46 FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | APRIL 2021
During the last month, sunspot activity has
increased from an average of zero to 20! You
may ask yourself, "So what?" For Amateur Radio
Operators (Hams) around the world, this increase
marks a solid beginning to the latest eleven-year long Solar
Cycle, the first half of which provides Hams with improved
transmission and reception of radio signals in the high frequency
(HF) bands.
For the next five to six years, the sun will be much more active than
it normally is in the other half of its cycle producing more and more
radiation from sunspots, flares and coronal loops. The radiation
produced by these three types of events leads to ionization of gases
(charged molecules) in Earth's atmosphere that in turn create a sort
of electro-magnetic blanket around the Earth that causes radio
signals to bounce and skip off it and travel long distances. We Hams
love this part of the Solar Cycle because this bouncing and skipping
effect brings our radios to life with many signals to respond to and
allows us to more easily make many more contacts with other Hams.
If your interests have ever tended in the direction of becoming a
Ham, now is the time to fulfill them! Drop us an email if you have
questions or you'd like to participate in our club Zoom meeting at 10
am, the last Friday of each month. We're an active
group and hold meetings (nets) on our radios on
Wednesday evenings: 5:15 pm for Family Radio
Service (FRS) operators and 5:30 pm for our 2-meter
net. ~ Jim Peterson, jim.k6jwp@gmail.com
Radio Club
Radio signals skipping off the ionosphere
