Saturday, July 30, 2011
Friday, July 29, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Compass Module - HDPM01
Compass Module - HDPM01
One of the few sites where there are lots of things to use when building your own circuits
Micro controller chips (PICS) are fun my first kit is from http://Hamstack.com
They offer fantastic support and neat projects as well.
Steve
KG5VK
One of the few sites where there are lots of things to use when building your own circuits
Micro controller chips (PICS) are fun my first kit is from http://Hamstack.com
They offer fantastic support and neat projects as well.
Steve
KG5VK
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
How to Make a Contest QSO -
This is from an old High school buddy that writes on the contest reflector for the ARRL
I had never seen this , but it arrived in a contest reflector email
and thought hmmm, I wonder how many people did not know some of this stuff
As another buddy of mine says we all have to start some where and many of us that have a few thousand Q's under our belts tend to forget
to share the basics that we take for granted.
So here is a conversation on contesting from my friend Ward N0AX
CONVERSATION
How To Have A (Contest) Conversation
After the last issue was emailed to readers, I received a most reasonable request. "This issue shows how NOT to make a Field Day QSO. How SHOULD I make a Field Day QSO?" Here is a good example of how experienced operators (i.e. - your editor) can forget that criticism without instruction is not helpful. One has to demonstrate the right technique so as to illustrate why the wrong technique is, in fact, wrong! So here goes...
First, a disclaimer. There is no One Perfect Method for efficient, effective contest operating. The "right" technique depends on band conditions, how many are (or aren't) calling, the intensity of the competition, and the skill of the operators on each end. What follows are guidelines and I am assuming that the contest is a phone contest. The reader should be able to apply the same principles to CW and digital contest operation.
To make a lot of QSOs in a fixed period - the goal of nearly every contest - you need to minimize the time you spend making each QSO. The first step in minimizing the duration of a QSO is to remove all unnecessary verbiage. In a perfect world, the only thing you should hear going back and forth during a contest is call signs and exchange information. It should sound like this:
1 - CQ Field Day KOØA
2 - [pileup]
3 - W1ABC 2 Alpha Missouri
4 - 1 Alpha Eastern Massachusetts
5 - Thanks KOØA
Not a wasted bit of transmitting exists in that exchange. Lines 1 and 5 are "bookends" in which KOØA identifies and solicits QSOs. (This style of operation is sufficient for W1ABC, as well.) This is the standard to which you should aspire on either end of the QSO. In Line 3, KOØA has pulled out a full call sign from the pileup, sent it to notify everyone who the QSO is with, given the information in the expected order and stopped transmitting. KOØA does not say, "Please copy..." or "You are..." or repeat any information or say, "Over" or "Go ahead" or any number of other things that take up time but don't add anything to the flow of the contact. In Line 4, W1ABC responds when called, gives the contest information, and stops transmitting. That's it - no extra "stuff" to slow things down. In Line 5, KOØA acknowledges that the information was complete and the call sign ends the transmission. No "QRZed" or "CQ Field Day" or "from" is required. If no stations call, then a longer CQ transmission starts the cycle again. (A nit to pick...when a station says "You are" and then describes their own configuration, shouldn't that really be "I am"?)
When should you deviate from this ideal? There are lots of reasons to do so. In Line 3, KOØA should not give out any exchange information until sure of enough of the caller's call sign that only one station is likely to respond. For example, if KOØA doesn't get the last letter of W1ABC's call..."W1AB-something 2 Alpha Missouri, what's the last letter?" W1ABC should respond with something like, "W1 Alpha Bravo Charlie, last letter is Charlie, 1 Alpha...etc" Why does W1ABC repeat the full call? To confirm that the missing letter is the last one and that the call is not W1CAB or just W1AB. Similarly, if KOØA has W1ABC's call wrong, W1ABC might simply respond with, "W1ABC". At that point, KOØA can resume with Line 3 shown above.
What about repeating your information? If not requested to do so, don't! 9 times out of 10, even a QRP station will be perfectly readable in Line 4 above. The other callers are standing by (hopefully) so KOØA is probably going to get the information on the first transmission - don't waste time with unrequested repeats! If a repeat is requested, repeat only the information requested.
