Friday, January 28, 2011

KD8BIG: My Week

This week has been a rough one for me. I have been under the weather. I am hoping things settle down soon.
I have not had the opportunity to investigate new equipment or even think about the many Hamfest we have coming up over the next several months leading up to Dayton.
This year I am hoping to make the trip to the Dayton Hamfest. I have received e-mails from several asking me if I plan on attending. I guess the best answer is as long as I am feeling healthy enough to travel.

I did get me a new toy; I got me a new iPod. This time it is the classic, replacing my SanDisk.
iPod classic gives you 160GB of storage capacity, good for up to 40,000 songs, 200 hours of video, 25,000 photos, or any combination. And you get up to 36 hours of battery life, so you can keep on rocking for a long, long time.
I wanted to get the iPod Touch but really did not have the need for the money it cost. 200 dollars is easier to part with compared to 400+ dollars.

Other than that, I am behind the eight ball on my Stamp Collection and have to order some fly tying materials to keep me busy. I also plan on cleaning out some of my sports cards I have collected since I was a kid.
Remember;
A Hobby a Day Keeps the Doldrums Away.
------------
I recieved an e-mail asking me what is a Doldrum.
Doldrums definition is;
dol·drums: (used with a sing. or pl. verb)
1.
a. A period of stagnation or slump.
b. A period of depression or unhappy listlessness.

My Stamp Collecting Blog

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HOW TO READ PROPAGATION NUMBERS

The A index [ LOW is GOOD ]

  • 1 to 6 is BEST
  • 7 to 9 is OK
  • 11 or more is BAD

Represents the overall geomagnetic condition of the ionosphere ("Ap" if averaged from the Kp-Index) (an average of the eight 3-hour K-Indices) ('A' referring to amplitude) over a given 24 hour period, ranging (linearly) typically from 1-100 but theoretically up to 400.

A lower A-Index generally suggests better propagation on the 10, 12, 15, 17, & 20 Meter Bands; a low & steady Ap-Index generally suggest good propagation on the 30, 40, 60, 80, & 160 Meter Bands.

SFI index [ HIGH is GOOD ]

  • 70 NOT GOOD
  • 80 GOOD
  • 90 BETTER
  • 100+ BEST

The measure of total radio emissions from the sun at 10.7cm (2800 MHz), on a scale of 60 (no sunspots) to 300, generally corresponding to the sunspot level, but being too low in energy to cause ionization, not related to the ionization level of the Ionosphere.

Higher Solar Flux generally suggests better propagation on the 10, 12, 15, 17, & 20 Meter Bands; Solar Flux rarely affects the 30, 40, 60, 80, & 160 Meter Bands.

K index [ LOW is GOOD ]

  • 0 or 1 is BEST
  • 2 is OK
  • 3 or more is BAD
  • 5 is VERY VERY BAD

The overall geomagnetic condition of the ionosphere ("Kp" if averaged over the planet) over the past 3 hours, measured by 13 magnetometers between 46 & 63 degrees of latitude, and ranging quasi-logarithmically from 0-9. Designed to detect solar particle radiation by its magnetic effect. A higher K-index generally means worse HF conditions.

A lower K-Index generally suggests better propagation on the 10, 12, 15, 17, & 20 Meter Bands; a low & steady Kp-Index generally suggest good propagation on the 30, 40, 60, 80, & 160 Meter Bands.

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