Contest

The National Contest JournalVolume 28 Number 3 May/June 20002National Contest Journal (ISSN 0899-0131) is publishedbimonthly in January, March, May, July, September andNovember by the American Radio Relay League, 225Main Street, Newington, CT 06111-1494. Yearlysubscription rate is $18. Other rates are listed below.Periodicals postage paid at Hartford, CT and atadditional mailing offices.POSTMASTER: Form 3579 requested. Send addresschanges to: National Contest Journal, 225 Main St,Newington, CT 06111-1494PublisherAmerican Radio Relay League225 Main Street, Newington, CT 06111Telephone: 860-594-0200fax: 860-594-0259 (24-hour direct line)Electronic Mail: hq@arrl.orgWorld Wide Web: http://www.arrl.org/EditorDennis Motschenbacher, K7BV4357 Appollonio Way, Carson City, NV 89704editor@ncjweb.comNCJ WWW PageBruce Horn, Webmasterhttp://www.ncjweb.com/ARRL OfficersPresident: Jim Haynie, W5JBPExecutive Vice President:David Sumner, K1ZZContributing EditorsGary Sutcliffe, W9XT—Contest Tips, Tricks & TechniquesWard Silver, N0AX—NCJ ProfilesJon Jones, N0JK—VHF-UHF Contesting!Carl Luetzelschwab, K9LA—PropagationDennis Motschenbacher, K7BV—Contest DX-VenturesJoe Staples, W5ASP—International ContestsJoe Pontek, K8JP—The Contest TravelerSean Kutzko, KX9X—DXpedition DestinationsWayne Matlock, K7WM—RTTY ContestingRon Stark, KU7Y—Contesting for FunBruce Horn, WA7BNM—Contest CalendarARRL CAC RepresentativeLew Sayre, W7EWPO Box 3110, Salem, OR 97302lew@teleport.comNorth American QSO Party, CWBob Selbrede, K6ZZ6200 Natoma Ave, Mojave, CA 93501cwnaqp@ncjweb.comNorth American QSO Party, PhoneBruce Horn, WA7BNM4225 Farmdale Ave, Studio City, CA 91604ssbnaqp@ncjweb.comNorth American QSO Party, RTTYRon Stailey, K5DJ504 Dove Haven Dr, Round Rock, TX 78664rttynaqp@ncjweb.comNorth American Sprint, CWMark Obermann, AG9A6713 Forestview, Ln, Niles, IL 60714cwsprint@ncjweb.comNorth American Sprint, PhoneRick Niswander, K7GMPO Box 2701, Greenville, NC 27836ssbsprint@ncjweb.comNorth American Sprint, RTTYWayne Matlock, K7WMRt 2, Box 102, Cibola, AZ 85328rttysprint@ncjweb.comAdvertising Information Contact:John Bee, N1GNV, ARRL; tel 860-594-0207;fax 860-594-0259; ads@arrl.orgNCJ subscription orders, changes of address, and reportsof missing or damaged copies should be addressed toARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111 and be markedNCJ Circulation. ARRL members are asked to includetheir membership control number or their QST mailing label.Letters, articles, club newsletters and other editorialmaterial should be submitted to NCJ,4357 Appollonio Way, Carson City, NV 89704The NA Sprint and NA QSO Parties are not sponsored bythe ARRL.Yearly Subscription rates: In the US $18US, Canada and Mexico by First Class Mail $26Elsewhere by Surface Mail $28 (4-8 week delivery)Elsewhere by Airmail $36All original material not attributed to another source iscopyright © 2000 by The American Radio Relay League,Inc. Materials may be excerpted from the NCJ without priorpermission provided that the original contributor iscredited, and the NCJ is identified as the source.In order to insure prompt delivery, we ask that youperiodically check the address information on your mailinglabel. If you find any inaccuracies, please contact theCirculation Department immediately. Thank you for yourassistance.TABLE OF CONTENTS3 Editorial Dennis Motschenbacher, K7BVFEATURES4 The Bavarian Contest Club’s DXpedition to Pennsylvania Charles Fulp, K3WW6 The RSGB Islands on the Air (IOTA) Contest Chris Burbanks, G3SJJ9 Field Day in Europe Heinrick “Hein” Langkopf, DL2OBF10 All-Time Field Day Records Denis Catalano, W4DC12 Multi-Multi—No Limits? Larry “Tree” Tyree, N6TR13 World Wide Young Contesters Club Chris Hurlbut, KL9A14 The Monoband Log-Cell Yagi Revisited—Part 3 L. B. Cebik, W4RNL19 WRTC2000—The US Guys Dave Patton, NT1N21 Contest Club Finland’s 6 th International Contest Meeting in Helsinki, FinlandAri Korhonen, OH1EH22 Simple Pleasures are the Best Mark Beckwith, N5OT25 Quick and Easy Two Radio Switching Bill Kennamer, K5NX26 NCJ Profiles—Robert Bajuk, S57AW H. Ward Silver, N0AX29 Kid’s Day—June 17, 2000 Jean Wolfgang, WB3IOSCOLUMNS27 Contest Calendar Bruce Horn, WA7BNM28 International Contests Joe Staples, W5ASP30 Contesting for Fun Ron Stark, KU7Y32 Contest Tips, Tricks & Techniques Gary Sutcliffe, W9XT34 VHF-UHF Contesting! Jon K. Jones, N0JK35 RTTY Contesting Wayne Matlock, K7WM37 Propagation Carl Luetzelschwab, K9LACONTESTS40 NAQP Records through August 1999 Bob Selbrede, K6ZZ42 North American QSO Party (NAQP) RTTY RulesNCJ Advertising IndexAmerican Radio Relay League: Cov IIArray Solution: 45Atomic Time, Inc.: 9Bencher, Inc.: 46CABLE X-PERTS: 1Clark Electronics: 13Command Technologies: 44ComTek Systems: 18Dunestar Systems: 43Force 12: 48GAP Antenna Products: 45Geo Distributing: 18ICOM America Inc.: Cov IVIIX Equipment Ltd.: 31Kangaroo Tabor Software: 46K0XG, R. Hassell-Bennett: 45N4XM, XMatch Antenna Tuner: 43NA Contest Logging Software: 33Productivity Resources: 43QSLs By W4MPY: 25Roy Lewallen, W7EL: 46Sommer Antennas: 44Texas Towers: Cover IIITop Ten Devices: 41W2IHY, Julius D. Jones: 47World Radio Sport TeamChampionship 2000: 24WriteLog for Windows: 27

EditorialDecember 8 th , 1999 is a day I will notforget for many years to come.I started my day going to my doctor’soffice—at his request. I knew he had justreceived my blood work-ups from myannual physical so even I could figure outthat his urgent call probably wasn’t toswap contest stories (my doc is a ham).But I wasn’t prepared to hear that hethought there were indications that I mayhave cancer and that we needed to dofurther testing to find out where it was.I left his office in a daze, trying to figureout the answers to all the questions thatscreamed in my head. Like “Tell the wife,don’t tell the wife.” I did tell her thatevening knowing she would knowsomething was wrong. We sat togetherdiscussing the matter.We were interrupted by a phone callthat would swing my emotions far to theother end of the spectrum. Ralph, K9ZO,wanted to know if I would be his partnerat WRTC2000. I guess I finally popped afuse and water began to flow from myeyes as I tried to thank Ralph for thehonor he was sharing with me, all thetime silently wondering if I would be alivein July. My heart pounded in my chest asI unsuccessfully tried to decide if I shouldtell Ralph… and maybe lose what wasmost likely my one shot to make it to theBig Game.I needed some time alone, after which Imade a telephone call to my step-pop,Bob. He had been my biggest cheerleaderand mentor since my first days strugglingto stop drinking nine years ago. He hasrejoiced right beside me with every littlestep I took rejoining “life” with all of its gooddays and bad days, all the time bravelydealing with his own cancer. Bob wasabsolutely tickled to hear about the callfrom Ralph but after I passed along theother news, all he could say was “Oh, Godno” over and over. We agreed to talk later.But his cancer suddenly won the wartwo days later in a shocking unexpectedugly final battle before we could againspeak.The next 30 days seemed like 30 weeksas my testing continued. I was going nutstrying to stay focused on my work and lifein general. It was like somebody hadpushed my “Hold” button. That is until Imade a decision to take a few of my friendsinto my confidence regarding the matter,hoping to find a little comfort being able tolaugh… and maybe cry, about the situation.And that is the point of why I am sharing allthis with you.Every single one of the names thatcame into my mind was a contester friend.I really did not realize until that momentjust how full my life was with AmateurRadio friendships.I am sure that my thoughts during thoseweeks were similar if not identical tothose anyone else would have who waswalking around pretty much convincedthat the Big Contest was coming to anend a heck of a lot faster than expected.Not wanting to waste a moment oftime, I found myself spending a lot ofquiet time reviewing the state of affairs ofmy personal life, my business, and myhobby. I was looking for the peace that Iintuitively knew would come if I couldbelieve that I had done all that wasneeding to be done so those areas couldcontinue without my interplay if I had toquietly step out of the flow of things.I also pondered how one does this dyingthing with dignity and in a manner thatwould leave a smile instead of sadness.Fortunately, Bob had by example providedme with the some answers that will forevernow be a part of me.My businesses had a ton of insurancetaken out on me and would probably behappy to have me out from under theirfingernails—so that part of my life washandled. My dear loving Asian wife wasstrong and independent now because ofall the work we have done to make herthat way, so, though sad, I could still feelsatisfaction that I had “succeeded” in thataspect of my life.I did find peace knowing that the NCJ,which we share together, was doing fine,had a great staff of columnist and contestmanagers and wouldn’t miss a beat. Itwould probably take these guys a coupleissues before they would even know I wasmissing! I got just as much satisfactionfrom this fact as I did from the other twoparts of my life because it meant that Ifinally believed that I had given somethingback to the hobby I loved and had taken joyfrom for so many years.That hobby is really YOU—the radios,antennas and plaques on the wall are alljust a function of YOU. What I foundduring those disturbing times was that Iwas very grateful for YOU. Without YOU,there was no hobby.January 3 rd came with the news that,almost without a doubt, my cancer scarewas over. It took a week to screw my headback on so it once again would allow me toget back in gear working on those longtermDXpedition plans, antenna projectsand, of course, breaking into cold sweatsthinking about all the competition over inSlovenia in a few weeks.I do all those things with a totally newprospective. Forgive me if I don’t join inon some of the heated discussions thatpop up on the reflectors from time to timeabout things that are so petty as to behumorous. I trust you will accept the factthat I am more interested in just enjoyingthe contest with YOU than some minisculeconcern about an obscure rule here andthere.Thank YOU for the great times wehave shared together over the years.And this NCJ ride with YOU will surely beDennis Motschenbacher, K7BVk7bv@aol.coma particularly satisfying memory for meforever.73 Dennis MotschenbacherThe New NCJ Web SiteI am continually humbled by thevoluntary contributions of time and talentthat are made by contesters that supportthe NCJ’s effort to bring fun andexcellence to Amateur Radio contesting.I am proud and pleased to announce thatone such contribution brings an all-newNCJ Web site into existence for youruse and enjoyment.Bruce Horn, WA7BNM, has spentmonths preparing the Web site—timeaway from the rig. And he tells me whatyou see today is only the beginning. Wehave several additional innovative ideasinvolving using the Web site to furtherincrease the value of the NCJ magazineand NAQP and NA Sprint contests. Makeregular visits to the new site so you donot miss them as they are implementedover the next several months.Visit http://www.ncjweb.com soon,constructive comments are appreciated!I trust that the readers will join me, theNCJ columnists and contest managersand the ARRL in thanking Bob, K2UT, fordesigning and maintaining the originalNCJ Web site. Many of you took your firststeps into contesting thanks to Bob’sefforts to provide a place for everyone tolearn about the magazine and contestingin general.Thank you, Bob and Bruce.Jay, VY1JA—YT, YU, YUK, NWTContesters all over the world celebratedJay, VY1JA’s, recent return to activecontesting. Jay, who had become apopular and talented contester filling outso many Clean Sweeps, had to rathersuddenly get off the air and liquidate hisgear to deal with personal matters. Thingshave improved and he has returned!He sends along this message:“It is great to be back in the contestsagain. Thank you to all that helped somuch.In the last ARRL DX contests, a numberof ops had a problem with their softwareagain. I gave out YT or ‘Yankee Tango’as the multiplier, and was again caughtby ops that were frustrated because theycould not get their software to accept YT.It takes time to suggest ‘Try YU, YUK orVY1’ until they finally have success—time that would have been better spentsending the YT multiplier to the other opswho are standing by listening to thisrepeated fiasco.I have written in the past to the cqcontestreflector, RAC, ARRL, contestorganizations, as well as CT, NA, TR,Writelog, and other contest software(Continued on page 11)3

The Bavarian Contest Club’sDXpedition to PennsylvaniaCharles Fulp, K3WWk3ww@fast.netWe read a lot of stories aboutDXpeditions to exotic places around theglobe. This story is about a contestDXpedition to the USA by Europeanoperators!—’BVK3WW Hosts a DXpeditionOn April 8 th , 1999 I received an e-mailfrom Bill, K3ANS. Our friend K2NJ hadput out feelers for a place for Ben,DL6RAI, and Peter, DL2NBU, to operatethe CQ WPX CW Contest. They wouldbe touring the US after attending theDayton Hamvention. I thought about itfor a day and then sent Ben a messageexplaining that I usually don’t spend muchtime in the WPX, but that I could host aM/S effort. I mentioned that my station isa little user-unfriendly, but that they werewelcome to use it if they couldn’t find abetter alternative.The next morning I got a reply. Ben hadvisited my station on a previous trip to ourarea—11 years ago—and thought it wouldbe an interesting place to stage a M/S. Hewould discuss it with Peter. I let him knowthat I would start organizing the shack—just in case things worked out.A few hours later Ben informed methat the operation was on. He askedabout the second station equipment andabout what they should bring. I sent alengthy reply describing my equipment,antennas and software—and added afew thoughts on strategy. I also hadchecked past US M/S scores and activity.I mentioned that I thought many of thebig stations would not be on, and that wehad a chance of winning the US. Myclosing comment was that my enthusiasmwas perhaps changing the operation froma social event to a competitive challengetoo quickly. I told him there would be nopressure, but if they wanted to see justwhat they could achieve from here, Iwould try to make it fun.Later that day another e-mail arrivedfrom Ben. He agreed with my strategies.He also informed me that they wouldlike to have me do some operating—making us a true three-man M/S. Weexchanged another set of messagesbefore the end of the day, and thenplanned to meet face-to-face in the ContestersLounge at Dayton. After that, theonly correspondence was a briefexchange on US licensing for Peter.New regulations made licensing simple.At Dayton we went over our contestingphilosophies—and found them amazinglysimilar. I am not a great student ofpropagation, especially conditionsduring the WPX CW. My past experiencesindicated that 40 meters was theplace to be whenever I could get anyrate there, getting double points. The10-minute rule would make going to apoor band to grab a multiplier or two amore complex strategic decision.This was the first year in which QSOswith our own country would count for 1point. All the software writers had newversions out to account for this, but I feltit would be best to run the contest on aversion that we had used in the past.The guys were in full agreement, sharingmy paranoia of the newest version ofany software when planning a seriouseffort in a contest. We chatted a fewtimes over the Dayton weekend andthen went our separate ways. The planwas for them to spend the last few daysbefore the contest staying in New Jersey,near K2NJ’s, visiting New York City andWashington DC. They would show up atmy home on the Friday afternoon beforethe contest started.A few phone calls and relayed e-mailsverified that they were visiting all overand working their way towards NewJersey, just across the river from myQTH. On the Friday of the contestweekend, I had a full day of patientsscheduled in my dental office, which isright through the doorway from mybasement shack. Ben and Peter arrivedin mid-afternoon. I showed them theshack, turned the gear on, introducedthem to my wife and returned to mypatients.They quickly got settled into ourguestroom and then spent some timefamiliarizing themselves with the station.I finished work around 5 PM. We did alittle more preparation, found a greatcircle map to post, checked out therotators and the switching, and took asupper break. My wife fed us well allweekend—but this was our last meal asa group until the contest ended. Thecontest starts at 8 PM in Pennsylvania,quite different than the start time inGermany—the wee hours of the morning.Ben’s PerspectiveIt certainly is different here. InGermany, the contest begins at 2 AMlocal time. This usually means eithermaking hectic preparations just beforethe contest or preparing ahead andgetting up to start operating in the middleof the night. We certainly appreciatedthe Eastern US starting time.We had an interesting tour throughthe US and Canada. We covered over5000 miles and visited a number of hamsA pre-contest strategy session. From left to right: Chas,K3WW; Ben, DL6RAI; and Peter, DL2NBU.4From left to right: Peter, DL2NBU; Chas, K3WW; and Ben,DL6RAI.

Peter, DL2NBU, and Ben, DL6RAI—the DL team at work.Ben adds another QSO to the log.on our way from Dayton through W8,W9, VE3, W1, W2, W3 and W4. Wetraveled through sixteen states overalland enjoyed plenty of sightseeing.K3WW’s station for the WPX Contestwas our last stop before our planneddeparture back to Munich.Both Peter and I are contest fanatics.We thought it would be interesting and anice culmination of our tour to experiencea contest from a different part of theworld. CW WPX seems to be morepopular in Europe than in the US. Ipersonally consider it one of the majorfour contests (besides the CQ WW,ARRL DX and WAE).Knowing the call K3WW from manyyears back (my first QSO with K3WWwas in 1981—coincidentally on theFriday before WPX CW), I was anxiousto have another look at the station thatconsistently bangs big signals into myheadphones contest after contest.Recalling my previous visit in 1988, Iremembered seeing lots of equipmentset up in a half circle, computers, packetcluster, the Alt-F4 function—all incrediblethings back then. That earlier visit wasat night, so I didn’t have a chance to seethe antennas. Chas’s combination ofthree TH6/TH7 beams stacked on asingle tower looks quite impressive—and seems to offer an ideal compromisefor a one-tower system.The most impressive thing about theshack is the overwhelming amount ofequipment within the operator’s reach.There are two completely independentstations, two computer screens andkeyboards, rotator and StackMatchcontrols, a cross-over switch to swapantenna configurations between theradios—everything is optimized forsingle-op two-radio action.Two big TV monitors raised ourcuriosity. Charlie’s explanation made uslaugh: They are used as big frequencydisplays for the IC-781s in the late hoursof the night to make viewing easier andmore comfortable.Peter tuning for multipliers.We began the contest on 15 meterswith a short European run, but signalsquickly disappeared. We switched to40—the band was full of stations. Chasput in the first 15 minutes and thenturned the station over to the DL team.Fortunately we brought a keyer. Atfirst I was having trouble with Chas’sintelligent keyboard—he had the CTfunction keys redefined! It took us awhile to set up the INSERT key the waywe are used to. After that, everythingwent along very smoothly and we hadlittle trouble.We worked 4-hour shifts and keptCQing for the first 14 hours until thingsgot slow. Then we picked up stations ata good rate using S&P—taking fulladvantage of the radios’ band scopes. Ihad never seen this feature used to suchan advantage before. (I don’t own anICOM radio. This feature really workswell.) With two ops, one S&Ping and theother filling the band map on the otherradio, we could bridge those slow timesand keep the rate up.At 1520Z we got back on 15 metersand alternated between running andS&Ping. We continued switching bandsbetween 10, 15 and 20 quite often. TheQSO counter indicated 1918 after 24hours. This gave us hope of breaking3000 Qs—but it would be work.The JA signals sounded very unusualto our ears—more like the signals weare used to hearing at home from the USWest Coast. The European openingsseemed quite predictable to us—theywere similar to the US openings that weexperience from home. But the propagationto Asia was very different.The further into the contest we went,the more often we changed bands. Weare quite familiar with this strategy—wehave used it often during the conteststhat we have entered in the M/S categoryfrom Germany. When the run rate dropsbelow around 40 (depending on thecontest, activity and propagation) thisoperating method typically results inmore QSOs.One has to recognize when it’s time toCQ again. By 1200Z Sunday, 2568 QSOswere in the log. The 3000 mark was wellwithin reach if conditions held up—andthey did! We stuck with our frequentband changing strategy and crossed the3000 Q line at 1955Z, four hours beforethe end of the contest. We finished with3197 Qs, a net total of 3180 Qs and ascore of about 8.2 M points. We are notsure if that was good enough, but itseems that we are still in the pole positionfor the US.My most interesting observation oncontesting from here was how dependentyou guys are on European openings.Maybe this is particular to K3WW’slocation—since the JA’s are so far fromhim. There is just nothing else besidesEurope—and when the bands are deadtoward Europe, there’s not much youcan do. This is in general true forGermany as well, but we still have all theRussian stations to work when theconditions deteriorate, and I feel thatour JA path is a little more productivebecause it does not pass through themagnetic pole. Also, during our morning(Continued on page 11)5

