Propagation and Conditions

Propagation and space weather links:
http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/
http://www.voacap.com/prediction.html

Maidenhead Locator/QTH Grid Square for Beam Azimuth Position:
http://no.nonsense.ee/qth/map.html

I've noticed for a while now that conditions seem to be good on the hailing frequencies. However, when I qsy and move off those freq' any considerable distance, the conditions become very poor. Thru some research I discovered that my suspicions are true. The ionosphere becomes active from the hoards of stations on 1 particular freq' but once you move off to a qsy freq' conditions drop. It has been my belief that HF waves reflect "and" refract off the ionosphere having no effect on the actual ionosphere itself.This is not true. With conditions being poor for a while now, I have verified this phenomenon many times over the past 2 weeks. The ionosphere can actually be activated to some extent by the constant bombardment of hf transmissions. If you have been having a hard time making contact with stations after a qsy when you heard them on a hailing freq' at signal 5/9. That is the reason.
The band has been reopening for the past few days right on schedule. By the second week of Feb' conditions usually improve after the flat period initiated around winter solstice (Dec'21), shortest day of the year. of course, the closer to the equator you are, the more pronounced this can be. You can see this in the difference in the grey line between say, NE USA and Florida. The days are always longer closer to the equator even during solstice. Grey line hits sooner and passes later as evidenced here: http://www.voacap.com/prediction.html

Please reply with your own thoughts and observations. 73, Steve