Should W1ABC give KOØA's call sign in Line 4? Whenever there is any question about the intended receiving station give the call sign. It is very common under crowded contest conditions for two stations to be extremely close together or even on the same frequency if they are in each other's skip zones or have antenna nulls aimed at each other. When this happens, don't depend on timing - give the other station's call sign before sending your own information. If you don't, you take a chance that the "wrong" station will log you. The extra information often saves losing a contact (and the multiplier and the possible penalty).
What if W1ABC misses some of KOØA's information? Then W1ABC should request a repeat ("What is your section?") BEFORE proceeding with "1 Alpha Eastern Massachusetts." W1ABC should not transmit any exchange information until all of KOØA's information has been received. If W1ABC waits until after sending the category and section to ask for a repeat, KOØA will likely assume W1ABC received the information OK and will proceed with Line 5 too soon. This gets everything out of sync for everybody, including any callers waiting to contact KOØA. Yes, W1ABC could wait until KOØA's next contact to copy the information but I can tell you from personal experience - it doesn't always work out that way! Get the information you need during the contact and don't assume you can get it on subsequent contacts - that's a big waste of time for you.
Obviously, there are many more variations on the basic theme. By practicing, you'll learn the basic principles of snappy, crisp operating. To learn more about effective, efficient operating, listen to the top operators on the air while they are "running" and try to emulate them.
Learn to pull a full call sign out of a pileup whenever you can
Give your full call whenever calling in a pileup
Transmit exchange information the same way every time
Eliminate wasted syllables and words
Speak clearly without rushing or mumbling
Speech audio should be non-distorted and free of background noise
The top operators are flexible, too. When conditions require it, they will "change gears" to a faster or slower technique in order to maintain the flow of information and keep the contacts coming. Just like a long-distance runner who only lifts each foot enough to clear the ground, the top operators only transmit enough information to keep making contacts. You might not think the difference between "Thanks" and "Thank you" is worth much, but if in a 48-hour contest the goal is upwards of 5000 contacts, saying the extra "you" 5000 times is significant. This may be "cutting the tags off the teabags" as the backpackers say but work on eliminating non-essential transmissions and see if your log doesn't fill up a little quicker!
Should this be the style of operating for casual, non-contest contacts? Of course not! But it would be completely appropriate for a net control station trying to run an emcomm net with many calling to check in, pass traffic, report status, etc. When trying to handle that load "extra stuff" can really gum up the works. The habits and skills formed under contest conditions help make you an effective operator when the chips are really down - in a disaster or emergency situation when every minute counts.
73, Ward NØAX
I had never seen this , but it arrived in a contest reflector email
and thought hmmm, I wonder how many people did not know some of this stuff
As another buddy of mine says we all have to start some where and many of us that have a few thousand Q's under our belts tend to forget
to share the basics that we take for granted.
So here is a conversation on contesting from my friend Ward N0AX
CONVERSATION
How To Have A (Contest) Conversation
After the last issue was emailed to readers, I received a most reasonable request. "This issue shows how NOT to make a Field Day QSO. How SHOULD I make a Field Day QSO?" Here is a good example of how experienced operators (i.e. - your editor) can forget that criticism without instruction is not helpful. One has to demonstrate the right technique so as to illustrate why the wrong technique is, in fact, wrong! So here goes...
First, a disclaimer. There is no One Perfect Method for efficient, effective contest operating. The "right" technique depends on band conditions, how many are (or aren't) calling, the intensity of the competition, and the skill of the operators on each end. What follows are guidelines and I am assuming that the contest is a phone contest. The reader should be able to apply the same principles to CW and digital contest operation.
