[HCRA] 10 Meter Contest

[Jim Mullen]

For all the dwellers of hf land do not be alarmed. After months of waiting
sunspots are finally returning to the realm. Don't be afraid and there is no
need to hide the children in the basement. It's OK to get return to the HF
rig and work DX again (and again, and again, and again).

Although the sunspots are few they are far better than none and are the
harbinger of better propagation yet to come.

What does all this have to do with the 10 meter contest? Well, some sunspots
are better than none but unfortunately the MUF (maximum usable frequency)
has struggled to just get into the 20 MHz region today. DX was tough and
even with a decent antenna I didn't hear much past North Carolina to the
South or Indiana to the West.

But don't despair, there are still a lot of stations to work if one simply
tunes between 28.300 and 28.500. The best time to listen will be mid morning
or just before sunset for the best DX openings. Don't worry if you don't
have a great antenna because many of the strong stations on the band have
antennae that will make up for yours, just give it a try!

Remember to fill out your log and turn it in to ARRL after the contest is
over. To help HCRA participate in the club competition don't forget to put
down 'Hampden County Radio Assn' in the club field of your log. And of
course please send me your score so we can post the interim results on the
web page.

The bad news is the band was only so-so today but you never know what the
next hour/day will bring. Sometimes the band opens for ten or fifteen
minutes at a time. You have to be in front of your radio if you want to join
the excitement!

The good news is, especially for the noobs, is activity is low enough to
provide good practice without the stress of a full blown DX opening. If you
haven't tried it yet and need more information go to our HCRA web page and
check out a brief tutorial on the contest: Point your browser to:
http://www.hcra.org/tutorial.htm to read it. While you are there click on
the years along the top menu to see how HCRA did in past contests.

Please send me some soapbox comments for the web page as well after the
contest is over. It will be fun to see what some of the new folks think
about their first entry into contesting.

'73 for now, I'm heading back to the rig.


Jim, KK1W