The RSGB Islands on theAir (IOTA) ContestChris Burbanks, G3SJJIOTA Contest Managerg3sjj@btinternet.comA Bit of Background…I have been licensed since 1963 and,like many UK amateurs, around thattime was introduced to contestingthrough my local radio club. NationalField Day was for many years my favoriteevent together with other domesticcontests such as our 160- and 40-meterCW contests. More recently I have joinedin several M/S and M/M ventures in theUK and also now enjoy the ARRL 10-Meter Contest.In 1985, I was invited to join theRSGB’s HF Contests Committee, sitting’round the table with such well-knownindividuals as G6LX, G3FKM, G3HCT,G3SXW and G4BUO. I was appointedchairman in 1993 taking over from DaveLawley, G4BUO, who presided over theintroduction of the IOTA Contest. It ispossibly a little more than a coincidencethat I should become involved with thisevent, having spent many holidays withmy wife on various Mediterraneanislands (but without a radio!).The Birth of the IOTA ContestThe Committee organizes a numberof domestic events. Occasionally we feelthere is not enough support to continuewith a particular event. This happenedin 1992 when we took out the LF SSBContest. In considering a replacement,it was agreed that the RSGB needed aninternational contest rather than anotherof the “World works UK” type of eventsthat we already had.The IOTA program was becomingestablished, and it seemed a good ideato form some kind of link to that. A FieldDay style format would encourageoperation from islands, so the 24-hourtime span was allocated with a 1200Zstarting time to give entrants a chance totravel to their chosen destination andset up the gear. Obviously that appliesto central Europe—we actually didn’tenvisage it becoming quite so international!Island references became themultipliers, eg EU114 for Sark, one ofthe UK Channel Islands, NA062 for theFlorida Keys and even OC044 for PitcairnIsland. We were unsure at that stagejust how the contest would take off so wedecided to allow non-island to non-islandcontacts.The scoring rules were “tweaked” lastyear to increase the difference betweenisland and non-island QSOs—but itseems inevitable that this type of contactwill be taken out completely at somestage. A further innovation was to limitmulti-operator stations to two transceivers—onefor run and the secondsolely to find and call new multipliers.So What is an Island?This is perhaps not as easy to defineas it sounds. There are two basic rules,1—The island must be shown on a mapwith a scale of at least 1:1000000.2—The island must, if it lies within 1 km(0.62 statute miles) of the mainland, beseparated from it at all points by aminimum of 200 meters (219 yards)of sea at low tide. There are thencloser definitions; for example, largeislands with a size greater than 65000square km, (25000 square miles)and also island groups.Each listed island is given a referenceconsisting of a continental abbreviation—AF, AN, AS, EU, NA, OC, SA—plus athree digit number. The IOTA Directorydescribes all the criteria and lists theislands that have been given a reference.Revision work on the Directory isconstantly in process—a new edition willbe available in June this year. There arecurrently nearly 1200 island references.More information and the full rules ofthe IOTA Award Program can be foundby visiting the IOTA Web site at http://www.rsgbiota.org.And Which One Do We Choose?One of the most exciting aspects ofthis contest is the choice of islandlocations available and the logistics ofgetting there. In the 1999 event, overtwo hundred islands were activated.Some of those islands were highlypopulated ones—such as the UKmainland, Ireland and Japan. Otherswere islands just off the coast of amainland. The more adventurousamongst us activated some tough placeswhere access was difficult and facilitieswere sparse.A recent NCJ (January/February 2000)featured the story of VD7D and theirDundas Island operation. That onedefinitely comes under the last category!By comparison, my own group, GU8D,had a less arduous journey and morehome comforts. Leaving home onWednesday evening, we drove for acouple of hours before staying over at abed and breakfast. A further 2-hourjourney on Thursday took us to the southcoast of England. There we met up withthe rest of the group and crossed over toGuernsey Island on a fast car ferry.In good weather, the catamaran travelsat around 40 knots. In bad weather itChris, G3SJJ, operating the GU7D run station in the 1997IOTA Contest.Tony, G0OPB, relaxing after a session at the GU8Dmultiplier station.6

lurches rather than rolls. Not good! Onlanding, our gear was off-loaded on tothe quayside. We parked the car, thenloaded the gear and our group onto asmall launch for the 30-minute trip acrossa stretch of water to our destination.This is where the fun really began.Sark is a small island with an interestinghistory. It is about 3.5 miles long by 1.5miles wide and has a population of 500.Cars are not permitted, although luggageand goods are transported by tractor.Horse and carriage, cycling and walkingare the only forms of transportationavailable to visitors.We loaded the equipment on to atractor and watched it lurch up the steephill. This could be a radio-less visit wefeared! It took a 20-minute walk to get tothe station location. Our hosts Eric,GU2FRO, and Penny had already helpedunload the gear by the time we arrived attheir house. After a short chat, we beganunpacking and initial station assembly.It was then time to check in to ouraccommodations, freshen up and visit.We had arrived!Friday was a busy day. We completedstation assembly and testing. We selected“Permanent” as our entry class becausealthough we brought the radios, amplifiers,computers and aerials with us, Eric kindlyallowed us to use his 70-foot mast(complete with phased 80-meter deltaloops) and his 40-foot mast for our A4S.His workshop and annex became ourshack, complete with domestic facilities.The Dixcart Hotel was our meeting placefor meals and my love of red wine had notgone unnoticed. There were frequent callsof “Another bottle of number 47, please! ”Despite the dubious transportarrangements, the equipment had notsuffered and we were able to begin ourparticipation in the contest on time.For our 2000 adventure, we haveregrettably decided that the logistics ofgetting to Sark has been hampering oursuccess. So this year we will be stationingourselves at the Guernsey Radio Club. Iam sure the wine and crab salads will bejust as tasty.What About the Single Operators?While so far I have described multioperatorstations island entries, thereare of course single operator 12-hour,24-hour, CW, SSB and mixed modesections covering both island and nonislandcategories. There’s something foreveryone, in fact. We have introduced a100 W DXpedition section that hasproved very popular. If you don’t want tocarry a lot of equipment around then thisis the category for you.Felix, DL8OBC, is a keen supporter ofthe contest. See the sidebar for detailsof his 1997 effort from Helgoland Island.Using an IC-735, an FL-2100B, a3-element tribander at 30-foot and aWindom, Felix managed to key his way to1 st place in the 24-hour CW section with1307 Qs and 146 M. Compare that withtwo years later when he had to competeagainst the well-known Finnish contesterand DXer, Jukka, OH2MAM, operatingfrom the purpose-built station on AlandIsland, OH0Z. Jukka’s impressive 2335 Qtook him to the top of the listing.This is a popular contest and quiterightly attracts top operators. The 24-hour SSB section in 1999 saw a headto-headbattle between Andy, G4PIQ—operating from M6T—and Robert,GI0KOW. They each used a pair ofFT-1000MPs and had sufficient metalhigh in the air to make a big noise in anycontest. Both entrants made over 2000QSOs in the 24 hours—which is anachievement in itself considering thelengthy exchange required.I happened to tune across Robert onour multiplier station and noted hisrelaxed but purposeful style. Here wassomeone who had planned his operatingstrategy and was quite obviously pacinghimself, maintaining an average of 100Qs per hour. Andy is also a competentG3SJJ holds GU8D’s A4S as G4TSH prepares the mount.A Single Op Effort from Helgoland IslandBy Felix Riess, DL8OBCoperator and a very skilled engineer. Hisoverall Q rate was slightly lower, but heused the two radios to great advantage—netting almost 40 more multipliers thanRobert. The final results showed M6Twith 2176 Qs and 304 M for a score of4139568 and GI0KOW with 2489 Qsand 267 M for a score of 4124082. Aseparation of about 15000 points. Thatwas close!We Mustn’t Forget the Non-IslandGuysWhen discussing the various aspectsof the IOTA Contest, it is easy to forgetthat the Contest also depends onparticipation from stations not on islands.In fact, two-thirds of the logs receivedare just that. We get excellent supportfrom the former Russian countries (myapologies—but it is easier to describethem this way). A significant number ofentries from Poland, Italy, Spain andSweden are also evident.Since I am writing for an Americanjournal, I mustn’t forget to mention theStates and Canada. Thanks for yourI decided to return to Helgoland Island in 1997, making it my third contest entryfrom EU127. The island is located in the North Sea about two to three hours fromthe mainland.There is an Amateur Radio club on the island and quite a few of its membersare active. Since the island is small and densely populated, it is difficult to find aplace to operate from. Ulli, DL1LAO, suggested that I set up my station in therooms of the island’s fire brigade, which proved to be an excellent choice.The station assembly work was finally completed on Saturday morning with justa few minutes to spare before the start of the contest.During the contest, there were two fire alarms on the island. The first was whena ship caught fire in the harbor and the second was when a power line in thevillage had become too hot and was smoking. Each time, the entire Helgoland firebrigade assembled at the station and got their gear ready whilst I sat in themiddle of the turmoil with my headphones on, keying the radio!7

The Radio Amateur Association of West Greece operatingfrom Kalamos, EU052. From left to right: SV1SN, SV1CIF,SV1DHU, SV1DPJ and SV1CIB.The CQ2P Pessegueiro Island (EU167) team. From left toright: CT1EEN, CT1EEB, CT1ENQ, CT1CJJ and ON5NT.support. You are in there but not asmany of you as in the ARRL DX Contest,yet! (We hope this article will rectify thatsituation, Chris.—’BV )There is one aspect of the rules thatcauses us some concern and that isnon-island to non-island contacts. It isbecoming apparent that these contactsdon’t really add any value to the contest.In fact, they are seen by many entrantsas a negative aspect of the contest. Theevent has developed its own characterand disallowing these contacts wouldseriously change that. In effect, it wouldhardly be worth a non-island stationtrying to maintain a run since most of theisland guys would be CQing anyway.Your comments would be helpful.Other Possible Rule ChangesWe currently allow only the multioperatorentrants to access the DXCluster but have received manycomments that we should open this upto single operators. I think this musthappen but we also need to considerproliferation of the various categorieswith 12-hour/24-hour/CW/SSB/Mixed forboth island and non-island alreadyexisting. The contest is still evolving butany further rule changes must be thelast for some time. Again, your commentswould be gratefully accepted.Logging SoftwareThroughout the early years of the IOTAContest we have been keen to makesure that logging programs should followthe requirements of the contest ratherthan tailoring the rules to suit the whimsof the programmers. That would be acase of the tail wagging the dog!We were lucky that Paul O’Kane, EI5DI,was developing his Super-Duper contestlogger at that time and took a keen interestin the introduction of the event. I feel thatit must be placed on record that the IOTAContest may not have been so successfulhad he not placed SDI, his IOTA version,in the public domain.With many participants not being8committed contesters, a program whichwill accept back to front exchanges, ie“EU005, 59 001” is most useful. Inaddition the ability to interpret E5 asEU005 and not as a different IOTAreference is also valuable. SDI does allthis and yet is simple to set up and use.TR-Log was the next program to providesupport and is now used to great effect bythe leading multi-operator group. Withnetworking and Cluster facilities available,it is obviously useful for this section, but ismore complex to configure. NA hasrecently added support and is probably auseful halfway house—easy to set up butnot yet having the sophistication of SD orTR-Log for reversed exchanges.AwardsPerhaps one of the least developedaspects of the contest is the awardsituation. Just six trophies are available.Four of these will go to the multi-operatorsection and just two to single operators.We desperately need some moresponsors, particularly to encourage theIn the US, surface mail $18 ($26 First Class)In Canada and Mexico $26 (First Class)Elsewhere, surface mail $28 ($36 Airmail)Name Callsingle ops. Awards could be given bycontinent and section. It would also begood to have something for the non-islandguys.Results for the 1999 event and rulesfor this year’s contest can be found onthe RSGB HF Contest Committee’s Website, http://www.g4tsh.demon.co.uk/HFCC/. If you are interested insponsoring an award, please e-mail meat g3sjj@btinternet.com.See You This Year?Well, I hope this has given you someinsight into what this exciting contestis all about. If you can get to an island July29 - 30 th , that would be great. You areassured of a big welcome. If you can’tparticipate in your island DXpeditionadventure, just jump in there and worksome of those guys that have managed it.Last year we reached the 1000 entrythreshold. We trust that with just a modestincrease from our North Americanfriends, we can make it 1200 thisyear!■NCJ Subscription Order CardThe National Contest Journal features articles by top contesters, letters, hints,statistics, scores, NA Sprint, NA QSO Parties, and more. Big gun or small, theNCJ provides you with a valuable source of information on the active world ofcompetitive radio.Subscription rates for 6 issues (one year):AddressState orZip orCity Province Postal CodeMail to NCJ Circulation, ARRL, 225 Main Street, Newington, CT 06111, USA.Remittance must be in US funds and checks must be drawn on a bank in the US.Maximum term is 12 issues and prices are subject to change without notice.

Field Day in EuropeHeinrich “Hein” Langkopf, DL2OBFDL2OBF@gmx.deField Day in Europe is a different affairthan the version of Field Day that isfamiliar to North American hams. Herein Region 1, there are two official IARUField Day Contests each year. A CWField Day is held on the first full weekendof June (Saturday 1500Z to Sunday1500Z). SSB Field Day is on the first fullweekend of September (Saturday 1300Zto Sunday 1300Z). Most of the hampopulatedcountries around Europe holdtheir national competitions during thesame periods. The traditional centers ofhigh activity are the British Isles andGermany.Participating stations sign /P and theexchange is simply the RST and a serialnumber. Everyone may work anyoneelse for QSO credit (with the emphasison working other /P stations). Themultipliers are the number of DXCC/WAE countries contacted per band.The German Field Day competition isorganized by the DARC (DeutscherAmateur Radio Club), the nationalAmateur Radio society of Germany. Asit is in North America, Field Day in DL ismainly a club and multi-op event. Thereis a single-op/QRP category—butnormally there are very few participants.The multi-op categories are QRP, 100W, 100 W restricted (only one antennaallowed and no packet cluster) and highpower. The contest bands are 160through 10 meters (with the exception ofthe WARC bands, of course).The 100 W restricted category isbecoming more and more popular eachyear, especially amongst seriouscontenders. Building a single antennathat is competitive from 160 through 10meters seems to be an attractivechallenge for many participants.Normally these stations are using somesort of Zepp antenna.There are several other rules forparticipating stations. Station assemblyand antenna erection cannot begin priorto 24 hours before the start of the contest.The rules include prohibitions againstusing permanently installed masts,antenna systems or buildings. The publicpower supply cannot be used. Thegroups must also register the place andcategory of the Field Day operation withthe organizer at least two weeks beforethe contest.This registration is required primarilybecause each year some of the FieldDay sites are visited by hamsrepresenting the organizer. This visittakes place in order to verify thatoperations are according to the rules ofthe category in which they registered.The visits also serve as a greatThe site for the DL0HI/P Field Dayoperation—Hildesheim in the federalstate of Lower Saxony.The Field Day operators at DL0HI/P:Tom, DL2OAP; Hein, DL2OBF; andDan, DL3OBQ.opportunity for the controller himself tosee how the others are doing businessand as a social activity.The goals set by the various stationstaking part in Field Day cover the normalrange. While some of Germany’s BigGuns are out to win, there are also manylocal clubs who consider the event mainlyas a chance to socialize, camp,barbecue—and to perhaps play just alittle bit of radio.As it is in North America, a lot of younghams take their first steps into contestingat Field Day, and for many of the olderoperators it is the only contest theyparticipate in each year. Due to theseconsiderations and the fact that many ofthe stations are using limited equipment,a W or VE QSO is always a greatlyappreciated multiplier.Please call a few stations or even tryto get a run going on these weekends.You’ll definitely be rewarded with someenjoyable operating, and you may evenmake some new friends who mightrecognize your call sign in the next ARRLDX or CQ WW Contests.■9

All-Time ARRL Field DayRecordsDenis Catalano, W4DCCatalanoDE@NAVSEA.NAVY.MILARRL Field Day 1999 was another great event—10 old records fell. Records were also established intwo new classes. Field Day is an emergency exercise to many, a contest to some, but for all of us it’s achance to train new operators and introduce others to Amateur Radio. Take advantage of this opportunityin 2000!The listing shows the class, the call sign, the year the record was set, the club or group name, thenumber of QSOs, the power level (5 = less than 5 W, 2 = less than 150 W, 1 = more than 150 W), thenumber of operators and the total score. (Commercial classes are not listed.)Class Call Year Name QSOs Power Ops Points1A battery WA1U 95 Above All Mtn Contest Team 1173 5 10 10,9601A N5RR 92 Albuquerque DXA 2870 2 28 8,5502A battery K0NA 88 Arapahoe RC 2266 5 28 17,2952A KP2N 93 Virgin Islands ARC 5252 2 16 15,5803A battery K4HAV 84 Chekaw ARS 1629 5 17 18,6103A K5DX 84 Texas DX Society 3756 2 17,1944A battery WB8JBM 83 Northern Ohio ARS 2029 5 127 17,3454A W3AO 98 Potomac Valley RC 6697 2 15 19,3665A battery W3VPR 84 Anne Arundel RC 2495 5 49 26,5705A W2GD 99 Cherryville Rpt Assoc 6566 2 42 20,5206A battery NA4G 91 Raleigh ARS 1340 5 30 11,2706A W4AT 95 Orlando ARC 4735 2 71 15,4347A battery W4DW 89 Raleigh ARS 1236 5 12 11,2157A W3AO 99 Potomac Valley RC 1 9163 2 17 26,2248A battery N6WG 93 Alameda County Rpt Club 1205 5 35 9,8158A N6ME 89 Western ARA 5390 2 55 14,7729A battery VE3NAR 95 Nortown ARC 1105 5 30 7,9309A W4IY 98 Woodbridge Wireless 6217 2 56 18,83410A W4IY 85 Woodbridge Wireless 5067 2 67 15,47411A battery VE3NAR 97 Nortown ARC 1170 5 36 9,46511A W4IY 90 Woodbridge Wireless 4669 2 60 14,68812A W4IY 88 Woodbridge Wireless 4791 2 55 13,64613A battery AA6CV 99 Conejo Valley ARC 1142 5 30 9,88013A W4IY 99 Woodbridge Wireless 7329 2 65 22,78014A battery AA6CV 97 Conejo Valley ARC 1246 5 55 10,79514A N1NH 94 Nashua Area RC 5930 2 103 18,71015A battery K6CAB 88 Conejo Valley ARC 2920 5 34 21,01515A N1NH 93 Nashua Area RC 5669 2 100 17,32216A battery AA6CV 98 Conejo Valley ARC 1501 5 45 12,84016A WY8M 94 Utica Shelby ECA 5917 2 295 21,46817A battery K6CAB 89 Conejo Valley ARC 3119 5 40 23,68517A WY8M 95 Utica Shelby ECA 3654 2 250 14,00618A battery K6CAB 90 Conejo Valley ARC 2569 5 30 21,27518A K4GSO 88 Silver Springs RC 2502 2 36 8,64219A battery KK8M 98 Utica Shelby ECA 2233 5 177 18,65019A K2AA 86 South Jersey Radio Assn 4320 2 65 13,17820A battery KK8M 99 Utica Shelby ECA 2527 5 176 20,92020A N1NH 96 Nashua ARC 6738 2 85 21,75621A W2RJ 76 Englewood ARA 2845 2 55 10,18622A battery AD6T 91 Conejo Valley ARC 2962 5 52 23,50023A battery K5DX 89 Texas DX Society 3326 5 28 25,26023A K2KX 78 Englewood ARA 2666 2 40 9,38024A N1NH 95 Nashua ARC 6209 2 95 21,64825A battery K6CAB 92 Conejo Valley ARC 2343 5 62 20,25526A N1FD 98 Nashua ARC 8744 2 87 26,27427A N1NH 97 Nashua ARC 6768 2 87 22,08028A N1FD 99 Nashua ARC 7902 2 96 24,35810

Class Call Year QSOs Power Ops Points1B-1 battery KW8N 95 945 5 1 8,9751B-1 N0UR 99 680 5 1 6,7001B-2 battery KW8N 96 907 5 2 8,7001B-2 N4BP 99 799 5 2 8,5602B-1 battery N6VT 93 449 5 1 5,1352B-1 N6ZPX 93 747 2 1 2,5262B-2 battery KW8N 91 1148 5 2 8,9152B-2 W2GD 88 2560 2 2 8,8143B-1 W9WI 89 56 2 1 7383B-2 battery KW8N 97 962 5 2 8,6953B-2 K5TA 93 2137 2 2 7,0004B-2 KW8N 98 1720 2 2 6,0405B-2 W8TQE 89 272 2 2 1,2121C WA4VRN 91 934 5 1 8,0802C N6BT 80 1885 2 3 4,9123C WB4GQX 76 836 2 3 2,1624C AC4OG 92 389 2 24 7925C AB3A 80 694 2 8 1,6966C VO1AA 78 30 5 8 7151D NA5TX 99 1450 2 1 5,8002D W4MYA 99 4019 2 14 10,7583D K1AR 78 3825 2 6 8,9284D N6TV 92 2253 2 17 5,7085D W1AW 91 1650 2 6 4,7266D W1AW 95 3200 2 16 9,2907D W1AW 94 2890 2 7 8,8208D KC4ZFX 93 1490 2 8 4,3889D N6OP 91 2849 2 22 8,2061E KR0B 88 1525 5 3 11,4902E KR0B 89 2000 5 5 13,9753E N0NI 99 4421 2 6 12,4804E W3PP 99 3720 2 8 10,5045E K5DX 83 6019 1 50 7,9876E W0AIH 95 5040 2 10 12,5147E W0AIH 96 4170 2 8 10,2928E WU8A 95 1963 2 21 6,4749E W8VND 98 1634 2 19 4,19213E AA5EQ 90 235 2 7 55415E K9GL 82 8179 1 25 10,541■The BavarianContest Club’sDXpedition toPennsylvania(Continued from page 5)hours (0800-1100Z) when conditions arepoor to the US, we are used to workingmults from Asia and the Pacific beforewe swing our antennas northwest again.All in all it was quite an interestingoperation and visit. We got to hear manyinteresting stories from Charlie aboutcontesting, operating and the FrankfortRadio Club. We also enjoyed watchinghis fish! That may be one of Charlie’sreal secrets anyway: If the run dries up,he can go watch the fish in the tank for awhile and then come back later for morepileup fun.K3WW’s Closing CommentsIt was a wonderful experience to bethe host of a DXpedition. I am used toseeing many of my fellow FRC memberspack up and leave for DXpeditions everycontest season, but I never thought ofhosting DX operators here. Ben andPeter got to experience what Europesounds like from here, and I got thechance to see one of the world’s bestoperating teams in action—in my ownshack!73, Chas, K3WW ■Editorial(Continued from page 3)producers, letting them know that thecorrect abbreviation for the Yukon Territoryis YT, not YU or YUK and definitely notNWT! RAC and ARRL have changed theabbreviation in their rules from YU to YT asa result of the early messages sent out.(Thanks for the change). Some of thesoftware manufacturers still have packagesthat do not accept YT for Yukon and needto be fixed.I have a few suggestions...Before the next contest that has YT as amultiplier, please make sure that you areusing the current version of your software.This might require that you actually registerit, which you should do if you are contentwith the package. Try it before the contestto insure that the software will take YT forYukon Territory. If you find that yoursoftware doesn’t, then send the supplier amessage asking them to make the change.Let’s inundate with e-mail those slow tomake this change.I am hoping that before the next contestand especially long before Sweepstakes,we have this fixed so that we can rollalong without a QSL message dependingon the op on the other end figuring outhow to get YT into the computer.In response to personal messages,my family and I are doing as well as canbe expected under the circumstances...loosing 7 family members in less than ayear and a half has taken its toll. Wehave just come out of quarantine forWhooping Cough.I apologize for cutting my ARRL DXPhone operation short, but my voice wasplayed out and I was having troubleconcentrating due to the sickness. ARRLDX is not one of my favorites, but I did tryto be there on all bands for a while. Manyops asked for band changes and thatworked well. I hope that no one chasedme without success.”—Jay, VY1JAThis Just In—The Family Did PlayTogetherI have a correction for my “YoungContesters—The Promise of a Future”article that appeared in this year’sJanuary/February issue…Do to a misunderstood e-mailexchange between myself and Ken,K7ZUM, I incorrectly reported that theirfamily DXpedition to St Martin had to becancelled at the last minute. Not so!Ken and his sons Dustin, KD7BSW,and Jordan, KC7TWZ, did make it to theisland for the 1999 CQ WW Contest and—signing FS/K7ZUM—managed a veryimpressive 4898 Qs and over 5 M points!As Ken puts it “Not bad for an old man anda couple of whippersnappers…” Nice workguys!Our CoverThis issue’s cover photos feature SarkIsland (EU114) and the GU8D team thatwas assembled for the 1999 running ofthe Radio Society of Great Britain’sIslands on the Air (IOTA) Contest. In theforeground from left to right are Alistair,Louise and Penny (GU2FRO’s XYL). Inthe background: G0OPB, Yvonne(G3SJJ’s XYL), G4JQL, GU2FRO,G4DRS, F5SHQ, G4TSH and G3SJJ.Chris Burbanks, G3SJJ, contestmanager for the IOTA Contest, providesan excellent article, The RSGB Islandson the Air (IOTA) Contest, detailing thedevelopment and future of this contest.He also shares his experiences whileparticipating in the Sark Island operation.Be sure to set aside the weekend ofJuly 29 th and 30 th 2000 and join in on theaction of this exciting and expandingcontest.■11

