TenX DX News      September 1, 2021

Mike Davidson N5MT, #24949    Download Article in PDF

Welcome to the Fall season of the 10-10 DX News for this September 1^st date.    The 10-10 organization was founded in 1962 so this is our 59^th Anniversary year.    The ARRL DXCC program only had 301 DX countries recognized by the world during that year and now there are 340 countries possible.

There was no 10-10 Countries Award program in the early 60’s when members collected bar numbers and certificates from chapters.    But in the early 70’s the Countries Award was created and it follows closely with the ARRL DXCC with a few rule differences.    That’s the history lesson for starters, now for good news about propagation and the bad news for us in Louisiana caused by hurricane Ida.

I am writing this section of my article just 24 hours before hurricane Ida will make landfall in Louisiana very close to my home town and just north of where hurricane Zeta made landfall last year.    Ida is expected to be larger, windier and wetter than Zeta.    Zeta’s quiet eye moved over downtown New Orleans and the weather channel flew a drone with a TV camera over Canal street in the eye of the storm, a first!

Well, I have to finish my comments and get this article emailed to Randy our editor.    I will be staying home for the hurricane.    Several antennas have been taken down due to the expected high Cat 2 winds predicted for the Baton Rouge area.    The area is expected to loose electric power due to high winds for possibly one to two weeks from Ida and we could loose the AC and refrigerator for food storage.    One more history item, tomorrow is Sunday August 29^th which is the 16^th anniversary of hurricane Katrina that flooded New Orleans in 2005!    OK now for the good propagation news.

We are beginning to see a slight increase in the number of sun spots appearing on the Sun.      This is increasing the amount of solar flux that is available and the new flux has helped cycle 25 to give us better skip conditions on Ten.    The east coast of the USA and South America have been talking with stations in Europe.    I and others used this skip with our digital FT8 mode to open a path to the east on Ten and talk into Europe this summer.

A minor DXCC country name change happened quietly on May 1, 2018 for the country of Swaziland 3DA prefix in Africa.    The official name is now the Kingdom of Eswatini using the 3DA0 prefix.    The name change by the ARRL DXCC has been official since the Summer of 2018 and all previous credits for Swaziland are now good for Eswatini.

I hope all who are reading this can feel safer from the Covid virus by having been vaccinated.    With the new Delta-Covid    variant causing all hospitals to fill-up this Summer, we still have the virus spreading.    The virus is not going to be gone until 75-85 percent of All people get vaccination protection. The Delta variant is twice as 

ontagious as the original virus, so be smart and get protected if you want to get back to normal and more operators can go places to give you a new DX country.    Please listen to the medical science instead of the fake stuff in order to get past this virus.

The Fall DX radio season will be affected by how much propagation energy is put out by the Sun which energizes different layers around the Earth to cause your radio signal to bounce and skip across the oceans.    The Sun is providing more energy to allow radio signals to skip and giving us more openings on Ten than this time last year.    The 15-17-20 meter bands were the best DX bands this summer so you will find DX by looking, when and if Ten is not open.

We had a first time new QSO party event the second weekend of July called the Weak Signal QSO Party which replaced the Spirit of 76 QSO Party.    The 10-10 contest committee wanted the FT8 mode available for members.    The Weak Signal rules only allowed us to use QRP and Low Power during the party.    So NO High Power was allowed and the normal 10-10 exchange is still the required standard for all of our QSO Parties.    The Weak Signal Digi QSO Party was a great start for me as I was on both days and logged 51 QSO on digi to come in first place.    I had to avoid several thunder storms that were dangerous with    lightning so I missed making my goal of 100 Q’s that I had set before the contest.    But I did work some DX and a few new member numbers.    This digi contest may have been my best QSO party with my vertical antenna.   

You need to stay on the radio and call CQ to see where you can talk.    When propagation is poor on Ten, use FT8 and you might find stations to work when you think the band is closed.    Here in Louisiana, the FT8 QSO’s were good and a lot of QSO’s were put in the log the past months.    I saw a lot of traffic from South America to Europe on Ten but I usually could not see Europe talking back.

I expect to see an increase in DX traveling this winter season as travel restrictions have allowed air travel to    increase.    But I do not expect a new 10-10 country to show up on Ten for another two years.      As a result of the pandemic, weak propagation, and a bunch of DX ops staying home, my 10-10 news reporting is still reduced.    Keep using your station to find some DX that may be calling CQ on a band besides Ten.   

OK now some hot news from the ARRL DXCC and LoTW.    I keep reminding you to submit your QSO logs on a regular basis to the ARRL LoTW database.    Once you have your security clearance established, you can upload all of your QSO logs into LoTW from your logbook for no charge.    The story that I heard was not good for the future for LoTW reliability and growth.    The software is having problems and there is no ARRL staff to fix it.    If the database gets hacked, it would be the biggest loss in ARRL history for the DXCC 

program.    Presently there is no cost for LoTW data entry, only when you use LoTW data to process a new DXCC award or your first application.    So the problem will be raising funds to pay for rewriting the software!    There would need to be a capital raising project supported by the users of DXCC/LoTW    that would make a donation to a new yet unannounced ARRL project to pay the bill.   

Remember, this problem is still a rumor but for those of us that are Number One DXCC certificate holders, this is a major database problem just waiting to break!

Remember, for a 10-10 award you can not use LoTW as there is no way LoTW can collect your 10-10 info!    I found a website that list ham call signs that are using the LoTW system.      Website is: http://www.hb9bza.net/lotw-users-list .

Use our 10-10 website for all award rules and if you are a paid up dues member, you qualify for all 10-10 awards.    So you must fill out a 10-10 award form available on the website and send it to the 10-10 awards person as listed on the form.    At the present time there is no award cost and no QSL cards are required for all of our awards.

The 10-10 Countries Award Manager follows most of the ARRL DXCC award rules.    But you must have swapped your Callsign, Name, State and 10-10 number over the air on Ten, and record that members information for ALL award application.    The honor system does apply for all contacts on 10-10 awards.    I keep the 10-10 DX records with my job as the DX Countries Award manager.    As of now, there remains 22 countries that have not been worked for 10-10 country credit as published in the March 10-10 News.

