Skimmer if you have no idea what it is sit up and take note....

Click here
for the article on Radio-Sport about skimmer
Think of it as the New Dx cluster for contesting but with always live data

steve

Watch for Randy from Cayman Isl as ZF1SI

Look for K5SL on vacation in Cayman Islands on Aug 9 thru 15 as ZF1SI Randy K5SL

North American QSO Party, CW: 1800Z, Aug 2 to 0600Z, Aug 3

North American QSO Party, CW: 1800Z, Aug 2 to 0600Z, Aug 3
That is tomorrow (This Friday 1 August local time)
31 July 2008
Steve

Not just another Watt Meter !!!!!

Just one of the many great graphics available for a Vector watt Meter

http://www.telepostinc.com/lp100.html

Not only will this thing provide low and high power readings with 1% accuracy
it will make your antenna analyzer something you rarely if ever use !
Need to know the true resonance of your antenna or want to Plot the beam width and gain of another antenna, use the field strength tools to make accurate plots
The possibilities with this test equipment make calling it a watt meter slanderous !

The world of vector based watt meters is not really that new if you have been paying attention (which I was not) within the last few years
But this one leads the pack !!!

73
steve
KG5VK

Ea4/DH1TW sdr presentation

click here and find the pdf file

I really like the multiple rcvr (with soft rocks) at different beverages
all streamed to one computer and visual board
This would be one awesome "multiplier hunter" esp when paired with skimmer on cw

73
steve
kg5vk

1st Annual Sunny South Contest Hospitality Suite

To all contest enthusiast in the South East:

Aug 15th Friday evening the ACG, SECC and TCG will be sponsoring the " 1st Annual Sunny South Contest Hospitality Suite" at the downtown Huntsville, AL Holiday Inn in the MIlltown Room from 7:00 -11:00 PM. Cash bar, snacks , pile-up competition (CW and SSB) and few demonstrations are currently on the evening's agenda. There are prizes for the top pile-up ops also. Drop by to swap some lies, bend an elbow and hobb-nob for a while.

This event is kicking off the annual Huntsville Hamfest which starts it's activities on Sat the 16th at the Von Braun Convention center across from the Holiday Inn and the Embassy Suites hotels in downtown Huntsville (both within one block of the VBC).

During Saturdays Hamfest events there will be a contest forum held from 10:00 AM till 4:30 PM. This is the 2nd Annual Contest Forum sponsored by the Alabama Contest Group (ACG). The Hamfest website has the program listed under forums. That's www.hamfest.org by the way.

All Asian DX Contest, Phone 0000Z, Sep 1 to 2400Z, Sep 2

All Asian DX Contest, Phone0000Z, Sep 1 to 2400Z, Sep 2

WAE DX Contest, CW 0000Z, Aug 9 to 2359Z, Aug 10

WAE DX Contest, CW0000Z, Aug 9 to 2359Z, Aug 10

Thirty Contesting Tips.............

K9JY presents his 30 contesting tips


click here to check it out !

steve

NAQP

North American QSO Party, SSB1800Z, Aug 16 to 0600Z, Aug 17

The Alabama Contest Group

click here to go to their website

They are kick starting a decent line up of Topics for the Huntsville Hamfest
(August 16th and 17th, 2008)

steve

Paris Texas HamFest this October

Please help us get the word out and forward this to all you ham friends, post it on club websites, and announce on area nets...This will be the best Paris hamfest yet!!

The Paris Texas Radio Group proudly presents

The 4^th Annual Paris Texas Hamfest!!!

DATE: Saturday, October 10-11, 2008

LOCATION: Coliseum @ Red River Valley Fairgrounds..570 East Center St Paris, TX

HIGHLIGHTS: New Radio Vendors, VE Testing, Indoor Flea Market, Contests,

Outside Tailgate, Live Music, Door Prizes, Talk in Frequency 147.040+PL 100.0, Food, Drinks and FUN!!

ADMISSION: ONLY $2.00 (pay on Friday…get in FREE on Saturday)

VENDOR FEES: Flea Market Tables $15.00 each

Tailgate $10.00 (unlimited space)

CONTEST FEES: Global Mobile $5.00

80 Meter Shootout $5.00

2 Meter Shootout $5.00

FRIDAY SCHEDULE:

NOON: Dealer Set-Up

5PM: Doors Open

7PM: Live Music from J.D. Moss & The Texas Highwaymen

9PM: Indoor Flea Market Closes to public

SATURDAY SCHEDULE:

6AM: Dealer Set-Up

8AM: Doors Open

9AM: 80 Meter Shoot Out

10AM: 2 Meter FM Shoot Out

11AM: Global Mobile Judging

****Door prizes given away ALL DAY****

Come to the Paris Texas Hamfest for HAM RADIO FUN!! Bring the whole family!!

Electricity is available for anyone wishing to camp out. Hook-ups available for $15.00.

Special rates available at the Holiday Inn of Paris…call direct and ask for the Paris Hamfe

I am very sad to report that NZ5S is a Silent Key

Richard Lea
know to his Ham Radio friends as NZ5S
Passed away early this afternoon July 10, 2008

He was a consummate professional photographer, a dear friend,
and one that gave to all he met

He played drums at many churches using music as a method to reach youngsters in need of some guidance

He loved the challenge of DX and Contesting too
he worked several sweepstakes contests with the group
he was always light hearted and enjoyed the chase as well as the camaraderie

He served as our ARRL Emergency Coordinator
and worked with anyone regardless of club or affiliation

He spent a lot of time attempting to help me mend fences between local Ham clubs

He will be missed by many !

I know in my heart he is now with God
but our community has lost one great person
He was 38 years old.

Prayers to his family

Steve Lott

Radio Sport HF Contest one of the short ones that are way too fun

HF Contesting usually hits a dry spell during the summer months, but the
weekend of July 12-13 brings a summer bright spot for HF contesters --
the IARU HF World Championship.

According to ARRL Contest Branch Manager Sean Kutzko, KX9X, the IARU
contest is a little different from most major HF contests. "For
starters, it's only 24 hours long (instead of the normal 48). This
leaves you plenty of time over the weekend to have fun in the contest
and participate in other activities. Another difference is that you can
combine modes. While most HF contests are either CW or SSB, IARU allows
you to operate CW, SSB or a mixture of both. Lastly, the IARU contest
exchange is a signal report and your ITU zone." ITU zones are different
than CQ zones, Kutzko said. For a map of ITU zones, you can visit the
IARU Web site <http://www.iaru.org/ituzonesc.gif>.

News from Gary Stratton our SCM in the LA news sumary....

Maybe not really news but a Great tip on using POI (Points of Intrests) files with your automotive GPS device

I never realized there were customizable POI file for my Garmin until I read the most recent ARRL section report News from Gary

Gary has updated all our state repeater info in this POI file
so if your traveling across the state you can now have your gps let you know which repeater your near

This is a great feature built-in to most GPS units
more info from http://www.poi-factory.com/

The following is direct clip from Gary...................
For those with Garmin GPS's, I've updated the Louisiana Repeater
information in accordance with the LA Council's list, in the POI (Point
of Interest) files available on http://www.poi-factory.com. This site
is free and the file is free to download. It allows you to upload the
POI file into a Garmin GPS, and will notify you of the repeaters in the
area based on you current location. It gives the callsign, frequency
and PL tone of each repeater near you. I've edited the original file,
corrected callsigns, frequencies and tones, and removed those not
listed in the LCARC database.

