CQ Contest, and the bands are WIDE open

[G0GQK]

It's amazing isn't it ! The bands can be dead for weeks until Contest Day arrives, and suddenly, as if by magic, stations can be heard from all corners of the globe.

But...... are they dead. I don't think they are as dead as we believe they are. There's nobody calling CQ, so the band must be dead ! But I've sat on 10 metres calling CQ and never heard a sound. Do you hear somone calling CQ, give a QRZ, and then not reply, or not even do that if the caller is from a country you've spoken to hundreds of times, so you can't be bothered to reply ?

Until contest day arrives.

I'll bet that on Monday, if I put a call out on 10 or 12 metres I could sit there all day and not hear a stateside station.

73, Mel

(sitting in the shack wearing flak jacket and helmet)

[K9STH]

It has been that way for decades! People claim that 10 meters is "dead" and why would I want to waste my time working 10 during a contest. Come contest day and the band is wide open.

Frankly, over the years I have done very well in DX contests operating 10 meter "single band". Even have taken North Amercia (or placed very high in that) and definitely have taken the W-5 area a number of times.

10 meters is open a lot more than people realize. I can hear numerous beacons yet no one answers my CQs.

Glen, K9STH