Posts from — October 2007

Jamie, NS3T, has updated his contest reporting site at radio-sport.net site — your home for ham radio contest news. On it right now you will find the big news about the big contest — CQ WW SSB contest at the end of October. Jamie gives us nine different stories from different angles about the premier SSB contest for the season.

In addition, for those who may not know it, the 2010 WRTC Rules require contesting slots only to the deserving — by how well competitors place in contests leading up to the 2010 WRTC.

Radio-sport.net is THE place to find out the current standings of the deserving. Jamie has split off his WRTC coverage into a sub-domain of the main radio-sport.net site. In it, he has the only website “where you can get worldwide qualifying numbers for the World Radiosport Team Championships.” The URL for the WRTC qualifying numbers is http://wrtc.radio-sport.net/.

As a writer, producing content is both easy and challenging. I can tell from looking at radio-sport.net that Jamie has put a tremendous amount of effort in providing a great contesting news site for the deserving. Go check it out.

Scot, K9JY

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One of the consequences of contesting is that you receive a great number of QSL cards in response to the contacts. And, unlike direct cards where cards come in day by day or Log of the World where there is a file upload, bureau cards come in an envelope from your local bureau.

My pile came in Friday. 150 VP9/K9JY QSL requests (we went there in 2005) plus another 100 or so for K9JY.

Looking at the pile on the desk is not something that attracts me to go and attack.

But, earlier in the year, I had read about Global QSL, a service that proclaims to print color cards on two sides, put your QSL information on the card and send them off to the appropriate bureau all for a very reasonable price. It seemed like it might be a good solution.

Requirements? Download their QSL creation program, place your pictures and text on the card using the program, upload it to their site, and then upload your ADIF file of the QSL’s you want printed to them and they take it from there.

It was an interesting and good experience. I’ll explain a bit more as we go through the week.

Scot, K9JY

microHAM notes that a new version of the USB Device Router (5.0.1) is now available.

Outside of Vista support, it also significantly improves the CW sending on dual-CPU computers.

Also announced: the MKII is now shipping.

Check out all of the details at microHAM USA.

Scot, K9JY

One of the good things to do before operating in a contest is to know what special operations will be on the air for your particular contest.

NG3K offers a great website resource that updates the latest announcements of contest expeditions (and planned DXpeditions) at his Amateur Radio Contesting Resources and Information page.

Check it out before your next contest and be ready to work those special contest stations.

Scot, K9JY

For September, I gave myself a challenge: post one ham radio contesting tip a day to kick off the fall contesting season. The subject matter was easy as I love contesting. The challenge was in writing thirty articles, as well as a few others, during the month instead of my normal 20-25.

What I didn’t want to do was have one article with a simple listing of 30-tips. I wanted to go into a little more depth with each of the tips so that some reasoning and explanation could take place.

But, it’s tough to scroll through the entire month of September to find those tips, so I’m consolidating them here.

Thanks for all of your comments and writing references to these articles; I really appreciate it.

30 Ham Radio Contesting Tips:

1. Schedule your Contests. The really great thing about contesting is they are regularly scheduled — regardless of great propagation, DXpeditions or the mood of the sun.
2. Create a contest goal. Goals are good and help motivate you while participating.
3. Contest on your terms. Contest for and be motivated by your reasons. Not everyone is out to win the contest; it could be you want to learn a new mode.
4. Have an operating plan. Having a plan provides you guidance for the contest and a baseline to compare against reality in the midst of battle.
5. Test equipment before the contest. You do want your stuff to work, right?
6. Update Multiplier Files. Downloading the latest ensures you won’t miss a juicy multiplier during the contest.
7. Read the contest rules. You’d be surprised how often this bites you — even experienced contesters.
8. Work a contest one month before the real contest. The sun rotates once a month (27 days)…so work a contest the month before to experience the propagation you will have before the one you really want to concentrate on later.
9. Test ergonomics. Sitting in a chair contesting a long while will test how well your station is laid out for operating.
10. Have a guest op checklist. What should you bring as a guest op?
11. Compete with a partner. Work a contest with someone in your club (together or at your individual stations). Discuss what worked and what didn’t about the contest.
12. Review Newsletter for Contest DXpeditions. Lots of people travel for contests. Make sure you take a look at the list from your favorite ham radio newsletter.
13. Have propagation plan. Propagation programs can suggest what will be open where. Having a propagation plan can give you a guide while contesting.
14. Filter your packet connection. If the contest allows packet, filter the connection to match up with your station.
15. Accurate logging. A contest is about working stations — and logging them accurately. If you don’t you get penalized.
16. Send in your log. Even if you didn’t work many stations, you can help the contest by sending in your log to help enable log checking.
17. Logbook of The World. Want to reduce your QSL’ing chores for contests? Submit your log to Logbook of The World for instant confirmations for you and the people you contact.
18. Review UBN’s. Uniques, Busted, and Not in the Log. It’s how your log is viewed for accuracy.
19. Have a QSL System. Even if you use Log of the World, contesters get a lot of QSL card requests. Have a system for processing them.
20. Use a grey line map. Grey line propagation is the cat’s meow. Having a visual representation of where the grey line is right now can help you point your antennas the right way.
21. Learn a single band. Want to learn propagation on a band fast? Do a contest on a single band. You’ll learn.
22. Challenge your operating skill with QRP. Get frustrated fast. Operate a contest QRP from your station. Then learn how to get through the mess for points. It will make you a better operator.
23. Do an After Action Review. Did we achieve our goal, what went right, what could be improved. Record the results for the next contest.
24. Join a contesting club. Amp up your contesting knowledge and motivation.
25. Learn from contesting pros. They are out there. They can teach you a lot.
26. Leverage your strengths. Great CW operator? Great antennas? Whatever your strength, leverage it for the contest.
27. Go on a contesting DXpedition. Even if it is to a different state. It’s a very different experience and will teach you a lot.
28. Practice CW before contests. Notice how much better you are at CW at the end of the contest compared to the start? You need to practice before the contest.
29. Participate on a contesting team. Many contests offer team (versus club) entries. Join a team to up your motivation for the contest.
30. Find joy in contesting. It’s there. You know it. Go find it.

There are many more contesting tips, of course. But thirty to start out the fall contesting season seemed like the right number for me.

I had great fun writing these. Enjoy the resource.

Scot, K9JY

When you contest from big stations, you are really trying to get to the “fourth level” of stations that are in the contest.

The concept of levels is interesting, but probably not well known. Here’s my definition of the three levels of stations in a contest:

1. The mega-stations. They open the band. They close the band. If you can’t hear them, the band isn’t open. K3LR, W3LPL.
2. The “typical” ham station. On the higher bands, a tri-band beam. On the lower bands, a competitive vertical with lots of radials or a very high dipole in relation to wavelengths. Usually have an amplifier as well. Oh, that I should have a typical ham station…
3. The “wire” station. All wires or a multi- band vertical on all bands. May or may not be optimal in terms of height for wavelength or not enough radials to be effective. Most likely running barefoot. But, they are on the air and can work people in optimum conditions.
4. The “attic antenna” station. When you get QSL’s from stations that have wire antennas in attics running 5-watts, you’ve hit the fourth level.

If you think about it, working a contest is working at the noise level. The bigger the antennas, the better you can hear those fourth level stations trying to work you. And in the game of maximizing contacts and multipliers, getting to the fourth level is what differentiates great contest stations from contest stations.

Scot, K9JY