Email Subscription Now Available

Delivering KA3DRR LowPower, LowProfile RadioSport Contesting At 50-Watts into your email box, today. Really simple syndication (RSS) feed continues however I wanted an additional delivery option for the Top Ten percent.

Feedburner automates the process much like subscribing to any email newsletter with a confirmation link sent via email. My email subscription box is located along the right hand column.

I hope you find this new feature useful and thank you for supporting my endeavor.

73 from the shackadelic.

Confirmed eQSL | Are You On The List?

eQSL (link).

• KE7GYQ | Arizona | 40m | 1st Q.
• AA6YX | California | 40m | 1st Q.
• AA6YX | California | 80m | 2nd Q.
• K9YC | California | 40m | 5th Q.
• K9YC | California | 80m | 6th Q.
• N3RC | California | 40m | 1st Q.
• W6KY | California | 15m | 1st Q.
  
• NH7O | Hawaii | 20m | 6th Q.
  
• K5MQ | Louisiana | 20m | 1st Q.
  
• AA3B | Pennsylvania | 40m | 2nd Q.
• AE5GT | Texas | 20m | 1st Q.
• K5TR | Texas | 20m | 5th Q.
• NC7J | Utah | 40m | 2nd Q.
• NC7J | Utah | 80m | 3rd Q.
• WA7YAZ | Utah | 40m | 1st Q.
  
• N7BV | Washington | 40m | 1st Q.
  
• K9QVB/9 | Wisconsin | 20m | 5th Q.

DX.

• YN2DD | Nicaragua | 40m | 1st Q.
  

Most original eQSL KE7GYQ, W6KY.

eDX Award = 16 confirmed.
eWAS Award = 25 confirmed.

GridSquares = 96 confirmed.

73 from the shackadelic.

This Weekend In RadioSport | A Little Of This, A Little Of That

RadioSport Oceania | ALARA.
This one for the ladies in ham radio and it is good to note because there is a disproportionate sum of men to women in the hobby. Now, an Old Man (OM) must call Young Lady (YL) however a YL just calls CQ to the befuddlement of the OM. Who said ham radio does not have its own social network?

Rules (link).

RadioSport Eu | SCC RTTY Championship.
I dig anything that is championship caliber and the Solvenia Contest Club is right on because this event is world. National competition? I like that! Competitive indeed pitting country against country inside RadioSport arena is healthy for ham radio.

Rules (link).

RadioSport Eu | YO DX HF Contest.
The SCC RTTY Championship rages and YO DX HF adds amperage this weekend. I would say not a bad weekend for European RadioSport with RTTY, CW, and SSB coverage across multiple bands. Contest sponsor gets it and DX Cluster systems are allowed for any category. Imagine that?

Rules (link).

RadioSport USA | Kansas QSO Party.
Fill your county database this weekend when the Heartland of America pumps radio frequency into the ionosphere. Looking for that rare one? Give a listen and send a shout toward Kansas. Their party is on!

Rules (link).

Join 6Y1V RadioSport Team For CQ WW 2009

If one is at least 21-years of age then all that stands between operating an elite DX RadioSport station, all expenses paid, and an opportunity of a lifetime is 500 words or more. Imagine, interface your DX/RadioSport experience with cutting edge wireless communication technology and join the 6Y1V team this winter.

An opportunity like this did not exist when I was cutting my teeth at the straight key and knife switch. I'm just a day shy for this 500 word or more offer. However are you willing to take on this grueling 48-hour challenge?

The 6Y1V challenge is all that stands between you and a world class station? C'mon! If one is not into climbing mountains, running a marathon, or runs a marathon, climbs a mountain then human meet wireless communication technology inside RadioSport arena.

Selection process is based solely on 500 words or more, no cutesy YouTube Video, or lottery. The 6Y1V RadioSport team will review each essay.

Essay Components.

• Describe one's start in ham radio.
• Describe who guided your process into ham radio.
• Why should the team select you.

Include your full name, address, and callsign in addition parent's must give permission or they may travel at their own expense. Cut off date is 2009 September 30th and send your essay to contest [@] 6y1v dot com.

