This past weekend was the running of the ARRL 10m contest for both CW and SSB. We are in a very nice time in the solar cycle which makes the 10m contest a popular one. The weekend solar conditions were great with the Kp index floating between Kp0 and Kp1. With good solar weather meaning an active sun also comes solar storms with very high Kp index and poor conditions but this weekend was great. As always here at VE9KK I was CW only entry in the contest. Compared to last year's contest I noticed the window into Europe in the mornings did not last that long this year. I did notice more of a window opened in the afternoon toward South America. 

I heard no what might be called exotic DX at my end and most of my scoring was contacting U.S. stations. Due to the propagation of 10m here, I was on the radio at about 7 am local time and off at 5 pm. I found that after 5 pm signals were just not reliable, with many repeats and then the station would just fall off the face of the spectrum. I had a few stations contact me from the Netherlands including Bas PE4BAS a fellow blogger. We did talk a week before the contest about trying to touch base in the contest but you never know. 

I have a program called log analyzer in which you load your contest log in ADIF format (other formats are supported). The program gives you a world map of all your contacts, there are many options the program offers. I do find that if a station you contacted in the contest has an incorrect grid square then you may see an odd country you contacted. For me, the contest showed a U.S. station that was in Saudi Arabia. It was due to his incorrect grid square but that only happens very seldom. 

In this contest my best 1 hour of running was 100 contacts but most of the time it averaged in around 45-70. I did very little searching and pouncing or S&P as it is called. I enter the contest as unassisted meaning I do not use any spotting software. I do this as it gives me more of a challenge. If I entered the assisted category I would have call signs listed on the waterfall of N1MM+ contest software. I could mouse-click from one call to the next and bang off contacts and points. Also, I could see multipliers as well this way. As for me I have fun unassisted and call CQ contest and S&P the waterfall. Below are the results of this year's ARRL 10m contest. Oh and before I go I did have Murphy visit me during this contest or maybe it was just plain old age. I all of a sudden lost mouse control. No matter what I did there was no movement. I ended up restarting my PC which during a contest is a major deal. Once restarted my old age moment passed and I realized I had mouse control again. It was due to the fact I was using the mouse on the left of my desk before the restart and that is the mouse for my Linux PC!!! On the right side of my desk is my Windows mouse and I did not even realize I was using my left-hand side mouse. No restart was needed in the end after all. 

Hello and welcome to Episode 525 of Linux in the Ham Shack. In this episode, the hosts take an in-depth look at the Linux Show Player application. The application is an audio and lighting cue manager for doing podcasts, live performances, concerts or what have you. It can control devices, set up macros, play audio, set lighting scenes and much more. All topics from installation to configuration and use are covered. Thanks for listening and have a great week.

73 de The LHS Crew

 This past Sunday I was cruzing the bands for some POTA stations and on 10m I came across a pileup and stuck around to see what it was all about. It was 7Q6M in Malawi Africa calling "CQ UP". I flipped the Icom 7610 into split and Dual Watch (Dual Watch meaning turned on the independent sub receiver). There was a large gathering at the watering hole and I took some time to listen to see how 7Q6M was working the pileup. I dropped my call a few times and then I heard them come back to me and I was in the log. 

I then a few days later logged TO9W in St Martin, now they are pretty much local to me BUT they are an ATNO and it only took the first call to get them in the log. This coming weekend is the ARRL 10m contest and I will be up and running in that in the low-power CW category. Hey if you are an SSB aficionado you also can take advantage of the 10m DX. I found that last year the DX was on early mornings then after about noon hour it was North America.

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This makes this quite an exceptional saving over the list price for a big base HF station rig.

Check out here for further detail: Yaesu FTDX101D

Listen Now

Spin the Random Topic Wheel (Segment 1)

• Your Favorite Amateur Radio Band and Mode

This Weekend in Hedonism (Segment 2)

• Cheryl’s Recipe Corner!

• Apple Fritter Cake

• Description

• Who doesn’t love an apple fritter?  How about in cake form?  Serve this with a holiday meal, or just to have for snack time!

• Ingredients (Batter)

• 3 cups of flour

• 1/4 tsp. salt

• 1 cup of sugar

• 4 tsp. baking powder

• 1 1/2 cup milk

• 2 eggs

• 2 tsp. vanilla

• 1/2 cup butter, melted

• 6 small apples cored, peeled and diced

• Ingredients (Topping)

• 1 cup of butter, softened

• 1 cup of brown sugar

• 2 tbsp. flour

• 1 tbsp. cinnamon

• Ingredients (Glaze)

• 2 cups of powdered sugar

• 5 tbsp. milk

• 1 tsp. vanilla

• Directions

• Start by mixing all the ingredients for the batter (except the butter) together in a bowl. Once combined, carefully pour in the melted butter. If you do this part with your mixer at a high speed it will splash everywhere. So slow is best. Pour the batter into a greased 9×13 pan, any smaller and it will overflow while baking. Evenly distribute the apples over the top of the batter. In a separate bowl mix together the topping, it will be thick so do your best to drop scoops of it evenly over the apples. Then take a knife and drag it in a swirly motion all over the pan allowing the topping to make friends with the apples and batter below. Bake at 350 degrees for at least 40 minutes. Depending on how many apples you put in and how juicy they were you may need to increase your time. If the top is getting too brown you can always tent it with foil. Once baked let sit for 20 minutes and then pour the glaze all over the cake.

• Cheryl’s Mixed Drink Corner

• Apple Cider Mule

• Description

• Who doesn’t love the fall/holiday season?  Whether you’re enjoying time with friends, or a quiet night at home, this is a tasty cocktail to enjoy!

• Ingredients

• 2 ounces (¼ cup) vodka

• 2 ounces (¼ cup) apple cider

• 1/2 ounce (1 tablespoon) fresh lime juice

• 3 ounces (6 tablespoons) ginger beer

• For the garnish: lime wedge, thyme sprig or apple slice, sprinkle of cinnamon

• Directions

• In a copper mug or glass, pour in the vodka, apple cider, and lime juice. Add the ginger beer. Add ice and garnish with a lime wedge and a thyme sprig or apple slice. If desired, sprinkle with a tiny hint of cinnamon. Serve immediately.

• Russ’s Drink Corner

• Starlight Distillery: Carl T. Huber’s Single Barrel Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Tokaji Barrels

• Details

• Mashbill: Unknown

• Proof: 109.2 (54.6% ABV)

• Region: Borden, Indiana

• Color: Dark reddish caramel

• Nose: Honey, vanilla, caramel, honey coated nuts, slightly grainy

• Taste: Blackberry, toast, raw honey, grappa, melon, unripe strawberry a little heat and hint of brine

• Finish: White pepper, soft grain, honey, dark fruit, toasted sunflower seeds

• Price: $80 (750ml)

• Rating: 86

• Bill’s Whatever Corner

• Kettlehouse Brewing Co (Bonner, MT) - Muley Buck Mosaic IPA

• 6.2% ABV

Segment 3 (Announcements & Feedback)

• Our last show for 2023 will be on December 17th with our annual roundtable episode.  We invite all of our listeners to join us in this roundtable, whether you participate live in the podcast - or you’re on Discord with us!

Segment 4 (New Subscribers, New Supporters & Live Participants)

• Live Chat

• AlleyKitten

• Tony, K4XSS

• Steve, KA7HVT

• Ted, WA0EIR

• Steve, KJ5T

• Winston, KD2WLL

• Jon, K1BTZ

In this episode, we join Martin Butler M1MRB, Dan Romanchik KB6NU, Caryn Eve Murray KD2GUT, Edmund Spicer M0MNG, and Ed Durrant DD5LP to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin Butler (M6BOY) rounds up the news in brief and the episode's feature is SpyRadio and Parasets.

We would like to thank an our monthly and annual subscription donors for keeping the podcast advert free. To donate, please visit - http://www.icqpodcast.com/donate

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