Multi-Multi—No Limits?Larry “Tree” Tyree, N6TRn6tr@teleport.comIn the 1998 CQ WW CW contest, theBoring Amateur Radio Club put togethera multi-multi operation. This multi-multiended up being “illegal” and was listedas a check log in the results.This was primarily because the 500-meter rule was violated. Two transmitterswere located at the home of N6TR. Theother transmitter was some 49 milesSome Comments from Mark Beckwith, N5OTI would like to share some thoughts about my experienceoperating K7RAT in the 1998 CQ Worldwide CW.Ever since I was a contesting kid in the ’70s, I havethought it would be fun to get a group of ops and stationstogether to team up as a sort of “poor man’s multi-multi.” Mydream operation did not use one huge station on a big pieceof land (owned by one ham bound for “multi owner burnout”).Instead, the entry would use several different stationsaround the area scoring the effort similar to a “Classic Multi”effort—totaling all the QSOs and multipliers.The advantages are noteworthy: (1) One super-ambitiousstation owner isn’t needed to provide the momentum to getthe effort up and running—and to maintain it. (2) Theoperational benefits of greater transmitter separation; one ofthe biggest challenges to the “Classic Multi.” (3) Anadditional class of competition like this could result in moreentries. Currently, we can almost count on our fingers thenumber of “Classic Multi” stations. There is potential formany more “station-operator consortiums” in an “UnlimitedMulti” class. The field could be quite large, which couldresult in some keen competition. This seemed like a neatidea when I was a kid—but now with computers andamateur data links, it has become a fantastic idea.At Tree’s place that weekend, we took the chance to playand see what we could learn. We had no intention ofcompeting with this effort; we were only testing theories andhardware.Tree and I have operated contests side-by-side for manyyears. Recently, I emerged from a several-year period withradio on the back burner (you know, the very back burner!) Itraveled from Oklahoma to Oregon to enjoy a fix of “thegood old days.” We found we still click together. Missingfrom the old days was David, AA6RX, who now lives inMexico City. David had to work that weekend or he wouldhave been there, too. New to my list of contest co-operatorswas W7EW, the venerable Dr. Big Gun—Lew Sayre.We had two separate stations at Tree’s—the two he usesfor his Single-Operator Two-Radio setup. We put them onseparate tables and used separate computers. There wasnot a single filter or coax stub in the place—just a bunch ofcables and switches. It was flexible and easy to operate.Here’s where it gets interesting: Lew spent the contest athis own home station, linked to us by amateur packet. Idon’t mean packet cluster—we had a dedicated wirelessdata link between Tree and Lew’s QTHs. Lew used the callK7RAT also. Our QSOs were shared with his computer andhis with ours via our wireless data link. We chose not to“use packet” (ie DX spots) thinking it would be toochallenging to try and break it all in at once. On Sundayafternoon, things had gone so well that we decided to wirein the packet cluster just to see what we were missing.Things got very fun after that!We learned that the camaraderie that makes a memorablemulti-multi was more than present in our operation. AlthoughLew was 50 miles away, he was at our fingertips (and we athis) all weekend—we had a keyboard channel between usand shared blow-by-blows on countless pileups andmultipliers. We did all our “who’s-on-what-band-at-what-timeand who-sleeps-when” on the fly—no plan at all.We even wound up with both sites in the same pileup atthe same time more than once. We will never know whichone of us got through, but we certainly both heardourselves get worked!So how did we do? We figured we had 1 1 /2 operators.Tree was sick as a dog with a 102-degree fever. Lew is amedical doctor and covered two separate emergency roomshifts during the contest period. We also figured we had 1 1 /2stations—Tree has not rebuilt from the ice storm thatclaimed his primary antennas on 40 and 20 meters. We stillmanaged to turn in a respectable 4.3 million points; abouthalf that of a nearby “Classic Multi”—W7RM—who had atleast twice as many operators and twice (or more) as muchtotal hardware.Some Interesting ThoughtsRemarkably, I have never met Lew face to face—but nowwe have operated elbow-to-elbow (using “virtual elbows”)for a whole CQ Worldwide. I feel like we know each othernow—even though he was never closer than an hour away.If it wasn’t for a tight travel schedule we would have met fora post-contest dinner. I look forward to meeting Lew inperson some day.The technical and engineering challenges of successfullymaking a bunch of radios, amps and antennas all coexist atone location was notably absent—it wasn’t necessary as itwould have been for a “Classic Multi.” This wassuperceded, though, by the challenge of networking thecomputers and sites so that all operators knew what wasworked and what was needed on all bands, and who waswhere at all times.I was the only one who experienced any traditional contestweekendtravel to get to a worthwhile operation. The otherguys were preoccupied in various ways. Both approached theweekend as if they were getting on from home, yet both werepivotal in the effort. It strikes me that at a “Classic Multi,” thevery sick Tree would have bowed out and gone home. Lew’sschedule would not have permitted him to participate at aconventional multi-multi as much as he did from his home inour scenario—especially if he had to travel over an hour eachway—twice.Therefore these guys got more bang for their contesteffort buck than they would have trying to participate from a“Classic Multi.”It also strikes me that we have the operators and thestations in Oklahoma to mount an effort like this. If we wantto take part in a traditional multi-multi, the nearest existingmulti stations are hundreds of miles away in Missouri andTexas. How many other people are thinking the same thingas they read this?Obviously, we needed to break plenty of contest rules tomake this effort “competitive”—but competitive with what? Idon’t know what Tree put under “category of operation” onthe Summary Sheet. We anticipate seeing K7RAT listedunder “check logs.”We did this more for fun and to start a discussion. Thereare plenty of questions about where we did and did notcross acceptable lines—having two signals with the samecall sign in the same pileup comes to mind as a place weshould not go.Another good question: how far can you stretch the 500-meter circle? My thought is to limit the consortium to oneCQ Zone… Your thoughts?12

away at the QTH of W7EW.An RF link was used to extend thecomputer network so that the stationswould have the same log information.This also allowed messages to be sentback and forth between the separateoperations. Six meters was used for thelink and it proved to be pretty reliable.The operators were Mark, N5OT; Lew,W7EW; and me—Tree, N6TR (withpneumonia at the time). Mark did mostof the operating—I was sick and Lew isallergic to CW and can only take smalldoses of it at a time. As a matter of fact,I think Lew would not have gotten on atall if we hadn’t talked him into linking thestations.Lew’s station sports a 3-element 80-meter beam. I remember waking up justbefore sunrise and finding Mark on 40meters and Lew on 160. The two stationsboth perform well on 160, so it was aneasy call to ask Lew to QSY to 80 so hecould smash pileups with his beam—located miles away—and leave 160 forme. He had been calling a JT1 on 160,but hadn’t gotten through yet. Lewreluctantly QSYed to 80 and left the JT1for me to work. It was great to put himinto the log a few minutes later…It is too bad that our score couldn’t becounted as a club entry. It seems thiskind of hookup would be a natural way fortwo medium-sized stations to put togethera big score. Even with Lew’s part timeeffort—and my minimal operating time,we combined for 1.5 million points peroperator—higher than most classic multimultis.If we had been single op entries,our collective scores would have certainlytotaled less than the 4.5 million pointsour effort generated.I hope we have set a positive examplefor this type of operating and that peoplewill consider allowing it under some sortof “Unlimited Multi-Multi” category in thefuture.73, Tree, N6TR ■World Wide YoungContesters ClubChris Hurlbut, KL9A (ex WL7KY)wl7ky@gci.netContesting will not be dead in twentyyears. There are many young hamsalready on the contesting scene, as yousaw in “Young Contesters—The Promiseof a Future” in the January/February2000 issue of the NCJ. It seems likeevery contest I do, I work lots ofteenagers! Thanks to Thomas, OZ1AA,there is now a club for youngcontesters—World Wide YoungContesters (WWYC). The only requirementto be a member is that you must beunder 30 years old.Created in November 1999, WWYC hasthree main goals:• Increasing contesting activity among“Generation Y”• Have fun• Give the Big Guns a run for theirmoney in a few yearsA few of the members are alreadydoing that! As of January 17, there are45 members from 14 DXCC countriesand more are joining the club eachday! We have a homepage set upwith all the information: http://home.swipnet.se/contest/wwyc/. TheWWYC also has an e-mail reflector. Tosubscribe, send an e-mail to wwycrequest@contesting.comand put theword SUBSCRIBE in the body of themessage.You’re probably wondering, “Hey, howdo I join this new club?” Just send ane-mail to Dimitar, LZ5AZ, atdimitart@mbox.infotel.bg. Includeyour name, call sign, age, e-mailaddress, and homepage URL if you haveone. It’s as easy as that!I have had the opportunity to operatewith a few young contesters, and I mustsay, watch out! Some of these guys arereally good! A big thanks is due all of themore “senior” ops that have invited uskids to their stations to see what it’s liketo run with the big boys. Without you, wemight have never gotten into contesting.THANKS!■13

The Monoband Log-Cell YagiRevisited—Part 3: SomePractical Log-Cell Yagi DesignsL. B. Cebik, W4RNL4134 High Mesa DrKnoxville, TN 37938cebik@utk.eduIn this part of our visit to the log-cell Yagi,we shall look at some practical designs.The first two versions—using log cells of2 and 3 elements, respectively—will involvecasual designs, typical of those in some ofthe past literature. Then, we shall examinemore complex designs using log cells with4 and 5 elements, each carefullyconstructed on LPDA principles. In theprocess, we shall also look at a test we canperform to estimate the chances for a logcellYagi performing to its fullest potential.Each of our design examples will usea reflector and a director in addition tothe log-cell driver. Hence, the totalelement count will be two greater thanthe number of elements in the cell. Aswith all of the models in this series, thedesigns will be for 10 meters. Scaling to20 meters in one direction and to 6meters in the other direction arestraightforward tasks.All models will use uniform diameterelements. Actual element lengths willhave to be lengthened if a builderchooses a tapered diameter schedule.Additionally, the builder will have todevise a plan for implementing the phaseline associated with each log cell. Highimpedance lines can be fabricated fromround wires. Low impedance lines mayrequire the use of flat aluminum strap orof a double square boom to effect asatisfactory phase line.Casual 4- and 5-Element Log-CellYagisOur initial models employ either 2 or 3elements in the log cell, as illustrated inFigure 1. Both models use 200-Ω phaselines, with driver elements spaced astandard 2 feet apart. This spacingaccords with a number of articles fromthe past, although the magic in itsselection eludes me. The resulting 4-element log-cell Yagi is 96 inches (8feet) long, while the 5-element log-cellYagi is 138 inches long (11.5 feet).Coincidentally, these two lengthsFigure 1—Outlines of 4- and 5-element 10-meter log-cell Yagis.coincide closely with the lengths of themedium-bandwidth Yagis introduced inPart 1 as comparators for log-cell Yagis.You should keep the graphs for thoseantennas handy as we examine the twonew designs. Both of the antennas inFigure 1 use 1-inch diameter elements.Both log-cell Yagis exhibit very smoothgain curves over the first MHz of 10meters, as demonstrated in thefrequency sweep graph shown in Figure2. The 4-element antenna with only 2elements in the cell has the lower gainlevel, as one might expect. It coincidesroughly with the gain curve for the 8-foot3-element Yagi of Part 1. The 5-elementantenna provides only about a half dB ofadditional gain. In contrast, the 3-element Yagi of the same boom lengthin Part 1 provides an average free-spacegain of about 8 dBi, another half dBgreater than the log-cell Yagi with thesame boom length.Figure 3 shows that the two log-cellYagi designs provide fairly mediocrefront-to-back ratios. Nowhere in thespecified bandwidth does the front-tobackratio of either antenna reach 18 dB.(In contrast, both Yagi designs exceed20 dB front-to-back ratio for most of thefirst MHz of 10 meters.) Where thelog-cell Yagis have an advantage is inthe feedpoint impedance. Both designs,as illustrated in Figure 4, provide lessthan 2:1 50-Ω SWR from 28 to 29 MHz.By way of contrast, the two Yagi designsrequire a beta match or comparablenetwork to yield similar results.Figure 2—Frequency sweep of the free-space gain of“Short Cell” 4- and 5-element log-cell Yagis (with 2 or 3elements in the log cell itself) from 28-29 MHz.Figure 3—Frequency sweep of the front-to-back ratios of“Short Cell” 4- and 5-element log-cell Yagis (with 2 or 3elements in the log cell itself) from 28-29 MHz.14

Table 12- and 3-Element Log Cell Independent PerformanceFrequency (MHz) 28.0 28.5 29.02-Element Log Cell:Free-Space Gain (dBi) 4.58 4.70 4.83Front-to-Back Ratio (dB) 6.88 7.21 7.48Feedpoint Impedance 13 + j0 12 + j5 11 + j11(R +/- jX Ω)3-Element Log Cell:Free-Space Gain (dBi) 7.09 6.93 6.74Front-to-Back Ratio (dB) 11.6 11.9 12.0Feedpoint Impedance 11 – j22 9 – j8 8 + j3(R +/- jX Ω)Figure 4—The 50-Ω SWR curves of 4- and 5-element logcellYagis (with 2 or 3 elements in the log cell itself) from28-29 MHz.Table 24-Element Log Cell Independent PerformanceFrequency (MHz) 28.0 28.5 29.0 29.5Free-Space Gain (dBi) 7.24 7.47 7.47 7.29Front-to-Back Ratio (dB) 17.7 14.0 12.8 13.1Feedpoint Impedance 95 – j2 39 – j11 39 + j12 75 + j4(R +/– jX Ω)50-Ω SWR 1.90 1.41 1.42 1.51The two log-cell Yagis, then, requireextra elements to provide performancethat fails to equal the performance ofwell-designed 3-element Yagis. One onlyskirts the issue by saying that the failureresults from casual design, since thatstatement gives no clue of howto distinguish casual from careful design.However, there is a fairly simple modelingtest we can perform as a measure of alog-cell Yagi’s performance.If we extract the log-cell driverelements from the overall antenna, wemay model them independently. In awell-designed log-cell driver, the arraywill show fairly high gain and a feedpointimpedance that does not depart radicallyfrom the values obtained when the driveris part of the total log-cell Yagi.Table 1 provides values for the 2- andFigure 5—The outline of a 6-element10-meter log-cell Yagi.3-element log cells extracted from theantennas we have been examining. Thecheckpoints at 28, 28.5 and 29 MHz forboth cells show fairly low gain, with the2-element cell especially low. (Althoughregistered for reference, the low frontto-backratios are of no concern in thistest.) The feedpoint impedances of thecells are roughly one-fourth the valuesobtained for the complete antennas. Weshall want to keep these figures in mindas we check more complex and morecarefully designed log-cell drivers.A 6-Element Log-Cell YagiThe 6-element log-cell Yagi, with a 4-element log cell, shown in Figure 5, isadapted and scaled from the Rhodesand Painter log-cell Yagi for 20 metersthat appears in The ARRL AntennaFigure 6—Frequency sweep of the free-space gain of 6-element log-cell Yagis (with 4 elements in the log cell itself)with element diameters of 0.5- and 1-inch from 28-29.7MHz.Figure 7—Frequency sweep of the front-to-back ratios of6-element log-cell Yagis (with 4 elements in the log cellitself) with element diameters of 0.5- and 1-inch from 28-29.7 MHz.15

Figure 8—The 50-Ω SWR curves of 6-element log-cellYagis (with 4 elements in the log cell itself) with elementdiameters of 0.5- and 1-inch from 28-29.7 MHz.Figure 10—Frequency sweep of the free-space gain of 7-element log-cell Yagis with element diameters of 0.5- and1-inch from 28-29.7 MHz. For comparison, values are alsogiven for a 4-element wide-band Yagi.Table 35-Element Log Cell Independent PerformanceFrequency (MHz) 28.0 28.5 29.0 29.5Free-Space Gain (dBi) 7.31 7.38 7.42 7.43Front-to-Back Ratio (dB) 12.0 12.4 13.4 15.2Feedpoint Impedance 34 – j6 46 + j14 80 – j1 46 – j27(R +/– jX Ω)50-Ω SWR 1.51 1.37 1.60 1.77Figure 9—The outline of a 7-element10-meter log-cell Yagi.Book. 1 The log cell has been designedaccording to LPDA principles, using anelement length and spacing ratio ofapproximately 0.95. This ratio, whenapplied to a pure LPDA, tends to producemore gain but a lesser front-to-back ratiothan lower numbers—for example, thevalue of 0.90 used in the LPDA designwe examined in Part 2. The higher ratiovalue also produces a shorter cell for thesame number of elements. The entireantenna, including the reflector anddirector, requires a 12.2-foot boom,nearly as long as the 4-element mediumbandwidthYagi presented in Part 1 as apotential comparator.If we extract the log cell from theantenna, we obtain the checkpoint valuesrecorded in Table 2. Note the relativelyuniform gain across the entirety of 101Notes appear on page 18.16meters, as well as the 50-Ω SWR values.According to our test, this log cellpromises to form the basis of a goodantenna that may be useful across all of10 meters.Before we look at the modeledperformance figures, we should note anadditional dimension of this antenna.The phase line impedance is low (75 Ω).In addition, if we use different elementdiameters, we obtain results that changeto a degree that is greater than thechanges we might expect in a Yagi usingthe same two element diameters. Theeffects of element diameter on thelog cell driver (or on LPDAs) aresignificant. Therefore, the performancegraphs for this antenna will record valuesfor both 1 /2-inch and 1-inch diameterelements.Free-space gain figures appear inFigure 6. The fatter element model notonly shows a gain peak that is lower infrequency than the thinner version, butas well its peak gain values are higher.Moreover, the curve is flatter. The gainvalues rival those of the 3-elementmedium-bandwidth Yagi on a 12-footboom, but do not match the values forthe 4-element medium bandwidth Yagion the 13-foot boom. Both of the Yagis,of course, only covered the first MHz of10 meters.The front-to-back values are lessradically different, as illustrated inFigure 7. Essentially, the thinner versionis capable of a higher peak front-to-backratio. However, both versions of theantenna exhibit better than 20 dB frontto-backratio across the 28 to 29.7 MHzspan.Both versions of the antenna exhibitacceptable SWR curves across all of10-meters, as shown in Figure 8.A 7-Element Log-Cell YagiThe bandwidth of 10 meters pressesthe 4-element log cell to its limits, althoughthe 6-element log-cell Yagi does manageto cover the band with good gain, goodfront-to-back values, and a direct 50-Ωfeed system. We can improve upon thedesign by adding one more element to thelog-cell to obtain the design shown inFigure 9. The 5-element log cell for thisantenna uses the same tapering ratio forelements in the log cell. However, usingan additional element allows the longestelement to be a bit longer and the shortestelement to be a bit shorter. The cost is alonger boom, about 14.6 feet long in thiscase. The phase line is 100 Ω.Table 3 provides a look at theperformance of the log cell independentlyof the entire antenna. Gain is even moreuniform across the band than for the 4-

