Sunspot cycle 24 does, at last, show signs of gathering some momentum. Despite the ups and downs in the sunspot count, there is an inexorable climb now towards the next maximum, probably on 2012 or 2013. This autumn we should start to get the regular 10m transatlantic openings again which, to me, are a sign that the new cycle is here and "good" for several years. In the press there's been some alarmist headlines about solar storms around the sunspot maximum knocking out swathes of the power systems and satellites around the world. Certainly the danger exists, but surely it is a manageable risk with planning and contingencies in place? See
news.com.au on this subject.
Good morning Roger, never paid to much attention to the sun in the past. Took the ARRL propagation coarse about 2 years ago. From there on in found out how important the sun is and at times how it can very much affect just more than ham radio.
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