Solar X-rays: Geomagnetic Field:

Welcome to my radio page!

Nothing says radio propagation to me quite like outer space. When I first got into the hobby, almost 5 years ago, I read somewhere that there is literally something for everyone in the world of amateur radio. Being the cynic that I am, I didn't really believe it. At the time, I just got my license because I needed a fairly reliable mode of communication while doing up a little storm spotting...a.k.a. FM. Because I am a pagan, when I caught wind of the fact that 6m was often referred to as "The Magic band", I knew right then I had to play with that mode...just a little. So I indulged in a little SSB unit. I've heard plenty when the band is open, but I haven't made contact as of yet,other than hearing the suffix of my call sign from the Ohio area. [magic indeed] I never even heard of VLF until one day, I picked up this little lightning detector. It basically amounted to a few windings on a chunk of iron encased in PVC. I was fascinated. I went back to the vendor's page, and I stumbled upon a few soundbites of recordings of sounds from the earth's magnetic field. I became obsessed. I acquired a VLF receiver kit, put it together, and as beginner's luck would have it, it actually worked! Sunspot 652 will allways have a place in my heart. Although there was far too much cloud cover to see any of the auroral activity, I did get to hear some of it. My next fettish you ask? O.K., maybe you didn't but I'll tell you anyway. If solar flares cause the magnetic field to sing, what if they cause microorganisms to sing too? Indeed, there IS something for everyone in amateur radio!