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

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160M would be very difficult here in Miami.....this part of the World has Thunder Storm arcing now all year long....

 

I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened.

Mark Twain

In other words, keep on trucking. I miss the great DX days of 15 or 20 years ago too. When VK9NS ran a late night "orchestra" of hams from Africa right around the world to Europe and everybody could work the rare ones it seemed like the good times would never end. Maybe those days won't come back in our lifetimes, but I suspect we'll have some decent times when the spots return. And, like having grandchildren in these times (have 4), I'm not giving up on that yet. Meanwhile as others have mentioned there is stuff out there, such as special events, the occasional DX, and just fun rag chewing. We were shut down twice in the world wars and bounced back. Let's not all give up quite yet.

 

Gosh, I have been a ham for 48 years and it was a minimum when I first got my Novice in 1972. I don't see this minimum any worse than the others and I operate everyday on HF. 40 meters has been great during the day with DX during the grayline areas in the morning and evening. Lately 10 meters has been lighting up sporadically for a day or two and then settle down for a week or two. Digital signals for Olivia, PSK and etc are active on 40 and 20 Meters if people would just get on the air. All I hear is doom and gloom but it takes a little skill to work the bands now and the are open if you learn how to use them on the minimum. Sure, the bands occasionally close but they can close on high flux years with geomagnetic storms or huge flares. That is the problem with hams now days is the Millennial thing where people have to have instant gratification and don't want to work to get results. I Improvise, Adapt and Overcome just like the U.S. Marines and I work these bands. I also work 2 meter simplex frequencies and get off the repeaters every once in awhile. What I am trying to say is the HF bands are NOT dead and with a little work and experimentation, the bands can be worked and sometimes they are wide open but everyone assumes they are dead and they are dead if we are not using them. It takes little skill to work HF on the maximum and having skip coming in 24/7. Even if we have a weak maximum, solar flux measurements of 100-120 can give you worldwide communications almost anytime. It takes skill to operate now and the strong will persevere. We older guys know the bands are not all dead. I don't expect Instant Gratification but I work to find what is open and what is not. Like the Marines, I Improvise, Adapt and Overcome.

 

I agree !!! I have been working QRP and it is awesome. Just get on the air. I am still working a great ham in Japan weekly. I also worked ROCBW.
If the band is dead, just keep calling cq. You will be surprised. Ya have ta get on now days and make your self be heard.
In 1972, I was on Guam Island in my Mobil talking to my dad on a weekly basis.

 

For those who think 'poor' shouldn't be a word used in prop assessments, read the PROP FORECAST on the Zed page today--

 

I am still enjoying CW, making contacts with what is called poor conditions. It is what it is gentlemen.

 

Official 'Poor Propagation Attitude Enhancer' Poster Child--

 

I agree with w1yw...I've been in radio since 1963 and seen bottoms in the solar cycles before and this one is THE LONGEST and most drawn out than any other cycle. In my all my years in radio, the other cycles, the other bottoms, 20 would still be open everyday with some propagation and you would hear some dx stations there. anything above 19 the meter did not exist. 17 meters once in a while you'd hear shortwave stations with north/south propagation same with 20. north south propagation. Back in those days, 11 meters would have sporadic E and you'd hear 11 meters come alive at 10,11 pm at night and same on 10 meters. Of course we did not have the WARC BANDS back then, so you had to rely on WWV, CHU and other propagation indicators. so is this bottom of cycle 24 the worst and longest bottom of all times, You betcha it is!

 

It really seems funny when there is a contest such as the WORLD WIDE CQ, ARRL CONTESTS The bands are loaded with dx stations, mostly 80,75,40 meters and some on 20. Take a listen on the once a week, 1 hour long, high speed cw contests on the 160 through 10 meters on Wednesdays. There some stations that really rattle it off big time!!!!.

 

KX5JT LOUISIANA oct, 12th, 2019 04:01 --->>>
C91CCY 40m 7.156 SSB Mozambique, Africa William H Hosie

Distance 8999.6 mi (14483.4 km)

The bands are NOT dead.

 

thanks..

 

Conditions are POOR, not DEAD. We shouldn't mislead newcomers with regaled stories of anecdotal DX. It just makes them feel inadequate and want to give it up.

Paint them a more constructive scenario: getting on various MODES in the many DX contests; calling CQ DX; best ways to work the various DXpeditions.

Here's a handy reference--one of many: Go to

dx-world.net

and look at their calendar of upcoming/present DXpeditions.

THEN

Go to

dxsummit.fi

and look for relevant DX spots from stations spotting within 500-1000 miles of your QTH.

Telling people you worked Mozambique, or Lower Slobovia with a wet noodle (for example) on gray line comes off as boast rather than contrarian advice, IMO.

73
Chip W1YW

 

of course they aren't. While they are a bit more challenging than they have been in the past, they are certainly not dead.

I think much of the wailing and crying is because the bands are different than what they were which requires an operator to adopt different strategies / frequencies / operating times than what they are accustomed to. For the time being, they can't just crank up the power on their amps, and be the big gun on the airwaves.... and it stresses them.

The current conditions are crappy, there's no doubt. BUT this may or may not be a bad thing, depending on how you approach the problem. Personally, I see it as an interesting challenge..... just like that #11 hole at the old Gulf Pines Golf Course. If you hit the ball right, you land on the green. If you try to use your same old stroke, your ball winds up either in the trees, or out in the bay.

 

OR... it will ENCOURAGE THEM... .Half empty or half full?

Jeeze.