Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP

Propagation Report from Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP

16 August, 2009

Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP, reports that the expected solar activity will be very low. The geomagnetic field is expected to be mostly at quiet levels. The expected Effective Sun Spot number for the coming week will be less than 5.

The sun has remained blank of sunspots for more than 33 days in
a row. Hopefully it will not remain that way for much longer.

20 and 40 m will provide best opportunities for DX. Conditions to the East and the West will be good from the afternoon onwards. During the late afternoon and early evenings it will be good towards the North. In the morning it may be possible to make contacts with Australia.

Contacts with New Zealand may be possible on 40 m during the evenings. During the early mornings and evenings 40 m contacts may be possible with Brazil. The North Easterly, North Westerly, South Easterly and South Westerly paths will be challenging 10 MHz is looking promising late afternoon and after dark for the CW and digital enthusiasts.

The Northern California DX Foundation's international beacon network is monitored at the Hermanus Magnetic Observatory, ZS1HMO, and the signal strengths of the received beacons are automatically logged. The graphic results are available at http://spaceweather.hmo.ac.za and are very enlightening. Select "Ionospheric Data" and then "HF Propagation Conditions" to see which beacons were recently and not so recently received.

Vincent, ZS6BTY publishes an excellent graphical link reliability prediction for all the Ham bands on the Pretoria Amateur Radio Club's website. This prediction is available at www.parc.or.za. Click on the "Propagation" tab.

The best way to defeat the current low solar activity is to improve your antenna setup. Dipole or preferably directional antennas at at least 12 metres above ground level are required to ensure that the radiation angle is low enough for long distance propagation. A good antenna system is one of the best investments an amateur can make.

Local conditions are going to be good on 40 m during the day time. 80 m may perform well during the early mornings and late afternoons over the shorter distances, e.g. between ZS5 and ZS6. 30m may perform well between ZS6 and ZS1.

80 m is the frequency of choice in the evenings. Fortunately the static noise levels are low making contacts over the longer distances more pleasant. Now is the time to start making those contacts for your 80 m "Worked All ZS" award!

Remember that this is only a prediction and that HF has the capability to pleasantly surprise you, but you will never know unless you switch your rig on, listen and also call CQ.

Please visit www.spaceweather.co.za for further information.

South African Radio League

• All propagation reports can be found at:
http://www.southgatearc.org/propagation