[Nowhere Man]

The sun is currently devoid of spots and has been since Jan 2008. Check out http://www.solarcycle24.com to track the daily observations. It has info on ham band openings as well.

Thanks. I remember having lots of fun DX on shortwave and talking DX on CB during Cycles 21 through 23 (1979 - 2000) but things have been quiet this time around. My main SW radio needs a new transistor and adjustment so I'm back to using my first SW radio I got in 1978, my Sanyo RP8700. There are times I wonder if that thing is busted but in reality, sometimes the sunspots are not around, it seems like shortwave can be dead or weak at times.

[Myrddin]

I got my first ham license in 1976. A couple months later, I passed my 2nd class radiotelephone license. A year later, I took a job where I needed the license. At that time, I upgraded to 1st class plus a Ship's RADAR endorsement.

Early on, I enjoyed 2m FM mobile. I had an HF rig, but I was dependent on a 5BTV vertical in the side yard. The transmitter got into my dad's stereo. That put a halt to any HF transmissions. VHF was kind to the stereo gear. In time, I jumped into packet radio. That spurred a strong interest in networking over the radio. I've made a great living doing specialized data communications since then. It's amazing how a hobby morphs into a career direction.