Matt Jurcich wrote to Sean Dennis <=-

Thanks for the info.... Someone else suggested posting more then once
a day as condition change (and the prediction data is updated hourly)
but hourly is too frequent IMHO. Maybe twice a day?

Twice a day is fine. Even with the delay inherent in store-and-forward mail systems, that'd be accurate enough for us.

If anyone has an issue, they can let me know.

That's pertinent info for this echo so I'm fine with it.

-- Sean KS4TD

... Can a frog jump higher than a house? Of course, a house can't jump.

--- MultiMail/Win
* Origin: Outpost BBS * Johnson City, TN (1:18/200)

Mortar M. wrote to Matt Jurcich <=-

I don't doubt your claim, but I don't see how that's possible as conditions change from region to region, i.e., what's "bad" in CA is
might be "good" in MA, much less the rest of the world. Is the chart averaging the results?

Most likely it uses VOCAP (Voice of America Coverage Analysis Program) to figure out signal reliability.

If you want an exact propogation signal reliability report, you can go to https://www.voacap.com/swl/ to figure that out.

-- Sean KS4TD

... If at first you don't succeed, transform your data set.

--- MultiMail/Win
* Origin: Outpost BBS * Johnson City, TN (1:18/200)

Matt Jurcich wrote to Sean Dennis <=-

Thanks for the info.... Someone else suggested posting more then once a day as condition change (and the prediction data is updated hourly) but hourly is too frequent IMHO. Maybe twice a day?

Twice a day is fine. Even with the delay inherent in store-and-forward mail SD>systems, that'd be accurate enough for us.

If anyone has an issue, they can let me know.

That's pertinent info for this echo so I'm fine with it.

-- Sean KS4TD

... Can a frog jump higher than a house? Of course, a house can't jump.

Ok. I see you're posting the chart. Ok.

I don't know about the location or other sources of info that hamqsl.com
uses.. I'd e-mail the owner, he does respond to e-mail.

Thanks much.

-m
--- The Major BBS v10
* Origin: The Noise Forest (1:154/120)

Re: Re: HF conditions update
By: Matt Jurcich to Sean Dennis on Tue Aug 18 2026 22:46:56

I don't know about the location or other sources of info that hamqsl.com uses.. I'd e-mail the owner, he does respond to e-mail.

That was my concern as well. There is no such thing as "global" band conditions.
--- SBBSecho 3.37-Linux
* Origin: End Of The Line BBS - endofthelinebbs.com (1:124/5016)

Hello Mortar,

19 Aug 26 11:21, you wrote to Matt Jurcich:

That was my concern as well. There is no such thing as "global" band conditions.

I asked Gemini about your claim:

===
Yes, global HF band conditions exist, but they describe planetary space weather rather than specific paths. They are derived from overarching environmental metrics--such as the Solar Flux Index (SFI), K-index, and A-index--that measure the sun's output and Earth's magnetic field on a global scale.

- What Global Conditions Tell You

Planetary Ionization: Numbers like the SFI show how charged the global ionosphere is, dictating the upper limit of usable frequencies worldwide.

Geomagnetic Storms: Indices like the K-index reveal planet-wide magnetic calm or disturbance, which alters the background noise floor.General Trends: They label broad sectors (such as high, middle, or low latitudes) as "normal" or "disturbed" for a given Universal Time period.

- Why They Aren't Local Realities

Path-Specific MUF: The Maximum Usable Frequency changes constantly depending on the exact sunrise, sunset, and midpoint between two communicating stations.

Local Noise: Man-made interference or local atmospheric static can make a band sound dead at your specific location even when global indices look pristine.

Hemispheric Shifts: Seasonal D-layer absorption behaves completely differently in the Northern Hemisphere than in the Southern Hemisphere at the same moment. ===

That's why tools like VOACAP exists to figure out HF propagation at your current QTH. What I post in here are general guidelines. Any ham that knows what they're doing knows this.

So yes, Virginia, global HF band conditions erxist even if you think they don't.

-- Sean KS4TD

... I hate peer pressure and so should you.
--- GoldED+/LNX 1.1.5-b20260304
* Origin: Outpost BBS * Johnson City, TN (1:18/200)