In Bill Horne
wrote:

I am content with ragchewing to locals on 80, but I also want to have
a reliable path to my brother's QTH, so the question is really "How do
I choose the best band for QSO's from Boston to Washington, D.C."?

Lots of propagation prediction programs on the net. I've played with,
but never put to practical use

http://www.voacap.com/
http://www.dxatlas.com/HamCap/
http://elbert.its.bldrdoc.gov/pc_hf/

--
Bert Hyman W0RSB St. Paul, MN