so i've been keeping an eye on 10 meters for a few weeks now and honestly the last couple days have been something else. worked Japan twice this morning just sitting at my desk with a 100 watt radio and a wire dipole thats barely 20 feet up. like i know we're near solar max or whatever but it really hit different today seeing JA and VK stations coming through so strong.

also heard someone mention on 75m roundtable last night that there might be a new Yaesu HF radio announcement coming soon? something mid-range priced, not the FTDX10 tier but above the FT-891 maybe. nobody seemed to know much, could be total rumor. has anyone seen anything legit about that? trying to decide if i should wait or just pull the trigger on a used radio i found locally.

anyway if you havent been on 10m recently, seriously get on there. even my crummy little setup is making contacts i wouldnt believe six months ago.

yeah 10m has been absolutely wild, worked a ZL station yesterday afternoon on just 50 watts which blew my mind a little. i've been a ham since the early 90s and i keep forgetting how good this band can get near solar max. a lot of newer hams have only ever seen it dead so this must be a real eye opener for them.

on the Yaesu thing — i saw something floating around on one of the Facebook groups about a possible announcement but i wouldnt hold your breath waiting. These rumor cycles happen every few months and sometimes nothing comes of it for a year or more. if the used radio is a good price and in good shape id probably just get it honestly. a bird in hand and all that.

omg yes i just got my tech ticket like two months ago and upgraded to general last week specifically because i wanted to try HF and my elmer told me to watch 10m. got on yesterday for the first time and worked Australia on FT8 and i literally sat there staring at the screen for a second because i couldnt beleive it worked. using a borrowed IC-7300 at his shack but im saving up for my own radio now. this hobby is something else.