Additionally, for those users with Kenwood TM-V71A and TM-D710's, I've
taken that file and converted into the Kenwood HMK file format for
uploading into the radio. Information about that is available from
Kenwood's site, and the file is located on the Kenwood Yahoo Group at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TM-D710_TM-V71/ Its also a free file,
available to anyone who joins the Kenwood group.

K5GLS

end quote

Gary Thanks again
steve
KG5VK

ARRL Field Day June 28-29, 2008

ARRL Field Day is June 28-29, 2008. Come join in the fun with SARA and the Sundown DX Association at the boat launch on the Bossier Parkway.

73,
Marsh

Overall we had 105 Qs deducted from our ARRL SS Phone 2007 effort

Bottom line is we did really well, although not first in State or Section
We did maintain placement in the region box by 5 place.
We did acquire and keep our Sweep !
We had a whole lot of fun !

Many thanks to all of you that operated at KG5VK as well as everyone that worked us
A special thanks to all that just dropped in to see what all the fuss was about in contesting, with the exception of Murphy, yeap we had an early visit from Murphy's Law
Killing our first hour of operating !

73
steve
KG5VK

Errors found in the other logs "They busted our Call"

These do not incur us any loss of q's or penalties
However they may offer insight as to better choices for us in phonetics, maybe
Of course there were only 61 of these busted exchanges recorded in other logs.

The following information shows contacts you made that were removed from the
other station's log.  These are not deducted from your score.  They are listed
for your information only.

AA6G: KG5VK is a dupe or invalid - QSO # 490.
AC7JY: KD5VK is a busted call.  The correct call is KG5VK.
AE4CJ: KG4VK is a busted call.  The correct call is KG5VK.
AE6RF: QSO #103: QSO not found in log of KG5VK
AF7K: KT5VK is a busted call.  The correct call is KG5VK.
K0BEE: KG5VK is a dupe or invalid - QSO # 110.
K0GAS: KT5VK is a busted call.  The correct call is KG5VK.
K1RH: KJ5VK is a busted call.  The correct call is KG5VK.
K2AV: QSO #280: Received QSO# 127 should be 1072 KG5VK
K3OIO: KG4VK is a busted call.  The correct call is KG5VK.
K3WI: QSO #399: Received QSO# 195 should be 795 KG5VK
K4AMC: QSO #532: Received QSO# 1015 should be 1050 KG5VK
K4CZ: KG5VK is a dupe or invalid - QSO # 725.
K5EEE: JG5VJ is a busted call.  The correct call is KG5VK.
K7JE: QSO #80 KG5VK : M 62 La should be M 72 La
K7SAM: KT5VK is a busted call.  The correct call is KG5VK.
K8THU: QSO #72 KG5VK : M 72 Lax should be M 72 La
KC4D: QSO #71 KG5VK : M 75 La should be M 72 La
KC8PKY: QSO #166: QSO not found in log of KG5VK
KD4HXT: QSO #182: Received QSO# 968 should be 966 KG5VK
KE8UM: KB5BK is a busted call.  The correct call is KG5VK.
KK4LH: QSO #1: Received QSO# 196 should be 192 KG5VK
KL1WE: QSO #100: Received QSO# 735 should be 733 KG5VK
KT7G: QSO #161 KG5VK : M 67 La should be M 72 La
N0GF: KC5VK is a busted call.  The correct call is KG5VK.
N0IM: QSO #38 KG5VK : M 46 La should be M 72 La
N1BCL: KC5VK is a busted call.  The correct call is KG5VK.
N1DM: KC5VK is a busted call.  The correct call is KG5VK.
N2MF: KG5VQ is a busted call.  The correct call is KG5VK.
N3GVL: QSO #5: Received QSO# 5 should be 525 KG5VK
N3JT: KG6VK is a busted call.  The correct call is KG5VK.
N5II: QSO #94 KG5VK : M 71 La should be M 72 La
N6NZ: KG5VK is a dupe or invalid - QSO # 945.
N6RA: KG5VK is a dupe or invalid - QSO # 93.
N8II: KG5VJ is a busted call.  The correct call is KG5VK.
N8VW: KG5BK is a busted call.  The correct call is KG5VK.
ND0C: QSO #232: Received QSO# 1139 should be 1137 KG5VK
NG1I: QSO #267 KG5VK : M 72 Il should be M 72 La
NK6A: KT5VK is a busted call.  The correct call is KG5VK.
NP3D: QSO #270: Received QSO# 1146 should be 1144 KG5VK
NS1O: K5GVK is a busted call.  The correct call is KG5VK.
VA7CPC: KT5VK is a busted call.  The correct call is KG5VK.
VE6AO: KC5VK is a busted call.  The correct call is KG5VK.
W1RPG: KG5VK is a dupe or invalid - QSO # 16.
W2OX: QSO #6: Received QSO# 109 should be 19 KG5VK
W3EKT: KG6BK is a busted call.  The correct call is KG5VK.
W3IZ: QSO #183 KG5VK : M 75 La should be M 72 La
W4NJK: KT5VK is a busted call.  The correct call is KG5VK.
W5GA: QSO #5 KG5VK : M 75 La should be M 72 La
W7QF: KC5VK is a busted call.  The correct call is KG5VK.
W7QF: KJ5VK is a busted call.  The correct call is KG5VK.
W9WJ: QSO #54: Received QSO# 572 should be 527 KG5VK
WA0DYJ: QSO #13 KG5VK : M 52 La should be M 72 La
WA2ALY: KG5VK is a dupe or invalid - QSO # 76.
WA2MCR: KC5VK is a busted call.  The correct call is KG5VK.
WB0N: KG5VK is a dupe or invalid - QSO # 323.
WB5PDW: KG5VE is a busted call.  The correct call is KG5VK.
WB7QBO: KT5VK is a busted call.  The correct call is KG5VK.
WC6A: QSO #56: QSO not found in log of KG5VK
WV2ZOW: QSO #50 KG5VK : A 72 La should be M 72 La
WX5LAW: KG5UK is a busted call.  The correct call is KG5VK.

Number busts found in other logs = 61 (0.0%)

Log Cross Check results from ARRL SS phone 2007 for KG5VK

We lost 20 Qso's from these errors.........

CROSS CHECK RESULTS
-------------------
QSO #19: Received QSO# 3 should be 6 W2OX
QSO #35: Received QSO# 23 should be 3 WB2KHE
QSO #152: Received QSO# 1 should be 81 N4UK
QSO #189: Received QSO# 45 should be 245 K4PV
QSO #269: Received QSO# 85 should be 88 K9OZ
QSO #292: Received QSO# 66 should be 56 K1ZW
QSO #293: Received QSO# 26 should be 28 WA4VJC
QSO #303: QSO not found in log of AA0BA
QSO #331: QSO not found in log of N0PKX
QSO #341: Received QSO# 149 should be 129 KQ8RP
QSO #461: Received QSO# 73 should be 736 K6XX
QSO #527: Received QSO# 52 should be 54 W9WJ
QSO #627: Received QSO# 69 should be 1069 WB1GQR
QSO #668: Received QSO# 23 should be 28 VE2DWA
QSO #883: Received QSO# 112 should be 1121 KT0R
QSO #981: Received QSO# 38 should be 88 WB7QBO
QSO #1078: Received QSO# 275 should be 68 KK4R
QSO #1100: Received QSO# 19 should be 219 N0RU

67.7% of your remaining good QSOs were cross checked.

