Continuing the discussion from 10m CHALLENGE (Part 2) - #100 by G4OBK.
Previous discussions:
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I’m in Norfolk, so no SOTA but 10m has been good the last few days with MUF over 30MHz for most of the day.
Got chance to POTA for a short time yesterday with my KX2 into the MPAS-Lite. Best DX was a 10m Park 2 Park with K0TTW in Colorado who was using a hamstick on his car.
Looks like 10m is waking up again.
Jonathan
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During my trip to OE5 SOTA day I sometimes send CQ SOTA on 10m.
The band is very unstable and demands a lot of patience.
Activator happiness is like a sine wave but with long pauses between peak jumps.
73, Jarek
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During my activation today on F/MC-069 I heard VU, ZS, VK, and W within a few minutes around 12 o’clock UT… partly with 55 in SSB… Unfortunately I was not heard.
So things are going well again
73 Armin
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10m was off the walls today. 40some QSO’s in an hour before I QSY’d to 17m in consideration of the more “local” chasers.
It was my first CW lid experience (only activating this mode since March, or was it April?). A cacophony of zero-beat signals repeatedly sending their callsign. After the first 10 mins or so it became more reasonable, but it was tough to hear the regulars over the 20 second long single tone beep. Why some feel the need to send their callsign 4x in a row while I specifically ask for station X’s partial… very confusing especially when copying at 20wpm is at my mental limit.
Regardless, one of my best activations to date, a true gem WX and condx wise. The kind of day that keeps you coming back.
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From a California summit today, I worked IW3IWB after one call and S01WS in Western Sahara soon thereafter, both on 10m, but that’s not the news… both contacts were QRP sideband. Really stunning. Just like 1958.
Elliott, K6EL
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On The Cloud G/SP-015 this morning I made 24 QSOs on 10m, all using 5 watts.
14 into Europe (including S2S with Nick G4OOE/P on Bishop Wilton Wold G/TW-004) and 10 into JA which was pleasing!
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Out today with good luck on a family drive-up on W6/CC-045 Mount Diablo with 29 QSOs on 10m SSB from my KX3 (plus additional bands to chasers near-and-far to complete the KFF activation).
When I’m back in Wisconsin I’ll need to go out for some early mornings for Europe in the logs!
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WHAT CAN I SAY.
This 3 El wire HB moxon has improved my chances chaing Sotas on 10m let alone rest of world DXCC’s on the increase.
It looks like at mo this time of year reaching YO and SV is not a problem with Odd SP kicking on the edges of the inner F2 for Sota.
But well happy recently to clock a couple of AZ USA Sotas with ease one would have struggled to reach off me FW 40m loop antenna.
Eeven at reduced height at mo from 12m down to 6m due to recenty windy wx as when it blows off the Atlantic it howls through call localy as a hooly talking 80mph 100Mph winds gust during winter storms and being on top of first hill next to coast does not provide much shelter either.
karl 2E0FEH
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Well this 10m challenge has taken an even stranger turn for me LOL.
Since this week the F2 openings on 6m have been good into VO and USA as well 9K2 in Asia this dinner time.
But since discovery of retuning the 6m wire quad antenna am using currently on 10m as well I don’t have to keep dropping antennas just slight adjustment on the MFJ949D tuner on antenna matcher and keep eye on the Sota watch 3 still manage to pick off the Sotas in North America as well ln Eastern Europe as well and of course Greece on 10m band via the 6m quad antenna LOL.
Keeping me tally on 10m Challenge still growing in points 
.
2E0FEH
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OK LOL just worked G5OLD/P on a local Cornish summit via the 4 El Quad for 6m tuned down for 10m about 50 miles west of me on ground waves. Not strong with me but gave him 5/9 LOL
2E0FEH
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Nice one Karl @2E0FEH , it was great to work you on Hensbarrow Downs G/DC-008
It was the most surreal summit, you walk past the tripoint and summit Cairn , And then you’ve still got another 50m of ascent to reach the summit ……
Onto the largest slag heap I’ve ever seen !
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Did you see the hole it came out of!
With the amount of lithium in the Cornish micas I reckon there is a chance that the waste heaps will get re-worked and perhaps the summit will revert back to the trig point!
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Can you plug into it and save carrying a battery?
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10m was superb this morning. Best I’ve experienced all year.
Worked a VK2 station in New South Wales, Australia from South Wales, UK on 20w SSB at 11 UTC.
So the VK - EU 10m via SSB is still possible….
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OLD in Old South Wales to New South Wales!
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I noticed yesterday that the SOTAwatch Spots page was flooded with 10m spots when I checked on my phone. But I was otherwise engaged with family stuff and couldn’t get out.
I noticed today the same thing - and did have a window of opportunity - so headed for The Cloud G/SP-015 and set up the 10m GP antenna. Well - half a groundplane - two radials had come away and I didn’t have a small screwdriver with me.
40 QSOs made using FT4, FT8, CW and SSB on the 10m band. 6 were S2S. DX worked included 7X, EA8, VE & W. Z6 was interesting too.
Mid activation was when I realised that the apparent swamping of the Spots page with 10m activations - was because I’d got that band set as a custom filter! Nonetheless, activity was still good!
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Yes, great propagation lately and amazing volume of SOTA activity for any season, let alone three weeks from Winter Solstice in the N. hemisphere.
Yesterday, I managed 37 (!) chases on 10 m, every one of them either a summit or a call sign (or both) not previously worked on 10 m this year.
The last one, two hours after my sunset (and after 10 m had closed to the west coast), was @7L1CAK/1 on a summit in Japan … on SSB !
Another recent notable: @VK1DA chased on 10 m CW, three hours after my sunset, at a distance of 9878 mi = 15900 km.
73,
Matt
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Hi Matt,
Glad to be one of those 10m Qso’s yesterday from GM/SS-177.
10m was on good form from Scotland yesterday but other bands (40m & 20m) were a bit off.
Andy
MM7MOX
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Hi Matt,
Well you blew me out of the water when you called me, I wondered even whether it was LP but whatever, it was great to hear your Callsign coming out of the mist. Both you and N4EX were great surprises and new ones for the challenge. My KX3 with 10-12w output with the simple half wave vertical dipole certainly did its job well.
Re propagation, we are learning all the time, the old ALF/MUF model has been replaced by the predictions and observations of modern tools and space weather has turned out to be quite a fascinating thing. What we observe here is that the situation is different all over the country and the lower HF bands are nowhere near what we usually expect in a solar maximum. A dead day on 40m/20m in VK is followed by reports of excellent dx conditions in the northern hemisphere. Wow.
73 Andrew VK1DA/VK2DA
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