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[W4KYR]

Welcome to Cycle 25 by Steve Ford WB8IMY (Free pdf by the ARRL)

 Steve Ford WB8IMY explains Cycle 25 in this freebie pdf by the ARRL

"A new solar cycle is under way and conditions on the HF bands are already improving."


http://www.arrl.org/files/file/QST/This%20Month%20in%20QST/2021/04%20April%202021/0421%20FORD%20CYCLE%2025.pdf

[KC6RWI]

I missed solar cycle 23, I was on 2m simplex radio and monitoring analog fm pd vhf, but I wish I would have gotten active on HF.
From  the article above, the graph showing cycle 23 was good one, darn.
While I am here posting, was 23 a good one? and do most hams think conditions are changing for the better?

[AC7CW]

Some tutorial level info about solar cycles: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_cycle

Cycle 23 was ok but 22 was better. In cycle 22 I used to work the world very nicely on 10 Meter FM with 10 Watts into a center fed vertical on top of my house. I was active in cycle 19 with a pile of junk for equipment and worked the world on CW.

[KC6RWI]

FM? and I am sure you had ssb as well. I've never been set up to do FM during  peak conditions. Now my radios have that mode.

[W4KYR]

Speaking of 10 meter FM repeaters, does anyone remember the Virgin Islands 10 meter FM repeater with the doorbell sound ?

[W9IQ]

Wasn't that the Avon repeater?

- Glenn W9IQ

[AC7CW]

FM? and I am sure you had ssb as well. I've never been set up to do FM during  peak conditions. Now my radios have that mode.

I just like FM for the audio quality. It's legal above 29.500. To my way of thinking that is the best for mobile when the sunspots are high: You don't have to do any tuning because it's channelized so less distracted driving and a full size quarter wave antenna works on a car. Watt for watt the ability to make contacts is the same as SSB but it just takes more bandwidth. Possibly considering the not-so-compromised antenna it gets out better than SSB on 20Meters with the necessarily compromised antennas required for mobile. There are 10Meter FM repeaters as well, I've yet to use one. I'm looking forward to some good sunspots