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Science/Tech See other Science/Tech Articles Title: It Seems to Us: Absolute Zero It Seems to Us: Absolute Zero By David Sumner, K1ZZ December 1, 2007 Many ARRL members are new to HF this year. If you are among them you may be a bit disappointed that the reality you have experienced has not met your expectations. We boast that radio amateurs can communicate anywhere in the world, but it's not an easy game for beginners when Old Sol refuses to lend a helping hand. The good news is that for ionospheric surfers, things can only get better. While we speak of the "11-year cycle," sunspot numbers go up faster than they come down. Starting next fall, conditions should improve steadily until late 2011 or 2012. If you're a hardcore DXer with a good antenna farm you've found plenty to hold your interest during the solar minimum. "Top Band" -- 160 meters -- has come into its own as a DX band, though it's mainly a CW game. Phone DXers spend the hours of darkness on 75 meters, although the 40-meter situation has improved a lot since amateurs in many other countries have been able to move into the 7100-7200 kHz segment. The problem is, competitive antennas for these bands aren't easy to engineer into a typical backyard. The competition eases a bit on 30 meters, but by definition this is CW/digital territory. It's not that DX isn't possible without sunspots. It just isn't as much fun if you have a marginal antenna, especially if your operating time is limited to evenings and weekends. The workhorse band, year in and year out, regardless of sunspots, is 20 meters. At the solar minimum it's a daytime band; at the maximum it's mainly a nighttime band. And while the 17-meter regulars will hate me for revealing their secret, even now their favorite band offers a great respite when 20 is a bit too busy for comfort. Among casual DXers the favorite band by far is 10 meters. The band provides enough elbow room that it's possible to enjoy long, interference-free chats with stations in other countries. An amplifier is rarely a necessity, especially if you can manage a Yagi or quad on a modest tower. Sure, the guys with amplifiers and stacked Yagis on tall towers will get through first -- but when 10 is wide open, everyone gets a chance. The problem, of course, is that it takes quite a few sunspots to push the maximum usable frequency (MUF) up to 28 MHz -- sunspots that we don't have right now. But they will come, and the higher bands -- 15, 12 and 10 meters -- will begin to get interesting long before the peak. Solar cycles are measured by what are called "smoothed" sunspot numbers, which obscure the day-to-day variations that make DXing such a fascinating pastime. Every day is different, and potentially better -- much better -- than the one before. Will we get enough of a peak to make 6 meters a DX band again? The experts are divided. One group predicts a peak in October 2011 exceeding the level that brought exciting, sustained DX opportunities in late 2001 and early 2002. Another group predicts a much lower peak in August 2012. It doesn't pay to get too excited about such predictions; the Sun has been in business for billions of years, yet the data on which predictions are based only cover the most recent 400 years. So, what's a frustrated DXer to do until the Sun develops a decent pox? First, put up the best antennas you can. If you can't manage that at home, head for the wide open spaces and operate portable. There's simply no substitute for a good antenna. Good doesn't have to mean expensive; a piece of "educated wire" can work wonders. If the new, 21st edition of The ARRL Antenna Book doesn't give you enough inspiration, there are more than two dozen other antenna books in the ARRL catalog. Second, if you've limited yourself to SSB get equipped for RTTY and other digital modes. Develop CW operating skills -- there's a reason why the major DXpeditions make most of their QSOs on CW. Third, try to get on the air at different times of day. If you can't break through the pileups in the evening, try getting on early in the morning. Conditions change very quickly at dawn; with good timing and a bit of luck you can get the contact in the log before the "big gun" across town is out of bed. If none of these ideas appeals to you, just be patient. The ARRL has a "Five-Year Plan" to restore the sunspots, and so far it's right on track!
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#1. To: Tauzero, HAM OPERATORS (#0)
Thanks for posting!! A nice tongue and cheek SLAM against the ARRL which is well deserved by the bootlicking shills. Any other ham operators here on 4UM?
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