QST de W1AW
SB PROP ARL ARLP034
ARLP034 Propagation de KT7H
Average solar flux was down about five points over the past week. Flux values are expected to stay quite low, and rise up above 70 next week around August 22. After that it should peak around 76 on August 29, and be back to 70 around September 4. No big upsets are expected, but there could be some minor geomagnetic activity around August 27.
The Fall equinox is about five weeks away, and the days are gradually getting shorter. 40 meters is the best nighttime band for worldwide propagation, while 20 is best during the day. We are still suffering from very low solar activity at the bottom of the current solar cycle, so MUFs are depressed. Expect big improvements over the next two years.
The September issue of QST has an informative article by N6BV on advanced propagation prediction software. An interesting one is VOACAP, created for Voice of America, and available free from the federal government via the web at http://www.voa.gov. Click on Other Services, and then Software Distribution after the opening screen.
Sunspot Numbers for August 8 through 14 were 24, 20, 33, 30, 22, 16 and 30, with a mean of 25. 10.7 cm flux was 69.8, 70.2, 72.8, 72.9, 70.1, 69.6, and 68.8, with a mean of 70.6.