News, Press Releases, and Special Interest
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With the ARRL 10-Meter Contest coming up, Bob Cox, K3EST, wrote some helpful hints for success suited for West Coast contesters:
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"For part timers, here is more detailed advice on band openings. Looking at 10-meter logs for 2012-2015 (roughly corresponding to where we are in the sunspot cycle - Ed.), here are some data.
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"EUROPE: The opening each day is in the morning and is short. Sunset in London is 3:52 pm their time. That equals 1552z. The band will be open longer into their twilight but mostly finished to Europe about 1730z. If you are interested in [making] some EU contacts, the time to be beaming in that direction is between 1530-1730z.
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"JA/ASIA: From the start of the contest, Asia will be workable for a while. Then in the afternoon, JA/Asia will peak about 2300z to 0130z.
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"USA/NA: Almost anytime.
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"SA: The best time to work SA is in the afternoon.
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"In the evening after about 0230z, you can work Ws mostly in the west.
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"Ten meters is a fantastic teacher of propagation. Short skip, E-skip, and F2 propagation are all happening sometime over the contest weekend. As a contester, you just hear a guy and work him. You don't think about the mode of propagation; however, after the contest, you can read up on the various paths you may have encountered.
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"The sun is the great controller of 10m propagation. In spite of a CME hitting during the recent CQ WW Contest, 10 meters was still open to Europe and Asia. With the SFI predicted to be 145 during the 10-meter contest, that will help overcome potential solar problems.
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"Even a small antenna system will prove enough to make many QSOs. Take advantage of 10 meters during this sunspot peak. Even QRP stations can make lots of QSOs.
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"Summits on the Air (SOTA) is running a 10m Challenge in 2024. Solar Cycle 25 has started to offer regular good conditions for DX on the higher bands, so it is hoped that portable summit operators can take advantage during 2024. Some predictions indicate the peak of the cycle may occur during the summer of 2024. We encourage activators to consider 28MHz for their summit operations in 2024.
W0AYE Ben Wussow