The February SARA meeting will be held via Zoom
7:00—8:30 PM (via Zoom)………….Speaker Presentation
(Zoom link to be sent out separately prior to the meeting)
Sunspot Cycle 25 and HF Propagation
Speaker: Carl Luetzelschwab K9LA
Abstract: Carl K9LA will give a brief update on the progress of the new Solar Cycle 25 and what to expect propagation-wise in the next several years. He will then discuss how space weather affects MF/HF/VHF propagation. Finally, he will review disturbances to propagation and offer possible mitigation for these disturbances.
About our speaker: Carl Luetzelschwab K9LA started his radio career as a short wave listener in the late 1950s, and was “licensed” as WPE9BQH with Popular Electronics. He received his Novice license (WN9AVT) in October 1961, and selected K9LA in 1977. Carl is an electrical engineering graduate of Purdue University and was an RF design engineer for Motorola and Magnavox/Raytheon until his retirement in 2013. Carl enjoys propagation research, DXing (he’s at the Top of the Honor Roll), contesting (he was NCJ Editor from 2002-2007), experimenting with antennas and restoring/ using vintage equipment.
He and his wife Vicky AE9YL enjoy traveling, which has included DXpeditions to Syria (YK9A in February 2001), to Market Reef (OJ0/AE9YL and OJ0/K9LA in July 2002) and numerous trips to ZF (Vicky is ZF2YL and Carl is ZF2LA). He has received the Bill Orr W6SAI Technical Writing Award, the YASME Foundation Excellence Award and the Indiana Radio Club Council Technical Excellence Award. He has written monthly propagation columns for WorldRadio and NCJ, and has written solar and propagation articles for many Amateur Radio publications. He was the lead author in the recent update of “The CQ Shortwave Propagation Handbook – 4th Edition”.
Carl was the Vice Director of the ARRL Central Division from 2017-2021. He now serves as the Director of the Central Division, and is on several committees.