   

Countries Award:    There were no Countries Award application submitted this past quarter.   

You can download the DX’ers Handbook written by Bryce Anderson K7UA, at website: www.K7UA.com.

______________________________________________

General 10-10 DX reported in the past quarter:

      4U United Nations.    The remote ham radio station 4U1UN #55555, in the New York UN building, has been on the air but only from its radio beacon on 28200 MHZ.    So watch DXSummit for QSO reports and hope for a band opening.

      5X Uganda.    My friend Elvira IV3FSG #54292, is still in Uganda, Africa operating with call 5X3R until September 2^nd.    She is on SSB, CW and digital from 40 to 10 meters.       

      FP St. Pierre & Miquelon.      James WB2REM #48365 and Mike W0VTT #14404, were using call TO5T from August 8^th to 16^th on all bands and modes and FT8.

      HK0 San Andreas Island.    Pedro HK3JJH #47437 

has changed his call to HK3X and was reported on San Andreas on August 9^th    but by August 16^th, he was back in Columbia.

      C6 Bahamas Isl.    Steven WA8Y #11259 was using call C6AYW from July 14-21^st mostly on CW from Bimini.   

      DP0 Antarctica.    Felix DL5XL #55519, is in Antarctica at the German Polar Institute station callsign DP0GVN.

    EA7 Spain.    Geyskens EA7/ON6ZK #70109, was back on San Juan de Los Terreros Island from July 15-23^rd.     

         

      HP Panama.    Steve HP9SAM #75838, likes to operate on Ten if the band is open on Saturday morning.    He tries to check-in to the LA Pelican net on 28450 MHZ at 1510 UTC.   

      TA Turkey.    Rene DL2JRM #69623 was back in Turkey for a few days in August on CW as TA2/DL2JRM.

      TG Guatemala.    Steve K4IM #34770, was back in Guatemala City as TG9AWS from early July to August 15^th.    Modes were    CW, SSB and digital on 40-6 meters.    LoTW.

Upcoming DX & New 10-10 Activity:

      LX Luxembourg.    Andy LX1DA #50458, will be using the callsign LX40DA from September 1^st to December 31^st.

      P4 Aruba.    John W2GD #14109 is going back to operate P40W from October 11-31^st.      He will be on SSB for the CQ WW DX contest.

      J6    St. Lucia.    Bill K9HZ #2618 will be back in St. Lucia from August 21^st to November 8^th using call J68HZ on CW, SSB and FT8.

      YN Nicaragua.    Rob DM4AO #23450, will be on the air for CQ WW CW on November 27-28^th as YN5AO.

Miscellaneous Items & Notes:

Propagation forecast: http://www.solen.info/solar/ , www.SolarHam.net    and    http://ARRL.org/Propagation .

More propagation: http://dx.qsl.net/propagation/ .

DX Calendar: http://www.dxwatch.com/ .

DX:    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4dJcK-WVRw.

DXCC Most Wanted at: https://Secure.Clublog.org/mostwanted.php .

NEW-> History of ARRL DXCC program:

http://ebarc.org/pdf/dx-entity-history.pdf .

Propagation:      I expect the solar flux to range from 72-98 during the Fall which means the flux is rising for cycle 25.     The 2021 Fall Equinox is on September 22^nd.    Fall starts in the northern hemisphere and the 

Sun is above the equator giving the US its equal day and night times.    In the southern hemisphere, spring starts on this day.    Cycle 25, started on November 18, 2019.    The Sun was really active in Nov-December 2020 but now has quieted down with a slow rising flux.    A solar flux maximum of 125 has been forecast by NOAA for the winter of 2024.    Sunspots are counted by looking at the Sun but the Solar flux is measured by radio at 2.8 GHz.

The 2021 monthly maximum flux was:    Jan 79, Feb 79, March 79, April 85, May 81, June 94, July 95, and Aug 90.

The 2021 monthly minimum flux was:    Jan 70, Feb 67, March 72, April 71, May 70, June 69, July 73 and Aug 71.

On Sept 1^st, the solar flux was 90, the A index was 10 and K index was 2.     There were several small sunspot regions on the Sun the past week.    An increase of sunspots has helped produced brief increases of    solar flux the past months.    The USAF solar flux forecast for September 1^st to October 15^th is from a high of 90 to a low of 73 with most of those days being from 73 to 77!

My Prediction:    Over the next three months, the best conditions on Ten could be: Sept 1-4^th, Sept 28 – Oct 2^nd , Oct 26-30^th, Nov 23-27^th and December 21-25^th.    For the USA, expect a 30% chance of DX to Europe or Asia with a 75% chance of DX to South America or to the    Pacific.    Listen for the CW beacons from 28.175-28.300 to see if Ten Meters is open and use WSJT-X FT8 for all weak/low propagation QSO’s.

There were 6 new 10-10 DX members joining from June to August 2021.    June: WH6FYK 77888, WH6FQI 77889, WH6DXF 77895, KH7CN 77896, DO1RWM 77897.    July:    WH6CYU (YL) 77899.    August: none.

    Thanks to the Daily DX by Bernie W3UR    #25731 and the Ohio/Penn DX Bulletins.    This DX News edition is my number 125^th of DXing reports.    DX Info to:    Mike Davidson, 26274 Whispering Pines Ave, Denham Springs LA 70726    USA and Email: N5MT@aol.com .

      DX IS!     73    Mike Davidson N5MT    #24949

      Copyright © 2021 by N5MT

TenX DX News      March 1, 2021

Mike Davidson N5MT, #24949    Download Article in PDF

I hope all 10-10 members have survived the record cold we had in February and avoided the C-19 virus.    I had my second vaccination a few days ago so I should be covered.

The Winter DX season has been under way for a few months and there has been only a little Ten meter activity on the radio.    The Sun had a lot of spots during December and then it calmed down the past two months with a few new Sun spots observed, yielding a Solar flux in the low 80’s, and then lower into the 70’s again for poor Ten meter propagation.    But a few members did work into Europe and Asia the past three months, so keep the radios on and keep looking.

