Posts Tagged ‘Contesting’
New Jersey QSO Party this weekend!
September 16th, 2016 | 
Author: Not one of the biggies, by any means, but the Burlington County Amateur Radio Club has been working their tails off to get the NJ QSO Party back in the mainstream. For years, there was a lack of participation; but due to their diligence, it seems to be making a comeback.
For all the details, please visit: http://www.k2td-bcrc.org/k2td_index.html
I have a Middlesex County OEM work detail to attend in the morning. I hope to get some operating time in sometime during the afternoon. Maybe out on the patio table with the mag loop?
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
For all the details, please visit: http://www.k2td-bcrc.org/k2td_index.html
I have a Middlesex County OEM work detail to attend in the morning. I hope to get some operating time in sometime during the afternoon. Maybe out on the patio table with the mag loop?
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
New Jersey QSO Party this weekend!
Not one of the biggies, by any means, but the Burlington County Amateur Radio Club has been working their tails off to get the NJ QSO Party back in the mainstream. For years, there was a lack of participation; but due to their diligence, it seems to be making a comeback.
For all the details, please visit: http://www.k2td-bcrc.org/k2td_index.html
I have a Middlesex County OEM work detail to attend in the morning. I hope to get some operating time in sometime during the afternoon. Maybe out on the patio table with the mag loop?
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
For all the details, please visit: http://www.k2td-bcrc.org/k2td_index.html
I have a Middlesex County OEM work detail to attend in the morning. I hope to get some operating time in sometime during the afternoon. Maybe out on the patio table with the mag loop?
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
IARU HF World Championship contest
IARU HF World Championship contest
Just a reminder
that next Monday, June 20th, is the first day of Summer. And you know what that means ..... Skeeter numbers will start to be issued that day!
Beginning this year, the Hunt has been moved to the third Sunday in August in order to even out spacing a bit between FOBB, the Skeeter Hunt and the NoGA Peanut Power Classic. Also, there are some rule changes for 2016 in order to more fully incorporate NPOTA into the Skeeter Hunt. Make sure to check them out at www.qsl.net/w2lj.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Beginning this year, the Hunt has been moved to the third Sunday in August in order to even out spacing a bit between FOBB, the Skeeter Hunt and the NoGA Peanut Power Classic. Also, there are some rule changes for 2016 in order to more fully incorporate NPOTA into the Skeeter Hunt. Make sure to check them out at www.qsl.net/w2lj.
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Just a reminder
that next Monday, June 20th, is the first day of Summer. And you know what that means ..... Skeeter numbers will start to be issued that day!
Beginning this year, the Hunt has been moved to the third Sunday in August in order to even out spacing a bit between FOBB, the Skeeter Hunt and the NoGA Peanut Power Classic. Also, there are some rule changes for 2016 in order to more fully incorporate NPOTA into the Skeeter Hunt. Make sure to check them out at www.qsl.net/w2lj.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Beginning this year, the Hunt has been moved to the third Sunday in August in order to even out spacing a bit between FOBB, the Skeeter Hunt and the NoGA Peanut Power Classic. Also, there are some rule changes for 2016 in order to more fully incorporate NPOTA into the Skeeter Hunt. Make sure to check them out at www.qsl.net/w2lj.
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
A visit with a QRP contest station
160m Spring Stew Perry Contest - QRP style
I had the opportunity to visit with Paul Stroud AA4XX as he worked the early hours in the 160m Spring Stew Perry Contest. Paul is an avid CW operator dedicated to QRP and QRPp operations. When he works contests he often participates using the Knightlites club call WQ4RP (Note the QRP in the call). |
| AA4XX operating as WQ4RP during the 160m Stew Perry Spring Top Band contest |
160m Top Band
160m (top band) is challenging due to the physical logistics of a suitable antenna. I had the opportunity to assist with a portion of raising the 160m vertical loop antenna at the "Excalibur antenna site" and installing the 24 elevated radials that help make this antenna so effective. There's a lot of wire in the ground system. The antenna site is located in the woods, off grid, and away from electrically noisy homes.Power to the remote shack is supplied by a quiet Honda 1kW generator operating a couple dozen feet from the shack. Due to the lower power requirements of QRP Paul can run the generator on eco-mode allowing its small fuel tank to provide 8 hours of operation between fill-ups.
