Summer is here! HF bands continue to provide DX contacts. Ole Sol keeps things interesting, ionospherically speaking, with periodic intense solar flares, CMEs, and increasingly higher solar indices as we continue towards Cycle 25’s solar maximum. Occasionally, HF DX may temporarily suffer with disturbed ionospheric conditions over polar paths. Conversely, VHF propagation may improve with auroral propagation and tropospheric ducting. Accurately predicting HF and VHF propagation openings becomes tricky in terms of timing. When will these solar/ionospheric interactions occur? And will they have any impact on a contest weekend? Sometimes, HF bands of interest will not be open. Whenever the bands, HF or VHF, are not open locally, this could be a good time to go to the bench to work on a project. Or if you’re more in the mood to relax in a comfortable chair to pursue your ham radio interests, then why not grab a good radio magazine or book?
May I Suggest?
If inclining to recline is more to your liking, and you’re looking for a good ham radio book, may I suggest taking some time to read an entertaining, excellent, newly-released CQ publication, “Playing With Meteors, Exploring the Universe, With Amateur Radio” by Eric Nichols, KL7AJ (Photo A). Despite the title, Eric’s book is not a primer on meteor scatter propagation; rather, it’s the author’s exploration of the importance of ham radio, its relevance to society in general,