I believe the ARRL Ten Meter contest scores were below average even with the higher solar flux we had during December.    My log had less than 90 contacts on SSB all weekend.    In the 10-10 Winter QSO Party in February, I only had 73 contacts and took 11^th place, of the eighty entries submitted.    I did find ten new members during the QSO Party that went into my log, and I had to wait until Sunday to talk out of Louisiana as the flux was low for the QSO Party.    The scores are now posted on the website.

With the good news that Solar Cycle 25 had started last year, we were glad to have a higher solar flux in December.    But then, the Sun took a nap in the first two months of the 2021.    You need to stay on the radio and call CQ to see what you can find.    You can use FT8 with no prop on SSB and you might find stations to work on FT8 when SSB is closed.    At my station in February, we had a single digit freeze that put a lot of ice on the HF vertical antenna but it worked even when it was iced, just some extra SWR to warm up the antenna.

It is now over five years since I last heard a new 10-10 country on Ten.    As a result of the present virus pandemic, poor propagation, and a bunch of ops not traveling far to operate DX, my news reporting has been reduced by 85 percent.    So try to find that rare 15 percent that may be giving out a CQ on Ten.    I recently worked five new DX stations on FT8 but no 10-10 members. I just worked ZL3IO #22401 in New Zealand a few days ago on Ten on FT8.

Please remember to submit your ARRL QSO logs to the LoTW database at the ARRL website.    Once you get the ARRL certificate for LoTW, and using the LoTW app, you can upload your logbook anytime into the database.    You must use the DXCC security rules required by the ARRL for all LoTW activity.    The only cost is when you apply for an ARRL award using your LoTW contacts for DXCC or WAS.   

Use the 10-10 website for all the award rules and if you qualify for a 10-10 award, you must fill out your 10-10 application form available on the website and send it to the 10-10 awards person as listed or listed in the 10-10 News.    Remember, at the present time there is no award 

cost and no QSL cards are required for all of our awards,    BUT you must have paid your 10-10 dues.

Remember, the US Post Office is still not accepting some    Airmail letters for many countries as of the end of February 2021.    Sending an airmail QSL will cost several US dollars to get a QSL card, so reduce your cost by using the LoTW system or the 10-10 awards.    The 10-10 Countries Award Manager does follow most of the ARRL award rules.   

But you must have swapped your Callsign, Name, State and 10-10 number over the air on Ten, to record that members information for ALL 10-10 award application.    So the honor system does apply for all contacts on all 10-10 awards.   

At the start of the new 2021 year, I reset my computer logbook to zero contacts and moved the previous year log into my archive file.    I talked with 60 new 10-10 members last year.    I do this yearly maintenance to keep a record of my progress with DXCC and the 10-10 countries.   

Most of my contacts this past year were either on SSB or FT8.    Some members are learning to use the TX5 tab to enter their 10-10 info in FT8.    All you need to do is setup the TX5 tab to send the maximum 13 characters with the info you have saved in TX5.    So type into the TX5 macro: a 4 character name, a space, your five digit ten-ten number, a space and your two character state abbreviation that you will send during a FT8 QSO.    If you name is longer, either use a short nickname or make two TX5 messages to transmit your info to complete the 10-10 contact.    See the 10-10 website for a help video on FT8.

I keep the 10-10 DX records with my job as the Countries Award manager.    As of March 2021, there remains 22 countries that have never been worked for 10-10 country credit.    They are    as follows: 5R Madagascar, 9N Nepal, 9X Rwanda, 4O Montenegro, A7 Qatar, AP Pakistan, BS7

Scarborough Reef, EP Iran, FR/R Reunion,    FR/G Glorioso, FR/W Crozet, HV Vatican, JX Jan Mayen, R1FJ Franz Josef Land, TN Congo, SY Mt Athos, VK0H Heard Isl., VK0M Macquarie Isl., VP8/S So.Shetland Isl., VU7A Andaman Isl., VU7L Laccadive Isl., and XU Cambodia.   

I predict there will never be a 10-10 member operate from some of these remaining DX countries!    Places like Scarborough Reef, the Vatican, and Mount Athos, have little DX    activity.    Scarborough Reef BS7, is in the South China Sea and ownership of the reef is disputed.    The Vatican club station HV0A in Rome, is not a member.    The only ham operator at Mt. Athos is not a member.    The French islands are a mix of military restrictions, and permission to operate ham radio is not easy to get.    But a French member could get permission to operate, which would be a rare event.    However you can go to Reunion island and get a license and operate as a 10-10 visitor.    Some islands have 

travel restriction, some have no airport and others only have access by ship, like the uninhabited islands, Heard Island, Mellish Reef and South Shetland Islands.    The islands off India have no resident hams and a DXpedition is infrequent but possible for a member to travel to and operate in the future.

I promise to keep reporting DX news that I find from my sources and sending out an email if a DX group pops up. Use your station to find someone new, log it, and remember a new one does not have to be on Ten.    Best of luck this coming Spring season, stay safe and lets hope for fewer hurricanes to make landfall in Louisiana this year.   

Countries Award:    There were no Countries Award applications submitted this past quarter.    The DXCC Most Wanted list has not changed in months and it can be found at: Https://Secure.Clublog.org/mostwanted.php .

I am posting this to the 10-10 website on March 1^st.   

______________________________________________

General 10-10 DX reported in the past quarter:

      4U United Nations.    The remote ham radio station 4U1UN #55555, in the New York UN building was last on Ten using FT8 in July 2020 and no activity on Ten the past 7 months.    I just found out their Steppir antenna has a problem.

      DP1 Antarctica.    Felix DL5XL #55519, is now back in    Antarctica with the German Polar Institute. Felix and Theresa DC1TH, who is not a 10-10 member, will operate the club callsign DP0GVN.    So if you need a 10-10 from Felix, you must find him and swap a 10-10!    There has not yet been any activity from the club sation this year on Ten.      LoTW.

