Greetings KE0JVH (Cort) here. I recently acquired my first hf radio I set up a 56 ft end fed antenna and have been trying to make contacts on 10 meters as I am a fairly new to the hf world my dad got me into it while back but now that I have my own im really trying to get those contacts primarly my 10 to join the 10-10 club although I am having some difficulty I have yet to have made a good contact with this radio this could be because many things im aware but I am looking for some help and suggestions to be better heard and of course better reception below I will list my set up. any help with this would be amazing! thank you and 73's! class: tech radio: ten-tec scout 555 w/ external antenna coupler ten-tec model 291 and external mfj swr meter max power is 50 wich I have no problem reaching and swr is anywhere from 1.0 to 2.0 primary today I have been at 1.5 - 1.7
Or not, if you live in Alaska. Anyhoo...my 10-10 number is 34364, which I acquired when 10 was smokin' in 1972.
jsut check the band every day - it has openings. For instance, it was open last night around 0100 and has been open all day for me today here in Georgia..
Welcome to HF. An end fed horizontal (EFH) antenna is a compromise antenna at best. A half wave antenna at 10 meters should be about 17 ft. I suggest that your best bet is to make an improvement to your antenna system. Perhaps you could open a post in the antenna section. I monitor 28.400 Mhz frequently and hear stations occasionally but, as pointed out, this is not a very good time for 10 meters. There are a bunch of guys on 28.325 MHz most mornings from the Kansas City area. I will occasionally join this group from S. Texas as I used to live near Kansas City before I retired. Tom WA4ILH
Yesterday, I worked both the 10 10 national nets. didn't use an amp and was on a vertical antenna. the 28.380 NCS was in IL and the 28.800 (OOB for you) was in Long Beach. You CAN make contacts on 10, but, it's not as easy as on other bands. You might want to use some "spotting" sites to help. https://www.dxmaps.com/spots/mapg.php is a good one
Your antenna , its height and your feeder cable are where improvemnents will pay dividends , check out the 10 metre beacon listings and monitor them but most importantly call CQ , even on what might seem a dead band with no beacons call CQ ! It can seem like hard work calling CQ for minutes on end ( and you will need to call for an extended period of time ) with no reply but always end with a LAST CALL in your CQ , this tends to bring in anyone who might have you low in their radio trying to get your call right before they reply ( etc ) Good luck on TEN .
Congratulations and welcome. You're going to hear this a lot, but it comes down to antenna. That end fed wire will have a goofy pattern on 10m and is not very efficient. You'll struggle in all but the best E skip. Consider a simple vertical. Something like an Antron 99 or iMax 2000 or the like. They're not terribly expensive, around $100, and will have a little gain to them, an omnidirectional pattern, and a fairly low takeoff angle. Get a 20' stick of 1.625" chain link top rail pipe and stick it up on that. Height is not that important if you're working Sporadic E. (If there's some local traffic, that's another matter altogether.) A lot of 10m operators use verticals, and once the signal hits the E layer polarity is a lot less important anyway.
Vertica indeed. The group I referred to in Kansas City all use vertical polirization. Good Luck. Tom WA4ILH
Put August 3 and 4 on your calendar. It's the 10-10 International Summer Contest SSB. You should be able to make lots of contacts that weekend. Even with your end fed wire. (but I agree with other replies that a vertical or single band dipole would probable do a better job) Check this link for a 12 month contest calendar and watch for 10 meter contests. https://www.contestcalendar.com/contestcal.html Or this link for an 8 day contest calendar. https://www.contestcalendar.com/weeklycont.php Both sites provide links to the contest rules for the required contact exchange information. It may seem a little hectic or confusing at first but you will get the hang of it quickly. Review the contest rules and listen to what the other stations are doing and you will soon see what is required. Welcome to HF and have fun.
