20db RadioSport Blogosphere Signal: Sands Contest Group M0SCG/MX0SCG

Sending my best to the Sands Contest Group. An outstanding effort and great blog read. Looks like operating Sprint style is catching on.

http://m0scg.blogspot.com/

73 from the shack.

RadioSport Blogosphere Interview: Mike, K5NZ

Why RadioSport, what about that?

There are always different levels in every hobby. I feel in Amateur Radio this is where you find the cream of the crop.

Tell us about your first contest as a novice?

The 1970 ARRL Novice Roundup. I think I made about 50 contacts using a Globe Chief Model 90 transmitter with about 3 crystals and a Hallicrafters S-38a receiver. Had a fan dipole for 40/15 at about 20 ft. I was 14.

What kind of station did you operate as an entry-level contester?

See Above.

Your station today?

2 FT1000MP's, 4 towers with assorted homebrew antennas.

Your favorite contest and tell us about that?

I'm an outdoors person so I find it hard to sit in a chair all weekend so the Sprint and NAQP's are my favorite. But I have to say the best contest has to be CQWW.

Suggestions for entry-level contesters and for those thinking about RadioSport?

Remember everything is relative. Enjoy the event for what it is and don't get caught up in feeling you have to win. Make a goal and try to beat that goal and then try to beat last years score. You will find others with similar station set ups in your area and then match yourself against them. Most of all have fun!

Tell us about a best moment for you in RadioSport?

Strange as it might sound my favorite moment is attending Dayton and meeting all the folks and putting faces to the callsigns you work over and over in contests. There are some really great people in this niche of our hobby! It is a very interesting fraternity and as I said before the cream of the crop.

Any other sports you really enjoy?

Ahhh probably one of the reasons I can't excel more at RadioSport! Many, and I enjoy them all so I can't really concentrate on just one. I would have to say the top of the list is Motocross. I have raced since I was 16 and it is still the most fun and best exercise I can find. I also mountain bike, fish, and do some bird hunting.

73 from the shack.

What's Cool about Amateur Radio?

I have more than Fab Five in my memory and my signal bounces off the ionosphere and that's cool.

Did you ever watch Independence Day when those aliens spoiled the party? Who saved the world but a bunch of dudes hammering out Morse code. That's cool.

Anyone can operate a cellphone, iPod, or iPhone but I'm sanctioned by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) as an Amateur Radio operator with station and operator privileges. It's benefits and perks baby.

But there's a test. You can take the test and add value to your bragging rights. You could say to your friends, colleagues or peers, "Have Radio?"

Not everyone makes the cut and those who do, go to the Big Show sponsored by your station and operating privileges from mega hertz to giga hertz to bouncing signals off the moon. Who knows when the Mars mission roles around. That's cool.

Wanna add more cool points? Well, when the plug adds no juice to that cellphone battery, guess who can step in? They call us the Last Resort. It's better than HALO III. It's more than an X-box. We've got Internet in a big way. That's right and that's cool.

Everybody has a cellphone, an iPod, a Palmpilot or other gizmos. Amateur Radio has more but you got to take the test for those FCC sanctioned benefits and perks. You can bedazzle friends, colleagues and family with those new gadgets and gizmos. Have you talked with anyone on Sable Island? That's cool.

Never mind the opportunity to talk with famous athletes, rock stars, astronauts, inventors, forklift drivers, chief executive officers, business leaders, the space station, the list is endless. This is network value taken to the next level. That's cool.

And party? You are going to miss the biggest party of them all. Amateur Radio operators from across California will host the bash that puts the 'burn' in Burning Man. It's exclusive and open only to licensed Amateur Radio operators across the world. That's cool.

I'm not thinking about my Fab Five. I'm not thinking about my mp3 player. I'm thinking about Amateur Radio. Check out the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) in the multiplier section for more.

That's cool.

73 from the shack.

Off the Random Wire (Week 17): Airplanes & i Madonnari

A great weekend of adventerous activity stretching from Paso Robles to San Luis Obispo. We kicked Saturday afternoon into gear with a visit to Airport Day in Paso. I'll always have an affection for airplanes after 20-years of working near the flight line on various Air Force bases. My favorite is the front shot of the F-18 Hornet. It's not an F-16 Fighting Falcon or an F-15 Screamin' Eagle but the Hornet can sting. Saturday evening, we ordered two pizzas and watched the University of Southern California demolish Nebraska. I, on the other hand, demolished a pizza. The cool, crispy fall morning without the thick marine layer drawn from the Pacific is ideal for rock climbing. We climbed at our local climbing wall at Bishop Peak. The route is called Lama and is rated 5.9 just like a single sideband signal report. I worked Lama from its variation and took three laps before we coiled the rope. The I Madonnari festival is a long standing Italian tradition of street painting going back to the 16th Century. San Luis Obispo celebrated its 16th consecutive and I'm always blown away. My favorites are Lady in Red Dress and the Child Artist. 73 from the shack.