[CQ-Contest] Why Viewprop?

[Pete Smith N4ZR]

Occasionally people ask me, so what?  What will Viewprop do for me?  
Here's my answer:

This is my Band vs UTC chart, copied just a moment ago.  W3LPL, a 
callsign not unknown in ham radio circles, has called following the 
propagation in the days leading up to a contest "Nowcasting." The idea 
is simple - if you watch propagation in the day or two before a big 
contest, you'll probably have a pretty good approximation of what it 
will do during the contest.

This chart gives you a reading on activity, as measured by Reverse 
Beacon Network spots, for each of the HF bands for the last 24 hours, 
measured by reported spots to or from my area (near Baltimore).  The 
height of the bars is relative to other time periods on the same band, 
not to the other bands, but it still gives you an indication of when you 
should be on 10 meters, for example.  I personally would not have 
guessed at the peak in activity on 10 meters between 1630 and 2100Z, but 
I'm no propagation guru.

So give it a try - I think you'll like it.  Download it for free at 
https://www.dropbox.com/s/71bpmjm632xd3nd/ViewProp%20v0.99.04.zip?dl=0


-- 
73, Pete N4ZR
Check out the new Reverse Beacon Network
web server at<http://beta.reversebeacon.net>.
For spots, please use your favorite
"retail" DX cluster.