HF News
Last week was about as good as it gets at this point in the solar cycle. We had a solar flux index in the 140s, it even hit 156 on the 26th, and a Kp index that was pretty flat, often below two.
That’s good news for HF as it means the ionosphere had a chance to settle and, although not record-breaking, an SFI of 140-150 is very usable.
There were numerous C and M-class solar flares, but these were relatively minor and the latest NOAA/SWPC update shows a 70% chance for additional M-Flares and a 20% chance for an isolated strong X-Flare.
This all came together to give a maximum usable frequency over a 3,000km path of around 21-24MHz, often just peaking around 28MHz. This gave the odd 10-metre opening, but these were sparse and not very strong.
DXpeditions to be worked this week, according to DXWorld.net, include E51TLM South Cook Islands, T31TTT Kanton Island, FO/F6BCW French Polynesia, XT2AW Burkina Faso and 3GOZ Easter Island.
So what bands should you be looking at? Twenty metres, 17 metres and 15 metres will probably give the best results, but don’t completely rule out the two higher bands that may show occasional surprises.
We are now starting the Sporadic-E season as well, so look out for short-lived, but strong openings around Europe on 10 and 12 metres.
Next week, NOAA predicts an SFI of between 130 and 140, with a Kp of 2-3. Unsettled conditions are forecast for May 7th and 8th with a potential Kp of five. As always, keep an eye on solarham.com for near real-time reports of solar activity.
VHF and up
The excellent Tropo conditions for some parts of the country recently are likely to be a bit subdued over this weekend, but there are signs that another period of high pressure weather will return as we move through the coming week.
Unlike the recent dry weather, there are likely to be a few showery spells with a chance of rain scatter on the GHz bands, especially at first. Meteor scatter is probably enhanced next week by the Eta Aquarids, which peak on Wednesday May 6th and are associated with Comet Halley. The aurora prospects are probably moving away from their spring activity period but check the Kp index as usual for high values above Kp>5.
The Sporadic-E season is slowly limbering up and from May it’s well worth checking for activity, initially on 10m and 6m, but not just for digital modes so check for SSB and CW activity. Work continues on the website www.propquest.co.uk and although there are still some missing elements, it is hoped to bring those back soon.
EME now, and the Moon is moving towards minimum declination on Sunday May 3rd, so short Moon windows and low peak elevation. Path losses are still increasing until apogee on May 4th when the Moon is at its furthest from Earth at 405,840km. 144 Mhz sky temperature reaches a maximum of more than 2,800 Kelvin on May 6th.