Signs of life at 28 MHz

I’ve been hearing some activity on 10 meters over the past week or so. None of the signals were bombing in, but anywhere from an S 3-7, and with next to no noise on the band, they were near-perfect copy. I was able to make a few quick contacts, which was very refreshing and gives me hope the band may be bouncing back as the latest solar cycle, slowly, slowly churns forward imparting its magic on the higher bands.

I’ve always had a soft spot for 10 meters. When the band was really hot back in the early part of this century (uh, that would be 2000, 01 & 02) I managed to work some of my best DX…with 100 watts into a wire…on that band, including my first JA’s.

I think right now many of us just aren’t checking the band regularly, and just as importantly, making a transmission. Give a quick CQ, regardless of what you are or are not hearing. You may be surprised at the results. If you want to check for propagation…don’t go by the lack of SSB signals…dial down to the CW beacon portion of the band, between about 28180 and 28300 kHz. Slowly scan and if you hear any CW signals, there’s propagation happening from somewhere. Even if your ability to copy code is rough….these beacons usually send at slow speeds and a couple of listens should allow you to copy. Alternatively, you could use some CW software to decode it for you. Look up the call on QRZ.com or one of the on-line beacon lists and figure out where your signal may go if you transmit. Here’s another trick to see whether 10 meters may be open: Dig out that old CB rig (come on admit it, you have one hiding somewhere) or just dial down to the 27 MHz range….and flip the mode to AM. If there’s any propagation in that end of the spectrum, you’ll undoubtedly hear those overmodulated, heavily exaggerated accented guys (could anyone really sound like that?) whistling and yelling into their Golden Eagles. Logic dictates if there’s skip on the ole Citizens Band, the band 1 MHz up is probably open too.

Why is ham radio sometimes the most fun when there’s a challenge involved? Hope to hear you on 10m.