03 January 2020

What a difference a day can make!  Actually two days.  On the 1st of January, we had what was likely the best propagation we've seen over the past twelve months.  Yesterday, the 2nd, was still good but noticeably down from the 1st.  Today signals on the distant paths were the worst we've experienced in about the past eight weeks.  KGØVL in Iowa was just barely able to copy signals from the GA, NC and SC area whereas on the 1st the same paths were good Q5 SSB quality.  WW8II, Michigan, for many months routinely had a good Q5 SSB signal into the Southeast was weak today.  After a few good weeks in early December, propagation became unstable during the last weeks of the month.  During that time there was a solar corona hole facing earth which rotated close to out of view by the 1st of January.  Now another corona hole has appeared.  Perhaps this is responsible for today's propagation change.  We will see what happens as this solar disturbance rotates across the solar disk.

Solar Magnetic Disturbance 04JAN20

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17:28 WW8II-BRUCE: I AM HEARING SSB WAY DOWN IN THE NOISE

17:29 W4DEX-DEX: AB4AM S9 SSB with QSB

17:30 WW8II-BRUCE: KG0VL SSB QSO 51 TO 52 WITH WW8II

17:30 KG0VL-JEFF: WW8II weak on SSB, 52

17:30 W4DEX-DEX: KP2AE weaker than usual

17:31 AB4AM-ROB: KP2AE and W4DEX 5/8-59 SSB

17:31 W4DEX-DEX: K4FI only 5x3

17:32 AB4AM-ROB: K4FI 5/7 came up to 5/8 w/ QSB

17:32 KG0VL-JEFF: No Southern stations even detected. Most strange

17:32 WW8II-BRUCE: HEARING W4DEX IN THE NOISE NOT REAL COPY

17:34 K5HFG: very quiet here. no SSB heard

17:35 WW8II-BRUCE: LISTENING CW MODE

17:35 WW8II-BRUCE: KG0VL 559 ON INVERTED V ANTENNA 579 ON THE SAL ANTENNA

17:36 AB4AM-ROB: KG0VL No copy so far

17:36 WW8II-BRUCE: KG0VL DOWN TO 549 ON INVERTED V ANTENNA STILL 579 ON THE SAL ANTENNA

17:37 AB4AM-ROB: KG0VL in the noise now S1

17:37 W4DEX-DEX: Nothing from KG0VL today. Very interesting after so many good days in a row.

17:37 K5HFG: no copy on KG0VL. no detection on the scope

17:38 AB4AM-ROB: KG0VL no real copy

17:38 AB4AM-ROB: K5HFG no copy

17:39 W4DEX-DEX: Nothing from K5HFG

17:39 KG0VL-JEFF: Not even a peep heard from K5HFG today.

17:39 K4FI-DOUG: KG0VL in the noise, came up little toward end, but still no copy, nothing on K5HFG

17:39 WW8II-BRUCE:  K5HFG I CAN ONLY DETECT

17:40 WW8II-BRUCE: AB4AM IS 539

17:40 K4FI-DOUG: Rob is 599

17:40 W4DEX-DEX: AB4AM 589 with one very quick deep fade

17:41 K5HFG: copy AB4AM 519 w/ fade to noise and back to 519 and suddenly gone then back 519 at end

17:41 KG0VL-JEFF: AB4AM heard between noise level and 529

17:41 WW8II-BRUCE: SOME SOLW QSB ON AB4AM BUT COPY WHOLE TRANSMISSION

17:41 AB4AM-ROB: K4FI 599+

17:42 WW8II-BRUCE: K4FI CANNOT DETECT

17:42 K5HFG: no copy or detection on K4FI

17:42 W4DEX-DEX: K4FI 589 very little QSB detected

17:43 KG0VL-JEFF: Nothing heard from K4FI today

17:43 AB4AM-ROB: K4FI steady entire 2min.

17:44 WW8II-BRUCE: W4DEX W4DEX JUST DETECT NO COPY

17:44 AB4AM-ROB: W4DEX 599 with slight QSB slow

17:44 AB4AM-ROB: W4DEX now 599+

17:45 K5HFG: no copy on W4DEX. nothing on scope

17:45 WW8II-BRUCE: W4DEX QSB 529 COPY CALL

17:45 KG0VL-JEFF: W4DEX weak, yet 519-529 steady, mostly above the noise level.

17:46 AB4AM-ROB: WW8II no copy so far

17:47 K4FI-DOUG: No copy WW8II

17:47 W4DEX-DEX: WW8II initially 539 down into the noise after first minute, back up to 549 at end

17:47 K5HFG: WW8II no copy or detection on scope

17:47 KG0VL-JEFF: WW8II about 549 with fading

17:47 AB4AM-ROB: WW8II no copy

17:47 WW8II-BRUCE: HEARING SSB IN THE NOISE

17:48 KP2AE-JOE: kg0vl 41n k4fi 53n ab4am 59n

17:49 WW8II-BRUCE: OCCASIONALLY HEAR A BURST OF SSB

17:49 K5HFG: no SSB heard here

17:51 KG0VL-JEFF: Fairly strong (yet benign) negative Bz last evening 'round midnight.

17:52 WW8II-BRUCE: ANOTHER 1 MIN QSO WITH KG0VL 444 MILES 52 COPY BOTH WAYS (same latitude)

17:52 WW8II-BRUCE: same here BZ

17:53 KG0VL-JEFF: I can hear Bruce on SSB, otherwise quiet, even with array at 120 degrees.

17:54 WW8II-BRUCE: COPY W4DEX SSB 41

17:54 W4DEX-DEX: Your were 53 briefly Bruce

17:55 WW8II-BRUCE: I HAVE SWISHING BZ

17:56 AB4AM-ROB: W4DEX dropping into the noise SSB

17:56 KG0VL-JEFF: Today was unusual, more like late June minus the static crashes
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