         

      HP Panama.    Steve HP9SAM #75838, tries to operate on Ten when the band is open.    Steve tries to check-in to our local net on Saturday on 28450 MHz at 1610 UTC when possible.    Steve is not receiving DX mail, its blocked in Panama, so wait until they resume accepting mail.

      KH0 Mariana Islands.    Tom KC0W #67688, has a new club call KH0W for the Saipan CW Club. The club call KH0W is not a 10-10 member.    So find Tom for his 10-10.    There was little CW activity from the club on Ten last year and none as of yet this year.   

      J2 Djibouti.    Rene DL2JRM #69623, was issued call J28XX from Djibouti.    I have no reports for him the past nine months on Ten.    This is a rare location so good luck.

      P4 Aruba.    John W2GD #14109, was back in Aruba in December 2020 using the call P40W but no Ten meter reports in the past three months.    LoTW.

      V7 Marshall Isl. / Kwajalein.    Randy KX4QD #58874, has been on the air for a year from his home station where he operates low power with FT8 as 

V7/KX4QD.    At the club station, call V73AX #8239, there is a big amp and antennas.

      ZL New Zealand.    Holger ZL3IO #22401, was on Ten and we worked on FT8 at the end of February.    LoTW.

Upcoming DX & New 10-10 Activity:

      FP St. Pierre & Miquelon.    Eric KV1J #31247, will be using call FP/KV1J from June 29^th to July 13^th.    All bands and modes and FT8.    LoTW.

      James WB2REM #48365 and Mike W0VTT #14404, will be using call TO5T from August 8^th to 16^th.    All bands and modes and FT8.    Club log or QSL to WB2REM.

      J6 St. Lucia.    Bill K9HZ #2618 and Kyle WA4PGM #50763, will be in St. Lucia from March 2^nd to 11^th using call J68HZ with friends.    Kyle call is J68CN.

      LX Luxembourg.    Andy LX1DA #50458, will be using the special callsign LX40DA.    Look for Andy from February 1^st to March 31^st and September 1^st to December 31^st.    I saw no reports for him on Ten but lots on other band.

      PJ2 Curacao Island.    Andreas DK5ON #54260, will be on Curacao using call PJ2/DK5ON from March 4^th to 23^rd.    He will be on all bands and modes plus FT8.    LoTW.

      Vincent K4JC #72779, will be on Curacao from March 1^st to 9^th with friends.    Call PJ2T in the SSB contest.

      VP6 Pitcairn Island.    Miralda VP6MW #50434, is back on the radio the past two months but not on Ten.    I have no info if she has a Ten meter antenna available to use.   

Miscellaneous Items & Notes:

Propagation forecast: http://www.solen.info/solar/ , www.SolarHam.net    and    Http://ARRL.org/Propagation .

More propagation: http://dx.qsl.net/propagation/ .

DX Calendar: http://www.dxwatch.com/ .

DX: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4dJcK-WVRw.

Propagation:      I expect the solar flux to range from 72-85

during the Spring which will be a slow rise during the new cycle!    The 2021 Spring Equinox is on Saturday March 20^th.    Spring starts in the northern hemisphere that day and the Sun is above the equator giving everyone equally 12 hours of daylight and night time.    There have been 25 solar cycles recorded since the records began in 1755.    Cycle 25, started in October 2019 and the Sun was real active in December but now has quieted down with a slow rising flux.    NOAA verified the cycle low and declared the new cycle had started.    NOAA forecasts a solar flux max of 125 about winter of 2024.    Sunspots are counted by 

ooking at the sun.    Solar flux is measured by radio at 2.8 GHz.

The monthly maximum solar flux in 2020-21:    Jan 72, Feb 71, March 70, April 70, May 69, June 73, July 73, Aug 75, Sept 69, Oct 88, Nov 115, Dec 115, Jan 81, Feb 81 .

The monthly minimum flux in 2020-21:    Jan 70, Feb 70, March 69, April 69, May 66, June 67, July 68, Aug 69, Sept 67, Oct 71, Nov 75, Dec 82, Jan 73, and Feb 70.

On March 1^st, the solar flux was 77, the A index was 6 and K index was 2.     The slow increases of sunspots are not producing as much solar flux this month as what occurred in December last year.    The USAF solar flux forecast for March 1^st to April 14^th is from 70 to 78!

My Prediction:    Over the next three months, the best conditions on Ten could be: March 23-26^th,      April 26-29^th, May 23-27^th and June 25-29^th.    For the USA, expect a 20% chance of DX to Europe or Asia with a 70% chance of DX to South America or to the    Pacific.    Listen for the CW beacons from 28.175-28.300 to see if Ten Meters is open and use WSJT-X FT8 for all weak/low propagation QSO’s.

There were no new 10-10 DX members joining from December to February 2021.      This DX News edition is my number 123^rd    of DXing reports.

    Thanks to the Daily DX by Bernie W3UR    #25731 and the Ohio/Penn DX Bulletins.    DX Info to:    Mike Davidson, 26274 Whispering Pines Ave, Denham Springs LA 70726    USA and Email: N5MT@aol.com .

      DX IS!     73    Mike Davidson N5MT    #24949

      Copyright © 2021 by N5MT

 

TenX DX News      June 1, 2021

Mike Davidson N5MT, #24949    Download article as PDF

I hope you have been able to meet with other ham friends over the past months now that fewer virus restrictions are in place and more important, that you have gotten your Covid vaccination protection like I had in February.    One of my hobbies besides ham radio is judging high school science fair.    Over the years I have sent many students to the Intel    International Science Fair as I have been a judge longer than I have had my ham license.    Science tells me that you should get your vaccination, so take the time to get the protection!

The Spring DX radio season has been having better propagation as we start our Summer here in the US. The Sun is providing more sunspots to increase the Solar Flux and giving us more openings on Ten than this time last year, and NO the pandemic did not affect the propagation, it should have allowed you more time on the Air with your radio.    The 17-15 meter bands were the best DX bands the past months so you will find DX by looking, if Ten is not open. I just worked EA7D non-member from Spain on FT8 on Ten.

