18 Nov 2018

10m at present

As most know, we are now at sunspot minimum when solar activity and sunspots are at a low level.

In the past, many would have given up on the higher HF bands and moved down to lower bands to get QSOs. These days we have new weak signal modes and more people are exploring these bands in the "quiet years".

It is fair to say days are mixed. Sometimes it can be very quiet and at other times the band opens, albeit briefly, to distant parts. In the last month DX from South America, South Africa or the Indian Ocean has been spotted on at least half of the days with FT8. Even Australia and North America have been copied!

Indeed, 10m is much harder than a few years ago, but modes like FT8 have proved there are openings on 10m, even when solar conditions are poor and sunspots absent. Never give up on 10m. If more people stuck with 10m, we might all be in for a pleasant surprise.

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