During the week of April 19-26, 2026, W2MMD's North American WSPR propagation showed the classic spring pattern of increasing daytime ionospheric activity with strong 40-meter groundwave and near-vertical incidence skywave (NVIS) dominance throughout the reporting period, peaking during the 21-24 EDT and 00-03 EDT blocks with 194 and 175 unique stations respectively, while 20-meter activity demonstrated clear F2-layer development with afternoon and evening maxima (104-108 unique stations in the 18-21 and 21-24 EDT blocks) typical of late April propagation. The higher-frequency bands showed pronounced solar-driven enhancement, with 15 meters essentially dormant during early morning hours (00-06 EDT) but developing robustly during afternoon and early evening (30-61 stations in the 09-18 EDT blocks), while 10 meters remained marginal throughout the week due to reduced transmit power from the Si5351A rolloff, limiting reception to only 24 unique stations even at its best (21-24 EDT). The 30-meter band, handicapped by an 8:1 SWR reducing effective power to approximately 30 milliwatts, showed modest but consistent performance with a notable rise to 59 unique stations during the 18-21 EDT evening block, suggesting this band's suitability for consistent regional coverage despite the impedance mismatch. Overall, these 23,723 total spots across 389 unique receivers demonstrate that early spring propagation from Mullica Hill favors the lower HF bands during morning/night transitions while midday energy shifts progressively toward higher frequencies, a pattern consistent with seasonal F2-layer development and the station's relatively short operational history on 40 meters providing

During the week of April 19-26, W2MMD's European reception pattern revealed distinct band-dependent propagation characteristics across the diurnal cycle in Eastern Time. Forty meters dominated overall activity with 1263 total spots, showing strong nighttime propagation during the 21-24 EDT and 00-03 EDT windows (51 and 36 unique receivers respectively) when F2-layer skip to Europe was optimal, while daytime performance collapsed completely through the 06-15 EDT blocks as solar ionization suppressed longer-wavelength propagation. Twenty meters provided secondary coverage with a complementary daytime peak during the 15-18 EDT block (29 receivers) as the F2 layer declined from its midday maximum, alongside a secondary evening enhancement in the 18-21 EDT window (39 receivers), demonstrating the expected seasonal transition into spring propagation patterns. Fifteen meters showed the strongest midday performance with consistent reception in the 09-12 EDT and 12-15 EDT blocks (23 and 31 receivers), characteristic of high-angle F2-layer skip during peak solar heating, though activity dropped sharply outside these windows as the critical frequency fell below 15 MHz. Thirty meters provided minimal data due to the 8:1 SWR limitation reducing effective radiated power to approximately 30 mW, while 10 meters yielded no European spots, likely reflecting both the reduced Si5351A output at 28 MHz and spring propagation conditions that had not yet developed sustained 10-meter skip to Europe. Overall, the data clearly illustrates that optimal European propagation windows shifted from 40-meter nighttime skip to 15-meter midday skip and 20-meter afternoon/evening transitions across this spring week.

W2MMD's African propagation during this week was dominated by 20m and 40m, with 250 total spots concentrated among just two unique receivers, indicating highly localized skip zones rather than widespread continental coverage. The 40m band showed classic early-morning and evening enhancement, with peak activity in the 00-03 EDT and 21-24 EDT blocks where F2 layer ionization supported trans-Atlantic paths, while midday blocks yielded no African spots as expected during high solar activity periods when the D-layer absorption suppresses lower-frequency propagation. The 20m band proved most reliable for African reception, maintaining consistent activity across nearly all time blocks with peaks during the dawn (00-03 and 03-06 EDT) and dusk (15-18, 18-21, 21-24 EDT) periods, a pattern consistent with F2-layer skip distance optimization during the ionosphere's transitional phases. The 15m band showed modest but steady African reception throughout the day with at least one spot in every 3-hour window, suggesting decent F2 propagation despite moderate solar indices, while 10m and 30m remained essentially non-functional to the region—10m likely limited by the transmitter's reduced power output at 28 MHz and 30m hampered by the 8:1 SWR delivering only ~30mW effective radiated power. Given the extremely limited receiver population (only two stations), these results suggest that African WSPR reception of W2MMD is highly dependent on specific skip geometry and receiver location rather than general propagation quality, and expanded reporting would require either increased transmitter power on marginal bands or greater African receiver participation in WSPR networks.