Figure 11—Frequency sweep of the front-to-back ratiosof a 7-element log-cell Yagis with element diameters of0.5- and 1-inch from 28-29.7 MHz. For comparison, valuesare also given for a 4-element wide-band Yagi.Figure 12—The 50-Ω SWR curves of 7-element log-cellYagis with element diameters of 0.5- and 1-inch from 28-29.7 MHz. For comparison, values are also given for a 4-element wide-band Yagi.element log cell, with acceptable 50-ΩSWR figures. Once more, the front-tobackfigures are unimportant in thiscontext, since the parasitic elementswill establish those values in the finalantenna. In fact, the log cells used inthese antennas are designed for gainrather than for a balance of operatingcharacteristics (just as was the case forthe 2-element cell in the 3-element arrayexamined in Part 2). We should expectthe overall antenna to reflect thepotentials of the log cell.Figure 10 shows the free-space gainof two versions of the resulting log-cellYagi, one using 1 / 2-inch diameterelements, the other using 1-inchdiameter elements. For contrast, valuesare also shown for the 4-element widebandYagi, introduced in Part 1. Weshould expect lesser performance fromthis 8-foot boom Yagi. If you desire, youmay substitute the values for the 8-footboomLPDA.The differences between the half-inchand one-inch versions of the log-cellYagi are even more dramatic than forthe preceding model, with nearly0.25 dB differential in gain in placesacross the band. Values for the half-inchmodel are similar to those for the3-element 12-foot boom mediumbandwidthYagi, but the log-cell Yagicovers the entire 10-meter band. Theone-inch model shows only slightly lessgain than the 4-element mediumbandwidthYagi. For either model, thegain curve is very smooth, illustratingthe benefit of the extra element in the logcell.One reason for adding the wide-band4-element Yagi to the graphs is that itdemonstrates the incremental improve-ment in front-to-back ratio provided bythe 7-element log-cell Yagi all acrossthe band, as shown in Figure 11.Because no element length adjustmentswere made when changing elementdiameters, the half-inch model exhibitsthe superior curve, with a front-to-backratio better than 30 dB up to 29.5 MHz.The one-inch model, with a few addedadjustments, can replicate the half-inchmodel curve, but with a slightly lowerpeak value. If you refer to the azimuth“snapshot” in Part 1 of this series, youwill also learn that the rear quadrantsshow a very well-behaved rear lobe withno major quartering side lobes to falsifythe impression left by the 180-degreefront-to-back values.The 50-Ω SWR curves, shown inFigure 12, demonstrate that the 7-element log-cell Yagi has a smoothercurve than its 6-element counterpart.The curve for the version using 1-inchdiameter elements is flatter, but doesnot dip quite so low as the curve for thehalf-inch version. However, adjustmentsto the exact phase-line characteristicimpedance would likely permit eithercurve to bottom at close to 1:1 SWR.The phase-line characteristic impedanceselected for the models represent astandard number, but actual constructionwould permit refinements.Summing Up So FarThe development of a log-cell Yagirequires careful attention to the designof the log-cell driver to obtain optimalresults. Well designed log-cell Yagis arecapable of good gain, but their chiefoperating characteristics that fall intothe range of excellence (when comparedto other available designs) are the frontto-backratio and the operatingbandwidth. As the 6- and 7-element logcellYagis demonstrate, the antenna typeis capable of well over 6% frequencycoverage in a monoband design.Designing a log-cell Yagi for gain aswe cross into Y2K appears to be anexercise in futility. Although Yagi designin the late 1970s and early 1980s hadyet to reap the benefits of computerizedoptimization, current Yagi design canprovide as much or more gain for a givenboom length than log-cell designs. TheYagis have the additional advantage ofmechanical simplicity, since they do notrequire the precision construction of aphase line to interconnect the elementsin the log cell driver.An interesting example of this pointcan be found by modeling the 5-elementlog-cell driven Yagi in Orr and Cowan. 2The antenna uses a 2-element log-cellwith a reflector and 2 more directors.This design on a 21-foot boom is capableof a peak free-space gain of about9.5 dBi, with a very sharp peak in boththe operating characteristics and theSWR curve. The rear lobes wereacceptable but the front-to-back ratioexceeded 20 dB for only a narrowbandwidth.I had occasion to study 5- and 6-element 20-meter Yagis of existingdesign. 3 The boom lengths range from45 to 55 feet, corresponding to 22- to 27-foot booms on 10 meters. All of thedesigns were capable of a free spacegain of 10 dBi across all of 20 meters,with better than a 20 dB front-to-backratio. Some, such as the NW3Z/WA3FETOWA 6-element design, were capableof exceptionally low 50-Ω SWR valuesall across the band. In fact, the OWA17

design can be scaled readily for 10meters and provide 1 MHz coverage ona 24-foot boom. 4As a gain enhancement, the log-celldriver technique has very limited utilityamid current Yagi technology. Its chiefmerits involve operating bandwidth andfront-to-back ratio. However, even here,its utility may be limited when thecomplexity and weight of the array arefactored into antenna design andconstruction decisions. The mediumbandwidthYagis described in Part 1 ascomparators are fully adequate toprovide full coverage of all of the upperHF bands except 10 meters. Only ifweight is no concern and if extra frontto-backperformance is a necessity on20 or 15 meters would a log-cell Yagisuch as the 6- and 7-element designsseem justified.The natural home of the log-cell Yagiin Y2K is at 10 meters and above, wherethe bandwidths are more than 3% or soof their center frequencies. However, aswe increase frequency, the materials weuse for antenna elements increase indiameter relative to a wavelength. Soeven at VHF, the fat elements of Yagiscan provide a wider operating bandwidththat often precludes the need for log-celltechnology.These notes are far from exhaustive,and my summary is based only on a fewhundred models, the best of which haveappeared in this series. Since antennaenthusiasts have an endless appetitefor experimentation, it would not surpriseme to see these analyses supplanted inthe future by better and more ingeniouslog-cell Yagi designs.One perennial direction of experimentationthat we have not examined isthe effect of setting the antenna elementsinto a forward swept Vee. Perhaps wecan overstay our welcome for one morepart in this series, devoted to this onetopic, in order to discover whether “V”means “victory” or only half of a “virtualreality.”Notes1P. D. Rhodes, K4EWG, and J. R. Painter,W4BBP, “The Log-Yagi Array,” QST, Dec1976. The main elements of this article arereprinted in The ARRL Antenna Book, 18 thEdition, pp 10-25 to 10-27.2W. I. Orr, W6SAI, and S. D. Cowan, W2LX,Beam Antenna Handbook, pp 251-253. Fora 6-meter adaptation, see John J. Meyer,N5JM, “A Simple Log-Yagi Array for 50MHz,” Antenna Compendium, Volume 1,pp 62-63.3See “Modeling 6 Long-Boom Yagis” at myWeb site, http://www.cebik.com.4A model of a 10-meter version of the NW3Z/WA3FET OWA is reported in Cebik, “TheOWA for 10, 6 and 2 Meters,” AntenneX,Aug 1999.■18

WRTC2000—The US GuysDave Patton, NT1Nnt1n@arrl.orgYou might have asked yourself: “Whatdoes it take to be a WRTCer?” There areplenty of obvious answers that immediatelyspring to mind. These include“great operator, wins contests, likes bothmodes, doesn’t cheat and knows a lot ofstuff.” Every one of the operatorsselected to represent US teams inSlovenia possesses these basic traits.But what about the “other” stuff? Arethese guys truly “demigods” who ruleEarth, or are they actually real humanbeings who may be more like you andme than most of us would guess?I wondered about that, so I surveyedour 26 illustrious representatives, and14 responded (54 percent). Obviouslyyou will not want to read too much intothese results as they are truly intendedfor fun only, however there are a coupleof categories that are relevant, can beaveraged, and do have meaningfulcontent. The results follow.WinningMy first question requested a summaryof contests won by each participant. Somuch of what we do in contesting revolvesaround winning and/or “making the (topten) box.” As you might have guessed,our WRTCers have won their share ofcontests. Among the 14 respondents: TheCQ WW CW Contest—there were twofirst places from DX locations and threewins from Stateside. In the CQ WW SSBContest there were two from DX locationsand one from the US. The ARRL SweepstakesCW Contest has been won eighttimes by respondents, the ARRL DX CW’test has been won five times from the DXside, and once from the US. The ARRLDX SSB Contest was won once each fromthe DX side and from the US. The CWSprint has been won a minimum of tentimes, and the IARU HF Championshipfour times. There are many, many top-tenfinishes in all contests and obviouslyplacing high in regional competition iscommon. But, just so we all feel better,there are at least five WRTCers who haveNEVER won a contest! This fact revealsthat you don’t have to win to get a WRTCslot, and it also shows that you can berecognized as a great operator withoutwinning major titles.AgeI didn’t need a survey to determine theages of the competitors. The averageage of the 26 men is 46.8 years. Therange is from 34 to 58, a span of nearlya quarter of a century—a wholegeneration. I did not ask for the year firstlicensed, but it is obvious from mySweepstakes memories and personalknowledge that the WRTCers have eachbeen licensed a minimum of 20 years.The lesson to learn from this topic is thatif you are young or middle-aged, justgetting started, or have been going at itfor 20 years, there is still plenty ofopportunity for you to make the grade asa WRTCer for future events. I personallyknow of several contesters in their 60s,and some young contesters, who wouldmake formidable WRTC contestants.PersonalAre these guys married? Do theirspouses put up with this stuff? For ouraverage respondent, the answer is yes.Only three are not presently marriedwhile four have been divorced. Thisdivorce rate, 29 percent, is nearly halfthat of the national average. Interestingly,lots of comments were receivedalong with this question’s answersindicating that those divorces were reallymiserable! And, those presently marriedcommented that they were married toabsolute “saints”—all around great ladieswith lots of patience. Following thisthread further, I wondered how manyspouses were licensed—furtherresearch indicated three. I didn’t ask ifthe single guys felt that they had anadvantage or disadvantage—and theydidn’t volunteer any further information.ProfessionDriven, successful contesters are oftenequally successful in the real world.Competition and drive are naturalattributes across the board. Being hamsalso often equates to technical professionsand this holds true with our WRTCers—atleast five are engineers. Other professionslisted include computer analyst, teacher/coach, retail consultant, telecommunicationssales, management consultant,small business owner, investmentadviser and marketing director.MusicI have found that contesters—especially CW aficionados, really likemusic. I asked for musical preferencesand six preferred some variety of Rock,two went for Oldies, one guy is intoCountry and Western, one is a fan ofElectronica and two didn’t have anyparticular preference (although one saidanything BUT Country!).The RideWhat do these guys drive? Mypersonal observations on contester’swheels runs the gamut. There is a definitecorrelation between hams and vehicles,and some guys really like to tinker withcars and some like to own and drive fastcars. Others, on the other hand, choosea cheap, reliable car that allows them tospend more money on other things—including ham radio. Most WRTCershave shown a clear allegiance to nononsensereliability in that four of themdrive Honda Accords as their primaryvehicles. Other reported makes andmodels reveal an economical approachto car ownership: Plymouth Horizon,Toyota Corolla, Toyota Pick-up, HondaCivic, Mitsubishi Galant, Subaru Outbackand Mercury Villager. While not exactlymoving into the “Sultan of Brunei”category of car ownership, three guyslisted cars just a step above the previousclass: Mercury’s Grand Marquis, andBMW’s M3 and 533i.CerealCan you be a contester and not eatbreakfast cereal? It didn’t seem possibleto me, and true to my guess, only oneguy did not like the stuff. Just like theFrosted Flakes TV commercials, acouple of the replies I received werealong the lines of “don’t tell anybody, butI REALLY like… ” Oatmeal wasmentioned three times as a favorite,while Frosted Mini Wheats captured twospots, as did granola. Also mentionedwere Raisin Bran, Special K, Life, “manycereals,” and “anything loaded withsugar.” The exception? One individualresponded that he ate a bean burritoevery morning. Gotta try that!Dog and CatDo they have them in the house? Yes—seven WRTCers have dogs, and fourhave cats. Two respondents have both. Acouple of guys said they had one of thetwo, and made it quite clear that theywould never even consider having theother. One guy wanted me to take his dog.Five guys had NEITHER a cat nor a dog.One guy lost custody of his pet in hisdivorce! Read into these answers whatyou will.EyesI have noticed that most contestersseem to need glasses. Eight of the 14respondents are nearsighted, and fourare farsighted. Three lucky guys do notneed vision correction. What does thisprove? Probably nothing.Accident Prone?How many WRTCers have ever brokenan arm or a leg? Those were the twospecific body parts about which I asked.Three of the 14 respondents had indeedbroken an arm or a leg. Several others19

eported breaking other parts of theirbodies. Contesters, being a competitivebreed, must try to win at everything, sojust simply breaking an arm or a leg isn’tgood enough. Others, obviouslydisappointed at having nothing brokento report, shared tales of nasty sprains,profuse nosebleeds, infected hangnails,painful paper cuts, etc.Tower WorkAlthough not necessarily related to theprevious topic, I wondered how many ofour WRTCers did tower work. Twelve ofthe 14 responded YES (some with multipleexclamation points). Not that it makes awhole lot of difference in operator quality,but there seems to be a strong trendtowards the best operators in the countrydoing their own tower work. There havealways been debates about the value ofguest operating from stations where theguest operator doesn’t have to do thetower and antenna work. That probablydoesn’t happen as often as we are all ledto believe. Every WRTCer has guestoperated someplace—yet nearly all ofthem do tower work. Alternatively, theWRTCers who do not do tower work mayhave the right idea! That hasn’t stoppedthem from making the grade.CW SpeedIt’s hard to achieve the level of aWRTCer without being skilled in bothmodes. I asked “how fast can youcomfortably and accurately operate CWduring a contest?” The answers rangedfrom 35 to 60 WPM, with an average of44.6 WPM. I also wondered about “ragchew speed?” These ranged from 25 to55 WPM with an average of 38.8 WPM—often the reported limiting factor wassending ability! The key bit of informationto come from this topic is “yes, you reallyhave to know the code to be a WRTCer.”DXingThis one was interesting to me. Iwondered how many of our guys hold anactual 5BDXCC. Four of the 14 do. Theother ten emphatically said that they didnot, most adding a comment such as“DXCC—what’s that? ” to their answer. Itseems that if you like DXing, you reallylike it. The other guys just don’t care abouttheir country count—they are strictly veryserious contesters. Interestingly, beingas competitive as they are, the guyswithout 5BDXCC also often addedcomments like: “No, I don’t have the award,but I’ve worked everything anyway!”The Other SideHave these guys been DX then? Havethey traveled to the other side and runthe masses? Of course they have. Everyone of them has been DX—and been DXin contests I might add. As competitiveas they are, the WRTCers also providedunsolicited reports of the places from20which they have operated and when,just to drive the point home.Favorite ContestsCan there really be a favorite singlecontest listed? Of course not—so I askedour guys to list the two contests that theywould operate each year if that was allthey were allowed. Naturally, some of theguys couldn’t accept that qualification andlisted many more—being competitive andall. But the responses did lead to somestrong conclusions: CW contests are themost preferred—along with internationalcompetitions. The CQ WW CW Contestwas listed eight times followed by the CQWPX CW and ARRL Sweepstakes CWContest four times each. Listed twice each:the North American Sprint CW, the IARUHF Championship, the Sweepstakes SSB,and the CQ WW SSB. Contests receivingone vote were Field Day, the Florida QSOParty, the NAQP, and the ARRL CW DXContest.QSO MachinesEver wonder why the QSL Bureausare so loaded-up? WRTCers make aLOT of QSOs. I asked the guys for roughestimates of how many QSOs they havemade in contests in their radio careers.My gut feeling is that their estimates areprobably a bit low! The range reportedwas from 25000 to 700000 QSOs withan average of 265000. Figuring out howmany QSOs you made as an operator ata multi-operator event is challenging.Obviously, what we can take from thisexercise is that practice is good—andlots of practice is better!Call SignsI like call signs. For fun I asked thecompetitors what they thought was thebest call sign in the world, and if that onewas not a US call sign, then also includewhat they thought was the best US callsign. Listed twice as the best call sign inthe world was K1AR. That is hard todispute. Other calls listed as best in theworld were: 9K9K, W7RM, JY1, N2AA,I3LID, F6BEE, EA2IA, 8P9Z, M0O, K6LAand ZD8Z. The best calls in the USincluded: K9K, W8IZ, WO0DY, N2AA,K3WW, W0OF and K1ZZ.LinguisticsNearly all of the other competitors inSlovenia are multi-lingual. How do our USWRTCers stack-up in the foreign languagedepartment? Not well. Two of the fourteenrespondents reported being conversationalin another language besidesEnglish and CW (German and French).Not a huge disadvantage by any means—especially at WRTC2000—but we all knowthe advantage of being able to speakJapanese or Spanish nowadays!The BestFinally, I asked the competitors to listwho they believed were the top tenoperators within the US and outside ofthe US. I qualified this question with theadded requirement that they not do anyresearch to determine their answers. Iwanted it to come from ingrainedexperience. Some of the reports werenot complete, so the numbers of voteswill not necessarily add up.The US WRTCers listed these USoperators as among the ten best (calland number of votes):N5TJ 13K1AR 13N6TR 11K1TO 11W4AN 10K5ZD 9N2IC 9KQ2M 7NT1N 7N5KO 7W2GD 6N2NT 5K6LL 4W0UA 4N9RV 4KW8N 4K1DG 3K3ZO 2W9RE 2AG9A 2N6KT 2K1ZZ 2K1KI 2N6RT 2Receiving one vote each: WE9V, K9PG,K7SS, K7JA, W4ZV, N5RZ, K3LR, N6AA,K3WW, N6MJ, K5GN, K4BAI, N6IG,W9WI, K8NZ, N2NC, N6TJ, W3LPL,W6OAT, N6TV and K6NA.DX StationsCT1BOH 12VE3EJ 8OH2MM 8G3SXW 5G4BUO 5DL6FBL 4OH2BH 39A3A 3ZS6EZ 3SP7GIQ 2JA8RWU 2S50A 2JH4NMT 2OK1RI 2LY1DS 2DL1IAO 29V1YC 2Receiving one vote each: RA3AUU,I2UIY, JA5DQH, NP4Z, YT1AD,GI0KOW, GW4BLE, HA0DU, RW1AC,VA7RR, UA9BA, GI0NWG, OH1JT,OH2IW, VR2BG, G3TXF, S53R,OH1NOA, 9H1EL, OH1XX, G3SWH,JH7PKU, OH2KI, VE3UZ, DL2CC,F6BEE, VK6HD and KL7RA.I hope you all enjoyed reading this.The WRTCers from the US will definitelyhave their work cut out for them inSlovenia. Competition will be fierce andthe beer—I mean the blood will flow. 73and GL to all!■

Contest Club Finland’s6 th International ContestMeeting in Helsinki, FinlandAri Korhonen, OH1EHari.korhonen@satshp.fiJanuary is the regular time for CCF’s annual ContestMeeting. This year the meeting was held at the FinnishBroadcasting Company’s headquarters in Helsinki. Theunofficial program began on Friday evening, when most ofthe 50 foreign visitors arrived. The swapping of conteststories continued late into the night. Saturday morning thegang headed towards the fantastic FBC facility, where theofficial program began at 11 AM. Total attendance exceeded140 contesters from all over the world.An All-Star cast had been lined up and the crowd enjoyedthe following presentations among others:CN8WW Multi/Multi by DL6FBLA Short Study of Stacked Yagis by WX0BContesting at High Level by CT1BOHThe Great 160 Shootout by W2GDV26B Multi/Multi by DL6LAUEA8BH CQ WW SSB by OH2BHE44DX by OH1RY.HC8N by N5KOMeeting photos and presentations can be found at http://www.contesting.com/ccf. Check them out.The next meeting will take place on the third weekend ofJanuary, 2001. Mark your calendars now!Finnish WRTC team Ari, OH1EH, and Timo, OH1NOA.Juha, OH1JT, and Andy, UA3AB.Tom, N9NC, and Harry, RA3AUU.Andy, ES2NA; Toivo, ES2RR; and Pertti, OH2RF.Martti, OH2BH, and Jose, CT1BOH.■21

Simple Pleasures are the BestMark Beckwith, N5OTswca@ionet.netContesters become formerly seriousfor any number of reasons. I am formerlyserious because of a lack of money anda lack of time. I hope one day thischanges and I can become serious onceagain. I keep thinking it will be “soon.”Trouble is I have been thinking it will be“soon” for far too many years.I want to buy some property. Not justany property—but property for theultimate-ham-station-of-all-time. This isnot something most ranchersunderstand; nevertheless, it is mostlyranchers who own what I need.Recently I got lucky and convinced oneto sell me some of it. There remained onlyone hesitation on my part before closingthe deal. I wanted to see what the place“plays like” on the air. I would hate to buya piece of property that turned out to be alousy radio location. I talked the ownerinto letting me test-drive his real estate byplaying my favorite game out in his pasture.No matter how good a site could be intheory; to me there is no substitute forsolid experience.My plan included using a helium balloonto erect a 160-meter antenna for the ARRL160-Meter Contest. I would compare howthis worked against (1) past experiences(after contesting for a few years, most ofus develop a pretty good sense of “this isa great location”), and (2) I would comparenotes, signal reports, etc, with the other“serious” guy in town—my friend K5KA. Ifigured if I could get on the air for at leasta few hours making a hundred QSOs orso, I would know better just how good aplace it was.I got the flu really bad just before theCQWW. After the CQWW, I was on themend. Bright and early Monday, I orderedwire and the balloon, and madearrangements to rent a 4 kW generator. Ilocated helium in town. Tuesday I benchtestedthe transceiver and amp that hadbeen sitting on the shelf in the garage formonths. I spent the rest of the night (until7 AM) working on a project at work.All this proved too much too fast—I suffered a flattening relapseWednesday—we’re talking flattened inbed. Wednesday my wire (#18 Silkyfrom The Wireman—10 ounces for130 feet) arrived. Thursday night Iconfigured and tested TR-Log. Fridaymy balloon arrived. Weak and miserable,I stumbled through the business dayuntil afternoon when I could turn mythoughts toward an evening of diggingweak signals out of the noise.Bouncing with renewed energy, Ipacked my truck for a manly night upagainst the elements—it was supposed22to rain later in the night. By 4 PM I wason my way to pick up the generator andthe helium. Just before 5, I was drivingup to the break in the fence where Icould open up the barbed wire and letmyself onto the property.At last I was ready to park, unload andstart doing all that Field Day stuff thatmakes you know you are a ham. Of course,the wind was howling, there was only 15minutes of daylight left, and the contesthad been going strong for almost an hour.With great precision I executed eachstep that I had crafted in my imaginationall week. First unload the generator—second, run the power distribution. I findthat I brought the wrong #$%^& Twistlockconnector—this one fit the last generatorjust fine. A little work with pliers, ahacksaw and a file and “voila,” there’s240 V at the amp plug in the cab.Next, lay out this wire and cut it tolength... done! Slip an insulator on thesingle radial, and the ever-necessaryfisherman’s swivel on the verticalradiator, a little soldering (in the dark),and now the antenna is ready to bebolted to the makeshift support attachedto the hitch ball on the truck bumper.This will keep the single elevated radialat least 8 feet above the ground—theother end is tied off to a convenientexisting support. So far so good. All thatremains is to fill the balloon, tie it off,attach the wire, and fly it. This all comesoff per the plan. The antenna is up andlooks good (nowhere near vertical in thiswind, but nobody has to know).The final job is to set up a conteststation in the cab of my full-sized pickup.The Alpha fits nicely in the driver’s seatfacing the passenger side—where I willoperate. The TS-950 rests solidly on thehump facing up. A little coax, a fewcontrol cables, and now I am keying therig and finding the antenna is fine asbuilt, no adjustments needed—ifanything 20 kHz high in resonance, butI used all the wire, so that’s going tohave to do. The SWR is not prohibitive.On the AirI take a deep breath, spin to the bottomand S&P my way to the top. The ratemeter climbs—30... 60... 70... 80... 90QSOs per hour without even calling CQ.Everyone seems to copy me just fine. Ithink this will work quite well. Gosh, 25states worked already? I think it is timefor a CQ. I (very gentlemanly) search fora place to dig in. 1848 turns out to be thefrequency of choice and I cast my line.The rate meter climbs to 80 and 90 (gladto see I can do as well CQing as S&Ping!),then it shoots over 100—to 120... 130...140... 150 and beyond (highest numberI saw was 154)! Between transmissionsthere are 3 or 4 stations calling almostevery time. I would say this is not only agood location but a great antenna, too. Iam having the time of my life parked outin the middle of a pasture in the dark,contesting from the cab of my truck.Then the S-meter pins—it is Ken,

