Why doesn VOAProp use the current sunspot number?
The developers of VOACAP state that the propagation model was not designed to forecast propagation using current figures. It was designed to be used with smoothed sunspot numbers. Therefore that is what VOAProp uses. You can change the sunspot number to the current number and see the effect this has on the predicted propagation. However, this is not a valid use of the VOACAP model and VOAProp will not store this value. On the whole, when solar activity is above the smoothed value for the month, it is likely to result in significantly better propagation than the prediction using that value would show, and vice versa. But the changes are not consistent and therefore not predictable.
