Freckles, a Sunspot Info Gadget for Microsoft Vista

Meet Freckles

In order to get an idea of current HF propagation conditions and perhaps to predict propagation paths, we most often check the current Sunspot Number, the Solar Flux, and the Interplanetary A (Ap) and K (Kp) indices.

The gadget presented here, Freckles, will display this information in the Sidebar or on the Desktop in a small window, along with the latest Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT) picture. This information is constantly updated, so you will always see the latest information.

Freckles browses the NOAA Space Environment Center website and loads the files that contain the information we're interested in. These files are then parsed to extract the information and this information is then displayed in a small window. Since the information is gathered from the internet, you will need an internet connection to make this work.

For those interested, Freckles is mostly written in HTML, Javascript and Ajax.

Why Freckles?

The sun is often depicted as a face. What is most appealing about Ms. Sunshine to us hams, are the spots on her face. It's those spots that provide us with great propagation on the High Frequency bands. The more spots, "freckles", she has, the more attractive she becomes to us.

For more information, and to download Freckles, go to:
http://www.kr1st.com/freckles.htm

See also:
Spotter, a DX Spotting sidebar gadget for Microsoft Vista