Preparation is nine-tenths sweat and the remainder? Practice. Practice. Practice.
Sweepstakes 2009 was a teaching year in terms of station preparation and operating behind a microphone. I did not anticipate a dismal CW effort however watching N1MM 10-minute rate meter peaking at 170 during our multi-operator effort was encouraging; there is another level to RadioSport beyond the condo contest station.
Giving up did not enter my goal equation instead I focused on re-building and continuous improvement.
I purchased an Acer Aspire 5532-5535 notebook which interfaces with my Yaesu FT100 transceiver. Its price was budget friendly and its specifications are within the scope of my operating needs for example; the processor is an AMD Athlon 64 processor with a 1.6 GHz clock, 3 giga byte of memory, and Windows 7 operating system.
I can grow into the notebook for three or more years at best.
Additionally, I downloaded VOACAP as my propagation prediction program, because it offers an opportunity to learn in greater detail. The best propagation tool for learning is K9LA's Amateur Radio Propagation website; Karl offers 1.) Basic concepts, 2.) General, and, 3.) Tutorials for entry-level RadioSport operators. Additionally, one can download VOACAP and follow K9LA's how-to instructions in his tutorial section.
Propagation and antenna system(s) are inseparable. I recommend pushing yourself and learn how propagation interacts with our radio spectrum -- go for the difficult. I followed K9LA's Using VOACAP tutorial yesterday evening with positive results predicting maximum usable frequency between Shell Beach and Japan.
Budget and thrifty like propagation and antenna system(s) are inseparable.
I re-purposed garden fencing because I cannot bury the radials for my 3-band trapped vertical. Our adobe soil is like cement until the rains arrive. I'm learning from the spirit of RadioSport not to settle for just-good-enough. I had a just-good-enough signal going into Sweepstakes CW, now, I want a quality signal; whatever one's circumstances just-good-enough is not enough anymore.
What seems like an impossible situation is not necessarily one's circumstance at the time.
Improvement is a continuous process, learning is fun, and RadioSport spirit is greater than Murphy sipping corn whiskey on a bar stool at the Last Chance saloon.
73 from the shackadelic on the beach.
Photograph 1 re-purposed garden fence supporting 20 and 15m quarter wave radials.
Photograph 2 illustrates my ugly choke in addition PL259 connectors are grounded against radial plate. Hardware needed to improve connector to ground plate interface.
Photograph 3 taken from the ground plate facing toward the northeast as seen from antenna lab.
