When I started about 1250utc there was a buzzing sound in the ~28.05 to ~28.07 range which I suspect was a spread spectrum transmission. I moved down to ~28.03 where it was quiet, too quiet. I thought something must be wrong with my setup or there must have been a CME or a SID. But then I heard one strong station. No phone reception so I couldn’t check 10m activity nor self-spot.
I called CQ a lot and got only one reply, Alfredo EC8ADS in the Canary Islands. Good reports both ways so 10W to my 40/20/10 EFHW inverted-7 on a 5m pole was getting out on 10m.
I see these US RBNs rx’d me alright. It’s a pity no US chasers replied. I had to use 20m to qualify the activation.
Though 10m was disappointing today my first field use of my [Christmas present] Helinox Chair Zero was a big success on very rocky/craggy G/LD-056. I was really comfortable and could have gone on much longer [than usual when I sit on the ground] but with no 10m chasers and my legs and backside getting cold, it was time to QRT.
There was QRM/N from around 28.575-28.625 MHz at around 0945 this morning on GW/NW-043, probably different to yours.
I don’t think I can blame the nearby commercial masts because I’ve activated on 10m from the same spot with the same setup in reent weeks and not had the problem. It sounded like a weak FSK/data signal but over a huge chunk of the band.
Maybe it was something to do with last night’s big flare and the smaller one this morning, although they usually seem to just cause static or attenuation.
This homebrew rig (superhet) has had 10m from the beginning (first used on G/NP-005 on 2023-05-11). I’ve had some good 10m DX with it (e.g. LW, PY, California).
I will try my FT817 for SSB and FM on 10m but probably only after the winter bonus season.
I’m entering my 3rd year of SOTA. Think I’m doing quite well on 10m. Some of these are with a ¼ wave elevated GP, some with an EFHW and the rest are with bits of wire.
I guess they’d need to be East Coast chasers, or progressively earlier risers as you head West, or chasers chasing the night through. At 10 this morning we re-joined a filk circle on zoom we’d left at around 1am to find West Coast folk still up and seeing the New Year in… So they were seeing it in for American Samoa, but…
Little bit of fun had yesterday for the NYE rollover - I activated what is probably my favourite summit, Mt Ginini VK1/AC-008, from where I have usually had a good deal of success. Despite the solar conditions, I managed a total of 91 contacts (including 22 on 10m post rollover) over about a 5-6 hour period
I found 10m was poor with only 15 contacts from VK, 1 x ZL, 4 x ZL, 1 west coast USA and 1 from Tonga. I did manage 11 S2S on 10m with 9 from VK, 1 x ZL and 1 x JA. Missed another S2S with another VK3 but that’s life.
I was using an IC-7300 at 100W (with a 100Ah LiFePO4 battery) into a 40m OCF - thinking of other 10m antenna options for future activations (maybe one of the flowerpots of Andrew VK1AD fame - or a lightweight 3 element yagi).
Normal conditions would have seen far more contacts, but I was for the most part happy with what I picked up (particularly the JA S2S - I think a first for me). I am confident if I had of stayed for another 4-5 hours that I would have worked a lot more as conditions were starting to open up as I shut down, but I was fairly fried (literally as despite it only getting to 18 degrees C and being cloudy for the first half of the activation, the sun was deceptively strong) so was looking forward to getting home for a cold one or three.
For me it was 10 m or bust. It was nearly bust. I could not buy a CW contact. One S2S and four other SSB contacts. I did works few on FT8 but not anywhere near your totals. Anyway I’ve heard they may be disallowed as being too easy and only legacy modes will score.
Two days of preparation and I barely got back my bait.
You were one of the few who actually posted as calling on 10 m but unfortunately nothing heard from you.
Still a poor day on the summit beats a good one at home.
A few more days left in the year so plenty of time.
I guess one of those ZLs was something else. ZA? JA?
Yesterday the closest I got to 10 metres was one contact on 12 metres, and that wasn’t an easy one. I have a bit of a hill behind the house, and I think that’s not helping the take-off to the western hemisphere. Lower bands seem less bothered by the geography…
My word you were weak, almost ESP, but we made it.
I guess Hill of Fare is almost line of sight from here - but it gave me the Complete as well as the 10m Chaser points
You’re probably right although I did try 10m CW again around 1330utc (without luck) before going QRT.
I compare this to activating the same summit with the same antenna back in mid October where I got 13 10m QSOs (10 of them in the US) in 25 mins but an hour or so later in the day.
Yep. Round the winter solstice it’s not great for daylight paths either east or west. Last good run I had on 10 metres was back in January last year, from Kenya, mostly on northerly paths, and almost all DX-chasers at the other ends…
Thanks for being my 1st contact of '24 from your SOTA yesterday, I couldn’t hear you on 10m but got you on 40m. I’m heading out tomorrow for Conic Hill or Ben Lomond, with trying my new Super Antenna for the 1st time /P.
At 10 this morning we re-joined a filk circle on zoom we’d left at around 1am to find West Coast folk still up and seeing the New Year in… So they were seeing it in for American Samoa, but…