To make a lot of QSOs in a fixed period - the goal of nearly every contest - you need to minimize the time you spend making each QSO. The first step in minimizing the duration of a QSO is to remove all unnecessary verbiage. In a perfect world, the only thing you should hear going back and forth during a contest is call signs and exchange information. It should sound like this:
1 - CQ Field Day KOØA
2 - [pileup]
3 - W1ABC 2 Alpha Missouri
4 - 1 Alpha Eastern Massachusetts
5 - Thanks KOØA
Not a wasted bit of transmitting exists in that exchange. Lines 1 and 5 are "bookends" in which KOØA identifies and solicits QSOs. (This style of operation is sufficient for W1ABC, as well.) This is the standard to which you should aspire on either end of the QSO. In Line 3, KOØA has pulled out a full call sign from the pileup, sent it to notify everyone who the QSO is with, given the information in the expected order and stopped transmitting. KOØA does not say, "Please copy..." or "You are..." or repeat any information or say, "Over" or "Go ahead" or any number of other things that take up time but don't add anything to the flow of the contact. In Line 4, W1ABC responds when called, gives the contest information, and stops transmitting. That's it - no extra "stuff" to slow things down. In Line 5, KOØA acknowledges that the information was complete and the call sign ends the transmission. No "QRZed" or "CQ Field Day" or "from" is required. If no stations call, then a longer CQ transmission starts the cycle again. (A nit to pick...when a station says "You are" and then describes their own configuration, shouldn't that really be "I am"?)
When should you deviate from this ideal? There are lots of reasons to do so. In Line 3, KOØA should not give out any exchange information until sure of enough of the caller's call sign that only one station is likely to respond. For example, if KOØA doesn't get the last letter of W1ABC's call..."W1AB-something 2 Alpha Missouri, what's the last letter?" W1ABC should respond with something like, "W1 Alpha Bravo Charlie, last letter is Charlie, 1 Alpha...etc" Why does W1ABC repeat the full call? To confirm that the missing letter is the last one and that the call is not W1CAB or just W1AB. Similarly, if KOØA has W1ABC's call wrong, W1ABC might simply respond with, "W1ABC". At that point, KOØA can resume with Line 3 shown above.
What about repeating your information? If not requested to do so, don't! 9 times out of 10, even a QRP station will be perfectly readable in Line 4 above. The other callers are standing by (hopefully) so KOØA is probably going to get the information on the first transmission - don't waste time with unrequested repeats! If a repeat is requested, repeat only the information requested.
Should W1ABC give KOØA's call sign in Line 4? Whenever there is any question about the intended receiving station give the call sign. It is very common under crowded contest conditions for two stations to be extremely close together or even on the same frequency if they are in each other's skip zones or have antenna nulls aimed at each other. When this happens, don't depend on timing - give the other station's call sign before sending your own information. If you don't, you take a chance that the "wrong" station will log you. The extra information often saves losing a contact (and the multiplier and the possible penalty).
What if W1ABC misses some of KOØA's information? Then W1ABC should request a repeat ("What is your section?") BEFORE proceeding with "1 Alpha Eastern Massachusetts." W1ABC should not transmit any exchange information until all of KOØA's information has been received. If W1ABC waits until after sending the category and section to ask for a repeat, KOØA will likely assume W1ABC received the information OK and will proceed with Line 5 too soon. This gets everything out of sync for everybody, including any callers waiting to contact KOØA. Yes, W1ABC could wait until KOØA's next contact to copy the information but I can tell you from personal experience - it doesn't always work out that way! Get the information you need during the contact and don't assume you can get it on subsequent contacts - that's a big waste of time for you.
Obviously, there are many more variations on the basic theme. By practicing, you'll learn the basic principles of snappy, crisp operating. To learn more about effective, efficient operating, listen to the top operators on the air while they are "running" and try to emulate them.
Learn to pull a full call sign out of a pileup whenever you can
Give your full call whenever calling in a pileup
Transmit exchange information the same way every time
Eliminate wasted syllables and words
Speak clearly without rushing or mumbling
Speech audio should be non-distorted and free of background noise
The top operators are flexible, too. When conditions require it, they will "change gears" to a faster or slower technique in order to maintain the flow of information and keep the contacts coming. Just like a long-distance runner who only lifts each foot enough to clear the ground, the top operators only transmit enough information to keep making contacts. You might not think the difference between "Thanks" and "Thank you" is worth much, but if in a 48-hour contest the goal is upwards of 5000 contacts, saying the extra "you" 5000 times is significant. This may be "cutting the tags off the teabags" as the backpackers say but work on eliminating non-essential transmissions and see if your log doesn't fill up a little quicker!
