RSGB
GB2RS News Team
June 7, 2024
It seems that we haven’t had a repeat performance of the auroral conditions caused by active sunspot region 3697. For aurora watchers, that could be a disappointment, but for HF lovers it means the bands have been quite settled.
The Kp index has been at 3 and below, while the solar flux index has been consistently above 175 all week. As a result, HF conditions have been quite good with maximum usable frequencies over a 3,000km path being regularly over 21MHz and often 24MHz.
It is always a good idea to operate on the highest HF band that is open as absorption decreases the higher you go.
Meanwhile, Sporadic-E propagation brought interest to the 10m band with stations from all over Europe being workable for long periods, but more of that in the VHF report.
On the 5 June, a filament located in the northeast quadrant erupted. The event flung a coronal mass ejection into space that doesn’t appear to be Earth-directed. But this shows that we are still in the danger zone for major solar events, and anything could happen.
Next week, NOAA predicts that the solar flux index will remain around 175, but we expect some geomagnetic disruption today, the 9 June, with a predicted Kp index of 4. Otherwise, solar conditions are predicted to be calm next week.
So, if these conditions continue, this is a good time to make the most of the HF bands.
VHF and up :
The weather pattern for the coming week is dominated by low pressure, which means there is unlikely to be any significant Tropo to speak of.
There will probably be several opportunities for those on the GHz bands to search for rain scatter. However, these events look to be moving showers or rain bands, which means that you’ll need to be pretty agile with the rotator to keep on the scattering target.
With the solar conditions continuing to keep the pot simmering it’s not impossible that the Kp index could rise high enough to promote an aurora, but it’s a low probability.
The early part of June is well regarded for minor meteor events and should be worth a look for those using meteor scatter modes.
There were several Sporadic-E openings early in the week that finishes today, the 9 June. Sporadic-E was reported up to the 2m band on a few occasions. Last Sunday, the 2 June, it lasted up to three hours on the path from Eastern England down to the Italian peninsula.
Events initially get picked up on the 10m band and then move up through the VHF bands of 6m, 4m and finally 2m as the Sporadic-E propagation strengthens. In this peak of the Sporadic-E season, the openings on the lower bands, such as 10 and 6m, can be present for much of the day and certainly quite late into the evening.
Follow the weather patterns on the daily Sporadic-E blog on propquest.co.uk and you should be able to point in the right direction for an opening. Multi-hop paths to the Far East or Americas do require a good antenna like a beam, but single-hop European Sporadic-E propagation can be very strong, and any antenna will do the job.
Moon declination is at its maximum this weekend for the DUBUS 10 and 24GHz EME contest, but EME path loss is rising. 144MHz sky noise is low all week.
(Mike Terry/BDXC)