The 10-10 Spring Digi contest in late April was a great start for me as I was on Ten both days and logged 51 QSO on digi    to come in first place high power.    I had to avoid thunder storms that were full of lightning and wind so I missed making my goal of 75 Q’s that I had set before the contest.    But I did work New Zealand, Columbia, Figi, Argentina and Brazil but no new member numbers.    This digi contest may have been my best showing with my new vertical antenna, so I was pleased with the certificate as I saw many emails about poor propagation.    So good luck with the Open Season QSO party coming up this weekend on June 5^th and hope you have better propagation on PSK31. Do Not Forget the new Weak Signal QSO party the second weekend of July 10-11th.

You need to stay on the radio and call CQ to see who you can talk with.    When propagation is poor, use FT8 and you will find stations to work when SSB is closed.    At my station in Louisiana, the QSO’s on FT8 were plentiful and a lot of dupes were put in the log the past three months.    I saw a lot of traffic on FT8 from S. America to Europe during this period, but I could not see Europe talking back.

Another year has past since I last heard a New 10-10 country on Ten.    As a result of the pandemic, weak propagation, and a bunch of ops not traveling far to operate DX, my 10-10 news reporting has been greatly reduced.    So try to find that rare DX that may be giving out a CQ on Ten.    I recently worked a lot of DX stations on FT8 but few 10-10 members. I worked Holger ZL3IO #22401 and his daughter on FT8 in New Zealand on Ten and this makes six countries that I have worked him for 10-10 country credit over the past 30 years.

I keep emphasizing for all hams to submit your QSO logs on a regular update basis to the ARRL LoTW 

database.    Once you get the ARRL certificate for LoTW, and using the LoTW app, you can upload your logbook anytime into the database for no charge.    You must use the DXCC security rules required by the ARRL for all LoTW activity.    The only cost is when you apply for an ARRL award using your LoTW contacts for DXCC or WAS.    Using LoTW means no QSL card expense is required, its all electronic for you and the DX.    But for a 10-10 award you can not use LoTW as there is no interface for LoTW to collect your 10-10 info!

I recently found a website that list ham call signs that are using the LoTW system.    This website is updated with data from the ARRL but it is by a DX ham this is doing a good job.    There are 69,113 users in the US and 159,000 worldwide.    Website is: http://www.hb9bza.net/lotw-users-list .

Use our 10-10 website for all the award rules and if you qualify for a 10-10 award, you must fill out your 10-10 application form available on the website and send it to the 10-10 awards person as listed on the form.    Remember, at the present time there is no award cost and no QSL cards are required for all of our awards, but you must have paid your 10-10 dues.

Most all of my contacts this past year were either on FT8 or SSB.    Some members have learned to use the TX5 tab to save their 10-10 info in FT8.    All you do is setup the TX5 tab to send the maximum 13 characters with the info you will send via the TX5 tab.    So type into the TX5 macro: a 4 character name, a space, your five digit ten-ten number, a space and your two character state abbreviation that you will send during a FT8 QSO.    If you name is longer, either use a short nickname or make two TX5 messages to transmit your info to complete the 10-10 contact.    There is a FT8 help video on the 10-10 website.

The 10-10 Countries Award Manager follows most of the ARRL DXCC award rules.    Plus you must have swapped your Callsign, Name, State and 10-10 number over the air on Ten, to record that members information for ALL 10-10 award application.    So the honor system does apply for all contacts on all 10-10 awards. I keep the 10-10 DX records with my job as the Countries Award manager.    As of June 2021, there still remains 22 countries that have never been worked for 10-10 country credit.    The list was published in the March 10-10 News.   

I promise to keep reporting DX news that I find from my sources if a DX group pops up.    Use your radio to find a new Q, and a new one does not have to be on Ten.    With Hurricane season starting today, we have already had the first named storm in the Atlantic, named Ana.    For the past seven years in a row, there has been a storm posted before June 1^st so stay safe and lets hope for fewer hurricanes to make landfall in the US this year.   

Countries Award:    There was one Countries Award application submitted this past quarter by Tom Colyard K4MM #7294 for 25 countries.    Thanks to Gerry WA6POZ #21274, for helping replace the old DOS Countries Award program.    A few problems were found in the DOS-to-OS conversion and they are being fixed.    Thanks Gerry.   

I just found what I will call the DX’ers Handbook written by Bryce Anderson K7UA, his 3^rd edition. Download at: www.K7UA.com.

I am posting this to the 10-10 website on June 1^st.   

______________________________________________

General 10-10 DX reported in the past quarter:

      4U United Nations.    The remote ham radio station 4U1UN #55555, in the New York UN building, must have had their Steppir antenna fixed as I see lots of QSO on Ten and 6 Meters.    So watch DXSummit for QSO reports and hope the RF noise in Manhattan does not become a    problem.

      8Q The Maldives.    Mats SM6LRR #34451, was there from March 28^th to April 10^th using call 8Q7MS.      LoTW.

      C6 Bahamas.    Hal W8HC #12502, was with friends in March using call C6AGU from Water Cay Bahamas.    LoTW.

      VP5 Turks & Caicos Islands.    Eric NR4O #11513 was operating VP5/NR4O during March on CW, SSB and FT8.

      DP1 Antarctica.    Felix DL5XL #55519, is in Antarctica with the German Polar Institute. Felix can operate the club callsign DP0GVN but you must ask Felix to swap a 10-10 as the club station is not a member. There has not been any Ten    activity from the club station only Sat QO-100. LoTW.

      FJ St.Barthelemy.    Phil K2LIO #7746, is on the island using call FJ/K2LIO on HF, possibly until August 5th.           

      HP Panama.    Steve HP9SAM #75838, tries to operate on Ten when the band is open on Saturday morning as he tries to check-in to our local net on 28450 MHZ at 1510 UTC.   

      J6 St. Lucia.    Bill K9HZ #2618 and Kyle WA4PGM #50763, were in St. Lucia from March 2^nd to 20^th using call J68HZ with few reports on DXSummit for Ten meters.