K5KA, who has answered my CQ—gladto know he is on at the same time. Can’twait to find out what he thinks of mysignal and this pileup…All too soon, I can not ignore thefrequent crashes in my headphones thatconfirm the forecasted incoming stormsare approaching. I only hope they comeand go quickly. I switch off the AGC andcontinue to copy through the lightning,but after another 10 or 15 minutes ofthis, as the lightning gets nearer, I amasking for fills in almost every QSO—therate meter is back in the 70s. I am weakand tired, and this is no fun anymore. Ihave 2 hours 3 minutes on the air and184 QSOs. This will do nicely. Thelightning is visible on the horizon. I think,even if this is all I get done tonight, I havelearned the answer. I jump out of thecab, flashlight in hand, and go shut downthe generator thinking I’ll get some rest,and maybe the bands will quiet downlater in the night.Oh the Humanity!What followed was a tribute to goodluck—but mostly just a tribute to plainold foolhardiness. The weather got worseand worse. I was sick and weak. Sleepingon top of your Alpha in a pickup truck cabis not the most comfortable under thebest of conditions. I slept nevertheless.Wrapped in layers of clothes and asleeping bag, I would awaken every houror so to the howling wind, flashes oflightning, crashes of thunder, and thesound of rain beating on the cab. Everyonce in a while I would catch an eerieglimpse of the 4-foot balloon whippingthrough the night sky, backlit by flashesof lightning (the coax had beenSome Tips for Assembling Your Own 160-Meter Balloon Supported VerticalSome years ago, I put up a 160-meter balloon verticalfor a contest and it worked really well. It had a singlehorizontal elevated quarter-wave radial and a singlequarter-wave vertical radiator per ON4UN designrecommendations. The entire assembly was #16 antennawire with the vertical wire being held aloft by a 4-footdiameter helium balloon.I purchased the balloon and rented the helium tankfrom a local party store.When I got the bug in my ear to try this a second time,I started by posting an inquiry on the Internet. I assumedthere must now be cheaper sources that had alreadybeen discovered by my fellow contesters. Maybe not asmany people do this as I thought, because I got only oneresponse directing me to a fellow in Arizona who sellsready-made kits. I did get numerous e-mails, though,saying “When you find out, let me know.”After the contest turned into an adventure, K7BVasked me to tell the story and also summarize what Ilearned about getting the antenna together.WireIn a nutshell, #18 Silky from The Wireman http://www.thewireman.com is excellent wire—strong, yetlight and easy to handle. It weighs about 5 ounces for a160-meter quarter-wave vertical.While you’re there, you will have to keep currents fromflowing on your coax, so grab one of his ferrite beadbalun kits. I bought a bunch of these years ago, builtthem all, and they come in handy ALL THE TIME. Andthey’re CHEAP. I won’t detail other sources of wire heresince sources are widely known. Wireman’s “Silky” is myfirst choice, though.BalloonsThen, you will need a balloon. I did an Internet searchfor “large helium balloons” and came up with a number ofsources with wildly varied claims about liftingcapabilities. However, it was not difficult or expensive toplay it safe. The smallest lift claimed for the smallestballoon was 2 pounds for a 4-footer. I figured since thiswas about 6 times the actual wire weight involved, Iwould be okay with a 4-foot diameter balloon becausethe added lifting capability would keep the wire morevertical more of the time (wind, you know).Edmund Scientific http://www.edmundscientific.comoffered one for $18.95 but they were out of stock. Mr.Balloon http://www.misterballoon.com/jumbolatexprice.html sells 3-foot (too small) and 5-footdiameter balloons. Their 5-foot balloons are $25. I calledand ordered one. They shipped it Priority Mail for $7,charging it all to my credit card over the phone.I could not remember what I paid for the 4-footer Iused from the party store, so I stopped by and checked—itwas $20. I figured I could always use a spare (and acontingency if the other one did not arrive in time) so Ipurchased one. As things turned out, the Mr. Balloonshipment was a day late, so I wound up using the backupballoon—the exact same type 4-foot balloon I used yearsbefore with heavier (#16) wire.Other sources? The following offer more expensive and/or bigger balloons than I needed, but they may have justwhat you are looking for:http://www.balloonideas.com/AdBalloons.htmlhttp://www.advertisingballoons.com/heliumballs.htmhttp://www.blimpy.com/balloons/balloons.htmlSo, the local party store provided the least expensiveout-of-pocket option at that moment, but if it turns out Mr.Balloon sells 4-foot balloons, they could well be cheaper—especially in quantity (the 5-foot balloons were $20 if youbought five). My guess is they would probably furnish 5 to10 balloons for a $7 shipping fee.Attach the top of the vertical to a fisherman’s swivel,and then tie some decent leader to the swivel. Tie theopposite end of the leader to the inflated balloon. Becareful to control the balloon or you could be reallyunhappy… So far I am 2 for 2 in this department.HeliumThere are a number of ways to get helium. One option isto inflate your balloon where the helium is and thenattempt to transport the balloon to the antenna site. Thisseemed impractical to me, so I opted to get the helium andtake it to the antenna site instead.I did not know anything about what I was doing the firsttime I used a balloon for an antenna support (ie how muchthe balloon requires, and how much comes in a tank) so Irented a big, full welding-style cylinder (from the partysupply store). My thinking was I did not want to come upshort on gas as the sun was going down and the signalswere coming up. They charged $25 for renting the cylinderand $5 for each 100 pounds (psig) used. That 4-footballoon used 200 pounds (psig) out of the available 2000,so the total fee was $35 upon return. Including the cost ofthe balloon, my first “skyhook” cost me $55 total.This time I rented a “half bottle.” The cylinder was fullsized but only half full. It did the trick and it cost a straight$25 (no “per unit pressure” charges) and I could have keptthe cylinder the whole weekend (actually, I could havekept it a month). The company supplied the regulator(valve which fills the balloon). I found this rental helium atmy local welding supply shop. I am sure you can too. Totalfor this balloon antenna support this time—$45.Any questions? Feel free to e-mail me at:swca@ionet.net23

disconnected from the radio long agoand thrown outside).Then my fear became reality. At about1 AM the downpour redoubled, the noisein the cab was deafening. I sat up. Iwatched the windswept balloon dip lowerand lower in the sky, as the rainpummeled it relentlessly. Helplessly, Iwatched as the valiant neoprene sphere,its tether snagged in scrub, bobbed justfeet above the ground. In that moment Iknew I was off the air for the night. Thevery next flash revealed no trace—theballoon was gone. The cursed weatherhad robbed me of my magic antenna. Iwas tired and defeated, and now Irealized just how foolish it was to besitting out in a field with thunderstormsat severe limits all around me.The Great EscapeI sat in my truck and poured a stiff cupof coffee—which I had been saving forlater in the night—and thought about mysituation. I switched on the AM radio andchecked the weather. There was no endof this in sight. Some of the storms wereshowing rotation (very unusual forDecember). My first thought: My wifemust be mortified, knowing what I wasdoing. Second: Uncertainty whether thetruck will get out of this swamp. My thirdthought was that I’d better try to getpacked up and out of here. At the momentI was Tornado Bait.My fourth thought was that the 4 kWgenerator undoubtedly came out of thetruck easier than it would go back in…sheesh. The rain lessened. I crossed myfingers, jumped out of the truck and useda couple of 2 x 4s to make a ramp.Everything was so wet, well, it just sort ofslid right up. That was easy. I jumpedback in the cab to dry out and wait foranother break. While I waited I dismantledthe gear in the cab—easy from the outsidethrough open doors, but difficult whenyou need to stay inside the truck!The rain subsided, and once more Iwas out of the truck—this timecollecting antenna wires. I walked theradiator down to the burst balloon—what a shame—and collected all theparts and packed them up. Likewise Iwalked down the elevated radial anddismantled it all.Everything was loaded in about anhour, the weather was easing up, and Iwas ready to attempt my getaway. Itcame off without a hitch. I guess that bigol’ generator in the back helped keep thetires sticking. Before long, I was on thepavement heading back home, riding arush of testosterone and adrenaline.One of the things I like about this propertyis that it is only 15 miles and 20 minutesfrom home. Soon, I was making the familiarturn onto the street where I live. Momentslater, having whispered a relieving “Honey,24I’m home,” I slipped under the steamingcascade of the most welcome hot showerI have ever had the pleasure of enjoying. Iwas lucky to be home.This was so cool I think I’ll have to tryit again!■FAA regulations for flying tetheredballoons—those under five pounds inweight—are clear. No person mayoperate a kite or balloon in a mannerthat creates a hazard to persons,property or other aircraft.Avoid all dangerous situations;operation near airports, in wet or stormyweather, near electric power lines, overpublic streets or areas congested withpeople or at extreme heights.—Ed

Quick and Easy Two Radio SwitchingBill Kennamer, K5NXThere’s no doubt that the only way towin contests these days is by using tworadios. Adding just three contacts perhour over 40 hours can make a differenceof 120 QSOs—and no telling how manyof these will be multipliers. Since I’vefound that often that’s just about thetotal my low-powered station might makeon the lower two bands during a DXcontest, it’s certainly worthwhile to learnto use two radios, even if I don’t get fulleffectiveness out of them.As most of us are using computersthese days, it’s lots easier than before touse two radios. My computer controlsthe radio’s frequencies through serialports, and I have two parallel ports tokey the radios. Another serial port wouldwork just as well for keying the radio. Ihave two keyer paddles, and the softwarehas paddle port capability. There’s noneed for a switchbox to do anythingexcept switch the audio.Since I’m pretty simple-minded, thisswitchbox is, too. This is an adaptationof something that appeared in DavePruett’s (K8CC) “Contest Aerials” columnin the September/October 1990 issue ofthe NCJ. Dave switched a lot more stuffthan I need to. I wanted the switch to turnoff the audio of the main radio while itwas transmitting, and switch it to thesecondary radio. Since there is a qualitydifference between the radios(FT-1000MP and FT-847), the secondaryradio would never be used as a runradio. All switching and keying, otherthan the audio, is handled by thecomputer or by having redundant keyers,PTT, mikes, etc.In operation, the audio of theFT-1000MP goes to J2, audio from theFT-847 goes to J3, and the headphonesare connected to J1 (see Figure 1). WhenS1 is closed, receive audio from theFT-1000MP is normal. However, upontransmit, the TX Gnd inside theFT-1000MP is activated and pulls K1 in.Receive audio then comes from theFT-847. This is less confusing to me thantrying to mix audio from two radios in onesmall brain. If a station answers on themain radio, I work it. If not, and I’ve foundsomething on the second radio I work it.To use the second radio (you don’t wantit switching back and forth if you’re tryingto work the JT1 on 80), just depress S2.It grounds the relay, completing thecircuit, and only the second radio audiocomes through while S2 is depressed.Using a footswitch to perform the S2function is optional. If you use an amplifier,be sure the amp key line switches at thesame voltage as the relay voltage. AnSB-220 (115 V dc relay), for example,won’t work without modification to dropFigure 1the voltage seen at the relay port. Also, ifyou want to prevent the amp from keyingwhen you press S2, make S2 a DPDTswitch, and break the amplifier key linewhile it’s depressed.Note that the relays are wired to switchstereo. Since I usually use both receiversin the FT-1000MP during the contest, itwas necessary to make accommodationsfor that. Most switching arrangementsI’ve seen don’t.I actually found everything in my junkbox except the switches. They’re theexpensive part, about $6 total. ■25

NCJ Profiles—Getting Ready forWRTC2000—Robert Bajuk, S57AWH. Ward Silver, N0AXhwardsil@wolfenet.netContesters worldwide are excitedabout the World Radiosport Championship(WRTC), to be held in Slovenia thisJuly. Robert Bajuk, S57AW, is in themiddle of WRTC organizing. I know hislife is pretty frantic right now.“Organization of WRTC2000 is goingfull speed with monthly meetings tacklingnumerous problems. We hope to leave alasting impression of the WRTC2000 inthe minds of contesters. The nationaland wild card teams are selected. Lotsof hard work is being done at the stationsites for the competition and theaccommodations in Bled. We are alsocontinuing to secure donations.”Robert’s primary job is publicizing theWRTC. “I am responsible for providingtimely information and maintaining ourWeb site: http://wrtc2000.bit.si/. Weinvite all contesters to join us from July5 to the 11 th and meet face-to-face withthe famous hams they’ve worked on theair. I can hardly wait to see my oldfriends from WRTC-96.” This is one ofthe best parts of the WRTC—putting aface on a name and call sign and sharinga handshake with the friends we’veworked so many times.When Slovenia was announced asthe host of this year’s WRTC, I’m suremany wondered how such a smallcountry could put on such a large event.Enthusiasm, that’s how! “Slovenia is oneof the smallest countries in Europe—approximately the size of New Jersey,with a population of 2 million. It hasabout 7000 hams with some one hundredof those active in major contests.” That’sabout 25% more hams per capita than inthe US, and a much higher percentageof contesters. (To be as well representedproportionally, the US would need 10000active contesters!)What’s contesting like from Slovenia?Not many hams outside Central Europeare familiar with the geography.“Slovenia is rich with mountain peaks—and many have amateur antennas ontop. Even with average antennas onecan rack up very good scores from thispart of Europe (45 degrees north, 15degrees east). The USA is easy to workon the higher bands in the afternoons.JA comes in loud just after sunrise. ManyEuropean and DX stations can be workedat night on 80 and 40 meters. Operatorsvisiting from overseas will be surprisedby the number of stations they will hearfrom the ex-USSR and European states.”“This will be the first WRTC to be heldin Europe—giving a slight advantage tothe locals. The important headings are26Robert Bajuk, S57AWnorthwest to the USA and northeast toJapan. Teams will operate from carefullyselected contest locations using 100 Wand equivalent tribander Yagis andWindom antenna systems. Huge pileupsare guaranteed! Ted, S51TA, asS50HQ, made 2200 QSOs in the 1999IARU HF Championship. I think the bestWRTC teams will surpass that number.”The winning totals in San Francisco werein the mid to high two thousand pointrange, so this event is shaping up asanother rate festival.What about S57AW’s personalhistory? “I was introduced to ham radioat 15 as a pupil in Ljubljana. During oneof the long, boring afternoons in thedormitory, I was looking out the windowand noticed a strange antenna (it was a2-element triband quad). I paid a visit tothe radio club (YU3DMU) where I soondiscovered the charm of radio anddecided to learn more about it. Shortlyafterward I earned a Novice license thatpermitted VHF operation and privilegeson certain HF bands when operatingfrom the club station. HF was moreinteresting to me—within a year I passedmy General and got my first call sign,YT3VV. I spent many nights operatingthe club’s barefoot IC-745 and usinghomemade wire antennas.”“I became S57AW in 1992, the yearafter Slovenian independence. Vito,S56M, dragged me into the CQ WWSSB Contest in 1993. He was already anexperienced contester and a goodteacher! We competed single or multiopin many contests. I also learned a lotfrom old-timers Tine, S50A; Mario, S56A;and others. Top scores were achievedbeginning with an 80-meter EU record inthe WPX SSB Contest using a 2-elementhomemade quad. I also took part inefforts from S50G, S50Q and S55T.Lots has changed in my 14 years of hamradio—but I am eternally grateful to myXYL Suzanne for her deep understandingand support.”Robert is typical of the youngcontesters in Europe—joining multioperatorteams and doing a littletraveling. “During WRTC-96 I operatedas a guest of Duane, W6REC, withDrago, S50Q. I went to Albania in 1999with S51F and operated with our friend,ZA/S51PF for the CQ WW SSB and CWContests. We used a tribander andWindom antennas, just as the WRTCteams will use. The pileups were huge.”The Central European contestingexperience is very different than that inthe US—probably due to the land pricesand the population density. Clubs aremuch more popular and numerous. “MostS5 contesters are members of theSlovenia Contest Club. I like theteamwork you have with a good crew.We are currently building a new stationwith S50Q, S51F and S56M. Plans aresky-high and I hope you will soon hearstrong S50Q signals in the contests.The monoband antennas should befinished this year. Ham radio brings mea lot of pleasure, relaxation andcamaraderie; and provides opportunitiesto meet people and hone my operatingtechniques. I enjoy designing antennas

and testing computers—but I don’t liketower climbing, HI!”If the Slovenian experience is anyindication, contesting is in good shape inCentral Europe. “Hams know howinteresting our hobby is, although it takesa lot of time and sacrifice. Young hamsare not easy to attract and that worriesme. With the Internet, mobile phonesand other digital communications, hamradio is not that attractive to the young.We have daily debates about themeaning of ham radio in the thirdmillenium, the need to learn Morse code,harmful radiation, etc.”“We should emphasize quality workwith the young which would triggerinterest. While we read about the lowernumber of hams, the number of contestQSOs is increasing and there are lots ofnew call signs. I think that the fear ofdecline is superfluous—ham radio is alove for technique and camaraderie, andthese will not disappear soon.”“Let me relay an interesting sayingfrom S56M: ‘Man made rockets and wentto the Moon, but athletics and the 100-meter sprint are still the queens of sports,so we will continue the fight on the ‘stonewaves’ (a popular slang term for theshortwaves in S5) for a long time.’” Longlive the stone waves! See you in Bledthis July!■Contest CalendarCompiled by Bruce Horn, WA7BNMHere’s the list of major contests to help you plan your contesting activity throughAugust 2000. The Web version of this calendar is updated more frequently and listscontests for the next 12 months. It can be found at: http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/.As usual, please notify me of any corrections or additions to this calendar. I canbe contacted at my callbook address or via e-mail at: bhorn@hornucopia.com.Good luck and have fun!May 200010-10 Int. Spring Contest, CW 0001Z, May 6 to 2400Z, May 7902/1296/2304 MHz Spring Sprint 0600Z-1300Z local, May 6Indiana QSO Party 1400Z, May 6 to 2300Z, May 7Massachusetts QSO Party1800Z, May 6 to 0400Z, May 7 and1100Z-2100Z, May 7ARI International DX Contest 2000Z, May 6 to 2000Z, May 7Connecticut QSO Party2000Z, May 6 to 0400Z, May 7 and1200Z-2000Z, May 7VOLTA WW RTTY Contest 1200Z, May 13 to 1200Z, May 14FISTS Spring Sprint 1700Z-2100Z, May 13CQ-M International DX Contest 2100Z, May 13 to 2100Z, May 1450 MHz Spring Sprint 2300Z, May 13 to 0300Z, May 14CQ VHF Spec. Mode Activity Weekend 1800Z local, May 19 to 2400Z local, May 21Major Six Club Contest 2300Z, May 19 to 0300Z, May 22EU Spring Sprint, CW 1500Z-1859Z, May 20Baltic Contest 2100Z, May 20 to 0200Z, May 212000 6M Activity Contest 1800Z-2200Z, May 23CQ WW WPX Contest, CW 0000Z, May 27 to 2400Z, May 28QRP ARCI Hootowl Sprint 2000Z-2400Z local, May 28MI QRP Club Memorial Day CW Sprint 2300Z, May 29 to 0300Z, May 30June 2000WW South America CW Contest 0000Z, Jun 3 to 1600Z, Jun 4IARU Region 1 Field Day, CW 1500Z, Jun 3 to 1500Z, Jun 4QRP TAC Sprint 1800Z-2359Z, Jun 3ANARTS WW RTTY Contest 0000Z, Jun 10 to 2400Z, Jun 11Portugal Day Contest 0000Z-2400Z, Jun 10QRP Day Contest 0700Z-1200Z, Jun 10Asia-Pacific Sprint, SSB 1100Z-1300Z, Jun 10TOEC WW Grid Contest, SSB 1200Z, Jun 10 to 1200Z, Jun 11ARRL June VHF QSO Party 1800Z, Jun 10 to 0300Z, Jun 12All Asian DX Contest, CW 0000Z, Jun 17 to 2400Z, Jun 18Kid’s Day Contest 1800Z-2400Z, Jun 17West Virginia QSO Party 1800Z-2400Z, Jun 18Marconi Memorial HF Contest 1400Z, Jun 24 to 1400Z, Jun 25ARRL Field Day 1800Z, Jun 24 to 2100Z, Jun 25July 2000RAC Canada Day Contest 0000Z-2359Z, Jul 1Venezuelan Ind. Day Contest, SSB 0000Z, Jul 1 to 2400Z, Jul 2MI QRP Club July 4 th CW Sprint 2300Z, Jul 4 to 0300Z, Jul 5IARU HF World Championship 1200Z, Jul 8 to 1200Z, Jul 9WRTC2000 1200Z, Jul 8 to 1200Z, Jul 9CQ Worldwide VHF Contest 1800Z, Jul 8 to 2100Z, Jul 9QRP ARCI Summer Homebrew Sprint 2000Z-2400Z, Jul 9SEANET WW DX Contest, CW 0001Z, Jul 15 to 2359Z, Jul 16Pacific 160M Contest 0700Z-2330Z, Jul 15North American QSO Party, RTTY 1800Z, Jul 15 to 0600Z, Jul 16Six Club Sprint 2300Z, Jul 15 to 0400Z, Jul 16Colombian Ind. Day Contest 0000Z-2400Z, Jul 16Venezuelan Ind. Day Contest, CW 0000Z, Jul 29 to 2400Z, Jul 30Russian RTTY WW Contest 0000Z, Jul 29 to 2400Z, Jul 30IOTA Contest 1200Z, Jul 29 to 1200Z, Jul 30August 200010-10 Int. Summer Contest, SSB 0001Z, Aug 5 to 2400Z, Aug 6European HF Championship 1000Z-2200Z, Aug 5North American QSO Party, CW 1800Z, Aug 5 to 0600Z, Aug 6ARRL UHF Contest 1800Z, Aug 5 to 1800Z, Aug 6YO DX HF Contest 0000Z-2000Z, Aug 6QRP ARCI Summer Daze SSB Sprint 2000Z-2400Z, Aug 6WAE DX Contest, CW 0000Z, Aug 12 to 2400Z, Aug 13W/VE Islands Contest 1600Z, Aug 12 to 2359Z, Aug 13SARTG WW RTTY Contest0000Z-0800Z and 1600Z-2400Z, Aug 19 and0800Z-1600Z, Aug 20SEANET WW DX Contest, SSB 0001Z, Aug 19 to 2359Z, Aug 20ARRL 10 GHz Cumulative Contest0800Z-2000Z local, Aug 19 and0800Z-2000Z local, Aug 20Keyman’s Club of Japan Contest 1200Z, Aug 19 to 1200Z, Aug 20Oregon QSO Party 1400Z, Aug 19 to 0400Z, Aug 20North American QSO Party, SSB 1800Z, Aug 19 to 0600Z, Aug 20TOEC WW Grid Contest, CW 1200Z, Aug 26 to 1200Z, Aug 27SCC RTTY Championship 1200Z, Aug 26 to 1200Z, Aug 27Ohio QSO Party 1600Z, Aug 26 to 0400Z, Aug 27■27

