboring station can hear a DX contact and you can't? How does your propagation tool account for that?

All the best;

Alex - VE7DXW

 

But the link actually takes you to http://www.sws.bom.gov.au/HF_Systems/6/5

Otherwise, it looks kind of cool. http://bandconditions.com/

 

The MDSR measures the propagation where it matters most. At your station! Once set up it gives you propagation information that comes right out of your antenna in real time. There is no guess work on what the ionosphere does because the RF-Seismograph measures and logs real activity.

The issue with solar flux based propagation models is that they do not work when there is no solar activity, but there is still propagation!!

 

That's because our little planet is bathed in non-solar radiation coming from all over the universe. Cosmic Ray's, X-ray's, Microwaves, UV, Infrared and much more. If its in the electromagnetic spectrum, it's a sure bet some part of Earth is getting hit by it.

It's one of the reasons why prediction based propagation software is basically useless.

K5BIZ

 

There are also phenomena like Thunder Storms, Sprite Discharges, cloud to cloud discharges, meteor scatter, night glow and other yet to be confirmed sources of RF-Propagation we have not investigated yet!
We are so focused on solar flux that we created all this predictions that basically frustrate HF users and are really bad for the continuation of this hobby. It is like the self for-filling prophecy that people check the solar flux and if it states "poor" they turn off the radio.
The propagation is still there but nobody is listening!!!

 

Funny how when something new & cool comes along it gets picked apart and quickly compared to anything similar. Congrats Alex & crew, thank you and keep going with this great project

 

Thank you for the compliments!!!

This project has an outreach component and everybody that has a HF radio with a 455kHz IF can run this software. All you need is either a LIF-2014 or a LIF-2016 unit. The radio also has to be connected with the standard CAT control cable to the computer. The audio IF is fed from the LIF into the line input of the sound-card. The MDSR software and the RF-Seismograph can be downloaded for free from our website.

Alex - VE7DXW

 

If you are going to make a statement like that be prepared to back it up. Just the tone encourages me to ignore it from the outset.

Fill in the blanks:
1- Obtuse points:
2- Wild inaccuracies:
3- False statements:

73
Clifford