pdf 6436KB Sep 25 2010 04

Contest University 2008 at
Dayton Adds Graduate Courses
Building on its fi rst-year success, Contest
University (CTU), www.contestuniversity.com,
returned to Dayton this year
with a curriculum that included courses
for new and returning students. I had the
pleasure of attending CTU this year for the
fi rst time and, like many, I was impressed
with the organization and professionalism
with which it was executed. With more than
200 attendees, the fi rst-year courses and
graduate courses were located in adjacent
rooms at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in
Dayton on the Thursday prior to Dayton
Hamvention®. See Figure 1 for the class
rundown.
Through careful scheduling, it was
possible to organize the program so that
some courses could be presented to both
fi rst timers and grad students with the
room divider removed, while other classes
were taught separately to fi rst-year and to
graduate enrollees.
The day began with a great talk by
Randy, K5ZD, to the entire group on
contesting ethics. This was an extremely
strong start to the day. Feedback from CTU
attendees affi rmed that this was one of
the most important and well-received of
the day’s presentations. I think Randy really
drove the point home when he asked
simply, “What do you do when no one is
looking?”
First and second-year students then
broke into separate groups for classes
addressing station design, antennas and
propagation, QSO party and mobile contesting
and RTTY contesting. After lunch
Doug, K1DG, gave a brief talk to the entire
group on an extreme shack makeover,
followed by the eyeball sprint. The eyeball
sprint was a great way to get students out
of their chairs and moving before any postlunch
sleepiness set in.
Following separate sessions on station
design, advanced RTTY contesting,
basic and advanced VHF contesting, and
DXpeditions, the fi rst year and graduate
students joined up again for the fi nal class
of the day. This was a very interesting and
useful presentation on contest radio performance
by Rob Sherwood, NCØB.
All CTU attendees received a very welldone
printed and spiral-bound notebook of
the day’s presentations. This was not only
a great aid for taking notes but a handy
reference after CTU was over. I’ve already
referred to it a number of times. CTU also
posted revised slides to all attendees
after the event concluded, to make sure
students had the latest information about
the topics covered.
4 November/December 2008 NCJ
Figure 1 — The class agenda for Contest University 2008 at Dayton.
As a first-year attendee of Contest
University, I felt the instructors put a tremendous
amount of time into preparation.
All the presentations were fi rst-rate. Like
many things in our hobby, this was a labor
of love as they gave back to the contesting
community. I encourage all to give a
big “thank you!” to K3LR, K5ZD, K1DG,
W3LPL, NØAX, K8MR, WØYK, W3ZZ
and NCØB the next time you talk to them.
Better yet, come to CTU 2009, and do it
in person!
Finally, it is important to recognize some
of the sponsors that helped make Contest
University 2008 such a success. These
included Icom America, DX Engineering,
SuperBertha, CQ Magazine, Comtek Systems
and QTH.COM — KA9FOX.
Comments from Attendees
Using a list from K3LR, I sent a request
to most CTU 2008 graduate students
soliciting comments on their experiences.
Here’s a representative sampling.
♦ The programs in year one and two
were both fun and informative. There was
something for contesters at every level
and interest. It doesn’t get any better than
to have the opportunity to listen and talk
with expert presenters who really know the
sport. During session breaks you get to
meet a large room full of other contesters.
How great is that? It’s a blast and an allaround
super program. — Ralph, K1ZZI
♦ I enjoyed the grad level as much
as I did the introductory level. I’m a little
pistol, but I can apply a lot of what was
presented even on a modest scale. —
Randy, K9OR
♦ It was good to get a lot of contesters
Al Dewey, KØAD
together in one room [to interact], as you
hardly meet some of them face to face.
The sprint idea tried to help with that, but
I am not sure it succeeded as it brought
out the naturally competitive nature of the
contester. I think the talks were good, and
of course, there wasn’t enough time for
everything. Organization was great; Tim
kept things rolling. — Ed, K1EP
♦ I attended the graduate school this
year. The most useful part was the discussion
on contest station design [and]
how to be effi cient in that aspect. [CTU]
was more effi ciently run this year than in
the fi rst year. I think in future years more
and longer classes on one topic such as
contest station design would be useful.
Giving less than an hour for a topic is nice
for an intro, but then you really need the
intensive class to carry through. — Steve,
K7AWB
♦ This second year I got to talk with
others who had put into practice some
of the items gained in the fi rst session. I
too had changed some things around in
my station and started trying new things
I picked up the fi rst time around. With the
sunspot cycle on the way up, just talking
with and hearing the best in the business
talk about their experiences was worth the
day spent. — Jerry, K1SO
♦ My comments must start [by commending]
Tim’s precise planning and
attention to detail. Everything is done to
make this an exceptional learning experience.
I have been an amateur for nearly
50 years and always learn tons of stuff.
Ward, NØAX, is entertaining and informative
at the same time. Ed, WØYK, is an
encyclopedia of RTTY knowledge. Most all