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Author Topic: 10 meters has been open!  (Read 502 times)

W1JPP

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10 meters has been open!
« on: March 16, 2023, 04:57:49 AM »

I’ve been a ham just over 20 years. I’ve heard about how much fun 10m can be when it’s open.

Over the years I’ll occasionally check on the band, have made some contacts, but usually has been quiet.

Lately - past couple months - it’s been so busy. Even with my 80m end fed half wave contacts from all over Europe, Africa, us, South America come in so well. And I’m getting great reports with 100 watts out.

What a fun band.

Are others experiencing this?
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WV4L

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Re: 10 meters has been open!
« Reply #1 on: March 16, 2023, 05:05:24 AM »

Yup!
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NA4IT

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Re: 10 meters has been open!
« Reply #2 on: March 16, 2023, 05:19:19 AM »

A good time to check 10M is at the "greyline". You can look it up.
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K1KIM

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Re: 10 meters has been open!
« Reply #3 on: March 16, 2023, 06:53:25 AM »

Like a time warp back to late 70's early 80's.
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So Many Toys.......So Little Time!

KF4HR

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Re: 10 meters has been open!
« Reply #4 on: March 16, 2023, 10:29:54 AM »

Yes, the conditions on the higher bands have been really good lately.  As the bands get better and better it'll be interesting to see if FT-4/8 folks continue to exchange call signs, or if we see a movement back towards the real communications modes.

KF4HR
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SWMAN

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Re: 10 meters has been open!
« Reply #5 on: March 16, 2023, 11:34:43 AM »

4HR,
 That would be nice wouldn’t it, I really hope so too.
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KC6RWI

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Re: 10 meters has been open!
« Reply #6 on: March 16, 2023, 01:22:53 PM »

I didn't turn the radio  yet as I saw the sfi numbers were down.
I think 10 meters is the best  band to mobile use, even though there are tons of losses.
Its too bad the fm 29.6 is so far from the 28.4 phone band, I don't think my mobile
antenna can handle that bandwidth. yeah, like the guy said, "time warp"
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N8YX

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Re: 10 meters has been open!
« Reply #7 on: March 16, 2023, 02:10:53 PM »

The entire upper HF spectrum from 12-10M is fun to play around in when propagation is as good as it has been.

Two ham bands, CB (if you're into it - DXing is now legal), and numerous ute/clandestine/pirate SWLing opportunities to be had.

In the early 90s I used an HR-2510 w/ 1/4w bumper-mounted whip on my car. I worked a LOT of DX with that setup. An area buddy (also a ham) had one in his van and got similar results.
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KU4UV

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Re: 10 meters has been open!
« Reply #8 on: March 16, 2023, 03:50:24 PM »

Yes, it's not uncommon at all for 10 meters to have worldwide propagation near the height of the sunspot cycle.  It also doesn't take a lot of power or big antennas to work the world on 10 meters when the band is open.  I remember sitting in my car one day back in the summer of 1998 and working Japan, Australia, Guam, Hawaii, and New Zealand all in the course of about an hour.  I was using a Ranger 2950 that my brother let me borrow and a CB antenna on the trunk of my car.  Running only 25 Watt with that setup, I had a blast!

73,
Michael KU4UV
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KD6VXI

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Re: 10 meters has been open!
« Reply #9 on: March 16, 2023, 03:53:30 PM »

I've been playing around the last few days with FT8.

Starting at 0515 AST (GMT - 4) I started my FT8 up, 10 watts max.

I made over 300 qso yesterday.

Moreso, I had almost a thousand QRZ hits on my page yesterday.

10 is hot as fish grease right now.  I fully intend to take advantage of this!

--Shane
WP2ASS / ex KD6VXI
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KC6RWI

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Re: 10 meters has been open!
« Reply #10 on: March 16, 2023, 06:16:18 PM »

You said dxing legal now on cb,, really, did something change?
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KU4UV

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Re: 10 meters has been open!
« Reply #11 on: March 18, 2023, 05:57:50 AM »

You said dxing legal now on cb,, really, did something change?

Yes and no.  The FCC rules for CB operators used to state that you couldn't attempt to contact another station more than something like 150 miles away.  The FCC dropped that rule about 2 or 3 years ago, so CB operators can now legally contact stations anywhere in the world.  CB operators still CANNOT run more than 4 Watts on AM or 12 Watts on SSB.  At this point, I seriously doubt that the FCC really gives a rat's rear what any CB op does as long as they aren't causing interference to other devices or services.
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KH6AQ

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Re: 10 meters has been open!
« Reply #12 on: March 18, 2023, 08:49:23 AM »

Yep, 10 meters has been most excellent this year. From my QTH the band is open up to 22 hours a day for FT8 and perhaps 18 hours for CW.

And for the past month 6 meters has been open roughly six hours a day with daily QSOs into SA, VK, Asia and even into NA. Too bad it's all FT8 even though signals are more than strong enough for CW.
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KC8EQF

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Re: 10 meters has been open!
« Reply #13 on: March 31, 2023, 11:57:55 AM »

Yes I agree, it is great fun. During the last sunspot phase I contacted Australia and South Africa on 10 watts. WOO-HOO
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