Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP

Propagation Report from Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP

20 December, 2009

Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP, reports that the solar activity is still at low levels.

An impressive sunspot cluster made its appearance on Wednesday.
The solar flux level reached a new high of 83 for the current solar cycle.

From another source it was learnt that about two days ago sunspot 1035 was as wide as seven planets Earth. The fast-growing active region burst into view on 14 December with a magnetic polarity that clearly identifies it as a member of new Solar Cycle 24.

If the expansion continues apace, it could soon become the largest sunspot of the year. Check http://spaceweather.com for movies, photos and updates.

20 and 15 m will provide the best opportunities for DX. Conditions to India will be good from the afternoons onwards. During the late afternoons and early evenings it will be moderate towards Europa. In the afternoons there are good possibility of contacts with the USA on 15 m.

Contacts with New Zealand will be possible for a short while on 15 m during the mornings.

Contacts with Australia will be possible on 20 m during the afternoons. During the afternoons and evenings 20 and 15 m contacts may be possible with Brazil.

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. 30 m will perform well over the longer distances during the middle of the day. With summer here 20 m is also once again very useful for contacts over the longer distances, especially during the mornings.

On Wednesday, when the new sunspot cluster made its appearance, propagation was experienced on frequencies as high as 15 m between Pretoria and Hermanus.

80 m is the frequency of choice in the evenings.

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