There were 18 bad cross check QSOs removed.
You had 2 NILs.  A penalty of 2 QSOs will be assessed.

Busted Exchanges KG5VK ARRL 2007 ss Phone

more from the ARRL LCR (log checking reports)
this time it's exchange errors.....

Bottom Line 37 Qso's were deleted from our entry for wrong exchange copied

EXCHANGE CHECK RESULTS
----------------------
QSO #2 WP3R : B 06 Pr should be B 65 Pr
QSO #21 W1KQ : A 81 Em should be U 81 Em
QSO #40 WN3N : M 90 NNj should be M 90 Mdc
QSO #45 N0IM : A 83 Mdc should be A 83 Mn
QSO #61 N4EUQ : B 07 Va should be B 04 Va
QSO #115 N6NKN : B 87 Org should be B 86 Org
QSO #120 N6BU : M 50 Scv should be M 50 Sjv
QSO #135 W6SC : U 61 Sc should be U 61 Scv
QSO #177 N1RL : B 92 WMa should be A 58 WMa
QSO #212 WA4OSD : A 53 Tn should be A 63 Tn
QSO #222 N5AU : U 63 NTx should be B 63 NTx
QSO #344 K5MA : A 58 Em should be A 56 Em
QSO #417 K1TH : U 66 Em should be U 65 Em
QSO #461 NN5K : A 62 Nm should be A 68 Nm
QSO #609 N2MUN : A 91 NLi should be B 91 NLi
QSO #706 N4KK : U 72 NFl should be U 72 SFl
QSO #762 AA6DX : A 61 Sf should be A 64 Sf
QSO #774 K6KR : B 58 WWa should be U 58 WWa
QSO #780 WB7S : A 70 Wy should be A 79 Wy
QSO #818 AA6G : U 70 Scv should be U 70 Sjv
QSO #859 KB2SXT : B 94 NNj should be A 94 NNj
QSO #896 KC2KTZ : A 02 WNy should be A 03 WNy
QSO #902 KB2IUA : U 89 NLi should be B 89 NLi
QSO #930 W7XRX : A 68 Or should be A 58 Or
QSO #951 NG2C : A 57 NNy should be A 67 NNy
QSO #964 W6AQ : A 51 Or should be B 51 Lax
QSO #966 KD4HXT : Q 91 Sv should be Q 91 Sjv
QSO #974 K6KWB : A 07 Sjv should be A 07 Scv
QSO #977 K6EP : U 72 Scv should be U 92 Scv
QSO #984 AF7K : A 60 Sjv should be A 60 Sv
QSO #1003 KI6FNZ : A 06 Or should be A 06 Org
QSO #1080 N0UR : Q 77 Ia should be Q 67 Mn
QSO #1107 W8QGP : B 64 Mi should be B 54 Mi
QSO #1111 W8CG : A 58 Sd should be A 53 Sd
QSO #1152 W1YK : A 16 WMa should be S 16 WMa
QSO #1158 NK8Q : Q 62 Ep should be Q 82 Ep
QSO #1165 W5KK : B 65 Ok should be B 68 Ms

99.1% of your non dupe QSOs had their exchanges checked.

There were 37 exchange errors found.  These QSOs will be removed from your
score with no penalties.

Busted Calls during ARRL SS Phone 2007

Marsh and I were talking the other day and he was interested in our "Busted Calls" report from Sweepstakes last year (2007)

So here it is...........
(by the way our Unique percentage was only .04)

The bottom line is we lost 48 qso's to busted calls
(24 busted calls and 24 good q's removed as a penalty)
It was a close race between us and the Saffel Team

"The moral of the story is speed is good but only with precision"

CALLSIGN CHECK RESULTS
----------------------
N8IKW is a busted call.  The correct call is K8IKW.

N3KRZ is a busted call.  The correct call is N3KRX.

W9KH is a busted call.  The correct call is W9KHH.

N3JW114 is a busted call.  The correct call is N3JW.

KR4FT is a busted call.  The correct call is KR4F.

AK4R is a busted call.  The correct call is KK4R.

W0CIM is a busted call.  The correct call is KB0CIM.

K5WL/DU9 is a unique call.  Received QSO# = 1.

VA2RRQ is a unique call.  Received QSO# = 1.

WA2RP is a busted call.  The correct call is W2ARP.

WA3RG is a busted call.  The correct call is WA3RGH.

KB1NZ is a busted call.  The correct call is KB1HNZ.

K4TZ is a busted call.  The correct call is K4CZ.

K2QMF1 is a busted call.  The correct call is K2QMF.

N6CP is a busted call.  The correct call is W3CP.

KC8PLN is a unique call.  Received QSO# = 166.
Calls with same check/section: KC8PKY AB8OJ KC8PCJ N8ZU KC8URI

W6LRC is a busted call.  The correct call is W3LRC.

KB2KHP is a busted call.  The correct call is KB2SHP.

W8LYJ is a unique call.  Received QSO# = 1.
Calls with same check/section: WN3R K1HTV W3BW W3LJ W3CCI

K3ST is a busted call.  The correct call is K3STX.

W7CA is a busted call.  The correct call is W7CAR.

AJ6F is a busted call.  The correct call is AF6F.

VE7AO is a busted call.  The correct call is VE6AO.

K7OWL is a busted call.  The correct call is K6OWL.

W8NWS is a busted call.  The correct call is W6NWS.

N9NXP is a busted call.  The correct call is N9XP.

W9XN110 is a busted call.  The correct call is W9XN.

NK0C is a unique call.  Received QSO# = 232.
Calls with same check/section: KC0DMF

K1WY is a busted call.  The correct call is K1RY.

You had 29 calls in your log which were not found in the database of good
callsigns.  24 of them have been judged to be incorrect.  These will be
removed from your score - along with an additional penalty of one QSO per
per busted callsign.
Unique percentage =  0.4

The ARRL Contest Branch now has their own Blog

click here to see it

It is a step in the right direction,
in fact a big step !

I would however like to see it changed to encourage feedback, but maybe they (the contest branch of the ARRL) feel that feedback is best handled via email and comments and critique are best placed in eham or qrz.com

73
steve
KG5VK

LA Special Olympics Event This week-end

How would you like a chance to check out your emergency response gear?

How about a 'no pressure' test of your emergency communications
skills?

What about the opportunity to demonstrate ham radio to hundreds of
appreciative
folks and get to feel good about it?

Well, here is the chance to do all three!!

This weekend in on the Southeastern Louisiana University campus in
Hammond, we
could use some ham radio volunteers to assist with the 'health and
welfare' of
the many athletes from all across the state. You are welcome to
volunteer for
any part of the day, or all day, or all three days if you can on May
23, 24 &
25.

The schedule begins Friday morning at 7:30am and continues through the
afternoon. Saturday events will run from 7:30am until around 5:30pm;
and Sunday
events will be in the morning only (7:30am until noon or 1:00pm).

Just send a REPLY back to me if you would like to participate and I
will pass
your name and preferred time(s) on to Harris Miller, KB5BFK. Non-ham
members of
your family or friends are also welcome to participate in a non-amateur
radio
role, so pass the word around!

TNX & 73,
Bob WB5FBS
Bob Priez [wb5fbs@arrl.net]

ITU Chief Links Contesting, Emergency Communications

The Secretary-General of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) says contesting is among '”the best training for all of us” in emergency communications, in an article in the June 2008 issue of CQ Magazine. In an interview with International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Secretary Dave Summer, K1ZZ, ITU Secretary-General Dr. Hamadoun I. Toure', HB9EHT, says "participation in radioamateur contests, field days or any amateur service exercises and activities are the best training for all of us, and during non-disaster periods it's also a great fun and sport competition -- part of our hobby." See the May 2008 issue of QST for the full interview.

Also, those at the 2008 Dayton Hamvention Contest Dinner, Saturday night, May 17, heard FCC Special Counsel Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH, make similar comments. He praised contests as an effective training activity for emergency communications operators.

73, Marsh, KA5M

Contest Error Rates a look at ours in ARRL SS over the past five years...

I went to the ARRL website and downloaded the error rates for our ARRL SS Phone contest logs submitted. The highest error rate we ever had was 8.5% in 2003
The lowest was in 2007 (last year) with 6.9%
But the effect of even a 6.9% error cost us 105 QSO's and we only needed another 108 Q's to be in first place
My point, while I know we will never have zero errors if we are working on higher rates of Q's
we must work to keep the errors down.
Accuracy counts !

Here are the stats.....

2007

SCORE SUMMARY

-------------

    Raw QSOs = 1166

       Dupes = 27

 Busted QSOs = 79

Penalty QSOs = 26

Time Expired = 0

  Final QSOs = 1034   Band Breakdown (160-10):     0  390   76  542   26    0

  QSO Points = 2068

  Multiplier = 80

--------------------------

 Final score = 165440

  Error rate =  6.9% (100 X (Busted QSOs / Duped QSO total))

We missed attaining 1^st place in Division and state by 108 QSO’s !

We lost a total of 105 Q’s to busted calls.

We fell to Third place in Division and second in our state.

2006

SCORE SUMMARY

-------------

    Raw QSOs = 1177

       Dupes = 21

 Busted QSOs = 82

Penalty QSOs = 28

Time Expired = 0

  Final QSOs = 1046   Band Breakdown (160-10):     0   80  449  418   99    0

  QSO Points = 2092

  Multiplier = 79

--------------------------

 Final score = 165268

  Error rate =  7.1% (100 X (Busted QSOs / Duped QSO total))

Even though we busted the sweep, we rcvd first place division this year.

First State and Division, Fourth place in our region (Southeast Region)

2005

SCORE SUMMARY

-------------

    Raw QSOs = 1173

Time Expired = 0

       Dupes = 22

 Busted QSOs = 91

  Valid QSOs = 1060    0   98  415  344  176    0

Penalty QSOs = 27

  QSO Points = 2066

  Multiplier = 80

--------------------------

 Final score = 165280

  Error rate =  7.9% (100 X (Busted QSOs / Duped QSO total))

Fifth place in our region, Second in Division and first place State

2004

SCORE SUMMARY

-------------

    Raw QSOs = 1352

Time Expired = 0

       Dupes = 34

 Busted QSOs = 109

  Valid QSOs = 1209    0   10  387  513  278    0

Penalty QSOs = 21

  QSO Points = 2376

  Multiplier = 79

--------------------------

 Final score = 187704

  Error rate =  8.3% (100 X (Busted QSOs / Duped QSO total))

Fifth place Division, second place state

2003

SCORE SUMMARY

-------------

    Raw QSOs = 993

Time Expired = 0

       Dupes = 35

 Busted QSOs = 81

  Valid QSOs = 877    0  196   44  314  302    0

Penalty QSOs = 21

  QSO Points = 1712

  Multiplier = 78

--------------------------

 Final score = 133536

  Error rate =  8.5% (100 X (Busted QSOs / Duped QSO total))

We managed 856 Q’s Made the sweep and first place in state, Second in Delta division

Bottom line is we always manage to have fun, and that shall continue
but lets be a bit more precise in our copy of the exchange.

73
steve
KG5VK

Eddy Shell is now a silent key

just in case you missed it in the paper Eddy Shell is now a Silent Key
he passed away Friday
from Cancer

http://www.legacy.com/Link.asp?I=LS000108951042X

He served at BPCC (Bossier Parish Community College) since 1967 and was a member of SARA as well as PPLA (Professional Photographers of America) and even a past president of PPLA
he was a fellow Ham radio operator and a friend.

73
steve

congrats to AE5T and N5OZB for 1st place Delta and Louisiana in ARRL SS phone

#	Call	Score	QSOs	Mult	Class	Section	Check	Hours	160	80	40	20	15	10	Club	Ops
1	AE5T (N5OZB, op)	182,560	1,141	80	M	LA	89	24		78	470	537	56			(+ packet)
2	W5JJ	174,880	1,093	80	M	AR	97	22		419	213	418	43			(+ K5DB)
3	KG5VK	165,440	1,034	80	M	LA	72	24		390	76	542	26		Shreveport ARA	(+ KA5M, KF5XV, N5VU, N5FH, N5SH, K5SL)
4	AB5GG	112,970	715	79	M	AR	91	22		293	153	251	18			(+ WF5X)
5	NW5U	106,400	665	80	M	AR	92	18		339	122	159	45			(+ NW8U, KC0NLQ)

This said news from Wx0B about W4RNL is now SK

LB Cebik, W4RNL a great friend of mine and Array Solutions has passed away last week.

I just learned this from some mutual friends and the ARRL website, and have found it hard to believe.

He was a major contributor to the ham radio community with his awesome and tireless work on his website. And personally I will miss working with him. He and I had worked together on several professional antenna jobs where he did awesome work on the NEC-4 models.

His wife Jean, passed away several years earlier and LB now joins her. He was only 68.

RIP Mr. Cebik

Jay Terleski
Array Solutions
972 203 2008
Military Communications Systems, Phased Arrays, RF Switches, Antennas & Towers
http://www.arraysolutions.com

His key may be silent but albeit he is having a blast with all kinds of software and antenna tools in the big sky here in after

steve

no it's not Dx but it is kewel......

Yes I have embraced D Star
I now have two D star radios
my first was the Icom 2200H adding the d star chip to it about a year ago

Most recently I bought an Icom 91AD and I love this new radio !

Most D star systems are converting to G2 software
if you have not registered on g2 do so now !!!!!!!!
D Star

ARRL FD Station locator

click here

ARRL Field day web page 2008 is live !

click here

Field Day 2008 New Rules.......

2008 Rules Changes

GOTA (Get on the Air) stations are those stations set aside by Field Day teams designed to get non-hams or newly licensed hams on the air. Unlike in past years where GOTA stations were limited to only the HF bands, the 2008 rules state that these stations may operate on any authorized HF or VHF Field Day band. Keep in mind that only one signal may be transmitted from the GOTA station at any time.

Henderson said the eligibility for operating the GOTA station has changed slightly: Anyone who has been licensed since Field Day 2007 is eligible to operate the GOTA station, regardless of license class.

For 2008, the Demonstration Mode Bonus category has been eliminated and replaced by an Educational Activity Bonus worth 100 points. "This bonus is intended to encourage clubs and groups to do some more formal educational activity during their Field Day operation," Henderson said. If you have any questions concerning what activities might be appropriate for this bonus, Henderson said you should submit them via e-mail.

Be sure to read the Field Day rules and FAQs in the 2008 Field Day Packet for details of these changes. There are also numerous small changes in the FAQs and support materials in the packet that should help groups and individuals as they plan their Field Day activities, Henderson said.

Get the Word Out!

new stuff for copy of stations sending code.....

It's Called Skimmer
and there exist already a great debate on legality of use in contesting as in is it un sportsman like to us it, yes it is that powerful !
http://www.pvrc.org/~n4zr/Articles/Skimmer.pdf
It can copy every single code stations call sign on the band at one time !!!
Tell you the call and the operating frequency !!!
Talk about a new edge to cw contesting
Packet spotting has nothing over this tool !

Ducie Island VP6DX as seen from google satelite

VP6DX

DUCIE ISLAND, VP6. A group of operators are QRV as VP6DX until the
end of February. Activity is on 160 to 6 meters using CW, SSB and
RTTY with 7 stations active simultaneously 24 hours a day. QSL
direct to DL6LAU.

VP6DX

Hello World,
>
> I got the information that all members and equipment is loaded and that the Braveheart is on its way
> to Ducie Island (thanks WA6ZVP). Maybe you can hear them when they work with /MM. Reports are always
> welcome.
>
> We would be delighted if DX editors would publish this information as widely as possible and DXers
> bring it to the attention of their clubs and fellow DXers.
>
> An update of the website follows this evening (Germany).
>
> Best 73s
>
> Chris DL1MGB
> Webmaster VP6DX

iCal (a Google On-Line Contest Calendar)

click here

also a note from the original creator/maintainer of this calendar........

Greetings!

I have had a number of enquiries recently about the whereabouts of the
iCal contest calendar I was maintaining. I say 'was', because a number
of things have conspired to prevent me from providing and updating the
calendar as I used to. Firstly. for a number of reasons, I decided not
to renew the .Mac account where the calendar lived, so the previously
posted link to it no longer works. Secondly, and more detrimentally (for
the calendar, at least!), I have a young and active family and no longer
have even the relatively small amount of time it takes to keep the
calendar up to date.

What I have done is transfer the calendar to Google Calendars where it
can be maintained by more than one person for the benefit of all. If you
have a Google account and would be willing to assist with keeping the
calendar up to date, please let me know off list and I'll set you up.

The calendar is at
http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=2ma3qii1ef1u59sec4pf19epnc%40group.calendar.google.com&ctz=America/Vancouver

and an iCal version is at
http://www.google.com/calendar/ical/2ma3qii1ef1u59sec4pf19epnc%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic.ics

I really hope that we can keep this thing going as a group - I know a
lot of people find it useful.

73 de Anthony VA7IRL
______________________________

I find this pretty neat Tool Bar app

http://haminfobar.myradiotoolbar.com

pretty awesome free app and is available for Firefox browser or IE

73
steve

ARRL RTTY Round Up

The first weekend of 2008 provides an opportunity to enjoy some healthy competition. The ARRL RTTY Roundup has quickly become one of the best contests using the digital modes. RTTY, PSK31, and several other digital modes are used to communicate with other amateurs all around the world. If you've wanted to try your hand at digital operating, this contest is an exciting way to get your feet wet. The ARRL RTTY Roundup is from 0000 January 5, 2008-2400 UTC January 6, 2008. Complete rules can be found on page 97 of the December QST.

need a Smith Chart or just a pc of graph paper

try this FREE site and download what you need
no registration or signup required and it's FREE

73
steve

A couple of OPS at the Helm of KG5VK during ARRL SS

Ray AD5ZT
making his first ever DX Phone contact
during a visit to KG5vk

N5VU Marcel & Ka5M Marsh
at
KG5VK
During ARRL Sweepstakes Phone Contest 2007

Look at this............ Pile Up great graphics etc

Pile Up

28 pages of some awesome stats
some of the text is in foreign language but the graphics communicate rater well

pretty neat stuff

73
steve
KG5VK

Check this out esp if your planning on a cw contest

Looking for an opportunity to sharpen your ears prior to the big one this
weekend? The full recording of my SOAB effort in 2005 and 2006 CQWW CW is
available online at http://www.k5zd.com/live/

I also plan to do audio streaming during the contest again this year. You
can find the live audio at the same address.

I also find reading the experiences of previous contests can be helpful for
"getting in the mood." :) You can read my contest reports at
http://www.k5zd.com/articles/index.html

I also find W2SC does a great job of writing up his adventures to 8P on his
web site at http://tgeorgens.home.mindspring.com/. He has some audio
recordings as well.


Good luck to everyone in the contest!

Randy Thompson, K5ZD
k5zd@contesting.com
www.k5zd.com

Wow ! we had agreat time this past week-end (ARRL SS)

Wow !

Awesome turn out 13 visitors to the KG5VK station, including Mr. Murphy

In fact Murphy's Law showed up just in time for our first QSO
allowing us a late start by about 45 minutes while a few few of us jumped through hoops looking for a problem of RFI or equipment failure when all it was was a hung relay contact on an antenna switching relay !

just over 1100 Q's and a Sweep with North West Territory being our final multiplier !

here is the overall score summary..............

__________________________________________________________

ARRL Section : LA

Club/Team : Sundown DX Association

Software: N1MM Logger V7.11.0

Band QSOs Pts Sec

3.5 429 858 20

7 83 166 5

14 111 222 33

14 489 978 19

21 26 50 3

28 2 4 0

Total 1140 2278 80

Score : 182,240

___________________________________________________________________
Those in attendance at this years ARRL SS "Boys from the North" Team
include............

AD5ZT Ray
N5VU Marcel
KA5M Marsh
N5FH Floyd
N5SH Glenn
K5SL Randy
KF5XV Bobby
KH2DF Rick
NZ5S Richard
K5DLM Mike
KG5VK Steve

What fun we had, Marcel had us all rolling out of our seats when he said
"the station beginding with k", after a pile up answered his cq ss call

We averaged one QSO every 1.263 minutes !!!
improving on that is going to be a though challenge next year

The live on-scores database showed us in second place in our catgory among some Top DX/Contest clubs with the likes of K2nny in first place above us, and NT8V in third place below us with K1Kp and W4MY all super stations with well experienced ops at their helm

IOW We did damn good and I hope to see us in first place in the region box for a Multi-op team, as well as first in our state and Division, when the results are published next year !

Food was plentiful with Gumbo, Vegetable soup, Chili being my favorites
No food went to waste it was all scarfed up before the last op (Randy K5SL) headed home
Sunday night !

A special thanks to Randy and Marcel, Randy for staying late tell the end Sunday night
and Marcel for the long hours in the chair which we both productive and entertaining !