Forty eight hours of pure adrenaline in the operating chair processing radio signals from all over the planet. Watch the influence of our G4 Class star on RadioSport arena through daylight, grayline, and night. Data process information at speeds beyond text messaging and feel the demand for the 6Y1V wireless signal. Can you keep up with the best of the best?

If only I didn't turn a day older than 21 years on September 30th!

Contest on!

See Also.
6Y1V Contest Superstation - Jamaica.

Why Are Eu RadioSport Operator's Younger?

Inspiration courtesy of CQ Contest Digest and a pertinent question indeed.

I'm foregoing a dissertation like posting for short answers but RadioSport USA really, really needs to explore this issue.

Brainstorming Answers.

1. Ham radio is boring when bumped against gaming technology.
   
2. Gamers have world wide access without the need for a wire antenna strung from the roof of one's home.
   
3. Ham radio is a technical hobby and just look at enrollments at engineering schools.
4. Engineering salaries are not competitive enough in the American labor market.
5. American youth just do not 'get it' like our European counterparts.
6. American ham radio must learn to compete against the gaming culture.
7. Local clubs need to improve retention and reach out into unconventional venues.
8. European youth want to compete in the game where human meets technology.
9. European clubs are doing a better job at reaching out to the next generation.
10. European ham radio operators are more passionate about the hobby.
    
11. Youthful excitement is contagious.
12. American CC&R and HOA regulations play a significant role just look at our suburbs.

Feel free to add to my list and this is a needed conversation especially for RadioSport USA.

Contest On!

CQ World Wide Contest Committee (CQWWCC) Gets PR

"The CQ WW Contest Committee (CQWWCC) wishes to announce the beginning of informational updates. We hope these periodic updates will serve to inform you of actions taken by the CQWWCC, behind the scenes committee work, history of the CQ WW and other topics. With this update, we will initiate regular communication with the contest community beginning later this week."

Excellent idea and welcomed.

Contest on!

CQ World Wide Rule Change & Station Inspection Quotes

CQ Contest Digest, Volume 80, Issue 23.
"I say great, let them inspect... or watch on my webcams that are already running if they want."

"This is clearly aimed at a few high profile operators who don't give a damn about sportsmanship and will do almost anything to "win." Having this tool at the committee's disposal will hopefully cause those few to begin respecting our sport or go off and do something else."

"But there's even a greater loophole in the new language. Instead of applying to competitors who are "contacted", the rule only applies to wishful thinkers. If you don't wish for a top score, you can't be visited."

"Think about how insane it would appear to anyone unfamiliar with amateur radio if you told him/her that you participate in an annual contest, that is solely a hobby, to obtain a plaque and bragging rights among your peers, but were subject to such scrutiny that you had to agree to
allow a total stranger into your home in order to be observed during the event!"

CQ Contest Digest, Volume 80, Issue 24.
"We in our no-monetary-prize environment are not alone."

"I agree, it's not the Americas Cup but I suggest it is the equivalent. What other competitive event (in Amateur Radio) holds the prestige of the ARRL and CQ dx contests?"

"One of the things that holds contesting back is flagrant cheating by a handful at the tops of the standings, which up until now has gone largely unanswered. I applaud efforts by the sponsor to control that, and by so doing making the results more meaningful."

CQ Contest Digest Volume 80, Issue 25.
"I don't think there's any disconnect in comparing elite amateur athletes of any kind against elite radiosport competitors."

CQ Contest Digest Volume 80, Issue 26.
"Do the 99% of you here honestly believe the committee is going to ask to send an observer to your station? I don't see the hysteria as being warranted."

"I agree that it's not a disconnect to compare Amateur Radio operators with elite amateur athletes - generally the elite spend considerable time and money to be at the top of the "game." And, there's a big temptation in all cases to cheat."

"As a "NON CHEATER", I do not advocate the use of home invasions to satisfy one amateur's need to observe another amateur win a contest fair and square. And, it is MOST CERTAIN, the suspected cheater will never cheat while the inspection is taking place!"

CQ Contest Digest Volume 80, Issue 27.
"Open logs AND live station inspections are BOTH part of the same course of direction being taken by the CQWW contest committee to quell suspicions of cheating."

