x class solar flare

[MrGeezer]

I doubt you'll see any aurora very far south.  This is the aurora forecast site that I trust http://www.gi.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast/Alaska/2013/10/25  and they only have activity hitting 3 on a scale of 0-9... ...

www.spaceweather.com  Is probably the best for reporting solar flares, forcasting solar wind, as well as "A" and "K" geomagnetic storms, and yes, forcasting aurora.  Back in the day we had to listen to short wave station Time and Solar Indices on WWV and WWVH--at :16 after the hour to find out these measurements and if you missed it--you had to wait another hour.  Now--It's a key click away and even an ap.

[gyrene81]

[MrGeezer]

Bands seem to still be open here on Sat morning. 160 thru 40 opening long at dusk.

Yeah bud!  Fall & winter mean LONG-HAUL DX on the low bands!  Anyone with 100w and the gumption to put up 66' of wire and some coax can work into Japan, Australia/New Zealand and all those little islands peppered accross the pacific  that har so hard to work on the higher bands.  Time to hustle and get the antennas up.  That Alpha-Delta DX-A covers 160, 80 and 40 meterbands with low  angle of radiation that low dipoles have some degree of trouble working.  Looking forward to working you guys.

[ghi]

I doubt you'll see any aurora very far south.  This is the aurora forecast site that I trust http://www.gi.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast/Alaska/2013/10/25  and they only have activity hitting 3 on a scale of 0-9... ...

ohh, yes you are right, this x flare are from sunspot 1882, west side ;only flare can hit us, not CME from this angle;

[MrGeezer]

ohh, yes you are right, this x flare are from sunspot 1882, west side ;only flare can hit us, not CME from this angle;

No big deal for us earthlings--but stuff like this is scary for ISS astronauts.

[Rob52240]

Question for you Ham radio nerds.

Does anyone use fractal antennas for that stuff yet?

[ROX]

Question for you Ham radio nerds.

Does anyone use fractal antennas for that stuff yet?

Sorry. Fractal Antennas, please explain.

[Rob52240]

Fractals are a type of number set, sort of like fibinocci numbers but had no practical application until put to use in computer graphics and more recently, antennas.

Fractal antennas can operate over a wide frequency range.  When plotted to make a graphic they can either repeat identical patterns while zooming in for detail, or make very similar repetitive patterns.

Arthur C Clarke has a good show on them here:  http://youtu.be/pJA8mayMKvY?t=4m34s
More recently PBS has a more up to date program on them from their Nova series here:  http://youtu.be/s65DSz78jW4

You can see them in nature in trees and shells.

[Meatwad]

Too complicated for me, there is a log periodic but is a little on the expensive side


Im happy with just  a wire slung up in the trees

[RngFndr]

Everyone I know is Running illegal Radios on the CB bands now..

Openbanded 10/11/12 meter All mode Mobile Radios with lots of power..
Hardened receive circuits so they don't blow eachothers radios up..

Like a Magnum S9/350, with a Hi Drive 1200w Kicker thru twin
Wilson 6ft sticks, or a 102in whip.. Yeah, Illegal as hell, lol..

And that is common equipment.. Nobody Cares..

I have Galaxy DX99 and Ranger2970 to operate in those bands..
Live on a Hill, with a M103 and A99 at about 50ft, AGL

And yes, the skip has been Blazing from the East..

[RngFndr]

Fractals are a type of number set, sort of like fibinocci numbers but had no practical application until put to use in computer graphics and more recently, antennas.

Fractal antennas can operate over a wide frequency range.  When plotted to make a graphic they can either repeat identical patterns while zooming in for detail, or make very similar repetitive patterns.

Arthur C Clarke has a good show on them here:  http://youtu.be/pJA8mayMKvY?t=4m34s
More recently PBS has a more up to date program on them from their Nova series here:  http://youtu.be/s65DSz78jW4

You can see them in nature in trees and shells.

Maybe Coincidental, but MAKO V-quad antenna are sometimes stacked in multiples..
Multiple co-phased antenna on the same boom, or on Parallel booms..

Driver and Driven elements, it Looks kinda like a small segment your Diagram..

