September/October 2000 NCJ

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The National Contest JournalVolume 28 Number 5 Sept/Oct 2000National 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, WA7BNM, 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—PropagationSteve Nace, KN5H—Contest DXpeditionJoe Staples, W5ASP—International ContestsJoe Pontek, K8JP—The Contest TravelerKenny Silverman, K2KW—Contest ExpeditionsWayne Matlock, K7WM—RTTY ContestingBob Patten, N4BP—Contesting for FunBruce Horn, WA7BNM—Contest CalendarARRL CAC RepresentativeNed Stearns, AA7A7038 E Aster Dr, Salem, OR 97302aa7a@arrl.netNorth 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 the2Circulation Department immediately. Thank you for yourassistance.TABLE OF CONTENTS3 Editorial Dennis Motschenbacher, K7BVFEATURES4 The Polish Yagis vs Quads Big Gun ShootoutHenry Kotowski, SM0JHF/K6JHF/SO5JHF5 WRTC2000—The S582A Story Doug Grant, K1DG9 WRTC Memories Jim George, N3BB/511 Memories of My First JOTA Larry Wolfgang, WR1B11 ARRL Phone Sweepstakes and the Kids Michael D. Ihry, N5KB12 To Contest—Covenants Be Damned Mike Condon, NE4S14 Antennas with Gain and Bandwidth for 80 and 160 Meters Rudy Severns, N6LF17 NCJ Profiles—Dancing to the Drum Roll—Jay “J.” Allen, VY1JAH. Ward Silver, N0AX23 Guyed vs Self-Supporting Towers Tom Russell, N4KGCOLUMNS20 International Contests Joe Staples, W5ASP24 Contest Tips, Tricks & Techniques Gary Sutcliffe, W9XT25 VHF-UHF Contesting! Jon K. Jones, N0JK26 Contest DX-VenturesThe Contest Traveler Joe Pontek, VE1JP/K8JPContest DXpedition List Dennis Motschenbacher, K7BVDXpedition Destinations Sean Kutzko, KX9X30 Contesting for Fun Bob Patten, N4BP33 RTTY Contesting Wayne Matlock, K7WM35 Propagation Carl Luetzelschwab, K9LA37 Contest Calendar Bruce Horn, WA7BNMCONTESTS33 Results, March 2000 NCJ RTTY Sprint Wayne Matlock, K7WMNCJ Advertising IndexArray Solution: 23Atomic Time, Inc.: 39Bencher, Inc.: 27CABLE X-PERTS: Cover IIIClark Electronics: 32Command Technologies: 38ComTek Systems: 34Dunestar Systems: 38Force 12: Cover IIGAP Antenna Products: 37Geo Distributing: 34ICOM America Inc.: Cover IVIIX Equipment Ltd.: 19K1EA Software: 40K0XG, R. Hassell-Bennett: 13NA Contest Logging Software: 8Productivity Resources: 29Roy Lewallen, W7EL: 39Sommer Antennas: 39Ten Tec: 19Texas Towers: 1Top Ten Devices: 36W2IHY, Julius D. Jones: 24WriteLog for Windows: 39
EditorialDennis Motschenbacher, K7BVThe September/October issue of theNCJ is always special in that its arrivalsignals the adrenaline to begin its magicas the new winter contest season rapidlyapproaches. This is the time of yearthat contesters complete the final phasesof their antenna projects and shack upgrades.We also experience some added tensionnow. This is also the time to spendsome extra hours with the family to buildup the “points”—that we most certainlywill run short of—needed to pay for theupcoming back-to-back procession ofcontest weekends. Our passion for contestingcan be a test of the strength ofour relationships with our families, coworkersand friends.We cannot help it, though—nor wouldwe want to change a thing. The nextseveral months will serve to consumesome of that fire in our gut that hasdriven us on each year since we firstdiscovered the unique thrill that contestingstirs inside us. Life offers many similarthrills, but only a contester can understandwhat another contester isfeeling in those final hours before thestarting bell rings at 0000Z.January NAQP SSB ResultsWe trust that most of you have seenthe reflector announcements directingyou to the NCJ Web site for the finalresults of the winter NAQP SSB Contest.Bruce, WA7BNM, has asked thatwe extend his apologizes for the delay ingetting them into your eager hands.WRTC2000Maybe the “thrill” mentioned above isone of the contributing factors that makea gathering of contesters such an excitingoccurrence. If that is true, thenWRTC2000 had to be the most incredible“thrill” a contester could ever dreamof experiencing.The entire WRTC2000 experience—that started for me with Ralph, K9ZO’s,telephone call asking me to be his teammatein Slovenia—was totally overwhelming.So many fantastic people met, so manyold friendships renewed, so many newfriendships initiated, so much contestingexcellence gathered in such closequarters, so many smiles and laughs, somuch unconditional and unselfish kindnessand respect, so many handshakesand hugs—the list goes on and on.I found that being there was truly ahumbling experience. It would have beenvery easy for me, with my meager list ofaccomplishments, to find myself quiteuneasy amongst all those well-knownand hugely successful characters thatpreviously only existed in my mind asfaceless call signs. After returning home,I was compelled to write a note, thankingthose hundreds of my “Contest Heroes”for graciously and generously acceptingme and my shy wife, Lieska, into theirsphere of friends each day and night inSlovenia.Frankly, I