In our last podcast Pete N6QW expressed pessimism about Solar Cycle 25. I pushed back, asking Pete to stop with the negative vibes. Well, as always, it turns out that Pete was right.
Hack-A-Day today has a nice post about solar activity. They note that cycle 25 is likely to be much like cycle 24 -- not great, certainly not as great as cycle 19. Pete operated during that magnificent event -- I was born during cycle 19 -- TRGHS.
While Pete was right about the poor prospects for cycle 25, I doubt that he knew WHY it will be so tepid. Well friends, here is something else for us to worry about: THE GLEISSBERG CYCLE. This one is not 11 years long. It is 87 years long and we are in the declining phase right now. So apparently it will be future generations of ham radio operators who will experience sunspots like those of 1959. Curse you Gleissberg cycle!
But I suppose it is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness. Cycle 25 maximum is only about five years away. So I'm thinking of rebuilding my Moxon. Or maybe getting a Hex beam...
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