Join David Olean, K1WHS, as he presents “VHF Auroral Propagation, What We Know” at the 2026 Northeast HamXposition.
“A discussion of the requirements for successful Auroral communications on the amateur VHF frequencies such as 50 MHz thru 432 MHz. Some basics of the Earth’s magnetic field will be discussed, along with a few examples of actual contacts made and the geometry involved. Analyzing the propagation paths during Auroral storms is quite a challenge. A few actual contacts on VHF Aurora will be analyzed to provide clues as to how to best utilize auroral DX events.”
Dave Olean spent his career in radio communications, and has been a radio amateur since 1962. He was an officer in the US Army Signal Corps, and then worked for several antenna companies. Dave started his own antenna company in 1993, Directive Systems, manufacturing a line of VHF and UHF yagis, microwave dishes, and loop yagis. His interest in Auroral communications was kindled while working in a sounding rocket lab at the Univ. of New Hampshire in 1967. He fired off sounding rockets into the auroral curtains to measure magnetic fields and energetic particles. Dave has been happily scattering amateur VHF signals off the Aurora ever since.