It looks as if there was an opening on the 40 MHz band on Tuesday the 6th of April 2022 when the FT8 signal from Paul, G9PUV (G7PUV) was heard by TT8SN in Chad.
Rcvr Band Mode Distance Time (UTC)
TT8SN 8m FT8 4518 km 14:25:11
TT8SN 8m FT8 4518 km 14:25:11
According to the PSK Reporter website, TT8SN was hearing the signal from G9PUV at +16dB which is very strong.
G9PUV was using 25 watts into a log periodic antenna for the tests.
The strong signal strength, the distance of 4,500kms and the time suggests that this was a F2 layer opening with just one hop involved. It looks as if the North-South path from the south of England to Africa is now reaching as high as the 40 MHz band.
The solar flux on the 6th of April was 117 which is down from the recent peak of 156 a week ago.
