A really simple syndication (RSS) notification as follows.
1. Planning to operate the 2009 Tesla Cup in September?
2. Planning to operate the Arizona QSO Party in October?
3. Are you using Twitter?
4. Like to read the following QST, CQ Magazine, Ham Radio blogs, none?
Polling questions are located along the right hand column below followers.
73 from the shackadelic.
P.S. My blog (link) for polling questions. Your participation is appreciated.
Ham radio operators, organizations, and businesses on Twitter.
@73s Social network for ham radio operators | 1,024 followers.
@arrl ARRL Amateur Radio newsfeed | 1,011 followers.
@BobK8IA President Arizona Outlaws Contest Club | 93 followers.
@colinbutler Ireland | 411 followers.
@chrismatthieu Founder 73s.org | 1,204 followers.
@dxanywhere DX and solar data feed | 492 followers.
@DXStore ham radio related business | 228 followers.
@FiNiReport ham radio blogger | 10 followers.
@G6PZ England | 34 followers.
@hamcity ham radio related business | 220 followers.
@HamFeed Repeater for Twitter | 614 followers.
@HamTests test questions for ham radio operators | 261 followers.
@HK3W DX data feed | 132 followers.
@ICOMElmer | 92 followers.
@kb6nu ham radio blogger | 228 followers.
@k2dbk ham radio blogger | 280 followers.
@K0NR ham radio blogger | 104 followers.
@NCDXF Northern California DX Foundation | 512 followers.
@m3php Founder DXAnywhere | 417 followers.
@nq4i USA | 323 followers.
@OZ1AA Faroe Islands | 148 followers.
@PY2BN assorted link, DX activity, and comments | 76 followers.
@radiocal USA | 25 followers.
@Radio_2_Radio ham radio related business | 90 followers.
@radiosport Amateur Radio Contest Blogs and Information | 112 followers.
@RigReference guide for ham radio equipment | 103 followers.
@SCDXC Southern California DX Club | 62 followers.
@squelchrt ham radio repeater for Twitter | 106 followers.
@trishtalk ham radio broadcaster | 114 followers.
@ShortwaveRadio | 18 followers.
@usblsb ham radio related business | 75 followers.
@VE7RJT Canada | 223 followers.
@VK2FEDS Australia | 238 followers.
@vwx Founder RadioSport.us | 299 followers.
@wa5ray USA | 718 followers.
@wd4bob USA | 1,807 followers.
@wm8c ham radio related business | 497 followers.
@YO3IBZ Romania | no updates at the moment | 64 followers.
Total #hamr network reach 12,465 followers.
73 from the shackadelic.
Ham radio operators must be in the hobby for more than big numbers in a given solar cycle. I, for one have operated at the bottom of cycles and expected a little more bullishness from 24 but evidence is mounting to the contrary. Robust sunspot predictions, at least for me, are deflating in lieu of the on-going dearth of make or break counts. In fact, I'm wondering if operators are ignoring 24's sunspot count and shifting operations onto the low bands like 160, 80, and 40m in addition to 6 meters?
I would like to see robust numbers on the board however I'm not getting the vibe that we're in for a record breaker. Instead, I'm witnessing history on the other end of the spectrum that is, a minima like 24 is valuable. The parade of predictions and the hooray for bigger numbers adds to the storyline. One that I can learn from and write about going into the future.
I'm collecting links in the cloud and wanted to share them. Cycle 24 is historic, if for nothing less than, its string of spotless to near spotless months and influence.
Cycle 24 Headlines.
A pair of forthcoming RadioSport events are on the horizon and I would like to draw attention to them. They are in the early stages of development as viable and sustainable going into the future. The Arizona QSO Party and the 2009 Tesla Cup will compete for Qs and broader acceptance within our community. Certainly, a tribe of committed supporters will cluster around each event and both are poised to break into the RadioSport market place.
I mention market place because an event, any event competes for the currency of my time, attention, and commitment. Success is relative to social demand and I would like to invest personal capital in the Arizona QSO Party and the 2009 Tesla Cup.
