[KL7AA] 10-10 Winter SSB Contest this weekend!!

[Allen Brier N5XZ]

10-10 Winter SSB Contest this weekend!

I want to send out this friendly reminder that the upcoming 10-10 Winter SSB QSO Party will start tonight February 2nd at 0000Z (Friday night 6 pm) and end on February 3rd at 2359Z (Sunday night at 5:59 pm). I invite you to join us in participation this year. Paid up membership in 10-10 is not required to participate, but if you would like to compete for awards or contribute to the overall club score of the local Houston S.H.O.T. (Space Houston on Ten) then you will need to be paid up.

If you haven’t participated in a 10-10 contest in the past, the exchange is your call, name, state and 10-10 number. Each contact with a station with a 10-10 number is worth 2 points; contact with stations without 10-10 numbers are worth 1 point. Pretty simple. There are a number of contest programs available which support the contest, including K4HAV’s Win1010, N1MM, N3FJP and perhaps a few others. Or you can turn in a paper log which is available on the back of the 10-10 news or on the 10-10 website. The rules are at http://www.ten-ten.org/Forms/QSO%20Party%20Rules.pdf .

Our local chapter (Houston S.H.O.T.) will also be holding special nets both Friday and Saturday nights at 8pm local time (0200Z) on 28.488 for locals to exchange 10-10 numbers with each other. We will try to run the net as fast as possible, to allow more off frequency contacts if the band is still open. (Sometimes we postpone the net if the band is especially active.) Of course, please feel free to join in the regular nets which meet every Tuesday night at 8pm on 28.488.

We have been promoting a few online tools to increase your personal as well as the overall club score. First is VOACAP www.voacap.com which will show propagation predictions based on real time data. That way you will know which way to point your antenna (if you have a directional antenna). Next is DX Maps www.dxmaps.com which can be used to see real time data on spotted stations, another way to see where propagation is good. 

If by chance you are not located in the greater Houston area, or are not within reach of Houston stations due to your location, please feel free to participate in the contest anyway…maybe we’ll see you during the daytime instead.

I am going for my 11th win in this contest, which will put me in the lead for the most wins in a 10-10 contest. Currently I am tied for 1st place with a station in NY with 10 wins. I would really appreciate your help to win this contest again to put me on top.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or comments regarding this contest.  (Oh, and please cross-post this announcement to other reflectors.)

Until then…”See You in the Contest!”

p.s. If I sent you an email from another database, please accept my apologies for the duplicate announcement.

Allen R. Brier N5XZ #4530 Houston SHOT #159

281-342-1882 (Home)
281-342-1590 (Home Office)
713-705-4801 (Cell)
n5xz at earthlink.net