Propagation and other VHF links

This is for YOU guys! The success of VHF/UHF/SHF operations is mainly a matter of being on the band at the right time and frequency. In order to avoid devoting all your time to listening to white noise, you will appreciate to know when to look for what. Having been asked for my sources of information a trillion times, I finally decided to launch a link summary. There may be other relevant websites around, but these are the ones I use myself. Here we go:

 

Propagation in general

 DX-Maps - visual representation of activity on all bands, by EA6VQ

 Make More Miles on VHF - VHF database, dxpedition info and more

 VHF Expedition announcements - by Bo, OZ2M

 Current 144 MHz activity - OK2KKW Webcluster for 144 MHz

 Current activity all bands - DX-Summit Webcluster with input and search functions

 DF5AI propagation studies - Phantastic website, with Beam Finder software

 Horizon profiler - Excellent tool for take-off evaluation

 

Tropo

 Forecast for tropospheric ducting - this one for NW Europe, but other areas available too

 Isobar map of Europe – from the University of Cologne

 Surface pressure map Europe – from the UK Met-Office

 Rainclouds over Scandinavia - radar pictures from the Norwegian Meteorological Institute (DNMI). Note this is a negative indicator, as rainclouds will destroy inversion layers - but they will enable Rainscatter propagation on Microwave. Has also links to general weather forecasts.

 

Aurora

 SolarHam - by VE3EN

 Current solar data - from NOAA

 Spaceweather - Actual solar activity and lots of background information

 Kiruna magnetometer - most valuable for those that live in Southern Scandinavia

  Summary and forecast of solar activity - by Jan Alvestad

 

Meteorscatter (MS)

 MS-Soft program for MS shower predictions - by Illka, OH5IY

 Spaceweather - now also with MS activity links

 Meteorscatter operating procedures - part of the IARU Region 1 VHF managers handbook (1993)

 

Moonbounce (EME)

 VK3UM EME page - software and many hints from a pioneer

 DL4EBY EME page - links to all kinds of information on moonbounce

 SM2CEW EME page - Moonbounce guru in Northern Sweden

 144 MHz EME Newsletter - by Bernd, DF2ZC

 

This page was last updated on 11 January 2015