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VOACAP

I've been doing radio for 60 years, and here's what I have seen from Cycle 25 thus far: The 10 meter band has opened up after the fall equinox and closed down after the spring equinox. So far, there has been no sporadic E propagation and the MUF has stayed relatively low despite some stellar solar flux index numbers. Winter time noise levels on 160-40 have been low, but for some reason the 3790-3800 kHz DX window has been silent. 40 has been the prime nighttime DX band, with propagation sometimes rivaling what 10 meters is doing in the daytime. The last two weeks of October and the first two weeks of November were the best, with daily bursts of California Highway Patrol on 42 MHz. I fondly remember solar cycles where propagation was East-west in the fall and winter and north-south in the spring and summer. A decent receiver and antenna could easily hear the DX from the old 46-49 MHz cordless phones and walkie talkies. I'm not hearing any of that yet, but the thing about radio is that it's a dynamic hobby. I've worked the big DX when the band was supposed to be closed and listened to nothing but static when the band was supposed to be open. You just never know, and that's part of the challenge, and the fun.

Thanks for this Walt! 73

Thanks Walt! These are some useful sites I will consult before my next POTA trip. 73s

yrs ago the army had a huge radar setup at nags head de wb8e navy duck 1959/60

Man, this stuff is dynamite (modern sorcery). I know you like the saltwater stuff, but a bit of a hint for you: If you exchange the salt for baking powder you might also do well. Let me explain. Try setting up in front of a doughnut shop. On days when you can't make DX contacts, you wont be far from a hot cup of coffee and a few doughnuts. WIN WIN!! Just kidding. You really put out some quality stuff. I love it.

Great information. Thanks Walt.

I was trying to practice my copy skills today just listening to CW on 17m, and then everybody disappeared. I thought my radio had died. The pan adapter just went blue.

WSPPR Rocks is a good site I commonly use to check what bands are open. Click search -> set band + last 10 minutes -> click search -> click map -> move the power slider for more accurate readings.

Do a CQ on FT8 before you leave, then go to PSK reporter... that is the most accurate way to see what is going on before you go IMO !!!

Thank you Walt. We always appreciate your videos.

Hi Walt, agree the M.U.F. gives information, which is useful when planning an outdoor activation. Thanks for both websites - I’ll use them for my next outing. Also: Two packages are going to be delivered to your QTH on Saturday - USPS & Amazon. Explanation within each. Enjoy & have a safe trek to Ohio next week. AC3EA

I still can't read these charts .. maybe it's because i am color-blind. I need to know 40M conditions as 12noon est M-F .. conditions were great and fell out around 3 weeks ago.

... So, does this mean that I'm entering Amateur radio at the wrong time, if the max will be in 2025-2026, it's going to be getting progressively more difficult for the next little while?

Great suggestions Walt. 73

Surprised you did not mention the Reverse Beacon Network. If you want to know where your signal is being received, just call about a minute or two CQ on CW on whatever band or frequency you are interested in, and in about another minute every RBN node that copied you world wide will have posted a SNR report linked to your call sign and frequency to the RBN for you (and everyone else monitoring the RBN to see. Even if you don’t normally work CW, if you can send a CQ it will be copied by the network. I believe the network only monitors the CW portions of the band. You can also apply various data filters to see what individual RBN nodes are copying and also filter by band, signal source type, nodes by country, etc. You of course can also listen for yourself on web SDRs in areas you are trying to work, and also listen to them to see where they are receiving signals from other stations from. 73 de Chris AJ1G Stonington CT

Thanks, Walt. Great information. --Pete AC5MF

Solar Maximum is turning out to be really bumpy, isn't it?

Should have checked those before doing SOTA today,barely made my 4 contacts. On holidays in Outer Banks in July & looking forward to some beach operating.

Voacap is good for offline HF forecasts.

Also check the reverse beacon network.

Thanks Walt. KO4HPC 73 :)

Very helpful, thanks!

