Am considering getting my license again after raising kids, and wondering if there is any point in hf operation besides local chats that is, what is propagation like when there are no sunspots. Describe your experience with the hf propagation prediction software and tell us why you give it the rating you did required. For those of you new to a solar cycle, an interesting form of working dx is called working gray line. I have always had an interest in the vhfuhf weak signal segment of our ham radio hobby.
Decibels measure, 1 mw with a load impedance of 600. Psk reporter map handy realtime tool to check propagation on ham bands. Hf propagation prediction software from ntia its, originally developed for voice. Propagation maps created with hamcap and based on the predicted smooth sunspot number for the month and cw100w to a dipole at 35ft.
Ham radio on lf, mw, hf, vhf, and higher hf radio worldwide. Its hf propagation software free download its hf propagation. Dxprop dxprop is a radiowave propagation forecast freeware for ham radio operators, permits to predict propagation on 12 frequencies. The rest of information is useless and it doesnt interest anybody. For instance, i simply dont care if alaska has a great 20m opening, as i only have a dipole that is pointed towards the north east. Hf propagation radio society of great britain main. Dx toolbox uses an fcc database to display us and foreign am mw stations on a map. Its ideal for the ham radio operator, shortwave listener, or other radio enthusiast. Dx toolbox shortwave ham radio hf radio propagation dx toolbox searches the web for you, gathering information on solar and geomagnetic conditions that affect radio propagation. Current grayline position on earth smeter ham radio site. Propagation beacons software online propagation prediction tools propagation prediction software to top of this page what is propagation.
Mw dx is similar to tv and fm dx in that broadcast band bcb stations are the reception targets. In a typical application integrated with ham cap, the user will rightclick on a callsign, and ham cap will pop up and display the pointtopoint propagation chart. Hf propagation prediction is a statistical science. Heres what happens during the day, solar radiation collides with the molecules in our ionosphere, ripping off electrons. Ace stands for animated communications effectiveness, a. Also contains solar and radio propagation information applicable to ham radio including solar conditions, space conditions, online propagation tool, online sn to sfisfi to sn conversion tool, online auroraauroral activity to latitude conversion tool, and online kindex to signal noise conversion tool. Any white bubble indicates no suitable frequency or high absorption.
This prevents any sort of skip propagation at mw frequencies, limiting mw propagation to ground wave only, which only covers a limited range from the transmitter. The following links will give you some information on propagation and its properties. Radio amateurs best asset, rig and rotor control, logging, digital modes, and satellite. Remember propagation prediction is a difficult job to do accurately, it can become a selffullfilling prophecy, the forecast is bad, so its not worth transmitting, so nobody is heard, so propagation is bad it is always worth trying a call on a quiet band to catch those conditions that cannot be predicted. Richard and sue buckner teamed with joe ahlgren author of geoclock and steve biro to create a dynamic system simulation and visualization software package which uses the voacap propagation prediction engine to create animated maps and charts to help all users of hf radio choose the best times and frequencies for communications. In addition to creating a pretty light show mostly in upper latitudes, ham radio signals scatter off of these particles and can greatly enhance propagation on the vhf and uhf ham radio bands. Ham radio operators and other shortwave radio enthusiasts will be able to monitor propagation conditions using this firefox extension. If you wish to keep abreast of the latest developments on my site, follow me. Hf propagation software that uses antenna patterns. Mw dx, short for mediumwave dxing, is the hobby of receiving distant mediumwave known as am in north america radio stations. Propview uses the included ioncap propagation prediction engine to forecast the minimum and maximum useable frequencies between two locations over a specified 24 hour.
Focusing on high frequency radio propagation, operation, equipment, as well as amateur ham radio in general. Review of propagation prediction programs voacapbased. Created as an extention of goodwill by amateur radio station nw7us. Ham radio signals used for propagation study, found on specific frequencies. Radio propagation prediction software an overview, article, tutorial about the basics of radio propagation prediction software for use on the hf bands for predicting broadcast coverage, as well as the possibility of establishing two way radio communications, maritime mobile radio communications, and for many more applications. For interesting plots of amateur propagation analysis see pages from g3cwi, including scattergrams, chirp soundings, pedersen ray doppler plots. Ham radio deluxe is the worlds most popular ham radio software. Hf propagation is a handy little ad supported windows phone 7 application to inform ham radio operators and short wave listners about the current band conditions. Propagation prediction programs and forecasts radio society of. Its ideal for the ham radio operator, shortwave listener, or other radio enthusiast, and. Hi glenn hauser, here is the february edition of the propagation report. An amateur radio propagation beacon is a radio beacon, whose purpose is the investigation of the propagation of radio signals. Dx toolbox shortwave ham radio hf radio propagation tool.
Solar terrestrial dispatch space weather specialists solar activity, amateur. Dc direct current dc ground a connection point directly to chassis or battery. The weak signal propagation reporter network is a group of amateur radio operators. We had moved from a city apartment to a house that had a big backyard. The ace method shows a sequential series of coverage maps. This is a radio frequency propagation calculator for the transmission path between an rf transmitter and a receiver. It displays not only the current status of the hf and vhf bands, but also additional solar and terrestial progatation related data. Propfire is a web browser extension that allows users to view hf propagation conditions on their web browser status bar.
