ad7i (05/18/82)
qst de ad7i hr propagation forecast bulletin nr 20 from arrl headquarters newington ct may 16, 1982 to all radio amateurs bt the solar flux was 150 or lower thus far in may, and it hovered around 130 may 10 through 15. sunspot counts are the lowest in about four years and they are expected so through about may 19. low solar activity and the normal drop in muf at this season have taken their toll on 21 and 28 mhz. neither band will be consistently good for high latitude communication until days become shorter in the northern hemisphere. sporadic e ionization has become common and short skip openings have been frequent on 21 and 28 mhz. skip was observed on 144 mhz on may 15, with the peak of the e skip season still at least a month ahead. lower and more stable solar activity have helped to improve propagation on 14 mhz and lower frequencies, but disturbed conditions were developing as this bulletin was issued. the balance of may is expected to bring poor propagation on all dx frequencies. american sunspot numbers for may 5 through 12 were between 80 and 54 with a mean of 69 ar