Hi Frank Its impossible to know at this early date if 2010 is a good solar flux index model for 2021 , it depends how optimistic you are. Hopefully we'll be able to make better judgements (guesses?) in about six months. For example: The solar flux index was mostly below 80 until February 2011, then suddenly jumped to mostly above 100 from March through August, and suddenly jumped again to 140 in September, but -- disappointingly -- stayed only at about 140 and occasionally a little higher for almost four years. Sudden jumps in SFI may happen this year -- or not -- its impossible to know. Be very skeptical of anyone who tries to convince you otherwise. That's why I very carefully crafted the wording in the paragraph in my article that addresses solar flux growth from 2021 through 2023. This is excellent site toexamine historic SFI values. You can zoom the date range using the sliders in the graph. Its best to select logarithmic Y axis: https://lasp.colorado.edu/lisird/data/penticton_radio_flux Please don't forget to vote for your favorite May QST article here: http://www.arrl.org/cover-plaque-poll 73 Frank W3LPL ----- Original Message ----- From: "Frank Stein" <fst...@ieee.org> To: "Frank Donovan W3LPL (Frank Donovan W3LPL)" <donov...@erols.com> Sent: Thursday, April 22, 2021 1:46:26 PM Subject: Re:Update to the SFI predictions in my May QST Article Frank, Great article and appreciate the recent update. Would 2010 be the best proxy for what kind of propagation we might see this year? For example, if I look at your M/M results for 2010 ARRL DX-SSB contest, 80% of the contacts were to Europe and 40/20m were the key bands. Thanks, Frank W4TG On Thu, Apr 22, 2021 at 1:18 AM < donov...@erols.com > wrote: The April 2021 NASA solar flux index forecast for solar cycle 25 has been published, mostly advancing the predicted date for solar maximum to 2024. The SFI represented by the 50% percentile (green line) is similar to solar Cycle 24. A double peaked solar cycle -- similar to recent Solar Cycles 23 and 24 -- could delay solar maximum by a year or more. www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/styles/full_width/public/thumbnails/image/apr2021f10_prd_plt.png?itok=B7vfEY7Y Slightly updated wording to my May QST article, unconstrained by QST page limits and reflecting the NASA's predicted 2024 solar maximum: , If the SFI persists below 90 through December 2021, then propagation should improve gradually until a solar maximum weaker than Cycle 24's arrives in 2024. If the SFI persists above 110 through December 2021, then propagation should improve rapidly until a solar maximum similar to Cycle 24's arrives in 2024. If the SFI persists above 125 through December 2021, then propagation is likely to improve more rapidly until a solar maximum stronger than Cycle 24's arrives in 2024. Don't forget to vote for your favorite May QST article here: http://www.arrl.org/cover-plaque-poll 73 Frank W3LPL ______________________________________________________________ PVRC mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/pvrc Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto: p...@mailman.qth.net Message delivered to fst...@ieee.org This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html ______________________________________________________________ PVRC mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/pvrc Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:p...@mailman.qth.net Message delivered to donov...@starpower.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html _________________ Searchable Archives: http://www.contesting.com/_topband - Topband Reflector