The amazing things you find when searching the photo folders on your computer.
This is just a quick note to say yes, I'm still working on a few blog articles, and I'm still alive. I am finishing up on an article about the use of Shortwave radio in the Pacific Theatre of the Second World War, particularly the way it was used by the US Naval Submarine fleet, and how far ionospheric conditions overall have declined since those years.
I've been sparked to mention this fact -- about the decline of the ionization in the Ionosphere -- once again, being that I got into an argument with a guy on Reddit who doesn't seem to understand how the Ionosphere works.
We are entering into a new Solar Minimum. If you look at the official charts, technically everything should be still great, like it was in 2022-2024. The problem is that it is not great SW conditions, as the most recent CQWW SSB contest proved. Charts are cool, but they don't truly reflect the situation either in the Ionosphere, or on the ground. This latest CQWW contest is an example of that.
For those who aren't aware, the CQWW SSB contest is probably the biggest, global ham radio contest in existence.
In 'normal' years, during a CQWW contest, you can hear hundreds of hams from all over the world, all calling each other, trying to make as many contacts, with as many different countries (and 'zones') as possible. In the 2010's I recall hearing the 20M ham band's SSB section being wall to wall with US, Canadian, and worldwide stations. 40M was similar.
You'd tune across just one ham band and hear 20-30 stations or more, sending their CQ's, wanting to contact other hams. In contests past, you'd have to deal with stations' signals interfering with other stations, almost all the way across a ham band.
This last weekend's CQWW contest was relatively spare, compared to previous contests, and contests in previous Solar Cycles. Most of the stations I heard were the big powerhouse 'contest' stations -- the ones run mostly by clubs and enterprising individuals who have big, multi-antenna towers and run the limits on power output, and often are in really good locations for DXing. I heard powerhouse ham stations from Bonaire, Curacao, French Guiana, Antigua, a few from California, one from New Mexico, and a couple here and there from the Eastern US and Canada. I also heard a handful from Europe on 15M the day the contest ended.
On 40M and 80M on the first night of the contest I heard EIGHT -- count 'em, EIGHT -- stations. Some of the big contesters were calling for minutes at a time before getting a contact. That's how bad it really was.
What was missing was all the hundreds of regular hams trying to make contacts. A lot of them probably were trying -- the problem was that their signals just weren't enough to cut through the poor ionospheric conditions. I didn't hear hardly any on 40M, 80M, or even 20M when I tuned through it during the afternoon. Just the big guns, the big contest stations, many of which probably were putting out the equivalent of 9-10KW or more off the end of their beam antennas.
I'm not the only one who noticed this. The amateur radio subreddit had similar comments -- these were guys who have IC7300s and better antennas than my 140 ft wire antenna, and they weren't hearing as much as they used to. More than one said all they heard were the big contesters, the 'big guns'.
The fact is that this is no normal Solar Cycle. Solar Irradiance has dropped since 1996 or so. The eUV that makes the ionosphere work just isn't as plentiful as it was 30 years ago, according to NASA. So when the Solar Cycle dips, to SWL's like me in the northern US (Seattle is father north than Quebec City or the northern tip of Maine), the lack of eUV hitting the ionosphere really makes a difference in what you hear, and what you don't hear.
SWL's and hams in the Eastern US, which is more southerly, and more populated with hams, along with those in Europe (which, although it's farther north, it's further from the Auroral Radio Zone than we are here where I live), usually can hear more. Those of us above 47N in the NW US (which tickles the Auroral Radio Zone) in a region where there aren't that many SW stations and hams, are bound to hear less on our radios. To us, the Minimum is already here.
And to those hams who are Techs and can only do SSB on Ten Meters -- like a really great guy I know online from western Pennsylvania, who has a Ten Meter rig -- the Minimum already kicked in maybe a year ago. Ten Meters was hopping in 2024. Not so much anymore. When the Minimum starts to kick in, 10M goes first, then 12, then 15 -- you get the idea. The higher frequencies go first.
Trying to explain that to some people who just rely on charts, instead of what they may be hearing on their rig compared to earlier Solar Cycles, can be a fool's errand, however.
Anyway, that's the sort of stuff going on lately, tuning the radio to a dying SW band, extending my outdoor wire, from 90 ft. to more like 140-150 ft., to try to compensate for that. I'm aiming for 150 feet or more. I may get yet another SW radio and see if that might pull in a little bit more. It probably won't, but hey, one can always try....
I am also trying to get ready for Halloween.
Aside from that, all is well.
I'll post more articles when they're finished.
Hope everyone has a great Halloween.
Until next time folks,
Peace.
C.C. -- October 27th, 2026
