I consider myself a tried-and-true Midwesterner. However, I was born and raised in southern California. I learned how to scuba (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus) dive when I was a teenager. Surf conditions are a regular part of local news. Although scuba divers prefer not having rough surf conditions, surfers live to hear, “Surf’s up!” So, what does this have to do with amateur radio? Just as surfers wait for exciting, optimum wave sets, so too, do ham radio operators wait and get excited when 10 meters is up.
There are several factors contributing to good 10-meter conditions. Over the past few months, this column looked at space weather effects on our Earth’s ionosphere. Solar flux values are consistently above 100 — as I am writing this article, the SFI is 155 — and this means better and longer DX (long distance) openings on 10 meters. As Solar Cycle 25 continues to ramp up, conditions will continue to get even better over the next few years for HF (high frequency) bands and for 10 meters in particular. Best of all, Technician licensees can avail themselves of this exciting HF band.
Technician 10-Meter Privileges
Tech licensees can join in the fun on the 10-meter band. The more the merrier. Ten-meter privileges for Techs extend from 28.000-28.500 MHz. The band segment of 28.000-28.300 MHz is reserved for CW (continuous wave / Morse code) and data. No phone/voice in this segment. However, phone is allowed in the 28.300- to 28.500-MHz section of the band. As a cautionary note, just to be safe and rule compliant, don’t operate right up to the band edges. For example, I would not operate my transmitter right at 28.000 MHz. My signal, even a CW signal, has bandwidth and if my transmitted RF (radio frequency) is even a smidge below the band edge (27.999 MHz) then I am not operating my station in accordance with FCC (Federal Communications