Should this be the style of operating for casual, non-contest contacts? Of course not! But it would be completely appropriate for a net control station trying to run an emcomm net with many calling to check in, pass traffic, report status, etc. When trying to handle that load "extra stuff" can really gum up the works. The habits and skills formed under contest conditions help make you an effective operator when the chips are really down - in a disaster or emergency situation when every minute counts.
73, Ward NØAX
Club Log: Amateur Radio League Tables and Most-Wanted Lists
Club Log: Amateur Radio League Tables and Most-Wanted Lists
Club Log offers some powerful tool sets !!!
You can even allow searches within your log
like I did here.....
See if your in My Log
73
steve
KG5VK
Club Log offers some powerful tool sets !!!
You can even allow searches within your log
like I did here.....
See if your in My Log
73
steve
KG5VK
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
MY Presentation on SO2R as it stands now for Ham Com 2011
">click here to preview and please send me some feedback !!!
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Bill N5YA's HF contest station & Marshall K5QE Vhf/UHF
One of the greatest things about Dayton is on the air plane ride home I meet a couple of guys from right here in Louisiana that have that true Ham Radio spirit
From contesting on HF to the nose bleed freqs
These two guys have it covered !
Friday, May 27, 2011
Dayton 2011
Wow I started early this year the night after attendance of a full day at Contest University
With some great Buckeye hospitality at the local Hooters
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Please visit our State version of the ARRL website
I am really amazed at how little activity there is to the ARRL site for our state
and I am hoping that before the site is abandoned by the current webmaster
we can get a buzz started about the site and the tools offered there
http://www.laarrl.org/index.html
There is a survey posted there
for the usefulness of the site
and only 13 surveys have been completed
I know there are a lot more than 13 ops that are computer savy enough to benifit from tools on the site
please visit the site, do the short survey and post constructive comments
Please make the webmaster there feel their time and effort is not wasted !!!
This site has had a lot of work done to it as compared to what it was several years ago
but it looks like only a few people visit it.
Thank You and 73
Steve
KG5VK
http://www.KG5VK.com
My Ham Radio Friends
and I am hoping that before the site is abandoned by the current webmaster
we can get a buzz started about the site and the tools offered there
http://www.laarrl.org/index.html
There is a survey posted there
for the usefulness of the site
and only 13 surveys have been completed
I know there are a lot more than 13 ops that are computer savy enough to benifit from tools on the site
please visit the site, do the short survey and post constructive comments
Please make the webmaster there feel their time and effort is not wasted !!!
This site has had a lot of work done to it as compared to what it was several years ago
but it looks like only a few people visit it.
Thank You and 73
Steve
KG5VK
http://www.KG5VK.com
My Ham Radio Friends
Friday, March 04, 2011
This week-end is one of the biggest contest of the year
The ARRL DX Phone contest is this week-end March 4th 2011
for those of us in the USA the contest strats this evening
Even if your a non contest get on and work a few new countries
and Have fun !
73
Steve
KG5VK
for those of us in the USA the contest strats this evening
Even if your a non contest get on and work a few new countries
and Have fun !
73
Steve
KG5VK
Tuesday, February 08, 2011
after the contest analysis tools
A very useful post-contest utility that operates on Cabrillo files is
CBS.exe by Ken Adams K5KA. It parses your file and outputs a host of
useful statistics on rate, six-band QSOs, call areas worked,
multiplier summaries, and so forth. This neat program is free and can
be downloaded from http://www.kkn.net/~k5tr/software/Cbs.exe. Thanks
to K5KA! (Also thanks to K5TR for the tip.)
