Let's get a few practical problems out of the way first. Radio hadn't been invented yet in September 1859, and obviously such an event today would destroy any power-lines, causing severe problems in our daily lives, which I would not wish upon anyone. The disruption of power would make such stations rely on generators, and even those aren't exactly immune to the effects.
With that covered, what if a Carrington sized event happened in today's radio world? It has been well established that Shortwave, particularly below 10 Mhz, would be blacked out. However, recent evidence may suggest that frequencies above 20Mhz (such as the CB Band, and subsequently FM) and below 630 Khz (KOGO, KLZ, WNAX, WTMJ, and the LW band) might be safe, and possibly be even enhanced in some senses. That in particular is what I'm interested in finding out. Is it possible to make exotic catches during a Carrington type event?
Looking back at the historical reports for the 1859 CME, two telegraph operators (an unknown distance apart) agreed to disconnect their batteries, and even afterwards, could still hear each other, albeit with the occasional fading. It is said that the ionosphere had charged up the wires and continued to carry messages between them.
Although ionization of the D layer of the atmosphere tends to cause extra absorption blocking out most of the lower frequency signals, we have found out that ionization causes the E-layer to reflect FM signals, which uses a different method of propagation. So, would we see the ultimate FM skip ever? On top of that, some of our best Es years have coincided with times of peak solar activity, such as 2004 and 2013 (and we've been getting more Es since 2019 for Solar Cycle 25, which is expected to peak in 2025). Considering that, a geomagnetic storm would benefit FM (88-108 Mhz), right? Additionally, Satellites themselves would have to shut-down, obviously, for protection, but if Sirius-XM could stay online, what would happen as their signals passes through the ionosphere/what would happen to the on-the-ground repeaters in larger cities?
Going back to MW for a second, although skywave would be blocked for the higher end of the band, I have to wonder what happens to groundwave propagation, and of course, the LW band?
So, TL : DR, what type of Dxing can we expect of Carrington happened in 2022? I am looking forward to everyone's response. I am by no means an expert, however I hope what I stated thus far is close to accurate, as I did some research, but I ultimately want to hear from you all.
With that covered, what if a Carrington sized event happened in today's radio world? It has been well established that Shortwave, particularly below 10 Mhz, would be blacked out. However, recent evidence may suggest that frequencies above 20Mhz (such as the CB Band, and subsequently FM) and below 630 Khz (KOGO, KLZ, WNAX, WTMJ, and the LW band) might be safe, and possibly be even enhanced in some senses. That in particular is what I'm interested in finding out. Is it possible to make exotic catches during a Carrington type event?
Looking back at the historical reports for the 1859 CME, two telegraph operators (an unknown distance apart) agreed to disconnect their batteries, and even afterwards, could still hear each other, albeit with the occasional fading. It is said that the ionosphere had charged up the wires and continued to carry messages between them.
Although ionization of the D layer of the atmosphere tends to cause extra absorption blocking out most of the lower frequency signals, we have found out that ionization causes the E-layer to reflect FM signals, which uses a different method of propagation. So, would we see the ultimate FM skip ever? On top of that, some of our best Es years have coincided with times of peak solar activity, such as 2004 and 2013 (and we've been getting more Es since 2019 for Solar Cycle 25, which is expected to peak in 2025). Considering that, a geomagnetic storm would benefit FM (88-108 Mhz), right? Additionally, Satellites themselves would have to shut-down, obviously, for protection, but if Sirius-XM could stay online, what would happen as their signals passes through the ionosphere/what would happen to the on-the-ground repeaters in larger cities?
Going back to MW for a second, although skywave would be blocked for the higher end of the band, I have to wonder what happens to groundwave propagation, and of course, the LW band?
So, TL : DR, what type of Dxing can we expect of Carrington happened in 2022? I am looking forward to everyone's response. I am by no means an expert, however I hope what I stated thus far is close to accurate, as I did some research, but I ultimately want to hear from you all.