Topband: Top Band: Stew Perry Contest

[VE6WZ_Steve]

A VE6WZ 160m log extract and excel pivot table shows a remarkable correlation with solar activity and trans-polar DX.

This season for the 3 months from August to now I have had 3 CW QSOs with EU. (OZ4MM, OK1CF and OM2XW)
Last year, 2021 for the same 3 months I had 273 EU QSOs,
In 2020 for the same 3 months I had 412 EU QSOs
and in 2019 for the same 3 months I logged 122 EU QSOs

I am very active on TB, and even when not CQ, I will be watching the RBN spots and/or looking at the 160m waterfall to see if there is a band opening to Europe (even using my iPhone when watching TV).
These statistics are not related to my personal level of activity.  If the band is open to EU, I will know it. I have my “eye on the band" pretty much every night during the winter.
The trans-polar path to EU has simply shut down this year.
Entirely as expected.
To be clear, this does NOT mean 160m DX is done, and in fact SA, Japan and VK-ZL-OC remains very workable on a regular basis.  Even through the summer.
These are mostly non-polar paths. Just like east coast NA working EU.
From VE6 the EU path is directly through the AU doughnut, so any significant increase in the geo-mag heat will shut things down….in a hurry.

I was only QRV for the SP contest last night for about 30min in the evening and listened a bit this morning.
Indeed conditions were poor.  Even the east coast NA was weak.

73, de steve ve6wz


> 
> On 10/23/2022 10:47 AM, Patrick Parmentier wrote:
>> Yes, the conditions remain below last year's level .
> 
> As we continue upward on the solar cycle, HF gets better, MF continues to gets worse.
> 
> 73, Jim K9YC
>