Re: Topband: solarwind and 160 prop
I had seen when those factors a long with a full moon or new moon that pulls the magnetic field more, What else helps use here in Wisconsin is the Solar Wind when it comes out of the South. All the other factors have to aline and if the sun just does not cooperate we are just SOL. -- Jim K9TF _ Topband Reflector
Re: Topband: solarwind and 160 prop
Wolf, The web page for the National Space Weather Prediction Center's Wang-Sheeley-Arge solar wind model displays predictions and observations of solar wind speed and the polarity of the interplanetary magnetic field at earth. http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/ws 73 Frank W3LPL Original message Date: Wed, 23 Jan 2013 06:24:17 +0100 From: Dr. Wolf Ostwald df...@t-online.de Subject: Topband: solarwind and 160 prop To: topband@contesting.com hi reflectees ! As we all know, the effects of the solar wind are strongly determining 160m propagation. It seems that solely watching A and K indexes plus the SFI is not helping much in propagation predictions, at least not for 160. We all tried that and failed in it. Now is the critical factor whether the polarity of the arriving solar wind, developing the interplanetary mag field , fits the earth mag field or not. becuase if it does, the influence is by far greater than without it. Question is, where do i find that info ?? I think this might stir up some geophysicist - hopefully. Surely the information derived that way is not as easy to grasp as a simple number, but it may be the only way to further the cause. 73 de wolf df2py _ Topband Reflector _ Topband Reflector
Re: Topband: solarwind and 160 prop
Check out this website: http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/SWN/ --Art Delibert, KB3FJO Date: Wed, 23 Jan 2013 06:24:17 +0100 From: df...@t-online.de To: topband@contesting.com Subject: Topband: solarwind and 160 prop hi reflectees ! As we all know, the effects of the solar wind are strongly determining 160m propagation. It seems that solely watching A and K indexes plus the SFI is not helping much in propagation predictions, at least not for 160. We all tried that and failed in it. Now is the critical factor whether the polarity of the arriving solar wind, developing the interplanetary mag field , fits the earth mag field or not. becuase if it does, the influence is by far greater than without it. Question is, where do i find that info ?? I think this might stir up some geophysicist - hopefully. Surely the information derived that way is not as easy to grasp as a simple number, but it may be the only way to further the cause. 73 de wolf df2py _ Topband Reflector _ Topband Reflector
Re: Topband: solarwind and 160 prop
Hi Wolf, I'm not sure if I understand your question. If you are looking for real time solar wind monitoring, you might start here: http://www.aurorasentry.com I have assembled a collection of solar, solar wind, and geomagnetic real time data, originally to forecast and track VHF and UHF radio reflection from aurora. The site needs updating. I haven't had time for it in a while. Of particular interest is the ACE MAG SWEPAM plot which you can find on the Solar Wind Dst portion of that site, or directly here: http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/ace/MAG_SWEPAM_24h.html The red Bz trace in the top panel is the north-south orientation of the interplanetary magnetic field. It couples most heavily with Earth's magnetic field (producing geomagnetic disturbance) when it is south oriented. Note that there are versions of this plot available for time spans of 2, 6, or 24 hours, 3 or 7 days. While on the subject, I never have liked, and still do not, the ever popular NOAA POES Auroral Activity plots: http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/pmap/index.html These have to me proven very unreliable for the intended purpose of correlating to VHF auroral propagation, but also do not track as well with intensity of real time auroral disturbances at MF and HF. Much better I think, but not yet adopted by hams, is OVATION Auroral Forecast: http://helios.swpc.noaa.gov/ovation/ or OVATION Prime Real-Time: http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/stp/ovation_prime/ Unfortunately this one lacks a good map overlay and takes some practice to read it correctly. 73, Paul N1BUG On 01/23/2013 12:24 AM, Dr. Wolf Ostwald wrote: Now is the critical factor whether the polarity of the arriving solar wind, developing the interplanetary mag field , fits the earth mag field or not. becuase if it does, the influence is by far greater than without it. Question is, where do i find that info ?? -- Paul Kelley, N1BUG RFI Committee chair, Piscataquis Amateur Radio Club http://www.k1pq.org _ Topband Reflector
Re: Topband: solarwind and 160 prop
On Wed, 2013-01-23 at 09:39 -0500, Bill Tippett wrote: ---snip--- There are many other factors affecting 160, and probably many we do not fully understand. ---snip--- 73, Bill W4ZV Hi Bill, We probably know just enough to be dangerous. I often refer to the propagation fairies - like the tooth fairy, etc. It's partly mystery. That's why all of us have QSOs that should be impossible ( a gift from the propagation fairies) or fail to make QSOs that should be easy (tricks played by those same fairies). One attraction of ham radio is the bundle of surprises we get when we turn on the radios. As Tim The Toolman says - OY!? 73, Bill KU8H _ Topband Reflector
Re: Topband: solarwind and 160 prop
On 01/23/2013 07:39 AM, Bill Tippett wrote: Weather Events in the Upper Atmosphere D-region Winter Anomaly is a period of enhanced radio wave absorption usually occurring in late winter and thought to be associated with a sudden stratospheric warming http://www.albany.edu/faculty/rgk/atm101/weather.htm I see something called D-region Bite-Out in this link. That's a new one for me, and defined as: D-region Bite-Out is a daytime depletion of electron density as the result of electrons attaching to polar mesopheric cloud ice particles Seems like that would be good for 160 meters. Is it measurable ? 73, Steve, N2IC _ Topband Reflector
Re: Topband: solarwind and 160 prop
I have a hard time differentiating between low activity and poor DX conditions sometimes. From the east coast of the US in the past week or two, I have not heard much EU at all, but domestic conditions are just fine as evidenced by two NAQP's past two weekends and there have been several Central American/South American stations on 160 with truly excellent (very very impressively loud) signals. Tim N3QE _ Topband Reflector
Topband: solarwind and 160 prop
hi reflectees ! As we all know, the effects of the solar wind are strongly determining 160m propagation. It seems that solely watching A and K indexes plus the SFI is not helping much in propagation predictions, at least not for 160. We all tried that and failed in it. Now is the critical factor whether the polarity of the arriving solar wind, developing the interplanetary mag field , fits the earth mag field or not. becuase if it does, the influence is by far greater than without it. Question is, where do i find that info ?? I think this might stir up some geophysicist - hopefully. Surely the information derived that way is not as easy to grasp as a simple number, but it may be the only way to further the cause. 73 de wolf df2py _ Topband Reflector
