[CQ-Contest] At least four more years of solar minimum?

[Jeff Blaine]

You are right Sean.

In the CQ DX CW contest I and a couple of other guys worked 130 
countries in a part-time effort.  Not that significant other than to say 
it was run from the midwest (KS), often called the RF black hole of the 
US, off of modest (by serious contest station standards) towers/antennas.

Of course it was not as easy as it would have been with a 150 SFI but 
your point is correct - get a lot of guys on the radio and there is tons 
of surprise propagation!

73/jeff/ac0c
alpha-charlie-zero-charlie
www.ac0c.com

On 08-Dec-18 11:04 AM, Sean Waite wrote:
> The bands are also not as dead as everyone believes. Sure, conditions
> aren't great but anytime people believe those online propagation report
> pictures and then don't get on the air, there is one less station to talk
> to. It's a death spiral - no one gets on their radio, so there is no one to
> talk to, so no one gets on the radio, so there is no talk to...
>
> Right now with a not really great antenna I can hear a handful of US
> stations working the 10m contest. Get on the air and conditions will
> magically improve.
>
> Sean WA1TE
>
> On Sat, Dec 8, 2018, 11:09 Randy Thompson K5ZD <k5zd at charter.net> wrote:
>
>> Ugh. At least with these predictions, there is nowhere to go but up!
>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: CQ-Contest <cq-contest-bounces at contesting.com> On Behalf Of
>>> donovanf at starpower.net
>>> Sent: Saturday, December 08, 2018 12:50 AM
>>> To: cq-contest <cq-contest at contesting.com>
>>> Subject: [CQ-Contest] At least four more years of solar minimum?
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> NOAA updated its predictions for smoothed sunspot numbers and solar flux
>>> through the end of 2022. As of last month, their predictions ended in
>>> 2019.
>>> Their prediction shows a smoothed sunspot number of 10 for December 2018,
>>> declining to 2 in July 2020 through January 2021, then 1 during February
>>> 2021 through January 2022, and 0 after that and through at least the end
>>> of 2022.
>>> www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/solar-cycle-progression
>>> I hate predictions, especially about the future...
>>> 73
>>> Frank
>>> W3LPL
>>>
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