Personal capital equals time and energy focused on delivering the message backed by the equity or reputation of my blog. Each subscriber has a stake in my content and I want to increase the dividend paid out for one's attention. The Arizona QSO Party and the 2009 Tesla Cup represent of fund of mutual interest. Perhaps, in the near future, I can begin to measure investment in personal capital and one's return on attention investment based on the overall social success of each respective event.
Additionally, look for content under the heading, RadioSport Event Horizon as #hamr moves into the future.
RadioSport Event Horizon.
The fastest 30-minutes in RadioSport transforms contesting. Why? Social networking and granular marketing backed by a group of passionate enthusiasts sponsored by a major contesting club. The formula for success is straightforward, believe passionately about one's endeavor, establish a relationship with like minded individuals, consistency, and get out the word.
What is changing is 'how' we are forming social networks and the near instantaneous nature of social communications. The effect is ubiquity across borders and time zones at digital speed. A RadioSport event is a social event bringing together operators from all walks of life, all levels of education, station engineering, and socioeconomic status.
The common element is social event.
NS participant's submit scores while others are passionate, week-to-week participants. The passionate one, the week-to-week one transmits purpose and excitement. They are the marketing message and everything is moving toward a granular level down to the individual. The Internet and its modes of communication have demolished the old message order.
For this reason, it is why NS Ladder "Thursday Night Madness" continues building momentum, the passionate tribe of week-to-week participants plus granular level access to the Contest Director or participants equals contagious excitement.
The fastest 30-minutes in RadioSport hits RadioSport arena for a little ionospheric action this Thursday evening. Operate and discover why Thursday Night Madness sponsored by the Northern California Contest Club leaves one gasping at the electron finish line.
NS Home (link).
Rules (link).
Ladder Scores (link).
Contest on!
Multi Two.
Why sit in an operating chair for 16 hours? Why operate when breaking into the Box is not within reach? Why turn on one's transceiver at all? Whatever one's favorite ham radio niche, operating, is the peak experience for hard work and effort at learning.
The 2009 IARU HF World Championship event is memory, what remained, is 16-hours of operating experience using 45-watts into a wire antenna system. My operating conditions are less than ideal, in fact, this situation is a significant challenge. My signal does not care about energy loss into a pair of condominiums, that it is less than a half wavelength above ground, or that it lacks the punch of a kilowatt. What does my signal care about?
I'm communicating with various geographical regions of the world on high frequency, for me, that is ham radio fun. My signal cares about being heard but my signal is not always heard. That does not stop me from having fun over a weekend. I learned, given the engineering quality of my station, that operating the IARU HF World Championship is more productive at night.
Twenty meters in the afternoon just did not produce whereas 40m at night really made a difference. Fifteen meters, from this location, was a 1 QSO and 1 multiplier effort. I was bummed because 15m is a favorite of mine. My log revealed Q-production in the middle of 40m produced the best results.
Signal drafting helped when calling CQ around 5 KHz above a louder signal. However, do not choose bandwidth between a pair of Level 1 or 2 signals, my Level 4 signal lost. Additionally, when my CQ went without an answer for a minimum of 5-minutes, then I switched to search and pounce (SP). A 48-hour event makes a difference in the logging of 1 and 2 stations during the first 24-hours. Typically, most 1 and 2 stations are logged within 24-hours leaving opportunity for 3 and 4s however summer noise conditions plus time constraint resulted in significant competition.
This is a 'do' or 'do not' log situation for my station. Propagation cycles only once during the IARU HF World Championship.
Band mapping was not productive. Either I called CQ or swept a band for a needed Q although N1MM Contest Logger will pass the call sign to the band map. I did note a significant amount of time calling CQ instead using SP technique. Operating during the day was a complete wash for this station. Night time propagation especially on 40m significantly improved my score.
Overall, I achieved my primary goal that is, a lot of ham radio fun. The secondary benefit was 16-hours of experience where none existed before.
Contest on!
See Also.
11th through n'th Place.
My 10,000 Hour RadioSport Challenge | 9,957 - 24 = 9,933 To Go.
