Solar Cycle Sunspot Number Progression

[BoomboxDX]

Just wondering if / when the Solar Cycle peaks, will it be stronger than the last one. According to NASA, the last cycle's peak had the same amount of solar irradiance as the Solar minimums had in the 1970s. And does Solar irradiance affect propagation, or just the number of sunspots?

[BoomboxDX]

Just wondering if / when the Solar Cycle peaks, will it be stronger than the last one. According to NASA, the last cycle's peak had the same amount of solar irradiance as the Solar minimums had in the 1970s. And does Solar irradiance affect propagation, or just the number of sunspots?

.... And I can answer my own question: Solar Irradiance is ultimately what makes the Ionosphere work, and if Solar Irradiance drops, so does the ability of the Ionosphere to reflect/refract radio signals.

[East Troy Don]

"SOLAR IRRADIANCE" - Now that's a great name for a band!

[BoomboxDX]

Looks like the high HF ham bands, I.e., the 15, 12, 11 and 10 meters bands are finally seeing activity of note. A bit of CW on 15 and 12, 17 has a bit of CW and SSB activity, and 10 is waking up. 

The activity level is almost reaching what it was during the Solar minimums in the 1990s. We must be nearing the peak.

Of course, if you're in the higher latitudes, as I am, you notice less overall activity than one does further south.