Tracking The Maximum Usable Frequency

I've been trying to track the MUF.

Solar Cycle 24 has not been good so far,
but there still should be some interesting
propagation in the higher end of the

I've been trying to track the MUF.

Solar Cycle 24 has not been good so far,
but there still should be some interesting
propagation in the higher end of the
HF spectrum as we head toward the fall
and wintertime.

We had an enjoyable thread here on the board
about old CB radios, and that prompted me to
take out a much liked antique CB radio and
listen for F skip on CB channel 19. I have
never tried this before.

The local trucker mobile signals I've heard on CB channel
19 are not skipping off the ionosphere - instead,
they are coming through a constant;y changing path
of trees and buildings and other objects. You can
tell this by listening to the signals. There is a
constant choppiness to the audio, reflecting the
constantly varying signal strength. Things have
been this way for many weeks. (I have not had
time to listen a lot, but I still have gotten the
gist for what is going on.)

Today, things were different. I heard a signal that
was not choppy, but steady. Then it increased in strength
and came up to what must have been about 40 dB over S9.
The fellow who was transmitting said he was in Texas. I'm
in Connecticut, so I have to assume this is F-skip, and that
the MUF had reached 27 MHz around 11:AM this morning
my time.

The CB operator who said he was in Texas talked about
his base station antenna and stated that it was
at a high elevation. He sounded like a pretty
amicable guy.

Unfortunately, more signals came on channel 19 and
it started to get a little undesirable to listen
there. I started hearing some nut jobs. But, still -
this was useful. Based on what I heard, I started to
check the higher HF ham bands.

There were lots of Morse code and digital signals on
the 15 meter band. (21.000 to 21.450 MHz) I did not
go higher in the band to check for voice signals.

The 12 meter ham band (24.890 to 24.990 MHz) had some
Morse code signals. I looked for voice but did not
hear any.

I heard one blasting SSB voice signal on the 10 meter
ham band (28.000 to 29.700 MHz.) It stopped before
I could identify it and it did not return. 10 meters
seemed completely empty at that point.

However, based on this, it seems like the MUF is
coming up.

Now, for hams and radio listeners who like shortwave -
we are getting into some interesting times, hopefully.

I guess we'll see,

Bruce, 1020 kHz Carrier Current
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NOISE AND STATIC RADIO