[SMCARA] Propagation Notes for the ARRL 10 Meter contest

[Tom Shelton]

The following was posted on the Potomac Valley Radio Club (PVRC) reflector by Fred, K3ZO.

I thought it was really good info for anyone wanting to work the contest this weekend, or just find out when the best times to fill out that illusive country on 10 meters.  There’s also some good contest advise in there.

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One thing to keep in mind is that QSOs with DX stations do not earn extra points -- Every CW QSO is worth 4 points whether around the block or around the world, and every Phone QSO is worth 2 points, so once you have worked the first DL every additional DL is no better than every additional MD or VA.  As the contest starts you will have direct propagation to W5, W6, W7and W0 as well as XE, KH6, VK and ZL, so the key is to point your beam west to start with. The last of the regular skip signals will probably drop out about two hours later. Given that you have to take at least 12 hours off during the contest, it may be well to QRT at this point so you will be fresh for the morning openings. Unlike the last few previous years, there is no real point to staying on after that to work meteor scatter and extended tropo, because this year you will have strong backscatter available to you to work the closer-in stations. However this time of year there can be Sporadic E propagation so if the signals continue rolling in by all means keep going.You should plan to fire up about 1100 UTC Saturday morning. There should already be some Caribbean, South American and African signals on the band. A few better-equipped European stations will be workable on side-scatter with your beam to the Southeast, but don't waste time in their pile-ups if you can't get them right away, because you will have a much better shot at them later. Right at this moment, you will have many loud backscatter signals from up and down the coast as you beam east, so this is the time to work them, while they are still louder than the Europeans. Remember, everybody counts the same number of points and it will be nice to get the ME, VT, NH, RI and DE mults into the log.Around 1200 UTC the band will open direct path to Europe, and from 1300 onward for a couple of hours many European signals will be massive in strength. There is a long path to VR2, BY7 and BV that starts at the same time so a quick look in that direction might be worth it to get the mults. Later at 1600 UTC there is a path to 9M2,YB and HS that peaks at 220 degrees. Again, a brief foray in that direction may be worth it, especially Sunday when those folks will already have worked a lot of stations so you have a better chance of getting through.  As darkness sweeps across Europe from East to West the number of European multipliers available at any given moment will gradually decrease. When your log shows that continued beaming in that direction results in the addition of almost no new multipliers, it is time to turn the beam west and begin to fatten up the log with midwestern and western US/Canadian contacts. Don't forget about all those XE mulitpliers. And around 1900-2130 UTC a foray to the south is advised to pick up the Caribbean and South American multipliers.At that time of day there will also be plenty of loud US backscatter signals when you beam in that direction.Ten meters will open to Japan at almost exactly 2200 UTC but with the shorter days we have at this time of year, along with the current MUF status, this opening does not last long. Hopefully you will get a UA0 or two at the same time, and maybe even Korea, China, Taiwan and Guam, Saipan, and other Pacific Islands.Just repeat the above plan on day 2. You should have a lot of fun this year. Good luck!73, Fred, K3ZO

PS.  With so much activity on the band, openings may appear which we haven't been aware of. I wouldn't dismiss out of hand the possibility that there may be a long path to Asia in the middle of the night. It has happened in the past. Also, this time of year we are at the beginning of the so-called minor Sporadic E season, so a band opening to Florida or to W9 and W0 land, or to W5 land, could keep the band going most of the night if Sporadic E is there. It pays to prepare for the unconventional in this contest. That's one of the things that make it so interesting.

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PVRC is a contest club – for more information on how to get involved with this group, send me an e-mail or check out www.pvrc.org

Tom, AB3IC