Hi Tom,
Yes, that was an exceptional evening last night, but don't count on
this winter being as good as last. It appears that the sunspots may be
ramping up. There are two groups now showing, including three good
sized spots and about ten smaller specks. Yesterday a C-class solar
flare erupted from one of these groups, and we were the beneficiaries of
a great burst of x-rays creating lots of ionization upstairs. It was
this ionization that gave the great propagation on 160 last night. I
worked ten different countries in a short period, with six reports of
599 or 589. Tonight we will probably be back to the rather poor
conditions we have been experiencing recently. We can expect a
geomagnetic storm in a couple of days or so, when a bunch of heavier
ions arrive via the solar wind. That won't be good.
You are right about your location making it interesting for working 160.
The guys across in Wisconsin and Minnesota describe that part of the
country as "the Black Hole" for 160 propagation.
73, Bert VE3QAA
Tom Haavisto wrote:
> Being fairly new to 160, there is something I noticed that I have not seen
> mentioned previously. After fall equinox a few days ago, the low bands have
> gotten a lot quieter and a lot better. Just worked I3MLU (559) and UA3TCJ
> (589).
>
> What makes this interesting is that I am a lot further west that most people
> realize - just above Wisconsin, almost at the Wisconsin/Minnesota border.
> Thunder Bay is on the western shore of Lake Superior - I am 30 miles west of
> there. Pretty much in the middle of Canada. Antenna is an inverted L
> hanging off a 48 foot tower, running a KW.
>
> Looks like we are in store for another great year on 160!
>
> Tom - VE3CX
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