Good luck with that...there are no sunspots....
So as well as another 400 years of global mini-ice age....we don't get long distant coms. ....no ionosphre to bounce off
Good luck with that...there are no sunspots....
Sunspots are at a low point not seen in perhaps a hundred years, no doubt, and a lot of HF communication is not always as easy as we'd like it because of that, BUT...
80M & 40M are still very reliable for comms ranging from local areas to 1-2 states away with barefoot 100W rigs & simple wire antennas, and 20M is open at some time almost every day with transcontinental coverage using equally simple and portable equipment. This year I have been experimenting and practicing with my own station to get a good feel for it's usefulness with the possibility of govt. comm shutdowns in mind, and my HF gear is about as bare-bones as it comes. It doesn't take all that much to have a very functional station.
Sunspots do affect radio propagation to some extent, but 14 MHz and below are not so dependent on them to be functional. In the cycle highs, propagation does most of the work, but in the lows we have to rely more on operator skill and antenna design.
One of the most active groups of like minded Ham Radio operators interested in individual readiness, you'll find here: