Just before the weekend, the Sun released the second-strongest flare of the current solar cycle and one of the strongest flares ever recorded. This resulted in excellent propagation conditions on Friday evening. Within a few tens of minutes of calling on the 10-meter band, I logged numerous stations from Mexico, Puerto Rico, the United States, and Canada. But what will this mean for propagation conditions the following morning on the opposite end of the shortwave spectrum?
The band is unusually crowded. There are numerous signals from stations both near and far. I manage to find a clear frequency only on my second try. There is some digital signal in the background, but several stations confirmed that it doesn’t bother them. The ionogram in the middle shows that the reflection is occurring at an altitude of approximately 220 kilometers and appears very stable:
Ionogram during the SSB League
This type of propagation favors stations from greater distances. Contacts are coming in at a rapid pace, and I’m hearing quite a few call signs for the very first time. Jožko OM4DU is calling with an unusually weak signal, which is explained by the fact that he’s operating QRP:
At this pace, I’m barely getting any SO2V operation in. After a few contacts in this mode, I lose the frequency. I tune around, and the contacts keep coming. I find Števo OM7KW:
The pace only slows down after about 90 contacts. I tried to see if I could hit a round hundred, but I didn’t make it in time. Still, the SSB League was a pleasant surprise!
Number of contacts per minute in the SSB League
