SB PROP @ ARL $ARLP038
ARLP038 Propagation de K7RA

ZCZC AP38
QST de W1AW  
Propagation Forecast Bulletin 38  ARLP038
From Tad Cook, K7RA
Seattle, WA  September 12, 2008
To all radio amateurs 

SB PROP ARL ARLP038
ARLP038 Propagation de K7RA

A new sunspot, number 1001, emerged on Thursday, September 11.  It
is actually a single group with two small magnetic disturbances, and
we hope not another like the last sunspot, a weak one barely
emerging on August 21-22.  It was so small that some observatories
didn't count it, but it was a Cycle 24 spot.

August was much ballyhooed as the first time since 1913 that there
was a month or more between the most recent sunspot appearances.
Actually it was the first time that a whole calendar month went by
with no spots.  Of course, this doesn't really mean anything more
than any other 30 day period with no spots, because the calendar is
based on arbitrary beginnings and endings.

The US Air Force predicts a planetary A index for September 12-17 at
5, 8, 20, 12 and 8.  Geophysical Institute Prague predicts quiet
conditions September 12, unsettled September 13, unsettled to active
September 14, unsettled September 15, quiet September 16, quiet to
unsettled September 17, and quiet September 18.

John Shannon, K3WWP of Kittanning, Pennsylvania has made it a point
to work at least one station a day for over 14 years, so far, using
QRP CW and simple wire antennas.  He notes that although he can work
more DX at solar cycle maximum, propagation on a day to day basis is
more reliable at solar minimum because it lacks the extreme
geomagnetic storms which appear more often during greater solar
activity.  See his personal page at,
http://home.alltel.net/johnshan/.

Reg Beck, VE7IG of Williams Lake, British Columbia writes that he
had a productive 6 meter summer season, including working 20 JA
stations from 0113z-0143z on July 12, and 368 6-meter contacts
overall from July 8 through August 16.

Reg says propagation is great recently, and he has been running
pileups of Europeans in the morning on 20 meter SSB and CW.  August
26-29 he worked 41-45 stations a day, then 106 on August 30 and 84
on September 3, all in sessions from 20 minutes to less than an
hour.  Reg is north of 52 degrees north latitude, far enough north
that around the Summer Solstice, sunrise to sunset is 1200z to
0421z.

Flavio Archangelo, PY2ZX of Jundiai in northeast Brazil says he has
been having good luck with just a 20 meter dipole.  Last Saturday,
September 6, he worked several EA (Spain) stations around 1830z,
then some OZ stations at 2000z.  All were loud portable stations
working Field Day.  Around 1930z he heard DL stations much stronger,
also heard HB stations, then signals faded after 2015z, but SM and F
stations still heard.

If you would like to make a comment or have a tip for our readers,
email the author at, k7ra@arrl.net.

For more information concerning radio propagation, see the ARRL
Technical Information Service web page at,
http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/propagation.html.  For a detailed
explanation of the numbers used in this bulletin see,
http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/k9la-prop.html.  An archive of past
propagation bulletins is at, http://www.arrl.org/w1aw/prop/.

Monthly propagation charts between four USA regions and twelve
overseas locations are at, http://www.arrl.org/qst/propcharts/.

Instructions for starting or ending email distribution of this
bulletin are at http://www.arrl.org/w1aw.html#email.

Sunspot numbers for September 4 through 10 were 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0,
and 0 with a mean of 0.  10.7 cm flux was 65.9, 65.2, 65.8, 66.6,
67.1, 67.1, and 67.2 with a mean of 66.4.  Estimated planetary A
indices were 33, 7, 7, 8, 8, 6 and 4 with a mean of 10.4.  Estimated
mid-latitude A indices were 17, 7, 7, 7, 9, 4 and 2 with a mean of
7.6.
NNNN
/EX