,.... I guess we now have "appliance operator" propagation prediction sites too.
Not to dis' the VOACAP tool, but as a 11m OP the NASA view is "appliance" as it gets. No need to fiddle with all the knobs, bells and whistles to get effective results that work for your location and band of choice. No one, not based in my location can tell me what works best in my area. The NASA view provided me with the answer I was looking for. If the two OP's were not highlighted in the cloud, then contact was most likely not going to happen.
I had a very good cycle 24. Many many contacts in the US. Talked to a lot of forum members (Robb, Audioshockwave, Marconi, DxMan, 48 Alaska, Mr Clean, to name a few). Lots of European stations, Australia, and even South Africa one time. Old Realistic TRC457 pushing 100W into a homemade 2-element quad. I've been off the air for over a year (too much work during the day, no dx at night). But maybe I can get a chance to crank up the old 457 one of these weekends. Here's a pic of my US contacts in 2012.
Can't say I payed much attention to the numbers. I think it may just be a relative scale. If you are in the red zone, you are going to be a busy OP. If you are in a dark area, don't bother turning on your radio. Of course, this for bands that are greatly impacted by ionospheric weather conditions which 10/11m are.