International ContestsThe Contest SeasonFor at least as long as I can recall,the prevailing wisdom has been thatthe “Contest Season” lasted from lateOctober (CQ WW Phone) throughMarch including the last full weekendin May (CQ WPX CW). During thisperiod most of the major contests, iethe WW, SS, ARRL DX, WPX, the 10-Meter, and the 160-Meter Contestsare thrust upon the intrepid contesterin rapid succession. This left the betterW5ASPpart of seven months to rest, relax andget ready for the next contest season.Getting ready included not only the antenna work and therefurbishing of the station, but in many cases the accumulationof goodwill credits within the family to be drawn upon later.Well, yes, there is Field Day (’though not a contest), andenough other planned activities (IARU, WAEDX, All Asian,etc) to keep up your skills and check your progress. The offseasonhas indeed been a good time to savor the past andlook ahead to the future.In recent years this contrast between seasons has becomeJoe Staples, W5ASPw5asp@aol.comblurred and, in the case of the more serious operators, hassimply vanished. The growth of interest and the level ofparticipation in the secondary contests have changed things.There is really no significant period of respite—if one isseriously committed to the contest game. Radio Sporting isa year-round affair with few discernible breaks in the schedule.(If you question this reality, just listen to the complaints of the“anti-contest” crowd.) Whether or not this is a good thingdepends upon how you choose to participate.There are those who thrive upon operating every conteston the docket, full bore, all bands, all modes, with dedicationand zeal. Many are among the movers and shakers of thecontest world. They are most often among the victors—anddeservedly so. Surprisingly enough, there doesn’t seem tobe a significant “burn-out” rate. What drop-out there is comesmore often from outside influences—job, family, health.Generally speaking they are in there, rain or shine, setting thepace and spreading the good word. However, this inspiredgroup of contesters accounts for only a fraction of the totalnumber of those who claim contesting as their operatingpreference.By far the majority of operators approach contesting in a far1999 RSGB Islands-on-the-Air (IOTA)Island Multi-Operator—24 Hour Mixed ModeCall QSOs Mults Points IOTA6 WP2Z 2,768 290 5,005,110 NA10622 CY9CWI 1,505 177 1,614,771 NA09423 W7W 1,382 182 1,461,642 NA16926 AA1IZ 1,128 188 1,405,488 NA14828 W4T 1,382 168 1,330,056 NA07634 VD7D 1,136 149 1,101,408 NA11844 N3OC/P 1,177 120 816,840 NA13954 KI6T/P 695 123 547,227 NA06667 VO1SDX 844 88 255,552 NA02776 K7PAR/7 34 18 2,574 NA065Island Single-Operator—24 Hour Mixed Mode1 CF7ZO 1,359 173 1,787,955 NA03613 K1VSJ 680 91 330,876 NA04623 WP4LNY 250 36 59,256 NA099Island Single-Operator—12 Hour SSB4 KP2/AA1BU 911 101 580,188 NA10634 NN2C 103 63 72,387 NA02640 W1/VA3PL 194 35 40,530 NA05551 VE7XO 654 66 17,334 NA03666 AA2WN 14 14 1,708 NA140World—24 Hour Mixed Mode5 W1NG 1,825,82422 K4BAI 477,13532 N6VR 358,68038 W5FO 239,56847 KD7H 173,81753 AA1SU 77,23162 N4MM 48,51572 W4NTI 1,680World—12 Hour Mixed Mode7 N8II 752,40015 WB2YQH 309,63616 N4UH 269,44844 W6FA 67,70456 WB0YJT 41,03160 W6ISQ 29,27474 K0COP 7,01175 NM1K 2,457Island Single-Operator—24 Hour CW15 KE8M/4 588 65 205,920 NA062Island Single-Operator—24 Hour SSB16 VE1JS 741 119 572,985 NA12720 KP4AH 890 108 504,792 NA09929 KW1DX 362 76 176,472 NA13734 WB2KHO 130 74 103,452 NA02642 VO1RE 84 25 13,050 NA19843 KL7/NO7F 174 15 12,870 NA059Island Single-Operator—12 Hour Mixed Mode10 N2US/P 239 66 115,434 NA083Island Single-Operator—12 Hour CW10 VP9/N0ED 835 50 183,450 NA00516 KH6/W3LPL 636 45 141,480 OC01930 N4H 351 44 79,068 NA06755 VE7/N7OU 107 12 8,880 NA03628World—24 Hour CW39 K9QVB 160,896World—24 Hour SSB14 KA1UQ 367,53921 W4RA 247,08634 VO1BC 139,59037 N0ISL 130,97738 K6ACZ 128,06140 KG0ZI 117,81045 VE3ZZ 97,68652 AA7KE 64,51265 W8TTS 22,07766 N9TU 21,98468 KC8HWV 11,76069 N2LQQ 8,208World—12 Hour CW67 K2SX 63,726109 WA2VQV 8,496124 KC2AFK 1,980132 W7/JR1NKN 1,030World—12 Hour SSB43 WA1MKS 79,75870 KD2N 42,34782 WB1GEX 35,760101 W1ENZ 21,582109 AJ3M 13,700119 VE3SYB 9,900122 W7KEU 8,190147 VE6JY 420

less structured way. They are usually aware of the variousimpending contests and are reasonably familiar with therules and special aspects of each event. They seldom aspireto the lofty levels of achievement presented in the magazines,newsletters, reflectors, etc. Yet in a sense they are the fuelupon which most contests run. All too often the more avidcontesters tend to overlook this difference, and assume thateveryone is pursuing the same goals. While the year-roundchallenge of contesting may be an attractive scenario forthem, it may not suit everyone’s taste and, in fact, can proveto be a negative to others.While participation in any contest is certainly a positiveexperience both to the individual and to those others involved,it is equally true that taking part in every contest isn’t foreveryone. More emphasis needs to be placed upon contestselection, the choice of entry category, and the best use ofone’s available time during the event. The focus should beupon the quality of the contest activity rather than the quantity.Perhaps some open dialog along these lines would improveeveryone’s enjoyment of our sport. I would certainly be opento a guest article pro or con, preferably both.Upcoming International ContestsARI Italian International DX ContestCQ-M International DX ContestBaltic ContestSouth American CW ContestPortugal Day ContestTop of Europe Grid SSB ContestAll Asian DX CW ContestMarconi Memorial ContestRAC Canada Day ContestVenezuela SSB ContestIARU HF ContestColumbian Independence ContestSEANET DX ContestVenezuela CW Contest06-May-0013-May-0020-May-0003-Jun-0010-Jun-0010-Jun-0017-Jun-0024-Jun-0001-Jul-0001-Jul-0008-Jul-0015-Jul-0015-Jul-0022-Jul-00Notes: With few exceptions, logs and summary sheets must bepostmarked within 30 days of the contest.CQ-M DX Contest 1999North AmericaSingle operator—Multi-bandCW SSB MixedN4BP 303996 N8WTH 189 W7GG 105633VA3UZ 247035 – VE6JO 76275N6AW 234899 – N4MM 21070Multi operator - Multi-band KT0R 105800Single operator - 7 MHz CW KR1G 16308Single operator - 14 MHz CW N1XS 6156Call Entry Result QSOs Score MultAlaskaWL7KY SOMB-CW 55545 286 805 69CanadaVA3UZ SOMB-CW 247035 683 1915 129VE3UOL SOMB-CW 41318 198 566 73VE3IAY SOMB-CW 32428 175 484 67VE3ZT SOMB-CW 25344 140 384 66VE3VIG SO-14-CW 3772 56 164 23VE6JO SOMB-MIX 76275 370 1017 75USAN4BP SOMB-CW 303996 750 2068 147N6AW SOMB-CW 234899 493 1459 161K3JT SOMB-CW 198616 586 1628 122KM5G SOMB-CW 178310 594 1621 110K3WW SOMB-CW 161880 499 1420 114WD4AHZ SOMB-CW 108000 364 1000 108N4AF SOMB-CW 90048 328 938 96K2SX SOMB-CW 55840 255 698 80KE8M SOMB-CW 40392 203 612 66KR1G SO-7-CW 16308 168 453 36N1XS SO-14-CW 6156 88 228 27K9GY SO-14-CW 3450 58 150 23N8WTH SOMB-SSB 189 9 27 7W7GG SOMB-MIX 105633 387 1067 99N4MM SOMB-MIX 21070 144 430 49WO4O SOMB-MIX 9193 119 317 29N6RT SOMB-MIX 4368 68 168 26K3WWP/QRP SOMB-QRP 4611 54 159 29W7/JR1NKN SOMB-QRP 345 16 23 15KT0R MOMB 105800 421 1150 92■Kid’s Day—June 17, 2000Jean Wolfgang, WB3IOSEducational Programs CoordinatorARRL Field & Educational Services860-594-0219jwolfgang@arrl.orgKid’s say the “darndest” things! If you want to hear just whatthey’re saying, join us on June 17, 2000 for Kid’s Day.Between 1800 and 2400Z you will hear young people chattingwith both adults and other kids. This event is a painless wayfor your kids, or someone else’s, to experience the fun andexcitement of Amateur Radio.Purpose: Kid’s Day is intended to encourage young people(licensed or not) to enjoy Amateur Radio. It can give youngpeople hands-on on-the-air experience so they might developan interest in pursuing a license in the future. It is intended togive hams a chance to share their station with their children.Date: June 17, 2000.Time: 1800Z to 2400Z. There is no limit on operating time.Suggested Exchange: Name, age, location and favoritecolor. You are encouraged to work the same station again ifeither operator has changed. Those looking for contacts cancall “CQ Kid’s Day.”Suggested Frequencies: 28350 to 28400 kHz, 21380 to21400 kHz, 14270 to 14300 kHz and 2-meter repeaterfrequencies with permission from the particular repeater’ssponsor. Observe third-party traffic restrictions when makingDX QSOs.Reporting: Logs and comments may be posted on theInternet to kids@contesting.com. You may review thesepostings at http://www.contesting.com/kids/. Those withoutInternet access may forward comments to the Boring AmateurRadio Club.Awards: All participants are eligible to receive a colorfulcertificate (it becomes the child’s personalized sales brochureon ham radio). Send a 9 × 12-inch SASE to:Boring Amateur Radio ClubKid’s Day CertificatePO Box 1357Boring, OR 97009For additional information on Kid’s Day, please visit http://www.jzap.com/k7rat/.■29

Contesting for FunRon Stark, KU7Yku7y@dri.netThis is Ron’s lastcolumn for the NCJ. Ihave had many longconversations withRon concerning theimportance of thiscolumn in the magazine.I will miss hispassion and personalphilosophy forcontesting—“just forthe fun of it.” All contestersshould consider the messagegiven in this column when Ron startedout—“This is just a hobby!”Thank you, Ron. We will look forwardto many contest QSOs with you as youwander this country of ours that you loveso much—’BVHi All,Carol and I have just moved into ourRV in preparation for my retirement atthe end of September. We will then travelall around the western US. I am goingfrom that very nice Force 12 C4SXL at85 feet and the DX77 at 30 feet to ascrewdriver mobile antenna on the 30-foot 5 th wheel. The FT-1000MP is beingreplaced with a little FT-100. Along withthat I will be changing from a full-timeWeb connection to the Internet to justgetting e-mail via HF packet!Doing this column has been one of thehighlights of my amateur career, but Iwill not be able to stay in touch and keepthe column interesting. Bob Patten,N4BP, has agreed to take over. I’m surethat he will do a super job.I want to thank everyone for yoursupport over the years. I would also liketo put you all on notice that I will soon belooking for places to operate from!Brian Kassel, K7RE, provides aninteresting low-power contesting storybelow. It is about a trip he took with BobPatten, N4BP, to C6A. Thanks, Brian!QRP Contesting from the “OtherEnd” of the PileupBy Brian Kassel, K7REHow many times have you tuned pasta great pileup and wondered what itwould be like to be at the other end? I gotan opportunity to experience that thrillcourtesy of Bob Patten, N4BP. Heannounced in August 1999, via e-mail,that he wanted to get a small grouptogether for a C6A (Bahamas) effort forthe CW ARRL International DX Contest,to be held in February 2000. Bob hadalready lined up a hotel.I ran across Bob many times duringprevious QRP and other contests. I had30KU7Ydone many portable and mobile contestsmyself, but I always yearned to be a rareone at the other end. I quickly requestedthat he add my name to the short list.Planning Via the InternetWe did our planning via e-mail. As theweeks passed by, one by one the otheroperators were forced to drop out forone reason or another. Finally, only Boband I remained.We decided to be as low impact andas lightweight as possible. For antennasupports, we would use two DK9SQ 33-foot collapsible fiberglass masts.One would hold up Bob’s 80-meterinverted-V antenna. He planned to enteras 80-meter single band, owing to hisprevious success of winning the 40-meter single band position. The othermast would support a 33-foot wire, which,with 2 radials and an automatic antennatuner, would cover 15 and 40 metersvery easily—along with other bands in apinch. I had planned to do a QRP onlyeffort, possibly on all bands, but thatdecision was made for me later on by theMurphy man himself.The masts and antennas would bemounted to existing vent pipes that wereknown to be located on the hotel’s roof.We were even promised the services ofthe hotel’s maintenance man to help setup the antennas!We would bring most of our own foodin the form of freeze-dried items such aspasta, instant oatmeal, rice, etc. Thesewould be supplemented with “PowerBars” and assorted low-fat munchies.Canned goods were too heavy, and theroom would have no refrigerator forstoring fresh foods. Bob had a singleburner backpack type of stove that wasvery light and used lightweight gascylinders. With the unit’s companion pot,we would be able to cook all mealssimply by adding water and heating. Tosave some weight on my trip to meetBob in Florida, I purchased my foodthere after I arrived.I planned to bring my Elecraft K-2;Bob would bring his ICOM IC-706MkII.In view of the fact that we would probablybe operating concurrently, Bobpurchased band-pass filters for thebands that we would be using in thecontest, 80 through 10 meters, from ICE.In the interest of cost, we didn’t getfilters for the WARC bands.It’s interesting to note that all of thesedecisions were discussed and finalizedvia e-mail. We only met briefly at aScQRPion meeting many months earlier,and then only long enough to shakehands. We would be living together intight quarters for 6 days. Hey, therehave been marriages that haven’t evenlasted that long!The Camaraderie BeginsFinally the big day arrived. I flew in tothe Ft Lauderdale airport on February12 th and was met by Bob. Since it was aseven-hour trip from my home nearPhoenix, with three stops, and NO meals,I was very anxious to indulge in Julie’s(Bob’s wife) chicken dinner. Those fivebags of peanuts, and of course the smilesthat I got from the airline attendants, justcouldn’t compare.Immediately after dinner, Bob and Iheaded off to his well-appointed shackto participate in the 4-hour NA Sprintcontest. I expected to see some topnotchoperating—and I wasn’t disappointed.The upcoming trip would beworthwhile if only to see Bob perform hismagic from C6A.We laid out all of our equipment, hookedit up, and made sure everything playedtogether. Bob and I tuned up the 80-meterantenna, and discovered that his DK9SQmast had split near the top of one of thesections. It turned out that Bob apparentlyhad an older model that didn’t include themetal rings near the top of each largesection like mine had. We decided to runto the hardware store and pick up a fewhose clamps for both of our masts. Wewanted to avoid any inadvertent mastproblems in the Bahamas.The Fun BeginsWe boarded our 2-engine puddlejumper aircraft for the trip to Freeport.The transportation was, well, a littleprimitive. Let’s just say that I wassurprised to find out that I didn’t reallyneed goggles and a scarf!Bob had previously told me severalhorror stories concerning the customsat Freeport. We were all puckered upand ready to do battle, only to be whiskedright through, without so much asopening our bags!Would Our Good Fortune Hold?After a short taxi ride we arrived andchecked into the hotel. We soon foundout that not only was our room not ready,but the maintenance man no longerworked there! Had our good fortune runout already?Bob worked his charm and we weresoon on the roof with a capable fellownamed Burbie. Ninety minutes later wehad the antennas up and the coax runshidden under some duck tape wherethey entered our room.We quickly unpacked the rigs and

tuned up on several bands. It was timeto exercise those C6A callsigns. Bobhad been fortunate enough to get a“real” call—C6AKQ—while I had to signC6A/K7RE—a tongue twister to be sure.After having worked several hundredstations, there came a loud knock at thedoor. A TVI complaint had been lodgedby not only one, but by several guests!We quickly turned on our TV set andverified that we were getting into morethan a few channels with Bob’s 100 W,and with my K-2 running only 5 W!Given our relatively low power and veryclean transmitters, and considering thefact that we were using external bandpassfilters, we were dumbfounded at thetremendous interference. In our tests wefound that there were 3 bands we couldoperate with minimal TVI. Guess whichbands that they turned out to be? Yep, theWARC bands—30, 17 and 12 meters! Ofcourse absolutely no contesting is allowedon any of those bands.Bob’s operation on 80 would be onlyat night, so maybe we could squeak bysince most folks would be asleep duringthe bulk of his operation. I was QRPanyway, so I would stay on 15 meterswhere the TVI was minimal. No daytimeoperation on 40, 20 or 10 meters wouldbe practical with the level of TVI that wewere creating.We had about 3 days before thebeginning of the contest, which we hadplanned to use to work a few DX stations.Bob and I had never really been on 12meters, so we decided to load up on thatband and have a few nice rag chews.After all, our friends in Europe shouldstill be at work at that time. Bob calledone CQ. After 300 QSOs he finally gotup. Where did all of these stations comefrom? We had pileups out to 5 kHz attimes! Bob asked me if I wanted to knockout a few while he got a little chow.Okay—I guess… I sat down in front ofa radio that is largely menu driven, theIC-706, which I had never operatedbefore, a computer that I never used,and software that I was totally unfamiliarwith, confronted with what seemed likeevery DX station that ever existed.Nervous, me? Nah!I stumbled through as best as I could,at times I was totally overwhelmed. Aftera while though, I got the hang of it. Man,all of that pre-planning and tons of e-mail messages were paying off! When12 finally died, we switched to 17 meters,then down to 30. The results were alwaysthe same: huge pileups. The single bandfilters worked wonderfully when we wereboth on the non-WARC bands. I highlyrecommend them for any multitransmittersetup.I wound up with 638 QSOs during thedays preceding the contest, some withthe 100 W IC-706, some with the K-2 at5 W. Most were made with the 33-footwire vertical. Bob ended up with 1997QSOs before the contest. Of course wetook a few walks around the area andenjoyed the sun for a bit as well.2000 ARRL DX CWAfter the WARC band pileups, theactual contest operating seemed a bittame, but it was great fun nevertheless.Bob’s final tally, all on 80 meters, was977 QSOs and 57 multipliers, running100 W.I wound up with 522 Qs and 48 multipliers,all on 15 meters using the K2 at 5 W.The day following the contest we brokedown the station and re-packed (a mucheasier task with most of our food gone).We did manage to enjoy three mealsout—two in the hotel restaurant and onein the local marketplace, where wepicked up a few souvenirs for the folksback home.Our trip back was anti-climatic. Wediscussed how we could get the TVIproblem fixed by long distance. Bob willtry to work something out via e-mailback to the hotel, but the prospect of thehotel operators and the cable companyworking it out seems pretty slim.Next year I plan to participate in the allband QRP category. If Bob wins the 80-meter single band spot, it’s hard sayingwhat he will shoot for next.We may just attempt a camp-outoperation on a C6A beach if the TVIproblem is not resolved. One thing is forcertain; we’ll keep our powder dry andtry not to shoot ourselves in the foot inthe meantime. We have to remain smalland stealth-like if we hope to swim withthe Big Guns again next year.73, Brian, K7REThanks, Brian. I hope to run into you,Bob, and all the rest of you on the air.73, de Ron, KU7Y ■31

