Posts from — August 2007

One of the great things about taking the contesting commentary out of the printed page and putting them up on web sites is the fact that electrons are a lot cheaper then paper and mail — meaning more information can be posted online than printed.

The upshot? Contesting isn’t fair. All one needs to do is look at the contest rules and figure out where to go to maximize the score.

Most of us, however, are not that fortunate to travel where the points are high and the winning is easy. Instead, we contest from our homes, wherever they may be, and do the best we can. We contest for our goals, our fun, and our reasons.

But, if we give an all out effort from a geographically challenged area (my only lot in life…), our efforts are ignored on the printed page and the glory goes to those who are fortunate enough to be located in the right location with corresponding skills.

However, there is an effort to recruit those who can write about the “regional” effort put forth by contesters and publish the stories in the online version of the contest results. These regional writeups really tell the story of the contest for where the contester is located.

Whether it is the Black Hole of the Midwest or the the propagation lost in the Pacific Islands during the noon hours, we can have our triumphs, challenges and victories for the region that we operate.

Contact your favorite contest sponsor and ask to do a regional writeup of the activities in your area. It will make us all be winners in the contesting game.

Scot, K9JY

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One of the most interesting statements coming from the Pacific Northwest DX Convention this weekend was the commentary around coming to terms with “Internet” stations located around the globe and how they should be treated in a contest.

The deal is, networking software allows stations to be anywhere on the planet if designed correctly.

WriteLog, for example, has an “Internet” option for networking that was specifically created for the IARU contest when the ARRL Headquarters station was to be located in Texas. The twist: instead of all the radios and antennas being located on a single property, the hams thought to take the best contesting stations by band across the state, network them as if they were one station and have them work their band for the contest.

All of the stations were connected via the Internet and there was real-time updating of the scores, passing of multipliers, and frequency location for each of the stations on the air around the state.

The deal is, this isn’t limited to states. The limitation is the planet. If there is Internet access, this can be done around the globe.

So, the technology is there. Stations will connect with each other during the contests. The real issue here is: how does contesting embrace the technology? How to create contesting classes that promotes globe trotting to a contest location where the scores actually count?

It’s an interesting question. And, for any of you that think this is unfair as teams will go to the high point areas and operate to win, contesting as it stands is unfair based upon geography and your point in the sunspot cycle anyway.

The real question is: how to embrace this technology to increase participation on the air during contests?

Increasing participation on the bands is the ham radio winner. Nothing like a lot of activity on the bands to prove their worth. Nothing like taking networking technology to a new level to show how ham radio is different — and needed.

What do you think? Care to partner up with a contester in EU plus JA plus Africa plus Stateside to have a team contest? It’s really interesting.

Scot, K9JY

One of the overlooked resources for contesters, especially new contesters, is a white paper on the ARRL web site that asks and answers the hard questions about the ethics of contesting.

Beyond “reading the rules,” the white paper looks at when the contest is over, sanitizing logs, interacting with other contesters, and the use of spots in a contest.

At the Pacific Northwest DX Convention, Ward, N0AX, talked through some of these items as a member of the Contest Advisory Committee.

I didn’t know about the white paper, but went and read it after the convention. It is a good, thoughtful read and I’d recommend it for any contester.

You can find it at the ARRL Site as HF Contesting — Good Practices, Interpretations and Suggestions. You do not need to be a member to see the article.

By the way, Ward mentioned that 95% of the logs from a contest are now electronic — and uploaded within one week of the contest date. Certainly, contesters are processing the “electronic paperwork” well.

Scot, K9JY

Attending the Pacific NW DX Convention this weekend, I had the privilege of seeing the new Yaesu FT-450 radio. The cool thing about this radio is the weight — just under eight pounds and providing full coverage through six meters.

Since I spend a good amount of time and thought on radios for DXpeditions, the FT-450 immediately comes up as a great alternative to my current radio. Easily fitting into a carry on bag, the radio really breaks the weight barrier.

The presenter who used the radio wanted to find out if the receiver would really do the trick in HF pileups…and it did.

Another cool thing: redundancy. Since the radio is only 8-pounds, you can take two with you for the weight of one radio.

Time to do some more research, for sure. Interfaces, FSK RTTY…all need to be looked into. But, I’m looking!

Here’s a quick six second video of the FT-450 from Dayton. Think of an FT-1000MP at 1/3 the size.

YouTube  Yaesu FT-450

If you have a need for something like this for either DXpeditions or in your car, it’s worth a serious look.

Scot, K9JY

And a really cool contesting song as well.

YouTube  K6OX

About six and a half minutes long. With some good commentary on the public service aspects of ham radio as well.

Scot, K9JY

Here’s the latest on the update to the WriteLog User Site:

Completed sections:

First Time Setup

• Files
• Radio Settings
• Setup
• Window Functions
• Saving Your Configuration

Specialized Setup

• Entry

Much more to do in this category.

WriteLog Windows

• QSO Entry
• Super Check Partial
• Check Call
• Packet
• Rate
• Sked
• Band Map

Still to go: QSO Log Editing and Show Multipliers

WriteLog.ini

• General Settings
• Band Map
• CW Settings
• Rigs
• RTTY

This section is complete.

Sections still to do:

Other Subjects, such as how to arrange windows, exchange fields, master data, sound cards, etc.

Plus “After the Contest” for reporting and sending in Cabrillo files.

I’m pleased with the progress. I’m also cleaning up a lot of code, so the site should run a lot faster as well.

You can access the site at: http://writelog.k9jy.com

Scot, K9JY