      OZ Denmark.    Romo Island in Denmark will be used by Volker DJ8VW #69216 from May 21^st to June 10^th with a special callsign 5P8VW.    LoTW.

      P4 Aruba.    John W2GD/P44W #14109 will be active again this weekend for the CQ WPX CW contest.   

      PJ2 Curacao Island.    Andreas DK5ON #54260, 

was on Curacao using call PJ2/DK5ON from March 6^th to 23^rd on all bands and modes but not on Ten.    LoTW.

      Vincent K4JC #72779, was on Curacao from March 1^st to 9^th with several friends.    Call PJ2T in the SSB contest.

      PY Brazil.    John PY5JO #72714, was active on FT8 and SSB the past month on Ten so good luck. LoTW.

      S7 Seychelles.    Ros 4Z5LA #42000, left the island on May 27^th after using call sign S79LA.    No info on Ten.

      VP5 Turks & Caicos Islands.    Three members were on the islands the last week of May.    John K4BAI #45389, Dennis K2SX #9023 and Johnnie KR4R #69307 on HF.

Upcoming DX & New 10-10 Activity:

      FP St. Pierre & Miquelon.    Eric KV1J #31247, will be using call FP/KV1J from June 29^th to July 13^th.    All bands and modes and FT8.    LoTW.

      James WB2REM #48365 and Mike W0VTT #14404, will be using call TO5T from August 8^th to 16^th on all bands and modes and FT8.    Club log or QSL to WB2REM.

      LX Luxembourg.    Andy LX1DA #50458, will be using the special callsign LX40DA from September 1^st to December 31^st.    I saw lots of contacts for Andy on other bands when he operated earlier this year in LX.

      YN Nicaragua.    Rob DM4AO #23450, will be on the air for CQ WW CW on November 27-28^th as YN5AO.

Miscellaneous Items & Notes:

Propagation forecast: http://www.solen.info/solar/ , www.SolarHam.net    and    http://ARRL.org/Propagation .

More propagation: http://dx.qsl.net/propagation/ .

DX Calendar: http://www.dxwatch.com/ .

DX:    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4dJcK-WVRw.

DXCC Most Wanted at: https://Secure.Clublog.org/mostwanted.php .

Propagation:      I expect the solar flux to range from 69-89 during the Summer which means the flux is rising for the early start of cycle 25.    The 2021 Summer Solstice is on Sunday June 20^th which is also Father’s Day.    Summer starts in the northern hemisphere and the Sun is high above the equator giving the US its longest daylight and shortest nights.    In the southern hemisphere, winter starts on this day.    Cycle 25, started on November 18, 2019 as can be seen on a good graph at www.solar.info/solar/.    The Sun was real active in Nov-December 2020 but now has quieted down with an expected rising flux.    A solar flux maximum of 125 has been forecast by NOAA for the winter of 2024.    Sunspots are counted by looking at the Sun but the Solar flux is measured by radio at 2.8 GHz.

The 2021 monthly maximum solar flux was:    Jan 79, Feb 79, March 79, April 85, and May 81.

The 2021 monthly minimum flux was:    Jan 70, Feb 67, March 72, April 71, and May 70.

On June 1^st, the solar flux was 76, the A index was 3 and K index was 0.     There were several sunspot regions on the Sun the past week.    An increase of sunspots has helped    produced more solar flux the past weeks.    The USAF solar flux forecast for June 1^st to July 14^th is from 72 to a high of 82 with only a ten point fluctuation.

My Prediction:    Over the next three months, the best conditions on Ten could be: June 16-23^rd,    July 13-17^th, August 9-13^th and September 5-9^th.    For the USA, expect a 25% chance of DX to Europe or Asia with a 75% chance of DX to South America or to the    Pacific.    Listen for the CW beacons from 28.175-28.300 to see if Ten Meters is open and use WSJT-X FT8 for all weak/low propagation QSO’s.

There were no new 10-10 DX members joining from March to May 2021.      This DX News edition is my number 124^th of DXing reports.   

    Thanks to the Daily DX by Bernie W3UR    #25731 and the Ohio/Penn DX Bulletins.    DX Info to:    Mike Davidson, 26274 Whispering Pines Ave, Denham Springs LA 70726    USA and Email: N5MT@aol.com .

      DX IS!     73    Mike Davidson N5MT    #24949

      Copyright © 2021 by N5MT

TenX DX News  December 2020

Mike Davidson N5MT, #24949  Download article in PDF format

I hope all of our 10-10 members have followed their various health   rules to be safe this past quarter.    Just as the Fall contest season is starting at the end of October, there has been new Ten meter activity on the radio, with the Sun blooming many new Sun spots that have generated a much higher Solar flux, better Ten meter propagation and Cycle 25 has started!    Several members have reported making SSB and FT8 contacts into Europe and Asia the past two months!

The ARRL Ten Meter contest is in twelve days and this contest could give you a better score than previous years and some new DX that you have not heard in a long time.    Contest rules do not require you to ware a mask to operate the Ten Meter contest, so good luck with finding a few 10-10 members friends on the 12^th and 13^th of December.

The fall months are now over and the winter DX season has started in the USA.    Solar Cycle 25 has officially started with a bang and the Sun is now sending out more ionization for better propagation.    In one to two years from now, the Sun could be generating enough daily energy to let our Ten meter signals skip across the oceans on a daily basis! One solar prediction for Cycle 25, has put this one in the top ten of all previous cycles, so we will see what happens.

It has been four plus years since I have heard a new 10-10 country on Ten due to the closing years of Cycle 24.    As a result of the present pandemic virus, poor propagation, and a lot of DX ops not traveling far to operate, this situation has made for a lot less info to be reported in my DX article.    Any true DX’er will tell you it’s all in the chase of finding a new countries as the chase is the best fun in finding a new one!    There are several DX’ers that are 10-10 members that have talked with more countries that myself.    But I may be the only member that has taken the extra effort to swap numbers and put them in the log for future 10-10 paper work.    As for my 10-10 country collecting, I still need 37 countries.    For my ARRL countries list, I still need 10 more to complete all countries on Ten Meters.    I have chased countries on Ten for 42 years but I may not get the chance to work then all, due to propagation!    DX IS!

