Web-based propagation tools
Wednesday - June 12, 2019
There are a ton of helpful websites and out of the lot, I visit to a few to get information on current HAM band conditions. One of them is called QRZnow.com, it aggregates a bunch of data from other sites. The other one, PSKreporter.com helps me when I am doing digital like FT8, to visually tell signal strength of send and receive. The last one allows me to see or rather hear phone traffic on different bands called WebSDR.com.
QRZnow.com is a HAM related news site which contains a lot of articles on gear, weather, software, etc… However, it's Real-time Band Conditions page is probably the most visited, second only to the home page. As mentioned, it aggregates data from other sites and graphically presents these pertinent information affecting signal propagation. Here's a couple I pay close attention to:
PSKreporter.info is a digital activity reporter. It started out as a project to automatically gather reception activity records and make those available in near real time. This is a way digimode users can get info on how they are received or who they are hearing.
WebSDR.org is a software-defined radio receiver connected to the internet, allowing visitors to monitor traffic and tune it simultaneously. You basically pick location and start listening or tuning in. Its great to hear what's being received by the station—in my case, what I am not hearing on my rig. This made me want to keep improving my antenna situation
