Friday was a quiet day around here, and the weather was absolutely perfect. With nothing on the "Honey-Do" list, I decided to drive to Lemoine Point and do a POTA activation. Now that most people are back at work, and the kids in school, the place would be nice and quiet.
I checked the propagation numbers before I left and was pleased to see they were: SFI=101, SN=124, A Index=6, and the K Index=1. Absolutely the best numbers I have seen in years. It's a 10 minute drive to Lemoine Point, I'm sure I did it in 5.
What an activation! Normally you will get 4 or 5 stations calling you after your spot has been sent, and then you will have a lull before it picks up again. Not that day! In 15 minutes using 10w and a 40m Hamstick, I put 24 stations in the log. The bands were in great shape, and it showed by how active they were.
I imagine that this great improvement in the propagation is just a slight "blip" in the universe, and things will go back to the slow days we have suffered through over the past while. However, I'm hopeful propagation will continue to improve as cycle 25 gains its legs.
I also managed to work some non-POTA stations in the UK, France and Spain before calling it a day. I'm hoping these conditions last for another few days at least.