Marsh, I am so thrilled you helped me get the most out of my new filters in the FT-1000MP,
(I had to be shown how to turn the filters on that I just installed, yeap embarrassing but true)

You all let me know who wants Sweep Mugs,
mean while I am scrutinizing the log (looking at the notes posted for changes that we not done on the fly).

and hope to follow up this post in a few days with some graphics
along with comparison charts of years past data.

Thanks again to all that came and played !

73
Steve
KG5VK

KT0R to be hear again during ARRL SS.....

(the following is copied from the Contest Reflector)

I think many on the list are aware we lost Dave, KT0R, a great contester and a good friend on September 20 to cancer. The Minnesota Wireless Association is still trying to imagine the contesting season without one of our star members. I know Dave has probably worked everyone on this list and has conversed with many of you. His enthusiasm and love of the hobby was magnetic as Dave trained others to become contesters from his small but mighty city lot location. Al, K0AD, the MWA club president said it best when he called Dave the heart and soul of the MWA. Thirty two MWA members attended Dave's funeral and a memorial fund was also established to help his family. I am so proud to be part of such a fantastic club! You can read more about Dave in the upcoming January NCJ where his story will be featured.

In honor of Dave a group of us in the MWA have formed a little club whose purpose is two fold. First, we want to protect the call in hopes one day one of his two young sons will become licensed and will want the call. Second, we want the mighty KT0R to be heard in some of Dave's favorite contests. This weekend a group of us will be operating from Dave's station at the invitation and encouragement of his wonderful wife, Adrienne. I think she misses the chaos heard in the basement shack during contest season so we will once again take over basement and provide pizza and excitement for the family.

It won't be the same working KT0R without Dave sitting in the big chair but, we will do our best to live up to his legacy!

CQ SS!

73,

Greg K0OB

ARRL Phone Sweepstakes is this Saturday / Sunday

An OP just telephoned and asked if I was still planning on playing in the contest since my recent hospital stay

The short answer is YES !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The long winded reply is below......................


I would have to be Dead "literally" to miss SS !

I feel pretty good today, I actually ran a new pc of hard line to the
shack yesterday with help of my wife (how about that for spouse support)
I know several of you offered to help with the hard line, but when I was ready Zo was here
it only took us about 30 minutes

Played last night on 40 and 75 meters
I simply love the new 1.8 khz filters I installed from INRAD in my Ft-1000MP
and found a couple of big sigs that were on 75 but neither were just
above and just below my listening freqs to test the roofing filter
but I do like less hiss I am hearing on the FT-1000MP

Worked on the ends of the hard line some today
and will be finishing up tomorrow
(the hard line goes to the K9AY loop system)

With the new WX0B Six Pak antenna controller installed we are able to use any antenna in the farm with either radio A or B
I love being able to use any antenna in the farm with either radio !

I have also been playing with the voice keyer (RFI) checks etc....

The six pak two radio antenna switch caused me a few head aches as I
was attempting to automate it, with manual over ride available
that got too complex

right now I have settled on this...........

Band pass filters are automated with what band the radio is selected to
the antenna choices are manual with One single box
left knob is choosing the antenna for the left radio
right knob is choosing the antenna for that radio

neither radio can steal an antenna once it is selected
so the safety factor for that is built-in
we band change Amps when we change bands on the rig (manually) nothing
knew there

Final RFI testing will be Thursday
with full blown QRO on both radio A and Radio B
thursday and thursday night

A bit more of my health issues for those wanting to know....

My next doc apt is this Wednesday
but that is a consult towards the next step either surgery or pain
management doc
(needles in the back of the neck)
they call it pain management
I call it YUCK !
mean while I am on pain killers as well as extra strength tylenol when
taking a break from the strong stuff which after awhile makes me doppie

All I need for this week-end is OPS

pretty sure we will have........ * are confirmed OPS

KA5M Marsh *
Randy K5SL on Sunday *
Marcel Saturday and Sunday *
Bobby (maybe for a few hours at kick off Saturday)
Hugo (Sunday only and he will be the Sun Rise OP) *
Matt * K5DAZ
Brian Lewis K5RV * Sunday afternoon
KH2DF Rick *
K5JBB Justin
K5SRZ David (not sure have not talked to him)
Me *

AD5ZT duration wants to be part of the team but does not want to bog
us down with slow qso rates and is willing to use dx spider and
propagation software to assist us, this is also the same for Glenn
N5SH, and Mike Ke5dlm

Anyone that wants to play, can come......
OPS that generate rate are the ones that will man the radio
as the ops that can, are investing their time to place our team high in the results
there is plenty of fun, even if your not a Rate maker !

Shack familiarization tour starts any time after 12 noon Saturday
Those from outside our area or that have not been mentioned in the OPS list that are reading this and are interested in playing simply email me
for directions to the QTH and allow me to coordinate your participation

I have plenty of sleeping space
for those that wish to remain here for the duration of the contest

The two primary Kick Off Teams are.....
Ka5m and Kg5vk
and
Kf5xv and K5JBB

Marcel is slated to be slid in and is a great rate maker
not sure when he will arrive

Who have I missed !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


73
steve

soon I will be QRV again

Monday
I was admitted to the hospital because of chest pains etc
Just got shown a really kewel image of my healthy heart

My only trouble lies in my neck (three ruptured Discs)
I see a much lighter camera case
in my near future !

it's Thursday evening

I thank everyone of you for your prayers
they meant and mean a lot to me !

Steve

real time band condition analysis based on cluster spots...

Guys this is a very kewel app..............

click here

refresh your browser manually for up dates
each graphic represents a different band
the data is based on the live spots occurring on the Dx spyder network !

This is so darn neat !

73
steve

Sad news from friends in Luxembourg.....

Lx1BI Roger is now a silent key..........

click here to read more

RF Radio Sport website

http://rfsport.com/

73
steve
kg5vk

I really enjoyed this artcile on Iambic keying versus non

http://www.morsex.com/pubs/iambicmyth.pdf

73
steve
KG5VK
di dit

do you know what contest occurs the week-end of Halloween ?

October 27th is the CQ WW DX Phone contest

it presents an awesome way to quickly increase the country totals you have towards DXCC
and it is down right fun !

73
steve
KG5VK

so what the heck is SO2R any ways

The idea is to look for other stations and answer then while your calling CQ on another band

again The MAD River Contest club SS Handbook does a great job explaining SO2R during Sweepstakes......................

So how do you operate SO2R in SS? The objective is to be able to CQ on one band while
searching on another. You want to be able to easily work people who answer your CQ, but you
also want to be able to find new stations, stop CQing to work them, then start CQing again.

Here is a typical SO2R scenario – its 18Z hour on the Sunday of SS CW. One radio is CQing on 40M
and getting an answer every two to three minutes. In the meantime, you’re scanning 10M on the
second radio with the beam northwest looking for KL7 and VY1 for your last two section multipliers.

Eureka! There’s KL7Y on 28038 with a good signal. When he finishes his QSO and send QRZ, you
stop your CQ on 40M and dump your call to KL7Y. If he answers someone else, you start CQing
again on 40M. However, if he answers you then copy his exchange, send your exchange, log the
QSO THEN start CQing on 40M again.

Rate is the name of the game, QSO Rate in ARRL SS

here is a vital excerpt from the MAD River Contest Club SS handbook.........

