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Author Topic: Comparison of current solar cycle to cycle 5 and the Dalton Minimum  (Read 1373 times)

Offline ChrisSmolinski

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Comparison of current solar cycle to cycle 5 and the Dalton Minimum
« on: July 02, 2018, 2016 UTC »
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Chris Smolinski
Westminster, MD
eQSLs appreciated! csmolinski@blackcatsystems.com
netSDR / AFE822x / AirSpy HF+ / KiwiSDR / 900 ft Horz skyloop / 500 ft NE beverage / 250 ft V Beam / 58 ft T2FD / 120 ft T2FD / 400 ft south beverage / 43m, 20m, 10m  dipoles / Crossed Parallel Loop / Discone in a tree

Offline BoomboxDX

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Re: Comparison of current solar cycle to cycle 5 and the Dalton Minimum
« Reply #1 on: July 04, 2018, 0735 UTC »
When was Cycle 5?

And I wonder if this means there will be better MW conditions.

Over the past couple years they haven't been very good here, considering the low sunspot numbers.
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An AM radio Boombox DXer.
+ GE SRIII, PR-D5 & TRF on MW.
The usual Realistic culprits on SW (and a Panasonic).

Offline Pigmeat

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Re: Comparison of current solar cycle to cycle 5 and the Dalton Minimum
« Reply #2 on: July 04, 2018, 1009 UTC »
They've been solid here, but the amount of RF noise induced by modern electronics makes the issue moot. You can't tell until you get out in the country, but you better hope there isn't a cattleman using an electric fence nearby.
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Offline ChrisSmolinski

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Re: Comparison of current solar cycle to cycle 5 and the Dalton Minimum
« Reply #3 on: July 04, 2018, 1216 UTC »
Cycle 5 was 1798-1810.

I've had good MW conditions the last few years,but as Pigmeat noted the RFI levels are considerably higher than they were a few decades ago, when we mostly complained about light dimmers and TVs. No one had a switching power supply, now the typical house has a few dozen.  That's one reason I've been making an effort to RFI proof the shack as much as possible:

Replaced all ethernet cables with shielded, and got a new switch
Buried the coax feeds to all the HF antennas
Coax feeds are tied to ground at the shack and antenna ends
Regularly checking for new offending RFI sources with the SDR, taking a portable SDR and laptop around the house to locate them when noticed, then fixing them with a sledge hammer
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Chris Smolinski
Westminster, MD
eQSLs appreciated! csmolinski@blackcatsystems.com
netSDR / AFE822x / AirSpy HF+ / KiwiSDR / 900 ft Horz skyloop / 500 ft NE beverage / 250 ft V Beam / 58 ft T2FD / 120 ft T2FD / 400 ft south beverage / 43m, 20m, 10m  dipoles / Crossed Parallel Loop / Discone in a tree

Offline MDK2

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Re: Comparison of current solar cycle to cycle 5 and the Dalton Minimum
« Reply #4 on: July 04, 2018, 2126 UTC »
What model of SDR is portable?
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Denver, CO.
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Offline BoomboxDX

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Re: Comparison of current solar cycle to cycle 5 and the Dalton Minimum
« Reply #5 on: July 05, 2018, 0806 UTC »
I haven't noticed an uptick in RFI at my location since 2011 or so (when I started MW DXing again after a few years' break) but the conditions just aren't as good as they were back then.

It must be a regional thing.
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An AM radio Boombox DXer.
+ GE SRIII, PR-D5 & TRF on MW.
The usual Realistic culprits on SW (and a Panasonic).

Offline ChrisSmolinski

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Re: Comparison of current solar cycle to cycle 5 and the Dalton Minimum
« Reply #6 on: July 05, 2018, 1153 UTC »
Quote from: MDK2 on July 04, 2018, 2126 UTC
What model of SDR is portable?

The AFE822x and AirSpy both work nicely with a laptop. I take it around the house, with a small whip antenna, and locate the offending QRM source.
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Chris Smolinski
Westminster, MD
eQSLs appreciated! csmolinski@blackcatsystems.com
netSDR / AFE822x / AirSpy HF+ / KiwiSDR / 900 ft Horz skyloop / 500 ft NE beverage / 250 ft V Beam / 58 ft T2FD / 120 ft T2FD / 400 ft south beverage / 43m, 20m, 10m  dipoles / Crossed Parallel Loop / Discone in a tree
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