Suggestions to improve A, K, & SFI display within WRL app

Feature Requests
1

Although the ability to see at a glance within the WRL app, the A, K and SFI indices is appreciated, I suggest the following changes to the color codes to improve clarity and accuracy.

Generally speaking, an ideal A index is below 5 (i.e. Quiet to Unsettled). By that metric the color bar should remain green between 0 and 4.

Currently, an A index of up to 9 results in a green indicator. It would seem more accurate to display a yellow bar for an A index from 6-14 (i.e. Unsettled).

An A index above 14 should be red (i.e. Active through Major storm).

Similarly, a K index of between 0 and 1 should be green (i.e. Quiet), while a K index between 2 and 4 should be yellow (i.e. Active). K index above 4 should be red (i.e. Active through Very Major storm).

For SFI, an index above 100 should be green, not yellow as it appears currently, as higher SFI is desirable, as it is an indicator of increased ionosphere ionization which enhances HF radio propagation. SFI below 100 should be yellow.

Ideally, a more detailed SFI breakdown could be:

SFI 196-273: Green

SFI 148-195: Yellow

SFI 67-147: Red

Data sources:

  1. Propagation and Radio Science, Eric Nichols, KL7AJ, 2015 (2nd printing), p. 9-11.

  2. QSL.net, Understanding Skywave Propagation, https://www.qsl.net/4x4xm/HF-Propagation.htm

Thanks for considering.

Jim - N7RCS

7 Likes
2

@N7RCS Thanks for this. I’ll pass this along to the team!

Thanks & 73
Brad K4AZE

1 Like
3

Thanks for the SUPER detailed feedback here, this is awesome and it will help us get it implemented!!

4

Thanks for your responsiveness! I hope others will find this update as valuable as I will.

Jim - N7RCS