High power SS is almost 100% a rate contest. You need to call CQ constantly to finish well.
Maintaining a run frequency is an art unto itself, but here are a few tips:

• Adjust your CQ to your current audience. If signals are loud and the rate is good, you can
shorten up your CQs. If conditions are poor (perhaps on the low bands with QRN) or the rate is
slow, you may need to slow down and lengthen your CQ to draw attention to your signal.

• The best way to hold a frequency is to be making QSOs quickly.
While this might seem obvious,
there are things you can do to make this happen.
Keep your exchange short, and don’t repeat anything unless asked.
Again, tailor your technique to the audience you think is there.

• If a frequency dries up, but you don’t want to change bands,
try a different place in the band.
Vary your CQing spot in the band by trying down low, up high, or somewhere in the middle.
With one radio, if you’re S&Ping then you’re at best holding your own and at worst losing the
contest. With two radios you can CQ on one radio and S&P on the second.

With high power, if you are doing a good job of making yourself available to QSO, most of the
section multipliers will come to you. Don’t start to worry about multipliers until the second half of the contest.

Usually, you’ll end the first day with a section count in the mid-seventies, which leaves
only a few to worry about.

However, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t feel a little kick if a
difficult section calls in early or on an unexpected band. (In the 1996 CW SS, VY1JA called K8CC
on 3518 the first night!)

In reality, none of the sections are difficult to work as long as there is
reasonable activity from that section. These days there are permanent and rental contest stations in PR and VI, which typically makes them easy to work.

Often, there will be one or more Canadian sections (never including Ontario) which proves elusive, particularly on CW.
If you hear any of these, work ‘em now - you might not hear them later. 􀀀

A few Tips from the MAD River SS Handbook

Marsh KA5M pointed me to a couple of Blogs

One of which contains a note about the K4JNY station dismantling
this is Big news to us as they are the ones that had been bumping us from first place in our division and keeping us down in the region box !
Read more here

the important part is..............

" I'm gathering things I need from the piles of stuff from the K4JNY station teardown, "

The other Blog contains the Mad River Radio Club Sweepstakes Handbook
which I highly recommend every SS Op read

here is some important excerpts from the from of the manuscript.....
(the first example most of us LA folks know but read on....)
-------------------------------------------------------------

It is important to become familiar with the names, territories, and official abbreviations for the
various ARRL sections because there are opportunities for ambiguities and confusion, which lead
to errors in logging. For example:

• “Los Angeles County” is a section and most people associate Los Angeles with “LA”. However
“LA” is the abbreviation for the state of Louisiana; Los Angles County is “LAX”. Your logging
program will most likely accept “LA” as the section for a W6 since a callsign can appear from
just about any section these days. But keep in mind that when the ARRL scores your log, it
counts “LA” as Louisiana and if that’s wrong, you lose the QSO.

Other sections with similar
names are Orange County (ORG) and the state of Oregon (OR), San Diego County (SDG) and
the state of South Dakota (SD). Ambiguous state combinations abound: Arkansas (AR) and
Arizona (AZ), Alaska (AK) and Alabama (AL), and the quadruple-header of Michigan (MI),
Minnesota (MN), Missouri (MO) and Mississippi (MS).

• The California sections “Sacramento Valley” and “Santa Clara Valley” sound very similar, but
the abbreviation for the former is “SV” and the latter is “SCV”. Transpose the two and you lose
the QSO as well.

• It’s not uncommon for a Canadian station in one of the sections comprised of combined
provinces to give his province as the exchange rather than the section name. In SS most
logging programs will not accept a province abbreviation which is not a section. Most people
will substitute the section name; so if you hear a NB, NS or PEI substitute MAR and for YT, NWT or NU the abbreviation NT should be substituted.

• Hawaii, and all of the US possessions in the Pacific Ocean are grouped under the Pacific
section, abbreviation “PAC”. In the Caribbean Ocean, Puerto Rico is a section (abbreviation
“PR”) and the Virgin Islands are a section (abbreviation “VI”). Guantanamo Bay (KG4) is
included as part of VI.

Listed on the next page in this manuscript are the names and official abbreviations for
the eighty ARRL sections.
Become familiar with the names and abbreviations, and perhaps we can avoid
having a busted exchange deleted from our SS log.
----------------------------------------------------------------

30 very worth while contesting Tips

click here for K9JY's tips

N1MM Contest software

as copied in part from the N1MM.com contesting software website.......
A bit of insight as to what the software for logging looks like
that we use during SS at KG5VK

Ok, now we are ready to log. By default, you should be in the General log - look at the log window caption. So you want to log a qso? Type in the callsign field from the Entry Window the call of the station you want to log. Let's say you type 'N1MM'. Notice that the Check window shows calls with N1 in it, later N1M and finally only N1MM. This will happen with any call or partial call 2 or more characters long. Use the mouse and click on N1MM in the Check window. Notice that N1MM will be filled in the Entry window callsign field, defaults will be set for fields who can have defaults (in this case the RST fields) and the cursor will be placed in the next field to be filled in -- the name field.

Using the Space Bar to Tab

Ok, that's cool, lets try it another way. Click on the Wipe button to clear the Entry Window fields. Your cursor will be positioned on the callsign field again. This time Type 'N1MM' and press **SPACE**. Notice that the RST fields are again filled automatically and you are positioned to the next field to be filled in. Enter 'Tom' and press SPACE. In this case, you will not tab to the next field, since space is a legitimate character in a name. This is atypical behavior. Most contest fields do not allow any spaces in them, so the space bar will jump from field to field. You'll like this, dammit! Really, I think you will like it - particularly in contests.

Using the Tab Key

So if SPACE tabs, what does Tab do? It tabs as well! But it doesn't tab like space. The Tab character (and Shift+Tab) behave like they do in most programs. They jump from field to field, without trying to be smart. So if you need to change the RST, you'll use the Tab key to get there.

Bandmaps, Spots and Other Cool Stuff

Ok now the really cool part. We need to get some spots onto the bandmaps. If you have set up a radio, you should have two bandmaps, and they should be displaying the frequencies of your A and B VFOs at the top. So how do we get spots on there? We need to connect to packet or telnet, of course. If you have an Internet connection, try telnet, if a packet connection, well I guess you'll try packet. To pick, click on the appropriate tab in the Packet Window. To connect to packet, just type a command in the one-line text box at the top, like "C K1TTT" and press enter. Just do your usual stuff. Then type sh/dx/100 (we want a lot of spots) if it's a weekend, otherwise just type sh/dx/30. (Why the difference? The logger won't show old spots - the default is 60 minutes.

Spots are Fun

Spots should start appearing. Don't be afraid, there is no leopard. (Get it, spots?) Enough dumb jokes. Anyway, that's what people always tell me. So, what can we do with the spots? Lots of stuff. First note that each spot (except US and VE spots and spots from your own country) has it's beam heading next to it. (Well it has the beam heading from my house, too bad if it isn't the beam heading from your house. If you really want to fix that, go to the station dialog in Config/Change Your Station Data - you'll need to enter your latitude and longitude. If you don't know your latitude and longitude, tough - this isn't geography class, kid.)

