so ive been sitting here the last few nights spinning the dial on 40m and its just... dead? like way quieter than it was even a couple months ago. got a few contacts but nothing like what i used to pull in around this time last year. not sure if its me, the band, or just that fewer people are on these days. my antenna hasnt changed, same old dipole ive had for years. maybe its just a slow patch idk

yeah same here, though i caught a pretty decent opening last thursday around 0200 utc and worked a few stations down in south america which was nice. think the solar flux has been kinda mediocre this week. 20m has been treating me better honestly, might be worth giving that a shot if you havent already

could also just be less people on in general, i feel like activity goes in waves. summer always seems slower to me for some reason. also your dipole orientation matters a lot for 40, if youre running it east-west youre gonna miss a chunk of stations. just a thought