Nobody knows what will happen to the bands the next few days.  I will be
trying to burn up the CW bands this weekend in the ARRL DX contest, working
whatever is open.  Japan was fairly loud and stable here yesterday on 15 CW.
We might work Europe from W3 on ten meters, although we're most likely to
work it on a skew path, where we and the Europeans aim their antennas at the
equatorial Atlantic.  Conditions are expected to be better on Sunday than
they would be tomorrow night and Saturday.  But nobody knows anything for
sure until the coronal mass ejections start hitting the earth's magnetic
field.
73,
Lloyd Rasmussen, W3IUU, Kensington, Maryland
Home:  http://lras.home.sprynet.com
Work:  http://www.loc.gov/nls
 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: For blind ham radio operators [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> On Behalf Of Martin McCormick
> Sent: Thursday, February 17, 2011 11:38 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Solar flare
> 
> 	Solar flares give us the best and worst propagation
> conditions.
> They can spew out X-rays which seem to strengthen the ionosphere
> and also throw out sub-atomic particles like protons that ruin
> the ionosphere for a short period of time. The
> positively-charged protons neutralize the F layers of the
> ionosphere and cause it to stop reflecting signals. That is a
> radio blackout and you should hear one, some time. Sometimes,
> you will hear 20 meters, for example, just fade to noise over a
> period of a couple of minutes. All that is left is hiss.
> 
> 	Eventually, the ionosphere comes back but some people
> have even thought their antenna was disconnected or that their
> receiver had failed.
> 
> 	I am glad to see the Solar Flux up to 113 and 114, but I
> have yet to hear anything exciting. On ten, I hear my electronic
> thermostat, some computers in my house and the neighbors'
> houses, and that madening arc-welder buzz from our local power
> company. I don't hear any DX, yet.
> 
> 	The X-rays travel at the speed of light so we get them
> about 8 minutes after the Sun blows its top. Those X-rays don't
> hurt us on the ground because the atmosphere absorbs them but
> they certainly strengthen the F layers to give us F2 propagation
> on ten and six and sometimes, even higher.
> 
> 	If the flare shot us with protons, they get here between
> 18 hours and 36 hours after the event and can destroy
> satellites. When we have a big proton event, some communications
> satellites actually batton their hatches, so to speak and shut
> down until the spray passes. Space walks and maybe even space
> flights are canceled and unshielded electronic equipment in
> space can malfunction or be destroyed. It's like sub-atomic sand
> blasting.
> 
> 	I have heard that the European 4-meter ham band around
> 70 MHZ has made it across the pond a couple of times but I don't
> know if that was F2 or multi-hop Sporadic E. You'll just have to
> wait and see over the next few days what this flare brought us.
> Not all Solar flares blast protons or give us free X-rays. Some
> just mess up the Earth's magnetic field and make everything on
> HF sound like it was under water.
> 
> 	Last Fall, I did hear a brief opening on ten one Sunday
> morning so this increased Solar activity should give us a few
> more. Exactly when is hard to say.
> 
> 
> Martin McCormick WB5AGZ  Stillwater, OK