This Weekend In RadioSport | Bill Windle QSO Party

RadioSport International | Bill Windle QSO Party.
This event is not complex instead its objective is straightforward for those who are First Class CW Operators or for those who are willing to obtain this distinction as a noteworthy, personal accomplishment.

The essentials of the First Class CW Operators Club (FOC) are 1.) Clean signal, 2.) A willingness to slow down to 3 words per minute for the struggling beginner, 3.) A helping hand for the aspirant down the street and, 4.) A feeling of one-ness who would like to see the level of Amateur Radio rise.

Perhaps, it is time for me to re-visit my Amateur Radio ideals, to set my sights on a noble pursuit. One must labor to the level of First Class CW Operator and, for me, this is the kind of stuff where leaders are forged while in the pursuit of excellence. One's ascent is a formalized process. It is not easy and requires determination and focus.

The purpose of the Bill Windle QSO Party is to encourage the use of and excellence in Morse code.

Download rules from WA7BNM's 8-Day Calendar (link). Additionally, note the exchange as a non-member and one must call CQ BW during the event.

73 from the shackadelic on the beach.

The Future Of RadioSport | ContestRank

Let the competition begin for those outside the Box or for those inside the Box.

ContestRank staked its Internet position with this statement, "This site was developed with the desire to acknowledge the participation and achievements of all contesters, worldwide, while providing a source for contest and contest-related information."

The goal at ContestRank is to present a contest ranking system that rewards participating operators actively involved in events other than the majors, effectively; the team deployed what was often spoken about, "The contest within a contest."

One begins to imagine the potential for RadioSport when this concept is widely adopted by worldwide operators. ContestRank adds value to my score moving competition against personal best to competition against an array of global competitors in addition to personal best.

Their model enhances RadioSport while providing an outlet for those outside of the Box or for those inside the Box as well. ContestRank takes RadioSport to the granular level and delivers a meaningful intrinsic product for those who want to compete.

I registered and discovered my open rank is 24,921 with a -8 position. Additionally, the website has an intuitive user interface and easy-to-navigate with multiple points of competitive interest.

Please be patient when registering. It takes the system a little bit of time to process and verify one's email account.

Thank you Kazik, DJ0MCZ for your lead email and your brother Leszek, SP9LJD for his exceptional, stand out website.

73 from the shackadelic on the beach.

3830 Claimed Scores | 2009 ARRL Sweepstakes v.CW | Low Power

Multiple Operator.

• W4WS (@W4NC) | 18 Qs | 17 Mults | 612 Points [PVRC].

Single Operator (S/O).

• N5AW | 1228 Qs | 80 Mults | 24hrs | 196,480 Points [CTDXCC].
  
• K7BG | 1205 Qs | 80 Mults | 23hrs56mins| 192,800 Points [Northern Rockies DX].
• N4OGW | 1202 Qs | 80 Mults | 24hrs | 192,320 Points [ACG].

SO Unlimited.

• VE1OP | 786 Qs | 80 Mults | 12.5hrs | 125,760 Points [MCC].
• N9XX | 772 Qs | 80 Mults | 21hrs | 123,520 Points [SMC].
• KM6I | 624 Qs | 80 Mults | 22hrs | 99,840 Points [NCCC].

The difference, when operator's clean sweep the multiplier map, is logged contacts. The next step in the process is log adjudication and successful copy of the exchange drives the top slots with eventual appearance in the Box. My congratulations to each because operating low-power is not easy and requires above average station engineering.

I would like to thank both Gordon, KM6I and Walt, N6XG for recording our Qs on 80m early Sunday morning. I'm inspired to push my signal quality and assured that I'm properly zero beating in addition 45-watts can successfully accomplish the mission!

Pour on the CQ.

2009 Sweepstakes v.CW Raw Score

Murphy. Murphy. He is notorious like a gunslinger of Clint Eastwood lineage sipping wrought gut, corn whiskey from a shot glass. He knocked at shackadelic's door this weekend, "C'mon punk. Make my day."

I lost.

Unusual problems lead to unusual solutions. I had a first-time ever radio frequency interference (RFI) cross hatching problem into the television set on Saturday afternoon. One can quickly take down Murphy or the skirmish can drag on, and on, and on. I substituted my doublet on the high bands (15m and 20m) with my 3-band trap vertical on Sunday morning.

The south leg of the doublet was tucked away from the vertical and I coiled my 450 Ohm window line as well. Would the doublet distort the signal pattern of the vertical? I was satisfied with performance however competing with dense packed signals on 20m was problematic.

Raw Score.
80m | 16 Qs | 7 Multipliers.
40m | 9 Qs | 4 Multipliers.
20m | 23 Qs | 15 Multipliers.
15m | 1 Q | 1 Multiplier.

Total Q = 49
Total Mults = 27
Total Points = 2,646

73 from the shackadelic on the beach.