This is true. Normally, when we have a Solar flare, the
conditions can be pretty bad as we are having the flare but they might
get better later or nothing much happens at all. It depends upon
the amount of X-rays and later the amount of protons and
geomagnetic disturbances we get.

	This time, we did get some X-rays but I think the
initial blast was on the other side of the world as China
reported it first. For all I know, they might have a 10-meter
opening because X-ray energy from the Sun appears to have a
drastic effect on the ionosphere but we haven't gotten anything
to write home about yet.

	I listened tonight, February 17, to 55.240 through
55.260 MHZ which is the video carrier frequency for TV Channel
2. There should still be carriers from Canada and Mexico and,
for that matter, Central America and the Caribbean but I didn't
hear a thing except for meteor pings and something that sounded
like a few-second burst of Sporadic E. Aurora sounds unique in
that CW sounds as if somebody is sending with steam or
compressed air. Instead of nice beautiful tones, all the
carriers sound hissy. Oklahoma is far enough South that aurora
is extremely rare but the one time I did hear it, I doubt that
one could have copied SSB there was so much buzz. This is one
time that CW is king.

	Let's all keep our ears open this weekend as it might
get interesting.

	During the last Solar peak in the early 2000's, One
could hear the FM repeaters at the high end of ten and, if your
receiver will tune higher, you can hear commercial two-way
systems between 30 and usually about 35 MHZ. If you can hear
that sort of thing up to 45 or 50 MHZ, then six is probably
open. In some parts of South America, six meters starts around
48 or 49 MHZ. You shouldn't try to transmit there, but you may
hear Spanish amateur radio chatter on repeaters. If you hear
that, we are having 6-meter F2.

73
WB5AGZ
Lloyd Rasmussen writes:
> 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
> 
>