expected to see at leastsome of that boring ego-driven oneupsmanshipthat you sometimes encounterwhen attending contest club meetingsand gatherings. Had I thought thematter through more thoroughly though,I would not have had such concerns.This was a gathering of The-Best-of-The-Best. Most had nothing more toprove—all that had already been accomplishedwith their activities on thebands long before their arrival inSlovenia. For the most part these wereconfident people, just glad to have agood reason and the good fortune to beat that place on the face of the Earth atthat important moment.The actual contest was exciting forme—but no more so than the nightlydinners and story telling sessions. Rarelyan hour passed that I didn’t bump intoyet another contester I knew so well buthad never met in person before.I was also grateful to see all the peoplewho were there not as competitors butmerely to add passion to the moment—they made the WRTC2000 an even morerewarding experience for those of uslucky enough to actually take part in thecompetitive events.I saw so much sharing amongst thecompetitors. Sharing of equipment tohelp others with gear damaged by the“airline gorillas.” Sharing of medicine forthe unsettled stomachs. Sharing of strategyand operating opinions.Yes, they all wanted to win. They wanteda shot at one of the medals, but they werewilling to do everything possible to ensurethat it wasn’t a win cheapened by selfishness.The Slovenian’s organization ofWRTC2000 set this tone of cooperationand friendly competition and it prevailedthroughout the entire week.I was one of those who arrived with asmashed radio. That rig and shippingcase had been on a few rough andtumble DXpeditions to places like StPauls Island and Market Reef withoutincident—but no such luck this timearound. The shock of the realization thatI was going into battle without my trusty’MP was very unsettling—and my reactionwas quite visible to my wife andfriends.But our Slovenian friends were quickto respond and find a replacement radiofor Ralph and me. Things like this wereoccurring all over Bled on the day beforethe start of the contest. While placing alot of pressure on the S5s, they wereeasily up to the task of getting everyonestarted in the contests with all thingsbeing relatively equal. To their credit, Ihaven’t heard any post-contest whiningabout unequal stations—yet—and hopefullyI won’t.From my heart, I wish to extend mydeepest gratitude to the Slovenia ContestClub and the WRTC2000 Committeefor their efforts to make this historicevent happen. I love “movers and shakers”—andthese individuals are everyounce that!To my new Slovenia family, Pappa’Pol, S57U, and his Number One SonSamo, S57KAA—my heart pounds withemotion now as I try to thank you foropening your personal world to Ralphand me. All of us now have a greatlyextended family to share more ties within the years to come. Family is forever.Lieska, my wife, will never forget thewarmth of the women who, like her,traveled to Slovenia and tried to comprehendthe magnitude of the adventuretheir mates were living. (A note to Nora—XYL of A61AJ. Lieska says she will be inDubai visiting you sooner than you think!)A special thank you to our newest Hallof Famer, Walter, DJ6QT, who openedhis home to us, took all my feisty abuseand ribbing—and tossed plenty back inreturn. But even more importantly, hewas kind enough to offer me some personalconsul that I shall never forget.Each WRTC event seems to breathea life and character of its own—I canhardly wait until the next gathering comesalong with its own flavor and memories.73, Dennis Motschenbacher, K7BV—S566ZCover PhotoThe age-old question, “Which is thebetter antenna—the Yagi or the quad?”is one that has been batted around fordecades.Henryk Kotowski, SM0JHF/K6JHF/SO5JHF, has concocted a scheme thatcould conceivably help move us closer toan answer. Be sure to check out “ThePolish Yagis vs Quads Big Gun Shootout.”Perhaps you will choose to be a participantin his noble experiment. ■3
Page 6 and 7: The Polish Yagis vs QuadsBig Gun Sh
Page 8 and 9: “Team New Hampshire”—(left to
Page 10 and 11: stay off. During that time, we were
Page 12 and 13: tained stations at home as well.Aft
Page 14 and 15: To Contest—Covenants Be DamnedMik
Page 16 and 17: Antennas with Gain andBandwidth for
Page 18 and 19: Figure 5—The SWR plot for the N6L
Page 20 and 21: failed and Ann and I had to start o
Page 22 and 23: International ContestsJoe Staples,
Page 24 and 25: on the availability of electricity
Page 26 and 27: Contest Tips, Tricks & TechniquesGa
Page 28 and 29: Contest DX-VenturesThe Contest Trav
Page 30 and 31: DXpedition DestinationsSean Kutzko,
Page 32 and 33: Contesting for FunBob Patten, N4BPn
Page 34 and 35: Trooper was eating lunch across the
Page 36 and 37: on your toes. Very strange, though,
Page 38 and 39: Table 1The approximate total time s

September/October 2000 NCJ

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