HFLINK NewsAbout ALEHF Digi MessagingEmergency CommGet Started ALEALE SoftwareHFLINK is the international resource for ALE Automatic Link Establishment High Frequency Communications - HF Digital Messaging - HF Interoperability - Emergency / Disaster Relief - High Frequency Interoperable Communications - Ham RadioALE HF CommunicationsHigh Frequency NetworkHFLINK Group ForumPropagation NowHam Radio ALEALE On Air NowALE FrequenciesJoin HFLINK FreeRead HFLINK ForumHFLINK NewsMember Supply DepotSolar Cycle Peaking Now, Next Cycle Starts in 5 Years With Less SunspotsSolar Cycle 24 In Its Last Big Peak Right Now2015 - The present solar cycle is in its second and strongest peak right now. The present levels of moderately high solar activity with occasional solar flares are expected to continue through 2015 and then subside dramatically over the next 4 years. Then we should see the solar minimum for 3 years. An upswing of the next solar maximum, Cycle 25, is predicted to peak between year 2022 and 2025, but be somewhat less potent than our present cycle. The following chart shows our present position in the cycles. (Prediction Source: Bonnie Crystal KQ6XA, HFLINK)US Ham Operators and Government Test HF Radio CommunicationsDisaster Communications Compatibility Exercise Uses Automatic Link EstablishmentWashington, DC, and San Francisco, CA – 27 March 2014 - US Amateur Radiooperators (ham  operators) and Federal Government radio stations engaged in a nationwide test of their capability to communicate witheach other by shortwave radio, in case of an emergency or disaster. They participated in a 12-day joint readiness exercise which ran from27 March through 7 April, covering all areas of USA, using a digital High Frequency (HF) radio system known as Automatic Link Establishment (ALE). This High Frequency Interoperability Exercise 2014 (HFIE-2014) ran concurrent with the federal National Exercise Program (NEP) 2014. ALE is a standardized digital signaling protocol used by each radio service, ham and government, to establish HF communications between their own stations. For the first time, the government regulatory agencies (FCC and NTIA) have authorized these stations to communicate with each other using ALE. HF radio enables long distance communication independent of terrestrial communications infrastructure, internet, or satellites.To facilitate the communication testing, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) secured temporary authority from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the FederalCommunications Commission (FCC). Federal Government radio stations and hams are allowed to communicate with each other using ALE during the exercise. Under existing rules, hams have secondary access to 5 HF radiochannels on which Government stations are the primary users. HF radios used by Federal Government stations have the ALE capability built into the hardware. Amateur Radio operators have implemented the same ALE protocols u