Another utility that analyzes log files finds your top rate for any
continuous hour is the free MS-DOS(tm) utility called RATE.EXE that
you can download from http://www.k1ea.com/utilities/index.htm or
http://www.benlo.com/ham.html#software. RATE will parse any ASCII log
that has its data in fixed columns and a four-digit time (no colon) --
this works for Cabrillo, as well. Run the program without specifying
an input or output log (enter "RATE" at the DOS prompt) and a list of
commands will follow. You will also have to specify the column in
which the first digit of the time appears -- for Cabrillo, that's 25.
Unfortunately, the program also tells you your Minimum and Average
rates.
CBS.exe by Ken Adams K5KA. It parses your file and outputs a host of
useful statistics on rate, six-band QSOs, call areas worked,
multiplier summaries, and so forth. This neat program is free and can
be downloaded from http://www.kkn.net/~k5tr/software/Cbs.exe. Thanks
to K5KA! (Also thanks to K5TR for the tip.)
Another utility that analyzes log files finds your top rate for any
continuous hour is the free MS-DOS(tm) utility called RATE.EXE that
you can download from http://www.k1ea.com/utilities/index.htm or
http://www.benlo.com/ham.html#software. RATE will parse any ASCII log
that has its data in fixed columns and a four-digit time (no colon) --
this works for Cabrillo, as well. Run the program without specifying
an input or output log (enter "RATE" at the DOS prompt) and a list of
commands will follow. You will also have to specify the column in
which the first digit of the time appears -- for Cabrillo, that's 25.
Unfortunately, the program also tells you your Minimum and Average
rates.
Sunday, January 02, 2011
Innovation in Contesting tools
Tor N4OGW
Has brought us a new software tool
that embraces SDR technology in contesting
http://code.google.com/p/so2sdr/
While some ops on the CQ Contest reflector
are debating wether Tor's software may be used for SO unasssited or places the entraint into assisted
I feel it is more important to encourage further development of this software
while my contest software of choice is N1MM, I am anxious to see innovation.
Any embracement of new technology should be applauded
and let the individual contest OPS and the contest sponsors determine if the
use of software/hardware places the entrant in assisted.
Lets see more innovation in 2011 and beyond !
Steve
KG5VK
Has brought us a new software tool
that embraces SDR technology in contesting
http://code.google.com/p/so2sdr/
While some ops on the CQ Contest reflector
are debating wether Tor's software may be used for SO unasssited or places the entraint into assisted
I feel it is more important to encourage further development of this software
while my contest software of choice is N1MM, I am anxious to see innovation.
Any embracement of new technology should be applauded
and let the individual contest OPS and the contest sponsors determine if the
use of software/hardware places the entrant in assisted.
Lets see more innovation in 2011 and beyond !
Steve
KG5VK
Sunday, November 14, 2010
less than a week from now, ARRL Sweepstakes Phone !!!
Most of the antenna farm repairs that can be done are now done
I replaced one long cable run, that Dick WA6MDI helped me identify as having failed
Removed one bad ICE Lighting arrestor from the cable run to the KT-34xa
Attempted to get the rotor position indicator pot working for the Telrex Pair - with no luck, so beam position for that array will be by way of closed ciruit TV monitor
Rates last year we very good for just a few periods of time
which band at what time.............
we need to watch our rates and move if they fall too low
where to set the mark of too low is the question !!!
Last year we had a good run and if I had not gotten bogged down with the amp issue we may have beat AE5T
Total Q's last year (2009) was 1436
142 on 80m
501 on 40m
792 on 20m
1 on 15m
0 on 10m
In 2008 we had 1033 Total Q's
BUT I over slept and we were only on the air for 23 not 24 hours !!!
289 on 80m
323 on 40m
378 on 20m
43 on 15m
0 on 10m
2007 we had a total of 1034 Q's
390 on 80m
76 on 40m Wow low number for 40m
542 on 20m
26 on 15m
0 on 10m
2006 we had a total of 1046 Q's We won Delta Division here
80 on 80m
449 on 40m
418 on 20m
99 on 15m
0 on 10m
I think we need to break into 1800 Q's this year
that is going to be tough !!!
