The Contest Crew—Randy K5ZD, Dan N6MJ, Chris KL9A, and Bill W9KKN—recap the ARRL 10-Meter Contest in this debrief. It was a weekend of mixed propagation, scoreboard drama, and some hard truths about pileup etiquette. They break down why signals vanished in minutes, how backscatter shaped the game, and why audio still matters. It's also a field guide to what not to do in a pileup. Looking ahead: January contests, tower builds, and a quiet shift toward what’s next. Join the conversation and subscribe to Q5 Worldwide Ham Radio.
I enjoyed listening to your synopsis of the 10M contest. Some of your comments hit home. I'm a small station with a very low QSO count. I'm paper logging also, and missed a couple of time entries. So I took a guess and should be within 8 minutes of actual QSO time. Thank you for trying to match the times with the station worked. On my scratch log, I hear and try to work far more stations than I actually hard log. I just can't get in. About mic compression. Im thankful for all of the South American stations that were in, but I had a lot of trouble understanding their exchange with accent plus an overdrive mic. I am proud of the contacts that I completed with them. Fast triggers. By the time I finish giving my call (standard phonetics), the big station is already in a Q with someone else. Again and again. There were plenty of open spots and a number of times I called CQ throughout the times that I operated, with Zero responses. I need to move to a computer logger, but I dont know how they handle all of the logged but not completed QSO's. I intend to improve my station with a 10-40 vertical, and investigate logging programs. Thanks for a great contest, and thank you for this podcast. See you next 10M contest. Brian/AF8WX
When I had my "MONSTER STATION " at my own home, with 3 amps,3 rigs, tri-band, 7 element beams for 10 and 15, I took 1ist place in Vermont many times using high power, low power, mixed mode mostly, and I really miss those days. But being in a restricted living place, I find that contesting is a thing of the past. But was fun. I even did a few 10-meter contests with my old mobile. Kenwood 440s and a hustler antenna.
Well i like 10 meters for sure, however its not consistent, and it leaves a lot to be desired. When it’s hot its Hot when its not its not, IDK, 6 meters is more unpredictable, go figure that out. The Video has excellent points that I can understand and appreciate. W6FRD.
