NCCC Thursday Night Madness (17 of 17)

The seventeenth running of the NS Sprint is in the log, submitted to the 3830 Score Rumor's email reflector, and uploaded at eQSL. Amateur radio and more specifically, contesting, continues weaving its wonder and joy into my life. Each Thursday evening when I'm sitting in the operator's chair, one does think about a winning score but, my challenge at hand is understanding propagation in relationship high frequency, antenna theory in relationship to KA3DRR's signal, and basic electronic theory. I established specific contesting goals prior to re-joining our contesting community as well.

One goal is straightforward and it is operating. I chose the bottom of the cycle because of its inherent challenge. The bottom of the cycle represented for me the toughest possible moment to begin. However, the reward is the propagation summit and the concurrent decent. The summit is half the effort. KA3DRR will evolve and that is another goal. Personally, I'm participating in the growth of my station from beneath the noise floor to above the noise floor. That's an exciting goal and worthy of one or two cups of conversational coffee in the distant future.

The seventeenth week of NS Sprint gave me the opportunity to practice the art of operating from the keyboard. I figured out how to insert the NS exchange into AE6Y's CQWIN105 contesting program. This is important because I'm not a software type of guy or an electrical engineer. I succeeded with the support and encouragement of a new friend. The sound of KA3DRR at 34 words-per-minute rocked my low-power, low-profile shack.

Difficult but achievable goals are worth it. Practice, practice and practice breeds confidence as well. The Northern California Contest Club's NS Sprint is an excellent opportunity among many to begin the remarkable adventure called contesting. I hope to see you in either the DX Lab Suite log or AE6Y's CQWIN105 log in the very near future. Check'em out in KA3DRR's multiplier section. Until then, GO NS!

73 from the shack.

Off the Random Wire (Week 10)

The August issue of QST out of the mailbox and it is the annual antenna issue. I'm looking forward to reading this hot copy through the week. I spent the greater portion of this weekend downloading portable document files from the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) archive. Mostly, literature on high frequency (HF) propagation, radio frequency (RF) grounding, and wire antennas. One might notice a few new additions to the blog as well. Also, I practiced operating from my keyboard using the XP computer cable while scanning the following bands 15, 18, 20, 30, and 40-meters. However, zero sunspot activity and an A-index of 15 muffled the bands throughout this weekend. No rag chews in the KA3DRR log.

I downloaded the following literature from the ARRL website to begin educating myself about wire antennas, RF grounding, and HF propagation. Each article provided insightful antenna information, golden nuggets regarding how one's antenna interacts with stadium Earth's ionospheric dome, and straightforward, budget friendly projects. Recommended reading for entry-level and/or re-entry level operator's like myself.

Demaw, D. W1FB (1979). Antenna Accessories for the Beginner. QST. pp. 15-18. This article helped me understanding the basic operation of a transmatch as well as the use of a random wire antenna. Likewise, figure one illustrates a dipole's theoretical radiation pattern and one that is skewed due to an imbalance in the feed system (Demaw).

Fusaro, M. W3IZ (n.d.). Discover the Magic of HF Radio. QST. I especially enjoyed reading this article because Fusaro covered many entry-level topics such as propagation, antenna interaction with the ionosphere i.e. critical angles, operating HF, and much more. One notable among many in Fusaro's article concerned standing wave ratio (SWR). Flat SWR does not necessarily equate to antenna effectiveness. In addition, one will find an interesting illustration on how-to build a straightforward, budget friendly RF ground.

Between readings, I ran DXLAB's WinWarbler which allowed me to key the FT100 from the computer. KA3DRR operates 3-different types of freeware logging programs. They are AE6Y's CQWIN105 (contesting), EI5DI (contesting), and DX Lab Suite of logging software for general logging. One will discover links to each freeware program in KA3DRR's multiplier section. Overall, I'm satisfied with each respective program as they exceeded my expectations as freeware. No crashes. Ease of use. And user friendly.

It took me a few minutes to configure the software in DX Lab Winwarbler. For example, going to the CW tab and in the keying sub-section, I set the parallel port -- lpt1 and selected pin number 17. Then, I choose between virtual keyers such as iambic a or b, ultimatic, or bug/straight key in the paddle sub-section. I'm concerned about my trusty Bencher paddles collecting dust into the future. But, moderation is the key between computer-driven Morse code and pounding out real time dits and dahs.

The latest widget additions to KA3DRR Low-power, Low-profile contesting at 35-watts? First, one can subscribe using the RSS subscription button. This is a great utility for one's RSS feed found in the dropdown favorites menu in Window's Explorer version 7. In addition, beneath cq contest, cq contest de one will discover a readership counter. This Feedburner widget communicates how many currently subscribe to KA3DRR's RSS feed. It was quite a learning curve reading about HTML code and then pasting it into the blog template.

Action from around amateur radio's blogsphere? NE1RD at 100 Pound DXpedition just completed the CQ WW VHF contest from a hilltop. His score is now posted on 3830 Score Rumors and great job goes out to Scott. KE9V at Long Delayed Echoes chats about his anti-shack using an Elecraft KX1. His article evokes new lines of thought regarding the modern footprint of one's shack. Very cool. K9JY Ham Radio -- Amateur Radio Contesting -- continues his informative series of entry-level contesting articles and chats about the impact of Harry Potter. Fun article as he travels across Puget Sound.

Links are available to NE1RD's 100 Pound Dxpedition, KE9V's Long Delayed Echoes, and K9JY's Ham Radio in KA3DRR's multiplier section.

73 from the shack.

NS Sprint Newcomer's Division (Week 16)

Muhammand Ali said, "Champions aren't made in the gym. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them -- a desire, a dream, a vision."

The contest fire within propelled K0XP into first place in week sixteen. XP scored a personal best since the inception of the new division while over the horizon K9BGL battled propagation as well. Ten points separated the two. Another close one below the 1000 point mark, N9NB went keyer to keyer, keyboard to keyboard against W7OM. The margin is micro. A molecular six points between NB and OM. Meanwhile, W1UE tied his score from last week posting 858 on the grid.

There is a tie for fifth place. W1UE and KG5U posted 858 respectively in a showdown between photon powered sprint shoes. One hears the long delayed echo of cheering fans inside stadium Earth.

The Standings:

Newcomer's Division Leader's Week 16
1. K0XP, 1144
2. K9BGL, SMC, 1134
3. N9NB, CTDXCC, 936
4. W7OM, 930
5. W1UE, 858
5. KG5U, 858

Newcomer Sprint Records
1. N6TV, NCCC, 1682 5th consecutive week
2. K9BGL, SMC, 1568, 5th consecutive week
3. K5NZ, CTDXCC, 1560 5th consecutive week

Reference:
Great Inspirational Quotes (2007). Motivational Sport Quotes and Quotations Retrieved on July 22, 2007 from http://www.great-inspirational-quotes.com/sports-quotes.html.

Northern California Contest Club (n.d.). NS Results Retrieved on July 22, 2007 from http://www.ncccsprint.com/results.htm.