G0KTN Amateur Radio - 2026 current projects and technical notes

  Do Higher HF Bands Stay Open Later at Solar Maximum? What “later openings” really mean - and what the data actually shows It is sometimes said that during solar maximum the higher HF bands “stay open later”. Some will nod in agreement, recalling evenings when 15 metres lingered unexpectedly, or when 12 metres produced signals well past the time it normally fades. But what does “stay open later” actually mean? Later than average? Later in the season? Later compared with solar minimum? And is this a consistent effect, or simply a memorable one? Using CW Reverse Beacon spot data covering late August 2024 to December 2025 (the peak and early decline of Solar Cycle 25), this article takes a look at how higher HF bands behave toward the end of the day at solar maximum, and separates genuine effects from selective memory. What operators usually mean by “open later” In everyday jargon, “open later” tends to describe one or more of the following: Signals still present after l...

  The Early Decline of Solar Cycle 25 What changes first and why amateurs often notice it before the models do Solar cycles do not end with a bang. They fade. After the excitement of solar maximum - lively higher HF bands, frequent openings, and a sense that “everything is possible” the decline phase begins quietly. There is no clear date when the cycle turns. Instead, small changes creep in, often noticed first by operators who spend time listening rather than watching indices. Using CW Reverse Beacon spot data covering late August 2024 through December 2025, this article looks at how the early decline of Solar Cycle 25 reveals itself on the HF bands , which changes appear first, and why amateur observations frequently detect them before formal models or forecasts catch up. Decline is not the opposite of ascent It is tempting to think of the solar cycle as symmetrical: what improved on the way up should simply reverse on the way down. In reality, the decline phase behaves...

  Following the MUF Up and Down the Bands What a Reverse Beacon Node heard during the peak of Solar Cycle 25 Most of us don’t experience propagation through charts or indices - we experience it through habits. We notice when 10 metres wakes up late in the morning, when 12 metres hangs on longer than expected, or when 40 metres starts to sound better as the higher bands go quiet. We may talk about MUF, but we usually recognise it through band behaviour rather than numbers. Between late August 2024 and December 2025, my Reverse Beacon node (which runs continuously 24/7/365) logged a vast number of CW spots across the HF amateur bands from 40m through to 10m. This period conveniently spans the recognised peak phase of Solar Cycle 25 and the months immediately after. Because the receive site remained unchanged (same location, same antenna, same general noise environment), the dataset provides a stable way to look at how MUF behaved day-to-day through solar maximum. What follows is...