The goal of the Tobago DXpedition was to work as many stations as possible who wished to contact the island of Tobago. There is no point in operating on a band, if it isn't open or is open to a region of the world for only a short period of time. As a result, we forecasted predicted openings on each band by major population center.

We made propagation predictions for this DXpedition using W6ELProp. W6ELProp produces useful charts that show when areas on the earth are likely to be open, based on solar conditions, time of day, and time of year. The charts display the predicted Maximum Usable Frequency (MUF) and the signal level and availability of the strongest ionospheric mode for each band on an hourly basis. "Ionospheric mode" refers to the hop configuration that radio waves take when they are refracted by the layers of the ionosphere and return to earth.

• Signal Levels. The signal levels are expressed in dB with respect to 0.5 microvolts in series with 50 ohms and assume a matched antenna load. Zero dB would be S3. At 5 dB per S unit, 10 dB would be S5, 20 dB would be S7, 30 dB would be S9, etc. The signal levels assume 100 watts of radiated power with a half-wave dipole antenna in free space at both ends of the path and with the antennas oriented for maximum gain along the path.

• Availability. The letters A, B, C, and D following the predicted signal levels indicate the predicted availability of the strongest ionospheric mode. Availability is the probability that the frequency at the top of the column will be less than the mode MUF. Availability can also be viewed as the probability that the mode will exist. Availability depends on frequency and MUF and is independent of signal level.