Please remember to submit your QSO logs to the free LoTW database at the ARRL website.    You can upload your logbook into the LoTW database after you are approved by the ARRL for an account, and yes there is security involved and rules.    The only cost is when you apply for an ARRL award using your LoTW contacts for DXCC or WAS.

The US Post Office is not accepting Airmail for about forty countries as of the end of November.    To send an airmail QSL, it can cost several US dollars to get a DX QSL card.    There is NO charge for a 10-10 award at the present time, which is one of your membership perks 

and 10-10 does not require a QSL card, unlike the ARRL system.      The 10-10 Countries Award Manager does follow most of the ARRL rule awards.    But you must have swapped your Callsign, Name, State and 10-10 number over the air on Ten, to record that members information on any 10-10 award application.

So the honor system has applied for your award contacts for several years for all 10-10 awards.   

I have talked with 10-10 members that use WSJT and FT8 that can swap their 10-10 info using the TX5 macro in FT8.    All you need to do is setup the TX5 tab to send the maximum 13 characters with the info you have saved in TX5.    So type into the TX5 macro: a 4 character name, a space, your five digit ten-ten number, a space and your two character state abbreviation that you will send during a FT8 QSO.    If you name is longer, either use a short nickname or you will have to make two TX5 messages to transmit your info to complete the 10-10 contact, so the shorter the name the better.    See the 10-10 website for a help video on FT8.

As you may know I am the 10-10 Countries Award manager and I keep a lot of DX records of who has worked what countries.    As of now, December 2020, there remains 22 countries that have never been worked for 10-10 country credit.    They are    as follows: 5R Madagascar, 9N Nepal, 9X Rwanda, 4O Montenegro, A7 Qatar, AP Pakistan, BS7 Scarborough Reef, EP Iran, FR/R Reunion,    FR/G Glorioso, FR/W Crozet, HV Vatican, JX Jan Mayen, R1FJ Franz Josef Land, TN Congo, SY Mt Athos, VK0H Heard Isl., VK0M Macquarie Isl., VP8/S So.Shetland Isl., VU7A Andaman Isl., VU7L Laccadive Isl., and XU Cambodia.

I predict there will never be a 10-10 member in some of these rare DX countries!    Places like Scarborough Reef, the Vatican, and Mount Athos, may never be 10-10 active.    Scarborough Reef BS7, is in the South China Sea and ownership of the reef is disputed.    The Vatican club station HV0A in Rome, is not a 10-10 member.    The only ham operator at Mt. Athos is not a 10-10 member.    The French islands are a mix of military restrictions, and permission to operate ham radio is not easy to get.    But a 10-10 member of a French group could get permission to operate, which would be a rare event.    However you can go to Reunion island and get a license and operate as a 10-10 visitor.    The other islands are tough as they have travel restriction, some have no airport and others only have access by ship, like the islands off India, Heard Island, Mellish Reef and South Shetland Islands.    The islands off India have no resident ops and a DXpedition is infrequent but possible for a member to travel to and operate in the future.

I am glad that 2020 is almost over so we can start 2021 with maybe a solid C-19 virus preventative.    All of us are ready for new defensive measures and we are hoping for a better 2021 year, especially fewer hurricanes in LA.    I promise to keep reporting any DX news I find from my sources.    Please do not forgot that 

the ARRL Ten Meter contest is coming on December 12-13 and send in your log.    We are now in Cycle 25, so use your station to find something new and log it.    Best of luck this Christmas season and stay safe in 2021.

Countries Award:    There were no Countries Award applications submitted this quarter.    A DXCC Most Wanted list has not changed in months and it can be found at: Https://Secure.Clublog.org/mostwanted.php .

General 10-10 DX reported in the past quarter:

      4U United Nations.    The remote ham radio station 4U1UN #55555, in the UN building in New York was last on Ten using FT8 on July 8^th and little activity was posted for the station this past quarter.    Look for the UN beacon on 28200 to tell if you can hear their signal on Ten.    I do not know if they will be in the ARRL Ten Meter contest.

     

      HP Panama.    Steve HP9SAM #75838, lived in Louisiana in the past and is a member of the LA Pelican net.    He tries to check-in to the net on Saturday at 1610 UTC when he has propagation from Panama.    We talked on Nov 28^th and he    told me that all DX Incoming mail is blocked and is being returned by Panama.    So do not try to send him a QSL, just wait until they resume accepting mail.    NO LoTW.   

    K USA.    The Texas DX Society celebrated 50 years of club activity with the callsign K5DX/50 #76334 from September 14^th to October 13^th.    I gave out the K5DX/50 call and    number during the 10-10 Sprint on October 10^th.

Website: Https://K5DX-50.TDXS.net .

      KH0 Mariana Islands.    Tom KC0W #67688, has a new club call KH0W for the Saipan CW Club. The club call does not have a 10-10 number.    So you have to find Tom for his number.    Unknown if he will operate the Ten Meter contest.

      J2 Djibouti.    Rene DL2JRM #69623, was issued call J28XX from Djibouti.    I have no reports of activity for him the past six months.    This is a rare location so good luck.

      P4 Aruba.    John W2GD #14109, was back on Aruba from November 23^rd to December 1^st using the call P40W.    He was active in the CW DX contest the weekend of the 28^th. LoTW.

      V7 Marshall Isl. / Kwajalein.    Randy KX4QD #58874, has been on the air for about a year from his home station where he operates low power with FT8 as V7/KX4QD.    At the club station, call V73AX #8239, there is KW amp and big antennas.    Randy was reported on FT8 once in October on Ten.    He is a TV broadcast engineer bringing US TV to the island.    Randy uses LoTW and the club uses Club Log.

      The Kwajalein atoll is controlled by the US Army for rocket testing.    There are no personal autos allowed on 

the island so bicycles are used to ride around the island.    The island and the large lagoon, were formed by a volcano and the ocean is good for scuba diving as there are several WW2 ship wrecks, that can be explored offshore.

