VOACAPis considered the gold standard of HF

propagation-prediction programs, but it is difficult to

use.VOACAPis for point-to-point predictions (one
transmitter site to one receiver site).VOACAPproduces
lengthy tabular printouts that require a lot of interpretation
and massaging.VOACAPcan produce colorful graphs,
although these arent really useful for contest planning.
The different layers in the atmosphere are caused by the different wavelengths of the UV rays expending their energy at different heights.
Radiation and particles from outside the solar system also contribute to the formation of the different ionospheric layers. A highly variable
source of ionizing agents is solar wind. Solar wind consists of ions thrown out from the surface of the sun as a result of its turbulent
processes. there. As particles travel out through space, some come close enough to the earth to be trapped by the earths magnetic fields.
High frequency radio (commonly known as short wave radio) is a means of communication in which a radio wave signal is transmitted
from one point to the ionosphere, where it is reflected back down to another point on earth. The ionosphere consists of layers of ionized
gas situated a few hundred miles above the earth. The term "high frequency" refers to the number of radio waves transmitted per second,
and simply serves to distinguish this type of system from those which transmit at higher or lower frequencies.