Topband: Possible 160m propagation indicator: lightningmaps.org?

[K9FD]

Conditions on LF and MF last nite were nothing special,  the nite before 
either,
but two nites ago 630M was as good as its ever been since I have been 
using it,  I
have been on since about 2013,  starting with an experimental call WH2XCR.
I use WSPR overnite to record conditions and activity,  for the first 
time I copied
G0MRF and LA8AV on 630M,   and was reported by LA2XPA and a Norway SWL
KQ40LS,   received reports from JA. VK, ZL, LA, US mainland, VE etc 
running 1 watt erp.
So far I saw no coorelation between lightning propagation and conditions 
on 630M.

I did notice on 160 meters yesterday that Vk and ZL were stronger here 
than any locals,
a couple UA9-UA0 also super strong, at my sunrise that is, but the EU 
conditons were poor compared to
previous days.    Today was generally fair but signals all back to normal.

This winter season on 630 meters I usually will copy 20 to 30 different 
stations and will be reported
heard by 60 or 70 unique stations.

73 Merv K9FD  Molokai Island Hawaii

> Mike,
>
> Thank you for the post, very timely for me.
>
> I have been exploring the VLF and LF spectrum (RX only) for a few 
> weeks now, after spending some time and money acquiring the capability.
>
> As far as hamradio goes, there is life in the 2200 and 600M bands.
>
> Regarding lightning strikes and their effects, yesterday was an 
> interesting day. Keeping in mind this is all news to me, I was 
> surprised to see the number of 'hits' on my SDR waterfall. It was like 
> every 10-15 seconds or so. The SDR would go into clipping for the 
> duration.
>
> This went on for a few hours, nothing was being decoded, and then 
> quiet. G0MRF in the UK, and other NA stations, showed up again on the 
> monitor a few minutes later on 600M. I did not check 160M, will do 
> next time.
>
> I did not see any mention of yesterday's condition on the VLF list 
> though. There are ongoing attempts on 8.270 kHz and less frequently on 
> 1.65 kHz. Fascinating stuff.
>
> Thank you for the links.
>
> 73 de Vince, VA3VF
> _________________
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