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KQ4QPZRECEIVING STATION

KQ4QPZ / ON THE AIR

The listening outlook

Follow the sun, watch space weather, and see how reception tends to change across the bands.

PROPAGATION / SPACE WEATHER

Radio conditions

Loading NOAA observations…
Palm Beach County, Florida

Checking daylight…

Local time & UTC

Sunrise
Unavailable
Sunset
Unavailable
Next transition
Unavailable
Solar flux · SFI
—

Unavailable

Daily 10.7 cm observation of solar activity. Higher activity can support higher HF frequencies; it does not confirm an open path.

Planetary Kp
—

Unavailable

Estimated three-hour geomagnetic index, from 0 to 9. Storm conditions can disrupt ionospheric paths.

Solar wind
—

Unavailable

Wind measured upstream of Earth. Context for geomagnetic activity, rather than a local signal measurement.

Magnetic field · Bz
—

Unavailable

Solar wind magnetic field in GSM coordinates. Sustained southward (negative) Bz can favor geomagnetic disturbance.

Radio blackouts—Unavailable
Geomagnetic storms—Unavailable
Radiation storms—Unavailable

Solar and geomagnetic readings describe the wider environment. Your antenna, local noise, the other station and the entire path determine what you hear.

GENERAL LISTENING GUIDE

What changes after dark?

HF often shifts toward lower frequencies at night as absorption falls. VHF and UHF follow different patterns. These are general tendencies, rather than measured band openings.

160 / 80 meters

1.8–4 MHz

Lower absorption often favors longer paths. Atmospheric and local noise still matter.

40 meters

7 MHz

Longer paths often become available as daytime absorption falls.

20 meters

14 MHz

May stay open after dark, especially during higher solar activity.

17 / 15 / 12 / 10 meters

18–30 MHz

Often weaken after sunset. Openings can still occur; listen before ruling them out.

6 meters

50 MHz

Openings are possible at either time; watch actual signals and reports.

2 meters / 70 centimeters

144 / 430 MHz

Temperature inversions can favor tropospheric enhancement. Darkness alone does not confirm an opening.

Sun times use an approximate location in Palm Beach County. R/G/S are NOAA’s observed scales; a missing reading is shown as unavailable. Data may refresh at different cadences. Guidance: Australian Bureau of Meteorology HF guide · ARRL propagation resources.