That would be an Q rate of 75 for every hour on the air
1600 Q's if more realistic goal but every year since 2006 everyone is placing Higher Q totals and with the increased activity in SS I am sure this will continue !
cheers!
steve
I replaced one long cable run, that Dick WA6MDI helped me identify as having failed
Removed one bad ICE Lighting arrestor from the cable run to the KT-34xa
Attempted to get the rotor position indicator pot working for the Telrex Pair - with no luck, so beam position for that array will be by way of closed ciruit TV monitor
Rates last year we very good for just a few periods of time
which band at what time.............
we need to watch our rates and move if they fall too low
where to set the mark of too low is the question !!!
Last year we had a good run and if I had not gotten bogged down with the amp issue we may have beat AE5T
Total Q's last year (2009) was 1436
142 on 80m
501 on 40m
792 on 20m
1 on 15m
0 on 10m
In 2008 we had 1033 Total Q's
BUT I over slept and we were only on the air for 23 not 24 hours !!!
289 on 80m
323 on 40m
378 on 20m
43 on 15m
0 on 10m
2007 we had a total of 1034 Q's
390 on 80m
76 on 40m Wow low number for 40m
542 on 20m
26 on 15m
0 on 10m
2006 we had a total of 1046 Q's We won Delta Division here
80 on 80m
449 on 40m
418 on 20m
99 on 15m
0 on 10m
I think we need to break into 1800 Q's this year
that is going to be tough !!!
That would be an Q rate of 75 for every hour on the air
1600 Q's if more realistic goal but every year since 2006 everyone is placing Higher Q totals and with the increased activity in SS I am sure this will continue !
cheers!
steve
Wednesday, November 03, 2010
ARRL SS Sweepstakes at KG5VK
I am building the list of OPS that will join us for ARRL Sweepstakes Phone contest on November 20th
The Contest starts at 3pm local Saturday November the 20th, 2010
here is the list of ops scheduled to be here so far.......
KA5M
K5SL
N5SH
W5WZ
and of course myself
don't see your call listed but want to play
send me an email !!!!!!!!
Steve
KG5VK
The Contest starts at 3pm local Saturday November the 20th, 2010
here is the list of ops scheduled to be here so far.......
KA5M
K5SL
N5SH
W5WZ
and of course myself
don't see your call listed but want to play
send me an email !!!!!!!!
Steve
KG5VK
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
DX and Contest infi is close at hand for Delta Division members
check this out !
Propagation forecasts for the current week-end for us
Delta division members already made !!!
73
steve
Propagation forecasts for the current week-end for us
Delta division members already made !!!
73
steve
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Saturday, July 03, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Skim Scan for use with Skimmer
Here is the link to this great software for those using skimmer to watch for band openings
click here
Cheers !
click here
Cheers !
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
ARRL FD what is it
ARRL Field Day: “Hams” take it to the streets June 26-27
Shreveport/Bossier City, Louisiana - Amateur Radio activities are growing and many radio operators, often called “hams,” will be showing
off their capabilities June 26-27 at The Gazebo near the public boat launch on Arthur Teague Parkway on the Bossier City side of the Red River.
Thousands of Amateur Radio operators will be Erecting radio stations at community parks, campgrounds, schools and emergency centers around the country, they will hold a “Field Day” showing their emergency communications capabilities while having fun talking and texting to friends with their radios.
Far from fading in the age of cell phones and Internet,
Amateur Radio has been growing in the US and 2009 saw over 30,000 new
people became “hams.” Figures from the ARRL, the national
association for Amateur Radio, show consistent growth for the past five
years. The technical skills of hams also improved as almost 50% of
American Amateur Radio operators now go beyond the entry level FCC
licensing requirements and pass the more difficult testing to earn
higher class federal licenses. There are now more than 682,000 Amateur
Radio operators in the US, and 2.5 million around the world.
In past months, many reports of ham radio operators
providing critical communications in emergencies have been in the news.
