The home of Terence M8IPK

Built by M8IPK

The home of Terence M8IPK

IPK London

IPK London.uk

Built by M8IPK

Propagation

Okay, so this subject is very hit and miss but the science of it is becoming more understood every single day and for Radio Hams we’re extremely lucky to have some great people predicting just what is going to happen with the likes of, Jim Bacon, Steve Nicholls and Tamitha Skov.

Propagation, Why does it matter? It matters greatly, believe me, the more sunspots, the more you will hear on the bands, but even that’s not a guarantee. Look at the table to the right showing today’s conditions and take note of the K index (it’s just below the Solar Flux Index (SFI) and Sunspot Number (SN). If that K index is showing 0,1,2 generally conditions are reasonably good, but when they are further up from say 3-9 conditions deteriorate greatly, 3 you could make limited contacts and 4-9 you really lose the bands, so always keep an eye on this table. You could also visit Solar Ham for upto date information.

Ever wondered about Tropospheric Propagation? In this TX Factor episode Jim Bacon explains Tropospheric Ducting and Sporadic-E. Both can give VHf and UHf signals a big helping hand to cover a greater distance and I know it works, I was at Dover in Kent on the White Cliffs using a Baofeng UV5R radio (max 5 Watts) and I spoke to someone driving along in Holland at over 100 miles away.

Propagation for HF is important too, Without it your signals won’t get too far, so here’s Steve Nicholls explaining why sunspots and solar propagation is so important. Let’s be honest, every Ham want’s to see how far their signals go and Steve Nicholls gives the best insight as to how Radio Propagation actually works.

VHf - UHf conditions can also change, most of us are used to working with VHf especially if you have/had an interest in CB. but weather conditions can change the very nature of our contacts. I was once down in Dover on the White cliffs talking to a ham over 100 miles away just using a 5 watt handheld radio, okay there was salt water there too but I never heard PI2NOS (Netherlands) repeater on

my handheld before. I knew that signals were coming through a Tropospheric Duct because of the conditions for that day, Holland was booming in and many French Repeaters too. Click the pic to find out what the conditions will be like for the coming week, it seems pretty accurate to me.

The Space Weather Woman herself, Tamitha Skov showing Solar conditions for the week ahead and constantly updated. Very knowledgable lady, so if you’re wondering what the band conditions are going to be like, or wondering if there will be any Aurora for the week ahead check her out.

Contact

The Home of Terence M8IPK

The Home of Terence M8IPK

IPK London

The Home of Terence M8IPK

IPK London

ipklondon.uk

Built by M8IPK

Propagation

Ever wondered about Tropospheric Propagation? In the TX Factor episode above Jim Bacon explains Tropospheric Ducting and Sporadic-E. Both can give VHf and UHf signals a big helping hand to cover a greater distance and I know it works, I was at Dover in Kent on the White Cliffs using a Baofeng UV5R radio (max 5 Watts) and I spoke to someone driving along in Holland at over 100 miles away.

Propagation for HF is important too, Without it your signals won’t get too far, in the episode above Steve Nicholls explains why sunspots and solar propagation is so important. Let’s be honest, every Ham want’s to see how far their signals go and Steve Nicholls gives the best insight as to how Radio Propagation actually works.