so i was just messing around on 10 meters yesterday afternoon, not really expecting much because conditions have been pretty meh lately, and all of a sudden the band just exploded. i was hearing stations from south america super loud, like 59+ on some of them, and even worked a couple European stations which i havent done on 10m in a while. ran about 35 contacts in maybe an hour before it faded out again.

also saw that Yaesu apparently announced something new at a hamfest recently, some kind of updated version of one of their HF rigs but i cant find the details anywhere. anyone know what that was about? i saw it mentioned on another site but the thread was kind of vague. the solar flux has been climbing which probably explains the 10m stuff, we're getting up there in the cycle which is exciting.

anyway just wanted to share because it was a nice surprise on a random Tuesday. if you havent checked 10m lately might be worth spinning the dial up there when you get a chance.

yeah i caught the tail end of that opening, got home from work around 5pm and there were still a few south american stations booming in. worked a PY station on my vertical with like 50 watts and he came back first call, which never happens for me lol. 10m is really something when its actually open, its a completely different band than what most people experience when conditions are down.

re: the Yaesu thing, i think you might be talking about something they showed at Dayton or one of the regional fests, i vaguely remember seeing a post on one of the Facebook groups about a new SDR based portable rig but dont quote me on that. could have been a different manufacturer honestly, i was half asleep when i read it.

im pretty new to HF (just got my general like 3 months ago) and i keep hearing people talk about 10 meters being good but every time i tune up there its completely dead. so it just randomly opens up like that with no warning? is there a way to check ahead of time or do you just have to keep checking? sorry if thats a dumb question