10 meter information

The Amateur Radio 10 Meter Band was created in 1928 after the International Radiotelegraph Conference was held in Washington, DC, USA.

Ham Radio lost the 300 kHz segment from 29.700 MHz to 30.000 MHz in 1947.

Launched in 1970 on a NASA flight OSCAR-5 was the first OSCAR to transmit on the Amateur 10 meter band and was built at University of Melbourne, Australia.

In the late 1970s with the impending American FCC ban of the sale of older 23 channel Citizens' band radio equipment that did not meet the more stringent type acceptance of the newer 40 channel units meant that a surplus of 23 channel CB gear was on the market. This was a windfall for Amateur Radio enthusiasts allowing them access to fairly inexpensive radios which could easily be modified for use in the 10 meter band.

American Novice and Technician class licensees were granted CW and SSB segments on the 10 Meter Band in 1987

Being a very wide band in HF terms, many different transmission modes can be found on 10 meters. Morse Code and other Narrowband modes found toward the bottom portion of the band, Single-sideband modulation (SSB) from 28.300 MHz and above, Wideband modes such as Amplitude Modulation (AM) and Frequency Modulation (FM) are found near the top portion of the band.

Due to its unique spot in the spectrum, 10 meters can be fascinating, if not occasionally challenging, to work. At peak times of the solar cycle when sunspots appear on the Sun's surface, 10 meters can be alive with extremely long-distance signals, refracting from the F2 layer in the ionosphere. Primarily a daytime band, 10 meters will come alive during high solar periods not long after sunrise, and often remain "open" until after sunset.