July was a boring month. Daytime DX activity was sparse, as both 10 and 15 were seriously effected by the summer MUF deficit. Night path conditions on 15 peaked during June, and will continue to deteriorate for the rest of the year. During August, however, 15 will start to improve over daytime paths as the high latitude ionosphere reconstitutes itself. In the next couple of months, 15 will make the transition to the daytime DX configuration most are familiar with. Fall approaches.
Remember 10 Meters? It is still nearly dead, but soon will come roaring back. Expect some improvement in DX conditions during August, and an especially dramatic transformation during September. The sunspot cycle is on the decline now, but this fall should be very good - better than it will be for another 10 years or so.
For August, the best DX opportunities will continue to be on 20. The whole world is workable every night, with access to these DX pipelines starting about 2 hours before sunset and continuing about 3 hours after sunrise. Long path in the morning is good in several directions, with India coming through regularly even though this path is seasonally at its worst. Lots of exotic Asiatic activity is on in the morning, and Pacific, Indian Ocean & African activity is also good.
Routine short path openings to Europe are good on 20 before sunset (their evening) and later in the evening (their sunrise peak). If you stay up past midnight, you will find a rich variety of Asian and Pacific activity workable with little competition. Insomniacs can pass the time ragchewing VK's.
If you don't have a beam, however, DX on 20 doesn't come easy. If you have a tall tree, put up a 40 delta loop. You can follow the sunrise peak across Europe in the evening, and though summer activity is sparse, there is enough DX to keep things interesting.