Also old Mattress Radar antenna, used many smaller emitter antennas spaced
evenly in a Cage designed to be resonant at the desired Frequency.. All of the
emitters co-phased operating in unison gives the correct wavelength..

These are directional Arrays of course..

Just thinking of things that seem to be similar in principle..

[MrGeezer]

Fractals are a type of number set, sort of like fibinocci numbers but had no practical application until put to use in computer graphics and more recently, antennas.
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I design and construct HF, VHF antennas for amateur radio there are no fractal antennas for our radio service.

Meatbal was correct that the closest thing to a fractal antenna is a log periodic array, using multiple wire or aluminium elements in a cross over-cross over along the plane of the antenna boom for a wise banded, gain array.

The lower the frequency of operation the larger the antenna--and likewise smaller antennas are the norm for the higher we go in frequence of use.  Could fractal antennas be of use on HF?  No way, the cost of metal and size would be astronomical.   On UHF and SFH, yes.  but still are far behind for practical  usesRadios need an antenna for the job.  For satallite work, horizonal  and right and left hand circular are used.  Other needs are either vertical or horizontal.  Most fractals would be such a mish-mash of polarizations to be useful except for extremely high frequencies.

[Buzzard7]

Solar Flux is 161 and sunspot number is 144.

The bands are HOT!  Right now hearing a African DX-pedition on morse code working massive pile-ups on 15 meters.   Also hearing central europeans who are local to one another just chatting--not realizing they are 5/9 in Arkansas.

I just picked up two Swan 500's (one for SSB and one for CW) a Swan 400, and 2 dipoles on Ebay.  Three delta loops are going up as well as a long-john 11 element boomer on 2M SSB and a high gain OCF dipole for 40- 6m.

"Not hearing the trucks for the noise?"  Many "mobile" ops areound here ditched CB years ago and do the UHF Family Radio mobile Service and General Mobile Service -- it's VHF and UHF--far above the noise, linear runners, and bootleggers on CB -- only crisp-clear-no static FM mode.  Besides--it used to be no big deal running high power on CB--but the FCC has been handing out fines like candy.  A lot of the linear runners sold their stuff and disapeared into the woodwork.

I run a DX94 Galaxy in my construction truck. Our company uses VHF radio but we don't clog it up with directions. The Galaxy comes in handy when I can hit all the trucks on the job with directions from 20 miles away. When they try to talk back they can't get above all the DX I am getting. Yeah I am actually hearing Europe with a simple Predator.

Will be taking the General test soon. Not sure how far into the hobby I will get. Friends Yaesu was damn expensive.

[MrGeezer]

Everyone I know is Running illegal Radios on the CB bands now..

Openbanded 10/11/12 meter All mode Mobile Radios with lots of power..
Hardened receive circuits so they don't blow eachothers radios up..

And that is common equipment.. Nobody Cares..

Don't know where you live or what country but in the US, the FCC is making a stand on high power CB and is getting massive help on illegal operations on the ham band from hams and the Official Observer Program.  The low end fines are $2,000 to $5,000 PER DAY PER enfraction.. Some are $10,500 per day.

I was a CBer 40 years ago when the FCC didn't care.  Now, it's not remotely worth the gamble.

[MrGeezer]

I run a DX94 Galaxy in my construction truck. Our company uses VHF radio but we don't clog it up with directions. The Galaxy comes in handy when I can hit all the trucks on the job with directions from 20 miles away. When they try to talk back they can't get above all the DX I am getting. Yeah I am actually hearing Europe with a simple Predator.

Will be taking the General test soon. Not sure how far into the hobby I will get. Friends Yaesu was damn expensive.

AWESOME!!  If I can help let me know--NO MORE MORSE CODE TESTS (but if you want to work the juciest DX either brain Morse Code or computer generated is a must.  The are PC programs out there that do it for you--in addition to about 80 other computer modes where software does all the work.

Take what you hear/work on CB and multiply that by 200 after getting your ham ticket.  Not to mention being all legal.  Most CB guys who get their general class ticket do computer modes and work 10-20 DX stations in a few hours and use modes so weak the human ear can scarecly hear them.  God Bles progress.