Send formated dx spots indicating clearly both locators and the type or propagation. Current grayline position on earth the current grayline on a world topographical map. Do not hesitate to give me your feedback with any additional information. Kingston amateur radio club propagation prediction.
Unless otherwise stated, all originally authored software on this site is licensed under the terms of gnu gpl version 3. Review of alinco dm 30t power supply 30 amps for ham radio. Wsprlite classic antenna performance analysis system. Some of the articles can get quite deep into the mathematics and physics. Propagation prediction kingston amateur radio club. Dx toolbox shortwave ham radio hf radio propagation. Animated communications effectiveness for high frequency software. Back in my younger days i worked a lot of 50 mhz, 144 mhz, 220 mhz, and 432 mhz. G rayline importance to propagation special ionospheric propagation conditions often exist between two or more stations simultaneously located on the grayline transition between daylight and darkness.
For quick find use your browser find command or do a ctrl f, type in the sought after item. News about the web site date utc message server apr09 04. The maximum usable frequency muf is the highest frequency that, with a probability of 50% of the time, can be used for radio communication between two points at a specified distance but not necessary in all directions via refraction by the ionosphere. Amateur microwave work need not be restricted to operation. Propagation prediction software asaps advanced stand alone prediction system the ips advanced stand alone prediction system asaps allows the prediction of sky wave communication conditions in the hf high frequency and low vhf very high frequency radio spectrum or short wave band 1 to 45 mhz. Voacap voice of america coverage analysis program is free professional. The current conditions window displays the real time readings for many factors which can affect hf propagation. Acehf pro is the most advanced and the most accurate high frequency ionospheric radio signal propagation modeling and forecasting software for amateur radio ham radio and shortwave radio listening swling operators, in the world. Also note that any software listed here is downloaded at the readers own risk, and. The optimum working frequency owf is the highest frequency that. Free solarterrestrial data displayed on your web page or site, updated every 3hours.
Ham radio propagation software free download ham radio. Understanding lf and hf propagation introduction in 2008 it was suggested to me that radcom, the rsgbs member publication, could run a series of features looking at an hf band per month. Prior to our move, i had been using and trying all kinds of indoor antennas since the early 60s. Dxprop is a radiowave propagation forecast freeware for ham radio operators, permits to predict propagation on 12 frequencies. More detailed discussions and the underlying mathematics of radio propagation physics can be found in the references listed under additional resources.
Back in 1970s when i was in my teen years, i remember that on the simple am radio i had, there was always much more activity on both lw and mw bands in. Acehf system simulation and visualization software, v2. To increase the effectiveness and make it a bit easier to use, i would suggest that operators should employ one of the many different software programs that do the calculations and mapping to beacon stations. On ham test there was a question that stated that propagation is better by day an almost non existent by night. It also features several propagation forecasting tools, allowing you to quickly and easily estimate current hf shortwave propagation conditions between any two locations in the world. We are pleased to announce the new and latest release of acehf please view this press release. Softwright, a gsa contract holder, is the developer of the terrain analysis package tap pcbased terrestrial rf propagation software. However, the nature of the lower frequencies 530 1710 khz used by mediumwave radio stations is very much different from that of the vhf and uhf bands used by fm. Propfire ham radio propagation in firefox hf propagation info on your web browser status bar for ham radioshortwave. High levels of aurora can also make hf ham radio propagation via polar routes difficult. This software by roger coude ve2dbe predicts the performance of vhf and uhf radio systems.
The sun, being the largest engine in our solar system, has a great effect on propagation as its exhaust interacts with our earths magnetic field. Department of commerce ntiaits institute for telecommunication sciences high frequency propagation models. Most listeners to the mw band will have noticed that long distance reception is normally only possible during the hours of darkness, but if you are a mw listener you ii know that skywave propagation is responsible for this effect. If you wish to keep abreast of the latest developments on my site, follow me on. Shop hf and vhf portable antennas and accessories for amateur radioham radio with confidence. A sample automation code is provided in the programmers corner section. Microwave beacons are also used as signal sources to test and calibrate antennas and receivers. These are a rough guide and do not take into account longpath openings or sporadic e shortpath openings in mayaugust.
Animated communications effectiveness for high frequency. Ham radio software dx toolbox shortwave ham radio hf radio propagation dx toolbox screenshots. These electrons are called free electrons because they are not attached. Find great deals on sotabeams for wsprlite classic antenna performance analysis system. The national film board of canada for the canadian air forces great explanation of propagation.
Propview propview uses the included ioncap propagation prediction engine to forecast the minimum and maximum useable frequencies between two locations over a specified 24 hour period. Acehf professional propagation software for hf radio operators. Ham cap provides a comole automation interface that 3rd party programs can use to start ham cap, set prediction parameters, and run predictions. Most radio propagation beacons use amateur radio frequencies.
Usable hf frequencies page refreshed every 20 minutes use the indicated color red, yellow, green, blue, white, etc. I worked some eme earthmoonearth, or moon bounce during those days back in the 70s and early 80s. Hf propagation prediction tool for amateur radio freeware. They can be found on lf, mf, hf, vhf, uhf, and microwave frequencies. Dx toolbox uses an fcc database to display am mw stations on a map, as well. The graph below shows the noaa graph of sun spot activity over the years. Please note the rsgb is not responsible for the content of external websites. The current grayline position is depicted on this topographical world map. During january conditions have remained steady and february should remain the same with the solar flux mainly at 82.