HF Radio propagation table

[GILow]

Hi all,

I used to have a nice little table that gave an approximate guide to HF frequency vs propagation for day and night.

I misplaced both the electronic and paper copies, and now my Google skills are failing me.

Does anyone have a link to a simple table, something along the lines of...

Frequency Day Range Night Range.
3 MHz x miles to y miles a miles to b miles
4 MHz i miles to j miles

etc etc.

Yes, I know there are some really accurate online tools out there to give very precise predictions, but I just need something as a general guide that can be printed out and left with the radio books for those times when there is no internet access.

Matt

[Dsanduril]

Something like this?

[GILow]

Originally Posted by Dsanduril

Something like this?

Thank you, I saw this one, but it worried me.

For a start, the frequency range is incomplete, then there's the complication that it appears to have been produced for aircraft operations, (which may or may not change the numbers) and finally, the whole seasonal thing makes it a bit complicated since I ASSUME it is northern hemisphere based.

Oh, and the lack of units kinda doesn't help. Probably miles... but if so, which sort?

[El Pinguino]

Not quite what you are after but you may find it useful..

https://goughlui.com/wp-content/uplo...110Z_11030.jpg

Times that they are sent can be found here

VMC & VMW Radio Fax Schedule

From VMC at 0100/0131 UTC and again at 1630/1701.

[GILow]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

Not quite what you are after but you may find it useful..

https://goughlui.com/wp-content/uplo...110Z_11030.jpg

Times that they are sent can be found here

VMC & VMW Radio Fax Schedule

From VMC at 0100/0131 UTC and again at 1630/1701.

I certainly found it intriguing. But no, not really what I need.

Looking to make a quick and dirty cheat sheet to help me choose the correct frequency for the range I am trying to achieve. This would primarily be about reaching one of the various manned marine HF coast guard stations that keep a listening watch on various frequencies.

[Michael Cobbe]

The earth makes up half the aerial so propogation is subject that. Metal boats have the best propogation becaue the hull is the earth, the wire is attached to it. We know an American with a cataraman who had a copper sheet fiitted in both hulls when the boat was built so had the same propogation as a metal boat.

[Jim Cate]

Matt, have a look at the propagation prediction program incorporated in Airmail. I forget it's name,but it is part of the normal download. It needs a bit of input data, available online, but covers all the ham HF bands and by default, the marine bands as well.

Jim

[El Pinguino]

The Sailmail propagation program comes from 'Icepac'.. https://www.voacap.com/index.html


As used in Sailmail it presents as shown below.... which gives propagation odds for contacting sailmail stations - which are in the marine HF bands - from present location. It can be updated by either internet as seen below or by HF radio

If keen enough I am sure you could make it work....

Another thought.... take the VMC info I showed above... take a tracing of the land masses... take another tracing of the propagation zones.... mark VMC on the prop tracing.... slide down to put the VMC mark over Adelaide or where ever you happen to be.... bingo .. instant propagation map ... repeat for the 24 hours... job done... simples.....

Except it really isn't quite that simple....

[GILow]

Hmmmm.... that's a pretty decent bit of software, but I'm really looking to simplify things even more.

I will.give it a crack using a handful of frequencies similar.to the marine listening stations.

Geez I wish I hadn't lost that original.chart though.

[coopec43]

Maybe the following chart will helps will help.


Also Noonsite has information on Radio Nets which I have yet to come to terms with (Just type in the country)

https://www.noonsite.com/report/paci...of-radio-nets/


Tropospheric propagation describes electromagnetic propagation in relation to the troposphere. The service area from a VHF or UHF radio transmitter extends to just beyond the optical horizon, at which point signals start to rapidly reduce in strength. ... Such conditions are related to the current state of the troposphere

http://archive.hnsa.org/doc/radio/chap21.htm


http://www.cruiserswiki.org/wiki/World_MM_Nets


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_propagation

[Sailmonkey]

What about this?


2 MHz 200-400 miles
4 MHz 400-600 miles
6 MHz 600-1,200 miles
8 MHz 800-1,600 miles
12 MHz 1,200-2,400 miles
16 MHz 1,600-3,200 miles
22 MHz 2,200-4,000 miles plus
26 MHz unpredictable during our solar cycle minimum


Stolen from here


https://www.latitude38.com/marine-ssb/

[coopec43]

https://www.vk5pas.com/nets.html

[coopec43]

Originally Posted by Sailmonkey

What about this?


2 MHz 200-400 miles
4 MHz 400-600 miles
6 MHz 600-1,200 miles
8 MHz 800-1,600 miles
12 MHz 1,200-2,400 miles
16 MHz 1,600-3,200 miles
22 MHz 2,200-4,000 miles plus
26 MHz unpredictable during our solar cycle minimum


Stolen from here


https://www.latitude38.com/marine-ssb/

That would be day time ranges. I'll guarantee if I tuned my SW radio in on (say) 16 MHz I'd pick up stations 10,000 miles away

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by coopec43

That would be day time ranges. I'll guarantee if I tuned my SW radio in on (say) 16 MHz I'd pick up stations 10,000 miles away

True, but the article is titled SSB for idiots.

[GILow]

Originally Posted by Sailmonkey

What about this?


2 MHz 200-400 miles
4 MHz 400-600 miles
6 MHz 600-1,200 miles
8 MHz 800-1,600 miles
12 MHz 1,200-2,400 miles
16 MHz 1,600-3,200 miles
22 MHz 2,200-4,000 miles plus
26 MHz unpredictable during our solar cycle minimum


Stolen from here


https://www.latitude38.com/marine-ssb/

Nailed it! Thank you, that’s precisely what I was looking for.