[3830] ARRL 10 K4HQK SO Mixed HP

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                    ARRL 10-Meter Contest - 2020

Call: K4HQK
Operator(s): K4HQK
Station: K4HQK

Class: SO Mixed HP
QTH: Alexandria, VA
Operating Time (hrs): 8

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Mults
-------------------
   CW:  158    45
  SSB:    5     4
-------------------
Total:  163    49  Total Score = 31,458

Club: Potomac Valley Radio Club

Comments:

In all my years as an amateur radio operator (1956+) I cannot recall a 10 meter
opening like the one we experienced Friday evening of this contest. At first I
thought I was on the wrong band—40 meters would have been more like it. The
band was packed with signals, Americans only from across the continent to
Colorado and California, to a batch of Minnesotans and Floridians, into the Deep
South, into the 9th call area of the upper Midwest . . . but no Canadians, New
Englanders, nor DX. And yet I had my best hourly rate Friday night.

Saturday morning activity was far less. There were a few Floridians and some 9s,
but mostly I worked locals.

Saturday midday was almost dead. The DX map had only one spot. I did work Texas
at 1145 EST. As the afternoon wore on, TEP formed and delivered South American
stations from Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina. 

As the TEP effect faded, activity dropped sharply and by 1600 EST the band was
virtually dead. It remained that way with very few stations into early evening.
So far there had been no Canadians nor New England stations within my earshot. I
shut down at 2030.

Sunday morning at 0715 EST regional stations were heard calling CQ endlessly, to
little avail. At 0800 I heard a VE2 but he quickly faded into a Quebec forest.
Around 0900 TEP began to bubble up again, providing Brazil, USVI (KP2M), and
French Guiana (FY5KE). 

Sunday midday the TEP phenomenon had swung into full action and delivered a wide
selection from South America, the Caribbean, and a few from Eastern Canada at
long last (including PEI) plus a VE6. A surprise was V51YJ/Namibia, the only
African station I worked, although I did hear ZD7BG on St. Helena Island being
called by most of the North American ham population. This DX explosion continued
all afternoon, then began to fade after 1600 EST. By 1720 the band was virtually
dead so I went QRT and ended my participation in this contest. 

Despite having only a vertical 20’ in the air, I was quite pleased to have
collected 163 QSOs during Mister Sun’s Wild Ride, a gift to us all from a
fickle ionosphere at the bottom of the solar cycle.

73 and thanks for your QSOs!

John K4HQK

Station: IC-7410, Ameritron ALS-600, Cushcraft R6000 vertical.


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