"Personally, I think there is that much cheating going on, and I welcome station inspections and open logs."

CQ Contest Digest Volume 80, Issue 28.
"I personally doubt that it will affect the participation [sic. Rule Change] in any significant way."

"If you want a seat at the big table then you have to play by the rules."

"Take a deep breath guys, there isn't a "Contest SWAT Team"."

"[W]e do it (most of us) to have fun and maybe have a chance at winning."

CQ Contest Digest, Volume 80, Issue 29.
"It is up to us to establish a radiosport culture that does not reward or accept cheating, celebrating instead competition on its merits."

Note: I must sustain the highest level of competitive ethical conduct when engaging in RadioSport activities that is personal leadership in my shack.

73 from the shackadelic.

Resuming Regular Transmissions But First

I'm home after 7 days on the American prairie and this is not a cheer leading post either. My overall impression; we have made a catastrophic mistake because a harsh reality is forthcoming. The great real estate grab is roaring toward a halt. The cash excavation machine consumed everything connected to the American Dream.

Let me begin with a story told by Brent who owns a business on the prairie. A couple whose combined income equaled around 80K per year bought their first home. He was a radiologist and she was a secretary in a city whose population ranges around 60 thousand. The industrial base in this city is mining, tourism, and health. Unwilling to accept neighbors, they also, bought the property next door. Roughly, 400K in debt, the couple financed a full sized basketball court in the empty lot next door. Too make ends meet, they slept on the floor, filled their new home with lawn furniture then decided to punch out, because of debt-to-income ratio. Wage and salary in the county did not sustain their ambitions because of a layoff.

One cannot sell a super sized dream full of lawn furniture and sleeping bags. The couple opted instead for a house full of Rent-A-Center furniture leased week-to-week. Brent mentioned such a practice was common in the area. In addition, sub-divisions collapsed, as income strapped couples deluded by sub-prime mania simply turned in their keys and walked. The good faith and credit of our Republic never entered into the equation.

I met Brent while looking at the one and only wind driven generator in the area. We chatted for about an hour discussing the monumental population shift into ill conceived suburbs sitting on wind blown hills full of grass hoppers. How long will the 2.5 American family put up with millions of flying critters while wind acts on their new home? I observed green pimple power poles strewn across acres of incomplete housing tracts. No forthcoming homes as cricket sound drifted across the prairie. There is a good reason why early pioneers did not build on the crest of a hill. There is a good reason why the Great Depression taught the Republic to save and invest wisely.

The American super sized dream was packaged into estate this or estate that while everyone ate a piece of Apple pie. According to Brent, from the bankers to the brokers to the buyers, everyone snatched a piece without any regard for the future. The buck did not stop anywhere. This is the final symphonic movement for the Me generation or I might add, "I Got Mine" generation.

On the other hand, what happened to copper plumbing in modern homes? Plastic plumbing did not inspire my confidence (eg. 20 or 30-year sustainability). An enormous re-construction bill is looming just beyond the horizon when material failures begin outpacing one's checkbook. Fixtures like the faucet were loose and cracks already developed at molding joints. I cannot imagine the material soundness of the roof?

Yet, the great cash excavation machine hums at capacity because subsidiary businesses on a colossal retail scale continue mining what remains. I was struck dumbfounded to find the California Tract Mall model smack dab in the middle of the prairie. The signature Mom and Pop business model bulldozed for the already imploding California model. I visualized a mining conveyor belt moving millions out of the county, after stripping mining resources, operations cease and desist. County governments will bare the brunt of this storm.

The great prairie land grab is grinding to a halt according to Brent. He mentioned, the city typically lags our national economy by a year, so next year, coastal economic tides will crest on the beaches of the prairie. One observes body language, as if the final call for alcohol rang out in the bar, in the faces of construction workers. They know time is running out.

I sensed a subdued feeling while waking through airports. The frenetic feeling of decades past replaced by quiet reflection. I did not burn up a cash register and traveled on a cash only budget. Yet, I felt like I was watching the final symphonic movement playing itself out on the prairie, while contractual housing credit writes the legacy chapter on the "I Got Mine" generation.

Resuming regular transmissions.