Topband: 160 Propagation & Weather

[Thomas Giella, KN4LF]

Tom W8JI Said:
All of the data I have seen shows the effect rapidly dimiminishes as
the frequency moves below upper VHF and is immeasurable at HF and
lower. The only noticeable effect of weather is in noise (from static
discharges) and to a smaller extent conductivity of upper layers of
soil (from moisture changes).

Thomas KN4LF Says:
   Joe Dube KK4TR of Brooksville, FL and I have conducted subjective
observations
of this effect via 160 and 120 meters and the MF broadcast band for the past
4
winters. Subjective observations of this effect have also been made for
decades
within the MF broadcast band DX'ers community, namely the NRC and IRCA.
  Professional scientific study of this effect has been conducted by E.S.
Kazimirovsky and
V.D. Kokourov of the Solar Terrestrial Physics Institute at Irkutsk, Russia
http://iszf.irk.ru/
Their extensive research on the subject is touched upon in a published paper
in the English
version of  science magazine Geomagnetism and Aeronomy, Vol 35, No 3,
December 1995.
  Last but not least the U.S. Government has done and continues to do
research on the effect but
unfortunately the data is not available to the general public.

73,
Thomas Giella,
KN4LF