February Propagation

From the middle of February through early April, typical equinoctial propagation conditions can be expected on the high-frequency (HF) bands. This usually means a noticeable improvement in conditions between the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Look for improvements between the U.S. and South America, Africa, Australasia, Antarctica, and parts of Asia. Equinoctial propagation occurs during the spring and fall months, when the Sun is most directly overhead at the equator, producing similar ionospheric characteristics over large areas of the world. It tends to maximize during sunrise and sunset periods and over both short- and long-path openings.

We continue seeing an increase of sunspot activity. Littleby-little we’ll see improvements in the propagation at higher frequencies over long-distance paths. It is always a surprise to the casual amateur radio operator to get on a band like 10 meters during these periods of low solar activity, and discover that there is life on the band,