W2MMD's propagation to South America during this reporting period was dominated by 10m F2 layer skip, with 16 unique receivers logged almost exclusively during the 09-12 EDT, 12-15 EDT, and 15-18 EDT blocks when the F2 layer was sufficiently ionized to support long-distance propagation at that frequency. The 15m band showed modest activity with 5 unique receivers clustered in the 15-18 EDT and 18-21 EDT windows, suggesting a secondary propagation path as the F2 layer declined from its midday peak, while 20m produced only 3 spots in the 18-21 EDT block, indicating marginal conditions on that band for this path. Forty meters exhibited the expected characteristics of an NVIS/skip hybrid band with 3 unique receivers spread across early morning (00-03 EDT) and late evening (21-24 EDT) blocks, consistent with longer night-time propagation paths, though the limited dataset reflects the station's recent operational status. The complete absence of 30m propagation to South America is likely due to the significantly degraded effective power (~30mW) from the 8:1 SWR on that antenna, making detection at the more distant South American receivers unlikely. Overall, this region showed strong 10m potential during peak solar hours and respectable secondary paths on 15m, with 40m remaining a viable option during darkness, indicating favorable mid-latitude F2 propagation typical of this trans-equatorial path.

W2MMD's propagation to Oceania during the report period demonstrated a strong dependence on 20-meter band conditions, which accounted for 10 of the 52 total spots and showed the most consistent reception across multiple 3-hour windows, particularly during the 06-09 EDT and 18-21 EDT blocks when F2 layer ionization typically supports long-distance propagation favorable for trans-Pacific paths. Forty-meter band reception, while limited to only 4 spots across the week, occurred sporadically during early morning (00-03 EDT) and evening (15-18 EDT) windows, suggesting NVIS or near-vertical incidence skywave conditions rather than consistent skip zone propagation, though the small dataset reflects W2MMD's recent operational startup. The complete absence of 30m, 15m, and 10m propagation to Oceania is readily explained by technical constraints: the 30-meter antenna's 8:1 SWR effectively reduces output to approximately 30 milliwatts, well below viable power levels for reliable long-distance reception, while 10-meter output suffers from Si5351A rolloff characteristics at 28 MHz, both factors severely limiting propagation potential on these bands. Only seven unique receiver stations across Oceania captured W2MMD's signal during this seven-day period, indicating that while the 100-milliwatt effective radiated power on 20 and 40 meters is sufficient to reach the region, skip zone geometry and receiver distribution patterns currently limit regular propagation paths. Future monitoring should prioritize 20-meter conditions during the 06-09 EDT and 18-21 EDT blocks as the most reliable windows for Oceania reception, while addressing the 30-meter antenna impedance issue and 10-meter power rolloff could potentially

During the week of April 19–26, 2026, W2MMD's propagation to the Other region was dominated by 40m activity, which accounted for 12 of the 33 total spots across just 3 unique receivers, with consistent openings during the 00-03 EDT and 21-24 EDT windows characteristic of nighttime F2 layer propagation supporting long-distance skip. The 20m band provided secondary support with 9 spots distributed across the 00-03 EDT, 03-06 EDT, 15-18 EDT, 18-21 EDT, and 21-24 EDT blocks, suggesting a broader ionospheric envelope with morning and evening E-layer enhancement supplementing F2 propagation. Ten-meter activity, though limited by the Si5351A rolloff reducing effective radiated power, showed promise during the midday 06-09 EDT and 09-12 EDT blocks when F2 ionization peaks, while 15m sporadic openings during 15-18 EDT and 18-21 EDT indicate occasional transequatorial or Es-aided propagation to the target region. The complete absence of detectable spots on 30m despite full transmitter power (offset only by the 8:1 SWR reducing effective output to approximately 30 mW) suggests either unfavorable skip distance geometry or absorption conditions for this band to the Other region during the reporting period. With only three unique receivers logged and the station's recent operational status, continued monitoring should establish more definitive propagation patterns, though current data suggests that 40m and 20m remain the most reliable bands for consistent long-distance communication from FM29jr.