Are we ever going to get to the good stuff? Sigh. Ok. You have spots in your bandmaps. Try SINGLE clicking on one. Notice how the radio tunes to the frequency of the spot? Also notice that the call appears in the frame around the callsign textbox in the Entry Window. Now press that magic space bar again. The spot jumps into the call textbox! Let's try this another way. Click on the Wipe button (or press Ctrl+W). Now tune the radio to a frequency within 300 Hz of another spot. Notice that the call again appears in the frame, and again the space bar will enter the call into the call textbox.

Ok, try Wiping again (either way). Now double click on a spot. Notice that again, you jump to the frequency of the spot, but this time the call is entered in the callsign field and the default fields are filled in, and you are ready to copy the next empty field (in this case name).

Wipe just one more time. Let's try jumping around the spots without using the mouse. Your cursor should be in the callsign field. If it isn't put it there. Now press Ctrl+Up arrow or Ctrl+Down arrow. You should jump from spot to spot on the same band. Pick one of the spots where you can hear the station. Use the up and down arrow keys (no Ctrl this time) to tune the station in. Each press of the key will go jump 100 Hz on SSB and 20 Hz on CW (configurable). You're smiling, aren't you? There is a lot more. Go look here for more keyboard tricks: Key Assignments and Key Assignments Short List

Actually Logging Contacts

We need to shift attention to actually logging contacts. Enter a call in the call textbox, press space and then type a name, well any name except 'Arthur' in the name textbox. (I'm sorry, I really cannot be responsible if you type Arthur.) You typed Arthur, and nothing happened, didn't you? Now you're angry. Here's a quarter.... Ok. Back on task. You have enough to log a contact now. Press enter, and notice that the contact will appear in the Log Window.

Now the fun part. Enter the same callsign again and press space. Looky, looky! The usual stuff happens, but two more things happen as well. The first contact shows up in the lower part of the Log Window, and the name from the first contact appears in the name field. If you were logging a contest, like ARRL DX, the power would be filled in from the first contact. If the first contact was on the same band as this contact, then the word "DUPE" in BIG RED LETTERS would appear. I was going to put the word "Dope", but then I thought that no one would want to use the program. Really, you should probably work the dope, I mean dupe, since you might not be in his log. It's actually easier to just work him than explain "You're a dupe, dope!"

Ok, press enter and log the dupe. You don't agree with me about logging dupes? Then RIGHT-click on the Log Window entry for the dupe, and choose delete contact. No, I'm not going to tell you what to do with the dialog box that pops up. I trust you. I feel like we are already friends.

N1MM Contest software how to videos....

At KG5VK we are using N1MM contest software for Sweepstakes
the link below is a site that has a set of videos on use of this software

while some of the video is jerky is is a good over view of the features
esp chapters 3-4

click here

73
steve
KG5VK

This week-end on the Radio

THIS WEEKEND ON THE RADIO. The Oceania DX Phone Contest, NCCC CW
Sprint, TARA PSK Rumble Contest, Logbook of the World Phone Contest *,
International HELL-Contest, California QSO Party, EU Autumn SSB
Sprint, PRO CW Contest, UBA ON 6-Meter Contest and the RSGB 21/28
MHz Contest will certainly keep contesters busy this weekend. The
YLRL Anniversary SSB Party is scheduled for October 9 to 11. The
SKCC CW Sprint, 10-10 International 10-10 Day Sprint and NAQCC
Straight Key/Bug CW Sprint are all scheduled for October 10. The
ALE On-The-Air Week runs until October 15. Please see October QST,
page 90, and the ARRL and WA7BNM contest web sites for details.

* Hmmmmm is this a new one ?
Don't recall an ARRL LOgbook of the world HF contest

here is the details of ARRL Logbook of the world contest.................

Logbook of the World Contest, Phone: 0000Z-2359Z, Oct 6
	Mode:	SSB
	Bands:	160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m
	Classes:	Single Op All Band (QRP/Low/High) Single Op Single Band (QRP/Low/High)
	Max power:	HP: >200 watts LP: 200 watts QRP: 5 watts
	Exchange:	RS + (state/province/country)
	QSO Points:	2 points per QSO with same country 5 points per QSO with different country, same continent 10 points per QSO with different continent
	Multipliers:	Each US state (excluding KH6/KL7) once per band Each VE area once per band Each DXCC country (including KH6/KL7) once per band
	Score Calculation:	Total score = total QSO points x total mults
	Submit logs by:	November 5, 2007
	E-mail logs to:	(none)
	Post log summary at:	(see rules)
	Mail logs to:	(none)
	Find rules at:	http://74.194.51.88:7777/

WOW Look at thge hard ware at his station......

I was in QSO with K7OKS/ve3
this morning and he mentioned a friends contest station that he often works from W7VJ
so I took a look

http://www.millerisar.com/w7vj.htm

lots a hardware on two towers !

73
steve
kg5vk

Sweepstakes getting ready..........

ARRL SS Rules High Lights

Work Stations ONCE regardless of band

Unlimited band changes for Multi-Op teams

Multi-Op SINGLE Transmitter

(only one transmit signal at any time)

24 hours total operation time out of the 30 hour period

(Off time in 30 minutes increments or more)

Time OFF strategy for KG5VK

Barring a Saturday afternoon/Evening Thunderstorm that QRT’s us we will QRT for 4 hours of sleep at 1 AM Sunday Morning

Returning to the air as sun rises at 5 AM

This leaves us Four 30 minute off periods that may be taken Saturday or Sunday

Band changes

Use the highest frequency band that is open

For Running the Q’s we need a high QSO rate to break past scores and maintain our first place in the Delta Division and move a notch or two higher in the regional listing box

We were fifth in the region and second in the division 2005,

last year (2006) we were fourth in the region and first place in the division as well as first in our state – all with out getting a Sweep yes we busted the call on one of the multipliers !

Bottom line here is we need to break the 1,500 QSO wall !

1500 divided by 24 hours = 62.5 Q’s per hour

Yes we remain competitive if we stay above 1100 Q’s

2006

Call Score QSOs Mult Class Section Check Hours

KG5VK 165,268 1,046 79 M LA 72 24

160 80 40 20 15 10

0 80 449 418 99 0

2005 first year we made the region box !

Call Score QSOs Mult Class Section Check Hours

KG5VK 165,280 1,033 80 M LA 72 23

160 80 40 20 15 10

0 98 415 344 176 0

2004 No region Box and k4jny from Tennessee beat us out of 1^st for Delta division

Call Score QSOs Mult Class Section Check Hours

KG5VK 187,704 1,188 79 M LA 72 24

160 80 40 20 15 10

0 10 387 513 278 0

2003 I was single Op High power this year !

Call Score QSOs Mult Class Section Check Hours

KG5VK 133,526 856 78 A LA 72 24

160 80 40 20 15 10

0 196 44 314 302 0

After 2005 I worked to ensure we would have better antenna choices for 80 (75meters) and I also added a second 40m beam at a much lower height

I also invested in Propagation software tools to help ensure we don’t over look a Ten meter band opening

KG5VK Sweepstakes Team members are encouraged to watch the cluster and the prop software computers when not operating and help us be on the right band and not miss a ten meter opening – I totally blew catching a great albeit short opening during 2005 on ten meters !

Steve