@ai6yr Hahaha. Yes, especially now that the sun is active, it's good to keep an eye on real-time solar activity while you're on the air. I have my phone set up to give me immediate bulletins about flares and jumps in Kp index. I often have the blackout map up on the screen. https://services.swpc.noaa.gov/images/animations/d-rap/global/d-rap/latest.png
Not only do you know what's going on but you can observe the effects on propagation and ionospheric noise yourself. If a big flare happens around midday where you are, and you happen to be on an upper band (15m is best), you can hear the normal noise quiet down and be replaced by another kind of noise. You're then listening to the sun itself, which sounds different. You're listening to radio signals from 93 million miles away. Whoo hoo.
If conditions are going to spoil your DXing plans, might as well have fun with it.