Upcoming DX & New 10-10 Activity:

      4Z Israel.    Ros 4Z5LA #42000 and Yuli 4X6HP #72709, will be operating with a group of nine ops on Christmas Dec 25-26^th,    using a special call 4X7T.    They will operate from a UNESCO World Heritage site, more info at website: https://www.biblewalks.com/telbeersheba .

      CE Chile.    Update: Jorge CE3HFI #39382 is now CE0YHF and I have worked him twice on Ten in November. Jorge is using CE0YHF/CE3 on FT8 with a weak signal.   

      DP1 Antarctica.    Felix DL5XL #55519, is going back to Antarctica with a group from the German Polar Institute. The only hams are Felix and Theresa DC1TH who is not a 10-10 member.    The club callsign DP0GVN will be used by both so ask who is the operator to find Felix!    LoTW.

      FP St. Pierre & Miquelon Islands.    Eric KV1J #31247, hopes to reschedule for June 29 to July 13, 2021.    Website: http://www.KV1J.com/fp/July20.html .

Miscellaneous Items & Notes:

Propagation forecast: http://www.solen.info/solar/ , www.SolarHam.net  ,  Http://ARRL.org/Propagation .

More propagation: http://dx.qsl.net/propagation/ .

DX Calendar: http://www.dxwatch.com/ .

DX: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4dJcK-WVRw.

Propagation:      I expect the solar flux to range from 75-115 during the Winter which will be a record high for the new cycle!    The Winter Solstice is on Monday December 21^st.    Winter starts in the Northern Hemisphere that day and the Sun is below the equator giving us shorter daylight days thru the end of 2020.

There have been twenty-five solar cycles recorded since the year 1755 when records began.    Our Solar Cycle 25, is brand new as the Sun has been very active for the start of this new cycle as we had a record solar flux of 107 for the first time in November.    Cycle 25 officially started in October 2019.    The old method that is used to determine the start of a solar cycle is a thirteen month running mean of the observed sunspot numbers, which means the 2019 date was verified this year    by NOAA.    Sunspot numbers are counted by observation the sun, where-as solar flux is measured by radio at 2.8 GHz.

The monthly maximum solar flux in 2020:    Jan 72, Feb 71, March 70, April 70, May 69, June 73, July 73, Aug 75, Sept 69, Oct 88, and Nov 107.

The monthly minimum flux in 2020:    Jan 70, Feb 70, March 69, April 69, May 66, June 67, July 68, Aug 69, Sept 67, Oct 71 and Nov 77.

On December 1^st, the solar flux was 102, the A index was x8 and K index was x3.     The solar flux numbers continue to indicate new sunspots producing much higher solar flux numbers for Cycle 25!    The USAF solar flux forecast for December 1^st to January 15^th is 75 to 102!

My Prediction:    Over the next three months, the best conditions on Ten could be: December 13^th, 25^th – January 4^th,    January xx-xx, February xx-xx and March xx-xx.    For the USA, expect a 40% chance of DX to Europe or Asia with a 75% chance of DX to South America or to the S. Pacific.    Listen for the CW beacons from 28.175-28.300 to see if the band is open and use FT8 for all weak/low propagation QSO’s.

There were no new 10-10 DX members join from September to November 2020.      This DX News edition is my number 122^nd which equals to a lot of DXing reports.

Thanks to the Daily DX by Bernie W3UR    #25731 and the Ohio/Penn DX Bulletins.    DX Info to: Mike Davidson, 26274 Whispering Pines Ave, Denham Springs LA 70726    USA and Email: N5MT@aol.com .

DX IS!     73    Mike Davidson N5MT    #24949

Copyright © 2020 by N5MT

https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/usaf-45-day-ap-and-f107cm-flux-forecast

With a recent update of PHP, the library we use to create the PDF files for the Memebr Card and the Member Certificate is broke.  It does create a file that is downloaded to your comptuer, but the file is corrupt to the point, your PDF reader is unable to parse the file correctly.

But all is not lost. These files can be corrected by removing the corrupt data.  You can send the file to n7yg@n7yg.com and I’ll fix it and send it back to you, or if you have a Hex Editor such as HxD you can edit this file yourself with the following procedure:

1.  Open the file wih your hex editor
2.  Using the search function locate the following string — %PDF
3.  Place the cursor on the byte just prior to the %
4.  Highlight everything from that point back to the beginning.  It’s about 15K of junk.
5.  Select Delete from the Edit menu
6.  Save the file back.
7.  It should now open with your PDF reader.

We are working to replace that library and update the code to use the new library.

 

The Annual Bord for Directors Meeting will be held on May 16, 2021 at 1700 CDT via a Zoom Confrence

If you would like to observe the meeting, Send an EMail to kd5de@nwla.com for the links.

 

Agenda

1. Call to order

2. Roll Call

3. Moment of silence for our Silent Keys

4. Consideration of Agenda

5. Meeting Minutes Approval – from preceding
Board meeting

6. Officer Reports – President,
Vice-President/Secretary

7. Treasurer’s report and budget approval

8. Committee Reports – Awards, Business &
Finance, Chapter, QSO Party,

Data/Membership, Internet, Net Management,
Publications, Planning, and

Scholarship

9. Directors Reports

10. Other – including the following regular
items:

1. Consideration of the next Board of Directors
   meeting site
2. Unfinished business
3. New business
4. Additional comments
5. Consideration of the effective date of any
   By laws revisions and adopted policies

11. Adjournment

Meet the Volunteers (2021)

A year-long event to find and make contact with all of the people who devote time to keep 10-10 an active organization! The goal? Make contact with each of the following volunteers during 2021. See the 2020 Volunteers

2021 Volunteer Check-off Sheet

 

 

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Meet the Volunteers (2022)

 A year-long event to find and make contact with all of the people who devote time to keep 10-10 an active organization!
The goal? Make contact with each of the following volunteers during 2022. See the 2021 Volunteers

 

2022 Volunteer Check-off Sheet