Just a tech here...for now. I'm still blown away I made it to Easter island from Florida on a 30 watt radio 10 meter band. The conditions were great that day. Thank walt for all you do . Your information is vary intuitive.

Thanks for the info, Walt

Hey Walt thanks for sharing! Very useful info 73's my friend.

I'm actually dxing across the pond on 20 M at 3:00 a.m. eastern standard time

Walt, thank you for the information. Can you explain why of late the solar date has been saying 30-20m day poor 17-15m day good 12-10m day good. Seems to me to be the wrong way around with 20m poor and 15m good in day time. My experience of late has been 20m day fair higher bands dead.

Good reminder, I can spend days studying some antenna or tuner or choke or rig and miss the fact that the bands were bad, not the gear.

Just what the doctor ordered! Great information Walt, thanks!

Walt, thank you so much for the great information! You're the "New Ham Sherpa." As a new HF Ham I have run into days that are terrible with the exact same setup that has been beautiful before. I bookmarked these websites you provided! :)

Love your videos, keep em up.

I just turn the radio on. Quick sweep and I know all I need to know. If all I can hear is the Kilowatt/Yagi club then I find something else to do. 73 M7BLC.

Appreciate you Walt!

just wanted to say I love your videos .. i live in san diego ca and i really want to go down to the bay any try your pool noodle for a counter pose ... i really wish i had went with the g90 after watching your videos .. but i went with the ft891 for the 6m oooo that was only active once since but keep the videos coming i love them.. i almost thought my ft891 lost 2 bands the past few weeks 10m and 12m i could not get out on at all psk reporter said i was not getting to anyone i almost bought a new radio but then 2 days agaio they started working again i guess it was bad conditions.. thanks for the info

Hi Walt. Greetings from Cape Town. Do you ever use the beacons of the IARU beacon project?

Yep. Conditions haven't been very good lately. Especially for us Techs stuck on a small sliver of 10m. More motivation to upgrade so I can play on that 20 meter band. Thanks for the links Walt. Great help to all of us.

Mr Walt, it would be fantastic if you actually walked us through what some of the graphs and data mean. As always, watching your content. 73s

If it's ugly and it works, it ain't ugly. Great field-expedient antenna! 73 Ed KK7SAB

I want one of these so bad

Question, most of your videos assuming multiband and Ham radio, but with CB gear suddenly a SHTF issue, i keep having people ask me about low profile antennas. The flagpoles with tuners are insanely expensive for what you get. May i request you make up the best performing low profile antenna for CB / 11 meter use and hopefully would do as well at DX as a 10 meter you will already have made. Name the video keyword well and you will get a lot of traffic. You make great videos and are a true walking library of useful info and experience.

Somehow my EFHW for 40-10m did not work well for me. May be because of my compromised mounting due to space constraints at home. But I did not try a vertical orientation like this as the wire was 20m long. Was the one you used a single band end fed antenna? I reverted back to 40/10m fan dipole with a 1:1 current balun at feedpoint. Any chance of cutting the wire from 20m to 10m long and using it as 20m vertical like yours? Will I have to change the capacitor inside the 49:1 balun? 73 de Jon, VU2JO

Do like all amatuers do, no callsign, no response lol. Professionals allow people to speak regardless of the situation. Callsign or not. We are all on the radio to speak, so if people come up to you to speak, you made a contact.

Good video🇺🇸

Planning on getting into QRP this summer. This video really helps me.

Once again, another outstanding video.

How do you find out your sending and receiving frequencies

Great job. Absolutely like K7MEM's Antenna Calculator! Interestingly enough, I never knew each side of the inverted-V were different lengths. I plan on building a 1:1 balun, I'll stick the mast in a 5 gallon bucket with concrete, and make two small gallon buckets with concrete to make this setup completely portable. Thank you, again Coastal Waves & Wires.

Keep it up Walt. Love your stuff!

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