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HF Band Conditions, 160 m to 6 m

Estimated conditions on every HF band from 160 m to 6 m, for day and night, plus the VHF aurora and sporadic-E outlook. Current conditions: solar flux index 115, sunspot number 66, A-index 17, Kp 3.0 (unsettled geomagnetic field), X-ray flux C1.1, solar wind 449 km/s.

Updated 11:43 UTC

HF band by band

Band	Day	Night
160 m 1.85 MHz	Poor	Good
80 m 3.6 MHz	Poor	Good
60 m 5.35 MHz	Fair	Good
40 m 7.1 MHz	Fair	Good
30 m 10.12 MHz	Good	Good
20 m 14.15 MHz	Good	Fair
17 m 18.1 MHz	Good	Fair
15 m 21.2 MHz	Fair	Poor
12 m 24.9 MHz	Fair	Poor
10 m 28.5 MHz	Fair	Poor
6 m 50.1 MHz	Poor	Poor

R0 · Radio blackoutG0 · Geomagnetic storm

Estimate computed from the solar flux index, the planetary Kp index and the GOES X-ray flux. Good: the band is likely open for DX. Fair: usable on good paths. Poor: unlikely to carry DX. It does not replace real-time spots. How it works.

Summary by band group

Bands	Day	Night
80–40 m	Fair	Good
30–20 m	Good	Fair
17–15 m	Fair	Fair
12–10 m	Fair	Poor

VHF outlook

Aurora. Auroral propagation is unlikely at this level of geomagnetic activity. The equatorward edge of the auroral oval is near 61° geomagnetic latitude (Kp 3.0).

Sporadic-E. Low sporadic-E season: openings are rare and brief. Es cannot be predicted from solar indices: this is a seasonal likelihood, not a live reading.

Aurora and sporadic-E guide

Reading band conditions

HF propagation depends on the time of day, the season and the solar cycle. In daylight the ionosphere is strongly ionised and supports the higher bands (20 to 10 m); at night the lower bands (160 to 40 m) take over because the D layer, which absorbs them in daylight, disappears. The table above combines that daily pattern with the current solar flux and any geomagnetic or flare disturbance.

Want to see what drives the numbers? Try the what-if simulator, read HF bands by day and night, or use the gray line map to time low-band DX around dawn and dusk.

Data: NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center, NASA SDO. Band conditions are estimates computed by Map For HAM and are indicative only. Methodology and credits · Data feeds · Widgets