The biggest contest weekend of the year is hours away. The CQ World Wide DX Contest, SSB, runs from 0000 UTC Saturday, October 24, through 2359 UTC Sunday, October 25, on the six HF contest bands from 160 through 10 meters. The exchange is an RS report plus your CQ zone, and the object is to work as many zones and countries as possible. For operators in the Mountain West the starting gun fires this evening, Friday, at 6 PM local time. Logs go in by web upload only, and the deadline is tight: 2359 UTC on Tuesday, October 27. Last year the SSB weekend drew more than ten thousand submitted logs, so expect every band to be wall to wall from the first hour.
Contesters catch a break from the Sun this year. The NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center forecast issued at 0030 UTC today reports the greatest observed Kp over the past 24 hours was 4, below storm levels, and the greatest expected Kp for October 23 through 25 is just 3.67. No G1 or greater geomagnetic storms are expected, no radio blackouts were observed in the past 24 hours, and forecasters put the chance of R1-R2 blackouts at 20 percent with only a 5 percent chance of an S1 radiation storm. In plain terms, the bands should stay open and steady all weekend, with no storm-driven absorption to spoil the high bands.
Satellite operators get a bonus day. The ARISS Slow Scan TV event from the International Space Station, Series 34 with its ARISS Hardware theme, began Thursday and has been extended: transmissions now run through Monday, October 26, ending at 1745 UTC. Listen on 437.550 MHz, allowing for Doppler shift, for Robot 36 images sent 36 seconds on and two minutes off from the Service Module station, callsign RS0ISS. Decoded pictures can be uploaded to the ARISS gallery for an event certificate. A handheld radio, a simple antenna, and a phone app are enough to copy a pass.
Two weekday events wind down around the contest. The ARRL School Club Roundup reaches its final day today, Friday, October 23, after a week of school and university club stations on the air. The HAARP research transmissions from Gakona, Alaska, supporting the INFUSE-II and DUST-III sounding rocket missions at Poker Flat, run their final session early Saturday, October 24, between 0530 and 0930 UTC somewhere in the 2.8 to 10 MHz range. DXers also have plenty to chase between contest runs: S9R remains on from Sao Tome through October 31, 3B9/M0CFW is active from Rodrigues Island through October 28, 5W0ZP is on from Samoa through October 29, and 6O2M in Somalia wraps up October 25. The SAQ Grimeton Alexanderson alternator in Sweden is also scheduled to transmit on 17.2 kHz for United Nations Day on Saturday.
Finally, if your ARRL membership has lapsed, check your inbox. The League has contracted with the research firm Readex to survey former members on why they did not renew and what might bring them back. The questionnaire asks about awareness of current benefits, including digital access to QST and the option of a mailed print subscription for an extra 25 dollars a year, and invites respondents to pick up to three reasons for leaving, from the 59 dollar annual dues to HOA restrictions or simply forgetting. Whether you chase zones all weekend, copy one picture from orbit, or answer the survey between contest runs, it is a full Friday on the bands. Good luck in the contest, and 73.