Good Day, Sunshine: MMX in Solar Cycle 25
Maybe the Beatles didn’t need to know, but how will the coming geomagnetic storms affect my communications? Amateur radio operators want to know. Will all the new sunspot activity improve propagation of my signals or will we see blackouts? High frequency (HF) operators are tracking the densities of ionospheric particles out of curiosity about how their signals will propagate. It’s been pretty surprising so far. After predictions of a relatively weak phase like Cycle 24, the sun is no longer dithering.
Solar Cycle 25 is approaching maximum in the next four years. The previous minimum ended in 2019 with a dearth of sunspots, and the next 11-year cycle kicked off. It’s already been a wonder to behold. Just recently we’ve seen two X-class flares interfering with radio and navigation transmissions. While these dangerous flares measured X1.5, solar radiation disturbances can be far more severe, as we know from the Carrington Event of 1859, which was estimated to be an X9 class flare.
So as the sun dances onto this new scene with wonders of sunspots, flares, and geomagnetic storms, PreppComm’s customers are eager to extend the reach of their HF communications. How far will this increasingly dense ionosphere refract their signals? Will their DX (distance) logbooks read like the journals of a modern-day Christopher Columbus? We anticipate some great stories of unexpected contacts, as SOTA and POTA hobbyists bounce their messages with smaller antennas and QRP (low power). And could it be that the MMX and DMX-40 will be vital links?
Internet Connects Our World
Back in 1859 the Internet wasn’t even a glimmer in a prodigy’s eye. People connected face to face or by letters and newspapers. The pace was slow and easy. Fast forward to 2023. This whiz-bang, split-second realm of ours. Look at how routinely we expect the Internet to provide our traffic for information, commerce and socializing. We just reckon on its being there when we touch a keyboard. Most of us don’t really think about all the infrastructure that networks its components. We suppose that it will work as it did yesterday.
A severe solar flare can change that. All of a sudden power lines, data centers, servers and all that infrastructure will disappear. Emergency communications will be crippled. Everyday communications, essential services and financial transactions will stop. Our world as we know it today will halt. We will no longer be conferring with each other.
Modern Morse Code Transceivers: PreppComm MMX and Communication Resilience
Well then, how can we prepare for that eventuality? What can connect people when links, lines, networks and information have vanished? What modes of propagation will bridge the gaps? A significant portion of the solution resides in the increasingly ionized high-altitude regions that can propagate HF signals. Yes, HF.
As the solar maximum approaches and peaks in the next four years, propagation of 40 and 20 meter signals improves. Probably 80 meters will be favorable as well. And voila! The age-old connections of Morse code are again harnessed to ensure communications resilience in times of crisis. PreppComm’s state-of-the-art HF Morse code transceivers provide ongoing communication and information exchanges during these emergencies. The robust QRP low-power MMX transceiver, with its 20, 40 and 80 meter bands, shines in the developing conditions.
All the HF bands will open up more. As signal reflections escalate, HF signals from smaller antennas will highly likely propagate farther around the globe.
Enabling individuals and communities to transmit Morse code messages over radio frequencies, PreppComm’s MMX CW decoder will be a vital lifeline. The DMX-40 will as well. Their simplicity and reliability make them potent communication options, especially in situations where traditional digital methods falter. And let’s emphasize how they operate from low-power batteries or even a portable solar panel.
By utilizing the PreppComm MMX, individuals can bridge the emergency communications gap that might arise from a solar-storm induced Internet outage, allowing for crucial information sharing, coordination of relief efforts, and maintaining contact with loved ones and other critical connections.
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