hey all i am 3 days old to hf now
when dose the skip kick in and how often dose it happen ?>
Skip is generally on a 11 year cycle, meaning every 11 years it peaks & you get greater skip difference..... having said that summer is usually better, I can remember about 20+++ years ago I only had a AM 40Ch with a magnetic mount antenna sitting in the gutter & I was chatting to a mobile station in Melbourne!!!
It really blew my mind! he was pushing 9+ on the signal meter & was getting over the top of another station who was only about 5km away
later on I graduated to ssb & managed to speak to speak to most states of Australia/New Zealand & the U.S, i reckon we would probably be close to another peak in the cycle soon?
There is a website somewhere? i think? that gives you ionospheric predictions for radio, if i get a chance tomorrow I will see what i can find, I am myself just getting back into radio after about a 12 year break, I am in the process of getting my Amateur licence
Michael