Sunspots and the Great Cooling Ahead

American Thinker ^ | July 18, 2013 | Jeffrey Folks

[Monty22002]

I always used to listen to shortwave in the 40m area in the late 80’s and early 90’s. Lots of activity. I only ever got a tech plus license, and couldn’t really afford or do a decent system. Plus the 13wpm CW was too much for me, I could barely do 5.

I haven’t been into it in awhile, but I hear the 10m and 6m have been doing really great for a long time. It’s too bad shortwave broadcast died from the net.

There’s still number stations and other stuff going on though. But apparently the sun’s just not been cooperating with the cycles lately for 4-10mhz

[Nowhere Man]

I always used to listen to shortwave in the 40m area in the late 80’s and early 90’s. Lots of activity. I only ever got a tech plus license, and couldn’t really afford or do a decent system. Plus the 13wpm CW was too much for me, I could barely do 5.

I haven’t been into it in awhile, but I hear the 10m and 6m have been doing really great for a long time. It’s too bad shortwave broadcast died from the net.

There’s still number stations and other stuff going on though. But apparently the sun’s just not been cooperating with the cycles lately for 4-10mhz

I'm a Tech Plus too. I listen to shortwave as well as to police scanners and so on. It is a shame that many SW stations have cut back or shut down because of the internet. The internet is good but you cannot always depend on that. With a shortwave radio, all you need is the radio itself, some batteries and an antenna and that's it. I see the internet as a Tower of Babel sure it is useful and great but if you knock out a few key things like the network, satellites and/or the power grid, it will go down with the exception of a few local areas but worldwide communications will not be possible. At least with an amateur radio, CB, etc., like shortwave, you need a power source and antenna and you're good to go.

[AlexW]

My days of Ham Radio have “Gone With the Wind”.
De W4EX

[dsrtsage]

“I agree. I think the article is a bit over dramatic as sunspot count is near its predicted maximum now (86 predicted / 84 observed).”

Uhhh....if you can get your hands on the predictions by Hathaway and NASA over the last 4 years, you will see that the peak, and shape, and timing of this cycle has changed dramatically multiple times. NASA has updated the prediction graphs about every 3 months as their prediction was obviously failing. So being that this current predicted maximum is iteration 20 of the cycle prediction (and less than half the original prediction), I’m not super impressed that its near its “Predicted” maximum now.

[Monty22002]

Well, high burst nukes would’ve certainly knocked all SW away for a few months.. Well, you’d have interesting ion bursts for sure heh. But yeah, I think places gave up too much when it comes to having stations around.

These days a small sw radio could pack the power of the best 90’s stuff. Standalone units that were darn nice with color displays of spectrum analysis were $7k or so. I’d think that could easily be done now for $500.

I also think we should have a good program for modern Geiger counters. CD and SW were good systems that are lost into the sat and wired realms now.

[Monty22002]

Mine too. Radio theory and licenses are long gone as arts and sciences, sadly.

[Mark17]

My days of Ham Radio have “Gone With the Wind”.

Mine too. I have not been on since 1994. I am just not interested in it anymore. What I am interested in, as you know, is getting my creepy a$$ cracker butt retired, and on over to your neck of the woods. Sept 14 is my official retirement date.

[familyop]

It appears that activity has leveled for this maximum and may be heading down, but we’ll see. So far, this cycle has been about half as active as the last one, and the next cycle (25) is predicted to be weaker than this one.

Solar Cycle Progression
[Chart]
http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/SolarCycle/

Monthly Ri_hemispheric Report
http://sidc.oma.be/products/ri_hemispheric/

[Okieshooter]

I have been a Ham for 50 years. I am not as active as I once was, but you can still find me once in a while on 3819 kHz.

I have operated about every mode including ATV, Slow Scan, Packet, RTTY, and Satellite. Even did moon bounce once on another’s station. Enjoy HF mobile most. It is a good way to pass the time on a trip.

de W5HJ

[AlexW]

“I have been a Ham for 50 years. I am not as active as I once was, but you can still find me once in a while on 3819 kHz.”
__________________________________________

There use to be a group of us old timers that met on 3830
every night, mostly old DXers. One night some clown came on and said “You sound like a bunch of pig farmers.”
The group then started calling ourselves the pig farmers net, a name that lasted at least till I left the USSA.
Everyone has died off, and I left the country, so I am sure there is no longer our net.
There is one member in Alabama that I still exchange email with....de W4EX

[Jumper]

So you well know the coloration between solar activity and the planet’s eco system;) I loved to tell the liberals in the State Department about sun spots a cocktail parties when they engaged in drivel about global cooling, then warming, then Change. Nothing like a little science to humble their ass-u-me(tions).

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks neverdem.

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[Jumper]

My father was a Global Cooling (Ice Age) advocate in the 60s, then by the time of the EPA and the 70’s when the movement became Global Warming he was a skeptic. Our family was very interested in the historical data which seems to support in the modern age (since the dark ages), cycles of about 24-27 years in swings of temperature. You can almost pick any point, and the temperature will over that period of say 24-27 years revolve like the planets around the sun. It seems the Earth has always been a recipient of warmth or even the colder periods due in large measure to Solar Activity. The mere fact that our eco system has a large body of water which is affected by the Moon (tide changes) or the heat or lack of intense heat from the Sun should debunk all the “government funded” junks science.

[Hot Tabasco]

lived through the 1930s a time which was very likely as hot and dry

A number of years ago while on a pheasant hunting trip to the north west corner of Kansas, I stayed in a B & B owned by a 94 year old woman. What she had experience in her life out there was amazing and one of them was her personal account of surviving the great dust bowl of the 1930's......

[LibLieSlayer]

The current cycle is almost non existent... sunspot numbers are terribly low and we are at the peak of this current cycle this fall. Predictions seem to be that the Sun may be forming another Maunder Minimum and they are saying we may not see sunspots at all during the next cycle. This has happened before so none of this is new... it is a death knell for globull warmists. Things are going to cool quickly if this is true.

[LibLieSlayer]

Oh and a Extra Class Ham here... 40 years... was an swl before that as a kid... I have seen several cycles but this is the weakest in my lifetime... pathetic really.

[Justa]

Bump to the yesteryear’s fervent AGW proponet, cogitator.

[bert]

Just as arithmetic has become math, weather has become climate.

[csmusaret]

Indeed, two weeks ago, the president unveiled a major initiative designed to cool the planet at the very moment when the planet is cooling all on its own.

Typical politician...see a parade forming then run like hell to get in front of it.

[Texas Fossil]

It appears that activity has leveled for this maximum

Maximum? We just bottomed the minimum. 3 years of almost no sunspots started to re-appear in mid October 2012. I admit the this cycle thing is not without variability, but we are not at a sunspot maximum.