Contest Tips, Tricks & TechniquesGary Sutcliffe, W9XTw9xt@qth.comDesign Your Own Contest!If you could designthe perfect contest,what would it be like?Who could you work?What bands andmodes would beincluded? How longwould it last? Howwould the score becalculated? That isthe question that wasW9XTposed to the readersof CTT&T this time around.There were a few themes thatappeared several times in the responses.One is a QSY rule similar to the one inthe Sprints. In the Sprints you can solicitonly one contact before you have toQSY. In practice you answer a CQ, workthat station, and then call CQ. You workone station, and relinquish the frequencyto the station just worked. Paul, K5AF,explained the purpose of this rule thebest. “No one gets to ‘own’ a frequency,everyone has to S&P, and a very clearprotocol has to be followed by anyonewho wants to be competitive.”W5ASP had a QSY suggestion thatrequired you to QSY at least 10 kHz onthe hour and half-hour.I think that a rule that limited when youcan call CQ would be interesting. If thenumber in your call is odd, you can onlycall CQ the first 30 minutes of the hour. Ifit is even, you can call CQ only during thesecond half of the hour. You can S&P atany time. If everyone exclusively calledCQ during their time slot, they would missthe opportunity to work half of the stationsin the contest, ie all the other even (odd)stations. Deciding when to CQ would be amajor tactical decision. Of course SO2R(single op two radios) ops would not haveto make that decision.Several readers liked the idea of usinggrid squares in HF contests. That is thestandard for VHF contests, of course. Iteliminates much of the advantage ofbeing in a rare state or country. It alsoeliminates much of the disadvantage ofbeing in a large geographical regionwhere multipliers are far away. Whilebeing in a rare grid is still somewhat ofan advantage, it is not as good as beingthe only one on from Delaware or NorthKorea. Being in CM96 is better thanbeing “just another W6.”The grid square exchange allowsanother twist in scoring based on distance.Distant contacts are worth more than localones. The concept only became practicalwith the use of computers to do thecalculations. To my knowledge, this wasfirst used in the Stew Perry Top Band32Challenge. On 160 meters, one mustdecide if they should work several localcontacts or spend the time trying to worka few distant stations. In this contest thereare no multipliers, so a distant station alsobeing a rare multiplier is not a factor. It isuncertain how this would work out onbands like 15 or 10 where it is often moredifficult to work a station a few hundredmiles away than one on another continent.W1HIJ had a rather unique twist onthe grid square multiplier plan. Bill wouldlike to see grid squares only count once,not once per band, but would like to seeeach new grid count as two after somelimit, say 50 or 75. Bill reasons that thiswill give an extra reward for searchingout multipliers.Shorter contests seemed to be popular.12- and 24-hour contests were requestedthe most. Most of these also hadmandatory off times as well. KQ6ES wasthe only one who gave a reason for shortcontests. John thought that a 24-hour DXcontest puts a premium on knowledge ofpropagation and planning. In a 24-hourcontest, you don’t get a second chancefor an opening to a distant region.The ability to work both DX and samecountry contacts was another populartheme. This increases the number ofpossible contacts. It is a nice remedy forthose slow Sunday afternoons. K5AFsaid that the perfect contest should affordopportunities for more QSOs than couldpossibly be made in the allotted time.Paul went on to say that the contestmust also require selective listening formultipliers to maximize your score.Some readers had comments regardingpenalties for mis-copied calls orexchanges. Most thought that you shouldonly lose that QSO. There was a lot ofdiscussion about this on the Internetcontest forums recently. This wasbrought out by some contests penalizinga broken call/exchange by removingthree good contacts. One school ofthought said that was excessive. Theother side said that the purpose of acontest was to improve operating skillsand that you should be penalized for notgetting it right. My own feeling on thesubject is that there should be a penaltyabove removing the one bad QSO.Otherwise you reward the sloppyoperator. On the other hand, three QSOsis too steep. I think you would scare offa lot of beginning contesters who foundthat their score was cut in half, or worseyet, resulted in a negative number!Some Unique IdeasK5AF suggests a contest that turnseverything upside down. S&P contactswould be worth double points. Paul wouldalso like to see the hunters become thehunted. Give more points for workinglow power stations. Contacts with QRPstations would be worth 3 points, lowpower stations would be worth 2 points,and high power stations would be worthjust one point.This is also interesting because itrewards those with the skill to pull outthe weak signals. Right now, the QRPstation often gets extra points for runninglow power, but the higher power stationsare actually penalized for working weakstations because it often takes moretime to complete the contact.KM5FA would like to see an all-bandVHF/UHF version of the Sprints. Ken notesthat there are several VHF Sprint- likecontests, but they are single band. Unlessyou get a good band opening or live in aVHF hot bed, it gets pretty boring after thefirst hour. With an all band effort, theentire contest would be fun.Ken likes the 0000Z to 0400Z Saturdaynight format. Like most VHF contests,one could work the same station oneach band with grid squares being themultipliers. Ken suggested holding thiscontest in the spring since there are fewVHF contests then, and the possibilityfor openings exists.K6CTA suggests an International QSOParty. It would be similar to the NAQPbut have Sprint QSY rules. It would last12 hours, and you could operate 10hours. Ed did not specify what hours thecontest should be held.Barry, N1EU, likes the tribander/single-element category. Currently theWPX is the only contest with this, whichmakes it his favorite contest. He goes onto explain that it gives small guns achance in their own category. Barry alsolikes incentives for low band contacts,which would have higher QSO points.N5ECT had a suggestion that wouldprove educational and help ensure thatthe rules are being followed. Doug’s ideais that by placing in the top 5% in a contestyou would agree to allow observers infuture contests. Anyone could request tobe an observer. The observers wouldlearn contesting techniques.Doug goes on to say that with computerlog checking, about the only way to cheatis to run power in excess of entry classor legal limit. An independent observerwould eliminate that.Gordon, N7VY, would like to see acontest on the WARC bands. He feelsthis would level the playing field sincemost hams have not optimized antennas

on these bands. Countries would be themultipliers, and maximum power wouldbe low, maybe even QRP.W5ASP had a number of interestingand unique rules in his “Ultimate Contest”besides his QSY rule mentioned earlier.One is that you would select three of thesix bands (160-10 meters) for your finalscore. Joe would also require that logsbe e-mailed within 48 hours.KQ6ES liked the idea of the antennatype being part of the exchange. Johnwould like to know what everyone isusing for antennas. He suggestedsimple, standard abbreviations for theantenna types. One interesting sideeffect is that you might have differentexchanges for each band. John thinksthat such a contest would make for somevery interesting post-contest analysis.K4TMC would like to see a 15-metercontest similar to the ARRL 10-MeterContest. Henry thinks it might only beheld in years with low sun spot numbers,but it should not replace the 10-metercontest in those years.Does the Ultimate Contest AlreadyExist?K9SD thinks the ultimate contestalready exists—the IARU Contest. Samlikes the 24-hour format where you canwork both DX and stateside. He alsolikes the fact that it is held in July. Hereally dislikes the CQ WW CW contestbeing held on Thanksgiving weekend.After nearly 30 years of contesting, Ifind myself enjoying contests wherestrategy is more important than justsitting on a frequency and hitting the F1key. You should have times where callingCQ is the best strategy and others thattest your S&P skills. I like it when youcan work both domestic and DX stationsand get a lot of multipliers. You shouldbe able to work each station on both CWand phone, with a higher QSO value forCW. You should have some off times,but it should be important to operateboth the fast and slow times in order towin. Knowledge of propagation must bea key factor in winning. Of course thatcontest already exists! It is the ARRL10-Meter Contest!Yuri, K3BU (VE3BMV), says that theultimate contest will have its first runninglater this year in the Tesla World Cup2000. Basically you work anyone onceper band and exchange grid squares.Multipliers are grid strips in latitude. Forexample the multiplier for EN53 would beEN5. FN27 would be FN2, etc. Theinteresting part is that you work phone thefirst day, and CW the second. The TC2000 has just about every com-bination ofcategories you can imagine. You canoperate single mode or combined.One of the more interesting rules isthat for single op categories you mustoperate from your own station. Guestsingle operator and packet assisted arein a separate category.The contest runs on September 30 thand October 1 st , 2000. You can find moredetails at http://members.aol.com/k3bu/TeslaCup.htm.Of course the Ultimate Contest cannever really exist. Most operators havetheir favorite contest. Generally it is onethat they do well in. The format tends tomatch well with their skills, interests andstation capability. Someone designingtheir own contest would tend to takeadvantage of their strengths and minimizethe perceived advantages of the competition.The good news is that there are a lotof contests with a good mix of formats.Operate the ones you like the best!As usual, this column only worksbecause of those who contribute theirideas. This month I would like to thankKM5FA, KQ6ES, K3BU, K4TMC,KM5FA, K6CTA, K9SD, N1EU, N5ECT,N7VY and W5ASP.Topic for July-August 2000(Deadline May 3, 2000)State QSO Parties and similar contests.State QSO Parties and other smallercontests can be a lot of fun, but requiredifferent skills and techniques than thelarger contests. What tips can you shareabout operating them? Which state QSOParties do you operate—and why?Send in your ideas on these subjectsor suggestions for future topics. You canuse the following routes: Mail—3310Bonnie Lane, Slinger, WI 53086. E-mail—w9xt@qth.com. Be sure to getthem to me by the deadline. ■33

VHF-UHF Contesting!The “Best 6-Meter Rig” UpdateThere are a numberof new HF/VHF radioson the market that cover6 meters and show asignificant performanceimprovement over oldergeneration rigs. TheICOM IC-706MKII is areal step up from theoriginal ’706. I recentlybought one for use onDX-peditions. It has adecent 6-meter receiver. N0JKIt also has 2 meters inthe box (and even 70 cm with the “G”model) making it a great choice for aRover rig. It packs a lot of performanceinto a very small package.The Kenwood TS-570S has receivedgreat reviews from 6-meter users and isreasonably priced. AB7RG observes:“Way to go Kenwood! The DSP worksvery well, about as well as my ICOMIC-756, not quite equal, but once againit’s pretty close. I bought this radio touse as a secondary rig—mainly forDXpedition/field use. It’s perfect for that,for the first time user, or for the amateuron a budget. Spend a few extra dollarsand get a new rig with all the bells andwhistles I say. You’ll be much better offwith this radio than with just about anyused rig. The price makes this the bestbuy for your dollar! In my review of the’756 I said I’d give it ten plus stars—this one earns at least nine!” Manyother ops have noted that the ’570 is agood value.The Alinco DX-70TH has beendiscounted heavily recently. It is a good“all purpose” radio but the receiver maynot hold up under heavy contest QRM.If you already own a decent HF rig,using a transverter is a cost-effectiveoption. Ten-Tec sells a 20-meter to6-meter transverter with an output of10 W. The kit sells for just under ahundred dollars. This will get you on6 meters with the capabilities of your HFradio at a very reasonable expense.They also make a 2-meter to 6-metertransverter (and a 10-meter to 2-metertransverter).The Drake TR-6 transceiver was oneof the best “tube radios” on 6 meters inits day and, especially with Sherwoodfilters installed, is still a real contendertoday. Used radios have gone up a lot ascollectors bid them up, but you may stillfind a TR-6 at a reasonable price.A good on-line source for reviews ona variety of Amateur Radio equipment isavailable at http://www.eham.net/reviews/?category=All.VHF Contest OperationBy Mark Wasserbauer, N2YB(Our thanks to The Rochester VHFGroup’s Contest Corner for this material.)The Saturday Morning of theContestTurn on your station and make a finalcheck of all equipment including rotators.Check for unusual propagation, ie Tropo,Es on 6 meters, etc. The 2-meter band isthe most popular band in most parts ofthe country to start the contest. 6 metersis also a good choice, especially in themid-section for the June contest.The ContestBe sure to remember to move stationsfrom band to band. Ask during every QSOwith a new station “any other bands?” Tryto tap every potential QSO from each newstation—the first time you work them.Don’t “set up a sked” to work someone ona higher band later if you can avoid this.My experience is that many ops “forgetthe sked” or conditions change and youcan’t make the QSO. A Rover can moveon to another grid or a portable stationmay tear down. (An exception would be abig multi-op station that is on for the wholecontest.—’JK)Keep a “need list” for the higher UHFand microwave bands and stay alert!Probably the single most important factoris to be able to take advantage of suddenchanges in propagation. (A brief Esopening, long meteor burst or tropoenhancements are examples.—’JK )The overall goal is to simply work asmany as you can, as fast as you can, onas many bands as you can! There willcome a time to make a choice betweenworking one station or another. It is betterShortsFree WRTC2000 Contest LoggingSoftwarePaul O’Kane, EI5DI, has developedyet another version of his popular SDcontest logging software—SDW.SDW is a freeware package specificallydesigned for use in this July’sWRTC2000. It’s intended for singleoperatorunassisted entries and runs onJon Jones, N0JKn0jk@hotmail.comto work one than neither.Operate as much of the contest asyou can. If your operating time is limited,try to peak and concentrate your effortsduring times of high activity. N2YBidentifies four blocks of time that arepeak periods on the East Coast for VHFcontesting. These times correlate prettywell with activity periods here in theMidwest—Es can extend these.1) The first four hours of the Contest.Many ops get on at the start to see whatis going on.2) 0000 to 0400Z. Many stations comeon in the evening after dinner and others“settle in” to start looking for distantgrids.3) Sunday morning. Often a morningtropo peak, and good meteor/ionoscatterconditions. In populated areas agood number of FM Rovers may appearon the air.4) The last four hours of the contest.Don’t give up! If equipment fails, useplanned work-arounds. Dig, scratch,claw—every QSO is important. A newgrid can make the difference.Post ContestDon’t forget to submit your log on orbefore the due date. The ARRL is nowenforcing the 30-day limit for logsubmission. Clearly mark on thesummary sheet your power level andoperating class. Many logging programsuse high power/unlimited as the default.If you are submitting your score for aclub entry remember to indicate that onthe summary sheet and send a summarysheet to the contest committee for yourclub.Good Luck!Thanks, Mark. You can view picturesof my 6-meter activity from Barbados athttp://communities.msn.com/6MDX.73, Jon, N0JK ■any PC operating under MS-DOS orWindows 3.11, 95, 98 or NT.SDW offers real-time editing of yourcomplete log, together with ASCII logsfor ease of maintenance. It’s the onlycontest logger to provide instant dupechecking, beam headings and multiplier/band analysis as you type in the call signprefixes—there’s no need to touchanother key!For more information on SDW and todownload your copy, visit Paul’s Website: http://www.ei5di.com/.34

RTTY ContestingWayne Matlock, K7WMk7wm@i10net.comIn the last column,we spoke brieflyabout the importanceof selectingand wearing comfortableclothingduring a contest tomake the long hoursin front of your rig asK7WMenjoyable as possible.This time wetalk about using contesting as a meansof building your DXCC totals.Let’s say that after reviewing yourobligations, you determine that you willnot be able to devote the necessary timeto a particular contest for an all-out effort.Instead, you decide to pick and choosethe times you will operate so that youcan work as many new countries aspossible. With limited operating time,this is a good choice since lots of DXstations operate contests because theyknow there will be lots of contactsavailable. What you want to do is be oneof those contacts.The first thing one should do is checkthe propagation forecast for the date ofthe contest. WWV at 18 minutes afterthe hour gives an up-to-date forecast.The various DX-Clusters have propagationfigures to work with also. Fromthese, you can pretty much determinewhat the propagation numbers are goingto be during the contest.With the aid of a gray line predictor,one can have a good idea of when theDX will be on and what possiblefrequencies they will be using. Thereare several gray line programs out; theone I have been using for the pastumpteen years is Geoclock. I bought theoriginal DOS version and still run it in aDOS window, but J.H. Ahlgren has aWindows version, and a sharewareversion is available.Geoclock has a continuous movinggray line and shows the world at a glance.Many maps and other features useful inAmateur Radio are supplied with theprogram. A well-known contester hasshown me how to edit out the city namesthat appear on the map and replacethem with the call of the first station Iwork there. Of course, when you get upinto the Honor Roll status area, youmight get a little short of room—unlessyou display the map on a 17-inch monitor.Now that you have done all yourhomework, assembled your tools andyour battle plan is laid out, jump into thatcontest!Naturally, the first thing you stumbleacross is a DX station you would reallylike to bag BUT he is searching andpouncing (S&P). Never, never ever calla DX station that is answering someoneelse’s CQ. Your call will be imprintedforever in the CQer’s memory, writtenon the wall, and used as a topic ofuncomplimentary conversation at everyopportunity. Remember—this is acontest and there are serious contestersfighting it out.If the DX station answers a CQ at thebottom end of the band, that means he isprobably working up the band. Take offand find the first hole up the band, pointyour beam at him, (if you have a beam)and start CQing. He will find you. If youhear the DX at the top end of the band,he is probably working down the band,so take off and find the first hole downthe band and start CQing. While you aretrying to finesse that particular station,another piece of juicy DX may comeback to your CQ.Tuning around later, you hear a desiredDX station calling CQ. He is open gamefor everybody because he is operatingsimplex—no split receive and transmitfrequencies. The din is probablythunderous. Lots of contesters forgetthey are contesting and turn into a rabidDXer instantly when rare DX appears onthe band. They end up losing a lot ofvaluable time (time = contacts) trying towork the DX.If the DX station is calling CQ, he’s notgoing anywhere because he’s lookingfor points and mults. Try him a coupletimes and if you strike out, put him in oneof your memories and move on. Comeback to him every so often and see if thethundering herd has thinned down. Youwill be surprised at how many other DXstations you will pick up while the groupis locked into trying to break a simplexpileup.After you have cleaned the band, startfollowing the gray line and calling CQalong it, using the band you feel fits thepropagation opportunities best. If youend up not having any luck, drop down aband and give it a try. You’re not lockedinto running a frequency on a band, solook around. Sometimes, even with thebest of information, you will find DXshowing up where it isn’t “supposed” tobe. That is one of the things that makescontesting so much fun…It’s not unusual to work 50 or more DXstations in RTTY contests. On someoccasions you can work DXCC duringthe more popular RTTY contests. So,get in there and start your own climb upthe DXCC Honor Roll while you enjoy allthe fun contesting has to offer!Doing the 2000 WPX from Texas atW5KFTLike the old adage says, “My, my, howtime flies when you’re having fun.” It’shard to believe that it had been over 2years since I have been to “The Ranch”to operate a contest. Along aboutSeptember/October of 1999, (the lastcentury), I was asked if I would beinterested in operating the 2000 CQ/RJWPX contest from The Ranch with Ron,K5DJ, and Bruce, WT4I. I had operatedat The Ranch on several other occasionsso it didn’t take a lot of effort or exercisingthe little gray cells on my part to make upmy mind.A brief description of The Ranch is inorder. It has to be one of the mostbeautiful contest operating sites in theworld and is the home of Bryan Edwards,W5KFT. All the towers and antennasare maintained by Station Masterextraordinaire, George Fremin, K5TR. Itsits on approximately 2300 acresbordering Lake Buchanan deep in theheart of Texas. All kinds of wild crittersroam freely about and are easily viewablefrom your operating position. (This“feature” has distracted me more thanonce and I have been accused of missinga mult or two because of it.)There is also a herd of Red Branguscattle on The Ranch that is watchedover by Leonard, a huge Red BrangusBull. When you see Leonard and wonderwhere he is going, you can assume it’swherever Leonard wants to go. Thereare a lot of stories about Leonard that Iwon’t cover here but he is always asubject of conversation…Everything freely comes and goes. Inthe evening time, most come to the laketo water just as the gray line is peaking.Osprey are continually circling lookingfor a meal and lights are visible from theboats headed back into their respectiveharbors and from other homes situatedalong the opposite shores.The Ranch proper sits among hugeoak trees with manicured lawns and isaccessible by crossing a “cattle guard”installed to keep the cattle out and letthe traffic in (rubber tired type). Theentire ranch complex is fenced with themain ranch house sitting in the center ofthe fenced area, (to keep Leonard andhis friends out) with a guest house onone side and the radio house on theother. All of the buildings have full viewof Lake Buchanan and the surrounding35

countryside. The radio house is calledthe “little house”—that’s what it is—considering the references nearby.The radio house comes complete withkitchen, bathroom, 3 double beds, airconditioning and lots of radios andamps.To get from here to there requiresabout a three-hour drive to Phoenix anda two-hour flight to Austin. Ron metBruce and me at the airport and ouradventure began. After a short stop atRon’s home to pick up some gear andsay hello to his better half, Wanda, wehit the grocery store to pick up somefood and liquid refreshments. Nextstop—“The Ranch.”It was dark when we arrived at —andTexas dark is really dark. We halfexpected to find Leonard lying acrossthe road again blocking our path but the2-mile trip into the shack was uneventful.Actually it was kinda anti-climactic—wewere looking forward to a Leonardadventure.We unloaded the truck and then saton the porch watching the lights on LakeBuchanan and listening to the quiet. Itwas about this time that Bruce and Inoticed there was something in the clean,dry air besides clean, dry air. It was thebeginning of pine pollen season and toallergy sufferers like Bruce and I, miseryhad just started. I made a quick check ofwhat was in the medicine bag and tookone of each. The next 3 days were spentwith burning eyes, sore throat fromcoughing, worn-out nose from blowingand constant sneezing. Chalk it up as acontesting experience.The next morning a survey wastaken of all towers and antennas.Again, an anti-climactic event. Noturkey buzzards were covering theantennas, danger-ously drooping theelements. We just found all the towersand antennas sitting there waiting forthe RF to flow. We decided to set thestation up and get it ready so everyonestarted assembling coax, fittings,computer cords, etc.Before lunch everything was ready togo. We flipped a coin to see if we wantedto stay at The Ranch, where I wouldprepare something to eat, or go intoCoopers to either have steaks, ribs orsausage. Bruce never did let me see thecoin but I lost the coin toss (he said). Iguess peanut butter, mayo and baloneysandwiches didn’t interest them much.So it was on to Coopers for a filling lunchprior to the start of the contest.Leonard’s RevengeRon said he would take a differentroad back into The Ranch in hopes ofnot seeing Leonard. No such luck. Justas we rounded the final turn beforecrossing the cattle guards, guess what,there was Leonard blocking the entranceand not appearing to be movable. Now,Ron’s truck is red. Leonard was lookingat it like he had seen it somewherebefore and was trying to make his mindup about something. I nervously toldRon that Leonard was getting close toremembering the last time we were outat The Ranch.He tried to deafen poor ole Leonardwith his horn in hopes of making himmove from the road. A Texas standoffwas going on and the only thing in ourfavor was we had plenty of room tomaneuver this time. This cattle guard isthe only entrance to The Ranch viavehicle and at this point in time, therewere no volunteers willing to walk in tothe shack.We could see recognition begin tosimmer in Leonard’s eyes at about thesame time as a whole bunch of femaletype cattle walked out of the brush downat the other end of the fence headed forwater. Leonard suddenly had severalthings on his mind and thankfully gettingeven with a red truck wasn’t one of them.He majestically moved off toward theherd of cattle and the truck whimperedon to the shack. I suggested that thetruck should be repainted at the firstopportunity or at least before anothertrip was made to The Ranch. One ofthese days Leonard was going to eventhe score…Let the Fun Begin!The contest started with an adrenalinerush. Everything and everywhere waswide open. Go for it! A loud screamemitted from one of the positions assomeone noticed networking was notnetworking. Arrrrgh! Frantic checks ofcables, fittings, etc, revealed nothingamiss and then I remembered the lastcontest. I hate those little 50 Ωterminating resistors on the BNCnetworking cables. Replaced one andEureka, we be in business! Nothingreplaces experience.We decided we would work the 3-hour-on and 3-hour-off routine and thingswere going extremely well. The twostations were logging 3 to 5 contacts aminute and we could already pictureplaques hanging on the walls and newrecords being set. Things slowed downa little early in the AM so only oneoperator was needed to watch bothstations. The on/off shifts were shortenedto 2 hours.Ol Sole Gets Even for LeonardJust about the time the path to Europewas going to open, all the towers andantennas fell down… or at least itseemed that way. All the radios, amps,computers, etc. were working fine—butthere was just no RF to be found. Punysignals were wafting in and a puniersignal was wafting out.We tuned to WWV and our worst fearswere realized. A big solar storm had hitand its duration was going to be 7 to 9hours. With our peak operating time shotand our heads laid on the countertops,we weathered it out. The sugarplumsthat were dancing in our heads wereslowly disappearing.We figured HC8N and P40K weregoing great guns—something had to bedone. We went to the low bands to tryand pick up what we could. Someprogress was made but things were very,very slow. Along about sundown, theaction started picking up on 80 and 40meters. Some ground was being madeup but then the Saturday night blahs hitand things went dead slow again.One operator at a time stayed at it allnight. Come sunup, things opened upagain. At this point we were about 300QSOs behind last year’s Ranch teameffort but we were not doing badly withmults. Borrowing an adage from anotherwell-known contester, K3MM, “Never,never give up,” we figured we would giveit our best shot. The remainder of thecontest was spent in “catch-up” mode—with me coughing, sneezing and blowing.We finished with about 200 QSOs lessthan the previous year’s effort but foundourselves with about 30 more mults.The final tally was 2216 QSOs and 650mults for a total score of 3059550 points.With nothing left to do but break thestation down and sit on the porch andrelax, we did just that. We would have tobe up early the next morning for the tripto the new distant Austin airport. Wediscussed next year—everybody knowsthat our effort and score will be biggerand better.That’s all for this issue. Any and allcomments and suggestions are gratefullyaccepted. I can be reached at lonesomeCibola, k7wm@i10net.com… See youon the air.■36

