Solar Radio Interference

[Dave D.]

Originally Posted by David Dunlop

Recent Solar activity is presently creating propagation issues in the HF Radio Bands and good communications is a bit of a challenge.

This started me thinking these Solar issues must have popped up from time to time during World War Two. Has anyone ever run across Regimental Histories, or Signals Records where comments were logged about delays due to bad radio communications?

David

Looks like a topic for a new book that is truly out of this World. Searching the direct term ""Solar cycles 1939 - 1945"" may send us to the Library of Congress who are also interested in our Sun.


I wonder if our SIG guys would have records....interesting. A comparison of the solar effects from the 40's to today's equipment could be good for a few pages. I wonder what we've learned?

The topic has legs that will span the centuries and I'd hope has molded the plans of current electrical engineers globally. See what I did there. The Carrington event.....
https://science.nasa.gov/science-new...arringtonflare

Here is one story on WW11.

https://eos.org/features/the-geomagn...september-1941

"""""Seventy-five years ago, on 18–19 September 1941, the Earth experienced a great magnetic storm, one of the most intense ever recorded. It arrived at a poignant moment in history, when radio and electrical technology was emerging as a central part of daily life and when much of the world was embroiled in World War II, which the United States had not yet officially entered."""""

Trying to understand how it all works is still a little magical so some of this info starts me nodding up and down instead of across.

http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/1694701/

"""""The relationships of solar activity on the ionosphere and radio communications may be roughly classified as follows: (1) There are occasional solar flares or outbursts of ultraviolet light which instantaneously produce radio fade-outs of short duration. (2) Occasionally solar streams of particles sweep across the earth's orbit producing magnetic storms and auroral displays. The associated ionospheric disturbances may seriously affect radio communication for several days although the effects are more pronounced in polar regions. (3) The general change of solar ionizing wave radiation in the course of the sunspot cycle governs the average intensity of ionization in the ionosphere. This trend is an important factor governing selection of operating frequencies for radio communication.""""

It's a little off topic but we may be able to use some of these links to look back at the 40's.
Here are a few links that get real interesting when the sun starts talking.

An over-all glimpse at the sun with daily reports, Near Earth Object monitoring and a ton of references/ links for all your Sunny needs.

http://spaceweather.com/

NOAA has a pretty cool site with a 'dashboard' of links to watch many aspects of the sun. The links at the bottom of this page will keep a kid busy for days.

http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/

http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/communities...er-enthusiasts

There was another link to the USAF Wing KP index so we should do a little digging to see what kind of solar research unit existed within the Airforce.

http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/wing-kp

One more fun one where you can set different filters, times, colors...fun for kids.

https://helioviewer.org/

Cool topic, thanks for the distraction!

I'm adding this one from our University of Alberta because it's the colorful part of our sun's activity. We can now get text alerts when the Aurora is humming over Alberta.

http://www.aurorawatch.ca/

[Phil Waterman]

Hi Dave

Lots of little threads to follow next time I'm not out in the shop.

The whole topic of solar interference is one that the average Joe or Jill could give a hoot about until the next really big flare occurs and there smart phone gets real dumb real quick.

Cheers Phil

[maple_leaf_eh]

In the late 70s my militia training included a crew commanders' course run on weekends in Longue Pointe (ie Montreal) and Camp Farnham. We had M38A1s with RT524 radios and PRC77 manpacks. The spectrum managers had given us a couple of frequencies for the exercise.

At one point out on the trace, we were hearing another English speaking net doing something similar to our training. The North/South axis would have located them in the US southeast states. The fun began when one of our callsigns called a 'lateral left clear', and the other net reacted. Their control immediately announced 'not us, that was the other guys'. Our two exercises were cross-talking on skip. It didn't last long, but while it was happening it was fun.

Among the other things I remember from that exercise, was men talking in their sleep doing voice procedure with each other. I remember feeling hot and gritty, and feeling very dependant on our crews and vehicles. We were living the example of forward recce with just ourselves to rely on. I also remember the fear of rolling over or having an accident with no roll-bars or protection. Windburnt faces and chapped lips, bleary eyes and dusty hair. The nostalgia of youth. All that and about $27 a day pay.