Paul uses a Ten Tec Argonaut VI, running 5 watts output into the Excalibur 160m vertical loop. He uses N1MM+ logger software and a WinKeyer interfaced to the software. He also employs a SDR (software defined radio) feeding CWSkimmer signals across the band. An antenna splitter simultaneously feeds the SDR and the Argonaut. The SDR receiver is switched out during transmit by a DX Engineering RTR-1A Receive switch. His CW key is a N3ZN ZN-QRP model.
The N1MM+ logging software keeps track of which stations have already been worked and the CWSkimmer interface displays calling stations on the band being heard by his antenna.
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| The remote QRP station setup for contesting |
In the Stew Perry contest the only information exchanged was grid squares. I'm still relatively new to CW and watching Paul casually copy grid squares sent at 30wpm was impressive. I would have had to ask the caller to re-send their grid squares 5 times but Paul makes it look easy.
Instructions for the newbie
Paul explained to me the in's and out's of operating in a contest. Speed and timing the openings were important, as was persistence. The integration of the software and receiving tools optimized his operating but experience and skill seems to be the biggest factors to success. I could have sat down there using the same tools but I would have been dumfounded with the logging controls and the speed the other stations were sending information. However, not all stations were sending at mach speed. When Paul worked a station sending at a slower or faster speed he would use the interface to Winkeyer to speed up or slow down the sending simply using the Page-up / Page-down keys. He would change frequency to a new station in the skimmer display by clicking on it.
Due to the limited amount of information exchanged during the contest most of the sending is accomplished via macros programmed into the contesting software. Paul rarely had to touch the CW key during the time I was there and his primary physical interaction with the radio seemed to be changing bandwidth or bandpass settings (he tends to keep bandwidth at 500Hz).
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| Paul demonstrating the contesting software and usage |
Why QRP?
This contest was not a QRP-only contest although there were multipliers for working QRP. There were plenty of big gun stations operating and the Reverse Beacon spots showed some of them with 56dB SNR reports pounding the ionosphere with their big amps.
The strongest signal spot last night for WQ4RP was 35db with the average at around 18dB. Paul has worked QRO in the past but the challenge of QRP operation is now in his blood. During a previous 160m CW contest this winter he and Dick Hayter N4HAY worked 3 stations in Hawaii with Excalibur which thrilled them given the current propagation on 160m. QRP adds a bit more challenge and those multi-thousand mile per watt contacts on the top band make it all the more special
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| Finding the next station to work. (N3ZN QRP CW key in the foreground) |
Why contest?
As a new CW operator I'm still getting my feet wet and enjoying the process of improving my CW copy skills doing more ragchews than adding stations to the log or chasing DX. I casually contest with the SKCC weekend sprints and it can be fun to see how many stations I work but I'm not ready for real contesting.
During the time I observed, I could sense Paul's excitement seeing the propagation progress across the band and when a distant station in Russia was heard he looked forward to the challenge to getting that one in the log using QRP. He let the stations running big amps get their fill before jumping in. Ultimately he wasn't able to work that station but he later worked a GW3 station in Wales which was a first for him on 160m. The rewards of contesting seem to be in the accomplishment of something difficult and achieving something new. I can understand that.
What's next?
With summer coming on 160m will turn noisy from atmospheric static and the opportunities for top band contacts fewer. Attention will turn to other bands and challenges for a while. Maybe Paul will decide it's time to get that 40m Moxon back up on the tower as the sunspot cycle decreases this summer.
I enjoyed the opportunity to watch real CW contesting first hand. It is technically challenging and requires skills I do not yet possess and I look forward to progressing in my CW/QRP journey to the point where I can assist Paul in a contest.
That's all for now
So lower your power and raise your expectations
73/72
Richard, AA400