PropagationCarl Luetzelschwab, K9LAk9la@gte.netPropagation Planning for the WRTC TeamsI received anunexpected phonecall the other nightfrom Romeo. Hewanted to know ifI’d be his partnerin the WRTCcontest in July if heK9LAwas invited.Wow—I almost felloff my barstool withexcitement. Healso mentionedsomething aboutusing the assignedS5 call but operatingfrom somewhere else to be morecompetitive. Hmmm… that sounds kindof funny. Guess I better check that outbefore I make a commitment. Regardlessof that little minor issue, I jumped right inwith the propagation planning.The first order of business is to getthe “big picture”—in other words, totake a look at propagation paths fromS5 to other parts of the world in relationto the auroral zones. With the Cycle23 maximum at hand, there will be amuch greater chance of disruptivemagnetic storms (as can be seen fromFigure 2 of my March/April Propagationcolumn). But this is temperedwith the fact that WRTC is in July, oneof the quietest months for such storms(see Figure 2 in the January/Februarycolumn).Figure 1 (in this issue) shows this bigpicture in relation to the auroral zonesusing DXAID 1 . This is for a K-Index of 2,which is considered to be quiet1 DXAID, Peter Oldfield,poldfield@montrealonline.comconditions. It’s readily apparent whichpaths may be affected if the magneticfield becomes active. These are pathsthat go to the US Midwest all the waythrough to paths that go to the US WestCoast (including KH6 and KL7). If the K-Index becomes elevated enough (to 5 or6), even the US East Coast may beaffected. This suggests that I should puttogether propagation predictions for twovalues of the K-Index—one for a low K-Index (2 is a good choice) and one at anelevated K-Index (5 is a good choice).When the contest is at hand, a quickcheck of the K-Index will give an idea ofwhich plan to follow.With a general idea of which paths toworry about, the second order ofbusiness is to run propagationpredictions in order to eventually comeup with a band plan. This is not a toughjob—but it can be tedious. And theFigure 1—Paths potentially effected by Auroral activity.37

strategy is all-important. Before jumpinginto this task, let’s think about this a bit.What propagation predictions do weneed? Here’s where knowledge of theWRTC contest rules comes in handy.The WRTC is run in conjunction with theIARU HF World Championship. Most ofthe rules come from the IARU rules, withWRTC adding in some additional rulesspecifically for the WRTC teams.The WRTC teams will use only 80, 40,20, 15 and 10 meters. They are limitedto 100 W output. The antennas will be aW indom for 80 and 40 meters at about40 feet and a 3-element tribander for 20/15/10 also at about 40 feet. They will beallowed to operate only 20 hours of the24-hour IARU contest period. The pointvalue of a QSO depends on the ITUzone and the continent of the stationcontacted, with QSOs with othercontinents favored. ITU zones and theIARU member-society HQ stations aremultipliers. Although the two-personWRTC teams are allowed to have tworadios, only one can be transmitting atany given time. The other radio can beon, but only for listening. The final scorewill be the sum of points achieved in fourdifferent standings: CW and SSB pileupsimulation (propagation planningdoesn’t help here), number of CWcontacts, number of SSB contacts (Ithink this says SSB and CW points areequal) and number of multipliers.After considering the above rules, ageneral strategy emerges. Since onlyone radio is allowed to transmit at atime, a plan between running and huntingfor multipliers must be developed. Aplan between CW and SSB must bedeveloped. To maximize QSO pointswhen running, the station needs to be onthe bands at the times that favorpropagation to the favored continentsbased on the point structure. Tomaximize multipliers when multiplierhunting, the station operators need toknow worldwide propagation.Ok, now it’s time to run all thepredictions. You can use your favoriteprogram, or you can take advantageof the work that Dean Straw, N6BV,did that’s included on the ARRLAntenna Book CD. Dean ran IONCAPpredictions from all over the world toeverywhere else in the world. In thiscase, the predictions for YU can beused—that’s close enough to S5.Choose the YU predictions for Julyand for the ap-propriate smoothedsunspot number for July of 2000. Andfinally, adjust the predictions for thepower level and antennas to be used.All of these issues are explained inthe text on the CD.Figure 2—Propagation predictions for multiplier hunting.38

Figure 3—Propagation predictions for running.There are two formats available forthe results. One format is one page perband of predicted signal levels to eachCQ zone versus UTC. Figure 2 showsthis format for one band—20 Meters.This data could be used for the multiplierpredictions. The other format is a onepagesummary of predicted signal levelsby band to each continent versus UTC.Figure 3 shows this format. This datacould be used for a run station plan.A couple comments are in order aboutthe ARRL predictions. The predictedsignal levels are median values, whichmeans they should occur on half of thedays of the month—on some days thesignal level will be higher and on somedays the signal level will be lower. Thepredictions also assume that the MUF(maximum usable frequency) is alwayshigh enough. This means the predictionscould be somewhat optimistic in termsof the higher frequency bands beingopen or not—this is ok, as I think it’sbetter to predict an opening and nothave it happen than to not predict anopening and have it happen. Finally,these predictions assume thegeomagnetic field is quiet. To cover theelevated K-Index aspect, I also ran thesame predictions using another propagationprogram that allows input of theK-Index.From all of the above, I came up witha plan of attack for the times of runningversus the times of multiplier hunting, aplan of attack for CW versus SSB, and aplan of attack for the 4 hours of OFFtime. I even have a general idea of whatto do in case the K-Index goes up. Onecaveat here—since I did all this planningin late February based on the initialrelease of the WRTC rules, I may haveto re-visit the plan if I find out later thatI misinterpreted the rules.All in all, I guess I can say I’m ready togo. I even packed an antenna tuner andsome ferrite beads in case of problemswith the 80/40-meter Windom antenna—I don’t know if the rules allow that, butwe’ll be prepared. So now I’ll just sithere, play with PED and RUFZ, and waitfor a phone call from Romeo. Think Ishould hold my breath?■39

NAQP SSB Records throughAugust 1999Compiled by Bob Selbrede, K6ZZk6zz@ccis.comSingle Operator RecordsArea Call Score YearCT K8HVT/1 90,552 01/93MA K1VUT 133,363 01/99ME KN1M 76,560 01/91NH WA1LNP 179,983 01/99RI WZ1R 137,555 01/92VT WT1L 148,856 01/92NJ WA2MKM 74,358 01/93NY N2BA 149,100 01/92(K8HVT)DE WN3K 124,410 08/94MD KE3Q 165,912 01/97PA WR3G 246,339 01/92AL K4AB 248,970 01/97FL K4XS 282,124 01/99GA KM9P/4 246,018 01/92KY KT4ZX 189,675 01/99NC K4MA 169,506 01/98SC W4OC 164,724 01/99TN K4WX 247,690 01/99VA K1GG 198,850 01/99AR K5OY 210,588 01/99LA AE5T 132,600 01/98MS W5XX 128,778 01/98NM AA5B 279,565 01/92OK N5CG 197,340 01/92TX N5RZ 242,928 01/91CA N6UR 303,563 01/93(KR6X)HI KH6ND 138,996 08/99AK WL7KY 104,754 01/99AZ K6LL/7 322,788 01/99ID W7ZRC 98,552 08/96MT W7MMQ 213,624 01/98NV K5RC/7 236,742 01/99OR AI7B 180,455 01/96UT WE7B 88,872 01/92Area Call Score YearWA W7WA 271,072 01/99WY WC7S 57,081 01/91MI WA8ZDT 234,362 01/94OH KW8N 247,257 01/99WV N8II 143,850 01/93IL W9RM 224,576 01/99IN W9RE 181,125 08/98WI WE9V 244,032 01/99CO K0GU 244,571 01/95IA N0AV 220,896 01/99KS N0BIW 134,495 01/97MN AA0SQ 125,388 08/96MO KI0MB 122,244 01/99ND ND1H/0 80,785 01/94NE KV0I 107,820 01/91SD WD0T 228,459 01/99NS VE1MQ 27,120 01/91QC VE2AWR 27,816 01/98ON VE3EJ 245,079 01/99MB VE4VV 207,828 01/99SK VE5SF 201,612 01/99AB VE6FU 120,020 01/99BC VE7CFD 146,030 01/99NWT VE8JL 13,532 01/99NB VE9AA 233,100 01/99LAB No logs SubmittedYT VY1JA 14,756 08/94PEI VY2SS 115,040 01/93NU No Logs SubmittedC6 KN4UG/C6A 53,888 01/99KP4 W8HNI/KP4 9,652 01/93PJ7 PJ7/AB6FO 69,273 08/95TG TG9AJR 29,082 01/92VP2E VP2EXX 18,620 01/91VP5 VP5V 213,110 01/93VP9 WA1AWJ/ 7,920 01/92VP9Area Call Score YearXE XE2DV 211,312 01/96ZF ZF2NT 263,579 01/99(N6NT)Highest Non-North American ScoreCall Score YearS51CK 15,132 08/99Top 10 Single Operator ScoresCall Score YearK6LL/7 322,788 01/99N6UR 303,563 01/93(KR6X)K6LL/7 300,150 01/94N6RO 290,408 01/99K6LL/7 290,232 01/98K6ZZ 284,874 01/99K4XS 282,124 01/99AA5B 279,565 01/92K4XS 277,728 01/93W7WA 271,072 01/99Most QSOs: K6LL/7—1454 (01/99)Most Multipliers: WR3G—271 (01/92)Top 3 Multioperator ScoresCall Score YearWB5VZL 598,404 01/94WB5VZL 471,276 01/96W0AIH 463,681 01/94Top 3 Team ScoresTeam Score YearSouthern California 1,239,392 01/99Contest Club(K6LL, K6ZZ, N6ED, N6KI, K6RO)Northern California 1,147,869 01/99Contest Club(N6RO, ZF2NT(N6NT), K5RC, K6BZ, N6EE)Southern California 992,364 01/98Contest Club(K6LL, AD6DO, K6RO, W6KY, WA7BNM)NAQP CW Records throughAugust 1999Compiled by Bob Selbrede, K6ZZk6zz@ccis.comSingle Operator RecordsArea Call Score YearCT K8HVT 125,424 01/91MA K1VUT 151,296 08/97ME NY1E 81,096 01/91NH WA1LNP 124,542 01/99RI K1IU 72,124 01/96VT AA1SU 66,603 01/99NJ N2NC 244,062 01/99NY KA2AEV 100,648 01/91DE N8NA 91,767 01/9840Area Call Score YearMD K3MM 224,280 01/99PA AA3B 161,993 08/97AL K4AB 173,116 01/98FL K4OJ 203,090 01/98GA K4AAA 263,801 01/97(N4VJ)KY K4FXN 165,436 01/99NC NY4A 169,274 01/97(N4AF)SC W4OC 152,490 01/99Area Call Score YearTN N4ZZ 206,100 01/98VA K7SV 157,614 01/97AR K5GO 169,857 01/97LA W5WMU 131,253 01/95(K5GA)MS W5XX 151,900 01/98NM K7UP 203,812 01/98(KN5H)OK N5OT 155,250 01/97TX N5TJ 308,257 01/98

Area Call Score YearCA N5KO 258,825 01/98HI KH6ND 63,840 08/99AK WL7KY 45,250 01/99AZ K6LL 236,844 01/99ID W7ZRC 179,196 01/99MT K7BG 68,667 08/97NV K5RC 250,498 01/99OR K7RAT 250,318 01/99(N6TR)UT NG7M 168,000 01/99WA N0AX 179,568 01/99WY WC7S 58,656 01/94MI W8MJ 176,700 01/99OH N9AG 146,081 01/98WV WA8WV 120,650 01/99IL K9OM 170,940 01/98IN W9RE 176,715 01/98WI K9MA 158,486 01/98CO N2IC 225,502 01/93IA N0AV 158,239 01/99KS W0UY 120,400 01/99MN K0SR 134,070 01/99MO KM0L 127,070 01/98ND WB0O 162,840 01/98NE KV0I 133,666 01/91SD WD0T 174,384 01/93Area Call Score YearNS VE1BN 8,378 01/94PQ VE2AWR 85,172 01/98ON VE3EJ 189,472 01/98MB VE4VV 149,350 01/99SK VE5SF 79,636 01/99AB VE6EX 133,749 01/99BC VE7NF 59,492 01/99NWT VE8/ 3,784 08/96AC5BRNB VO1SF 33,536 01/93LAB No Logs SubmittedYT VY1DX 20,625 08/99(K6LA)PEI VY2SS 64,124 01/92NU No Logs SubmittedHH HH2PK 56,991 01/93HI HI8DMX 20,984 01/91HP HP1AC 2,590 08/99HR HR3/K9BG 792 01/97I IK0HBN 3,690 08/97KP2 WP2/K9BG 170,355 01/98KP4 KP4/ 115,756 01/96AA5DXVP2E VP2EXX 5,880 01/91XE XE2DV 84,672 08/99Highest Non-North American ScoreG3FXB 23,331 08/92Top 10 Single Operator ScoresCall Score YearN5TJ 308,257 01/98Area Call Score YearNM5M 270,325 01/98K4AAA 263,801 01/97(N4VJ)N5KO 258,825 01/98W4AN 253,890 01/98K5RC 250,498 01/99K7RAT 250,318 01/99(N6TR)N2NC 244,062 01/99N6RO 242,064 01/99N5TJ 241,072 01/97Most QSOs: N5TJ—1097, (01/98)Most Multipliers: N5TJ—281, (01/98) andKM9P—281 (01/93)Top 3 Multioperator ScoresCall Score YearN5TJ 482,142 01/99K7UP 418,111 01/99W4AN 413,595 01/99Top 3 Team ScoresTeam Score YearTACO Uno 898,272 01/98(N5TJ, NM5M, N6ZZ, WB5B)South East Contest Club890,792 01/98(W4AN, K4AB, K4NO, AA4GA, K4BAI)Southern California Contest Club857,744 01/98(AD6DO, K6LA, K6LL, W6KY, N5OT)41

North American QSO Party (NAQP) RTTYRules1) Eligibility: Any licensed radioamateur may enter.2) Object: To work as many NorthAmerican stations as possible duringthe contest period.3) North American Station: Definedby the rules of the CQ WW DX Contestswith the addition of KH6.4) Contest period: Third full weekendin July (1800Z July 15 to 0600Z July 16,2000).5) Entry Classification:a) Single Operator:i) One person performs all transmitting,receiving, spotting, and logging functionsas well as equipment and antennaadjustments.ii) Use of helpers or spotting nets isnot permitted.iii) Only one transmitted signal allowedat a time.iv) May operate 10 out of the 12 hoursof the contest. Off times must be at least30 minutes in length.b) Multi-Operator Two-Transmitter:i) More than one person performstransmitting, receiving and loggingfunctions, etc.ii) A maximum of two transmittedsignals at any given time, each on adifferent band. Both transmitters maywork any and all stations.iii) Shall keep a separate log for eachtransmitter.iv) Each transmitter must have at least10 minutes between band changes.v) May operate for the entire 12 hoursof the contest.6) Output power: Must be limited to100 W for eligible entries. Use of externalamplifiers capable of more than 100 Woutput is not allowed.7) Mode: RTTY only.8) Bands: 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 metersonly. You may work a station once perband.9) Exchange: Operator name andstation location (State, Province orCountry) for North American stations;operator name only for non-NorthAmerican stations. If the name sent ischanged during the contest, assometimes happens with multi-operatorstations, the name used for each QSOmust be clearly identified in the log.10) Multipliers: Are US States(including KH6 and KL7), CanadianProvinces/Territories (British Columbia,Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba,Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, NovaScotia, PEI, Labrador, Yukon, NWT andNunavut) and other North Americancountries. Newfoundland counts asLabrador, and District of Columbia countsas Maryland. Non-North Americancountries, maritime mobiles andaeronautical mobiles do not count as multipliers,but may be worked for QSO credit.11) Valid Contact: A valid contactconsists of a complete, correctly copiedand legibly logged two-way exchangebetween a North American station andany other station. Proper logging requiresincluding the time in UTC and the bandfor each contact. Regardless of thenumber of licensed call signs issued to agiven operator, one and only one callsign shall be utilized during the contestby that operator.12) Scoring: Multiply total validcontacts by the sum of the number ofmultipliers worked on each band.13) Team Competition: You may wishto form a team with fellow NAQPparticipants. If so, your team must consistof 2 to 5 single operator stations whoseindividual scores are combined toproduce a team score. Although clubs orother groups having more than 5members may form multiple teams, thereis no distance or meeting requirementsfor a team entry.Teams must be registered with thecontest manager prior to the start of thecontest. Team registration informationmust be in written form (mail or e-mail)and must include the name, the call signof the operator, and the call sign of thestation operated if the operator is a guestat a station other than his own (eg WF1Bop at K1NG). Use the log submissionaddress given below for team registrationnotification.Log submission: Entries must bepostmarked no later than 30 days afterthe contest to be eligible for awards. Alllogs containing more than 200 QSOs,which were generated with a computerprogram, must be submitted on 3.5-inchfloppy disk or via e-mail. If paper logsare submitted, please submit originals.Sample log sheets and a summary sheetmay be obtained with an SASE to theappropriate contest manager. Theseforms are also available on the NCJWeb site.A proper entry consists of: (1) asummary sheet showing the number ofvalid contacts and multipliers by band,total contacts and multipliers, total score,team name (if applicable), power output,name, call sign and address of theoperator, station call sign and exchange(name and location) sent during thecontest; and (2) a complete legible log ofall contacts.Logs and summary sheets submittedon floppy disk or via e-mail must be inASCII text format. Name your files withyour call sign (ie yourcall.SUM andyourcall.LOG). Please do not send binaryfiles produced by a contest loggingprogram (eg yourcall.BIN, yourcall.QDF,etc). Use of the Cabrillo log format forelectronic log submissions is encouragedand may be required in thefuture.Send logs to: Ron Stailey, K5DJ504 Dove Haven DrRound Rock, TX 78664-5926 USAe-mail: rttynaqp@ncjweb.com.15) Disqualification: Entries withscore reductions greater than 5 percentmay be disqualified. Any entry may bedisqualified for illegibility, illegal orunethical operation. Such disqualificationis at the discretion of the contestmanager.16) Awards: A total of five plaqueswill be awarded for the high score ineach of the categories given below. If aplaque is not sponsored, the winner maypurchase it. Certificates of merit will beawarded to the highest scoring entrantwith at least 200 QSOs from each State,Province or North American country.Certificates of merit will also be awardedto the overall second and third placefinishers in the multi-operator categoryfor each mode.Plaques will be awarded as follows:Category SponsorSingle Op, Glenn Vinson, W6OTCNorth AmericaSingle Op, DX Will Angenent, K6NDVMulti-Op, RTTY by WF1BNorth AmericaMulti-Op, DX Writelog for WindowsBest name used Eddie Schneider,in North America W6/G0AZT(Name must be ratedPG and contain nomore than 10 letters.)Revised 12-March-2000■42