For the ones who are interested, currently there is a category G4 storm going on and it seems the most intense since nearly 6 years (according https://spaceweather.com/). Kp is 7 and was 8 some hours ago.
I just used one of the typical Web SDRs and the bands in central Europe are pretty silent, only some FT8 with low signal strength can be heard.
More data: https://www.spaceweatherlive.com/
73 Stephan
Hi Stephan @HB9EAJ,
Thanks for being a bearer of good news 
I’m driving down to the South of England this evening for a SOTA weekend tour. I plan to activate a summit late on this evening around 19:15 UTC, so hope conditions improve.
Have a nice weekend and we may speak on air from the mountains!
73, GW4BML. Ben
Hi Ben,
I also planned to be out by tomorrow to test some antenna stuff. Let’s hope for the best, it may be much better by tomorrow. Otherwise, this can be also an interesting experience!
I also realized that SpaceWeatherLive classifies it as G3, so not that bad…
Hope to hear you and have fun!
73 Stephan
I’ve been listening to the 20m CW spots on Sotawatch and hearing very little. Even when the activators are weak I would expect to hear the chasers. I’m glad I did my activation yesterday!
Very weak signals here on DM/SX-031.
TNX for all calls!
Some fine aurora seen from the south of England last night. My (monochrome) meteor camera caught this at around 03:20z:
Friend of mine in Virginia. We usually dont se anything like this, this far south.
Kent K9EZ
I just got back from an activation of DM/NS-126 and I have my usual >30 S2S points even without my own spot.
The S9 signal from Manuel EA2DT on 40m was booming, while the band was dead within DL. Also an S2S with SA3IEI over 1200km at 40m, but not much at 20m.
Luckily there is always something going on SOTA even in bad conditions.
By the way.
There are very few Swedish activators. I can only think of the Lars, SA4BLM. Why is that?
But that’s another story.
73 Chris
I just went to my shack to try and see how the bands sound.
I jumped to 30m after a spot from Juerg HB9BIN/P and had difficulties to hear and chase him with a 339 exchange from my side…
I moved onto 20m and scanned down: the band sounded noisy and quite dead but finally found someone CQing.
Gave him a call and bingo, 579 and a ZL1 in the log!!
Agreed, extrange conditions these days.
73 Ignacio
Just back from trying to activate G/LD-057 using QO-100. No luck the signals were right down too weak for the 50cm dish. I could only get the beacon now and then. Good to see the post here, as the XYL read it and texted me to “Are you having trouble !” It just shows the widespread loss of comms right up to 10GHz, it is not just HF that is in trouble.
Back at the home QTH I see that with some power the QO100 is workable but not 2W and 50cm dish which is my SOTA /P rig. 10W and 80cm dish is OK.
Got is a bit wrong ! The magnetic interference was a steel silo that had been placed in front of the support ground station uplink, it has now been removed. The timing was coincidental with the geomagnetic storm. See (1) #QO100 - Twitter Search / Twitter
73 de
Andrew G4VFL
Difficult conditions today, but thanks for the S2S (GW/NW-012)
Difficult conditions for sure today, activating GW/NW-012. 6 on 40M, none on 20m, didn’t hear anyone anywhere on that band, and 6 on 2m FM. 12 in an hour, hard earned points today.
Hi Ben & Stephane,
The other good news is the CQ WW WPX SSB Contest this weekend. Interesting…!
73 Chris
Yes Kp 7 to 8 at times yesterday. Still made my normal 40M contacts and there was DX about. Listened to Radio New Zealand on 13755KHz without any difficulty so there was not a radio blackout by any means.
73’s Wal VK2WP
I din’t have much time for chasing today. I guess I checked around 10 spots within 10 minutes of them appearing on the FMF Cluster. I couldn’t hear anybody, so it’s NIL POIS today for G4OBK (as they say in the Eurovision Song Contest!).
The HF bands should recover tomorrow to some extent.
Best DX for me recently was 3D2USU Fiji on 12m FT8 at 0800z short path, but that was last Friday morning.
73 Phil G4OBK
I turned the radio on after seeing your spot on 40m. All I could hear was S9 of noise.
Paul.
Thanks for trying 
I was just thinking how dumb I was when the storm was on, I went out the garden and was annoyed to find it cloudy but what I should have done was swing the 2m beam round to the northeast to listen for Ar scatter, and check 6m for auroral E. Now the sunspot maximum is on the horizon I need to up my game, it seems my reactions have got rusty!
As usually happens when we get a solar storm the signals on 20m from Iberia (EA/CT) into the UK are the ones that recover first. So far several EAs worked today, whereas central EU has been much harder to hear on 20m.
73 Phil
Hi Chris @F4WBN,
Report from conditions today in G/DC - not good first thing due to solar storm and awful PM due to contest let’s hope for a better day tomorrow.
73, GW4BML. Ben
