rjr@mgweed.UUCP (Bob Roehrig) (02/20/85)
qst de k9eui hr propagation forecast bulletin nr 7 from arrl headquarters newington ct february 17, 1985 to all radio amateurs bt instead of rising as predicted last week, the solar flux fell off slowly, from a high of 76 on the 10th to a low of 72 on the 14th, 15th and 16th. it then turned upward, to 73 on the 17th, but this is 18 points below the peak reached on january 20, when the same area of the sun was facing our way. that considerable active area seems to have run its course. it would have been visible for several days now, but so far hardly a trace of it has been seen. some flux rise is likely during this week, but anything approaching the activity of january 16 to 23 seems unlikely in february. if the solar flux remains in the low 70s, with no large day to day change, the high peaks of geomagnetic disturbance experienced in the second half of january will not be repeated. this will mean more stable daytime propagation on 14 mhz and lower frequencies. the 21 mhz band will be open for brief periods daily, but signals will be very erratic except on north south paths. long skip on 7 mhz and lower frequencies will continue to bother traffic nets that normally rely on these frequencies for reliable night time operation over relatively short distances ar