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To use W6ELProp, download the free program and install it on your computer.
W6ELProp download page
Run the program once to set your default QTH. You will need the daily
Solar Flux number to run W6ELProp, it is shown at the bottom of the page
on the DX Summit web site: DX Summit
The solar flux number is SFI in the bottom frame.
When the program is installed on your PC and has been run at least once,
come back to this page and download the new atlas file that contains
additional entries for all 50 States in the USA.
To get the file, hold down the SHIFT key and click on the link below:
W6ELProp.ATL
A 'SAVE AS' Window will open and you should save the file in
the same directory that W6ELProp was installed to. When the next
window opens and asks if you want to overwrite the original file,
click on YES.
To use the new atlas entries for the US States, enter ST and the
two postal abbreviation letters for the state, like STCO for Colorado.
With your own QTH as the default entry, you will then get a chart of
predictions for your QTH to Colorado for a 24 hour period.
DX locations are entered by their root prefix letters (and sometimes
numbers), like EA, EA8, G, JA, LU.
The prediction screen will be a chart of numbers and letters for
each hour of the day. The number indicates signal strength, higher
is better. The letter is the chance that the path will actually be
open. 'A' following the number means it is almost certain that the
band really will be open at that time.
Propagation changes greatly with the seasons and the program will
illustrate this if you put in a date 3 months from the present. Also
look at the various maps on the menu. The Rectangular Map shows
gray-line path possibilities (you can change the time of day), and
the Great Circle map makes it easy to see where the signal really goes
when you call that VK4 on 20m.
It's fun to select AUTO UPDATE on either map screen to watch the
sun-lit area move across the planet in real-time.