From Haiti to California, during floods, fires, earthquakes, tornados
and other crises, Amateur Radio volunteers are providing emergency
communications for many rescue and recovery groups. Amateur Radio
operators are often the first to report critical information to
responders in the first hours of crisis situations. FEMA, DHS, the
National Weather Service, and emergency management offices include
Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES®) operators in their
communications plans. On June 26-27, the public will be able to meet
and talk with the hams and see for themselves what Amateur Radio is all
about. Using everything from Morse code to modern digital and satellite
systems, voice communications and even Web-radio hybrid capabilities,
they prove “It’s not just your Grandfather’s radio anymore.”
Several of the local Shreveport/Bossier amateur radio operators have deployed in the past during times of disaster, when normal communications were disrupted.
The amateur operators will construct temporary, emergency
style radio stations around the country for the weekend and send
messages in many forms -without the use any other infrastructure that
can be compromised in a crisis. Over 35,000 Amateur Radio operators
across the country participated in last year's event. To learn what
modern Amateur Radio systems can do, go to www.ARRL.org/fieldday.
There you can find information about the locations the Amateur Radio
operators will set up in your home area. They can even help you get on
the air!
For more info
http://www.arrl.org/field-day
Steven Lott Smith
Shreveport Amateur Radio Association 2010 Field Day Chairman
KG5vk@arrl.net
Shreveport/Bossier City, Louisiana - Amateur Radio activities are growing and many radio operators, often called “hams,” will be showing
off their capabilities June 26-27 at The Gazebo near the public boat launch on Arthur Teague Parkway on the Bossier City side of the Red River.
Thousands of Amateur Radio operators will be Erecting radio stations at community parks, campgrounds, schools and emergency centers around the country, they will hold a “Field Day” showing their emergency communications capabilities while having fun talking and texting to friends with their radios.
Far from fading in the age of cell phones and Internet,
Amateur Radio has been growing in the US and 2009 saw over 30,000 new
people became “hams.” Figures from the ARRL, the national
association for Amateur Radio, show consistent growth for the past five
years. The technical skills of hams also improved as almost 50% of
American Amateur Radio operators now go beyond the entry level FCC
licensing requirements and pass the more difficult testing to earn
higher class federal licenses. There are now more than 682,000 Amateur
Radio operators in the US, and 2.5 million around the world.
In past months, many reports of ham radio operators
providing critical communications in emergencies have been in the news.
From Haiti to California, during floods, fires, earthquakes, tornados
and other crises, Amateur Radio volunteers are providing emergency
communications for many rescue and recovery groups. Amateur Radio
operators are often the first to report critical information to
responders in the first hours of crisis situations. FEMA, DHS, the
National Weather Service, and emergency management offices include
Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES®) operators in their
communications plans. On June 26-27, the public will be able to meet
and talk with the hams and see for themselves what Amateur Radio is all
about. Using everything from Morse code to modern digital and satellite
systems, voice communications and even Web-radio hybrid capabilities,
they prove “It’s not just your Grandfather’s radio anymore.”
Several of the local Shreveport/Bossier amateur radio operators have deployed in the past during times of disaster, when normal communications were disrupted.
The amateur operators will construct temporary, emergency
style radio stations around the country for the weekend and send
messages in many forms -without the use any other infrastructure that
can be compromised in a crisis. Over 35,000 Amateur Radio operators
across the country participated in last year's event. To learn what
modern Amateur Radio systems can do, go to www.ARRL.org/fieldday.
There you can find information about the locations the Amateur Radio
operators will set up in your home area. They can even help you get on
the air!
For more info
http://www.arrl.org/field-day
Steven Lott Smith
Shreveport Amateur Radio Association 2010 Field Day Chairman
KG5vk@arrl.net
Friday, June 18, 2010
DXCC
Many years ago a great friend KR5D got mne interested in getting some coveted wall paper on my Shack walls
The DXCC award is very valuable to me and those that have it displayed are in great company
Of course Honor Roll is a long way off for me, but we all start the journey with one step at a time
My thanks to Tom KR5D for mentoring me into the DXCC awards program
Here is my current standings..........
it's a bit tough to read unless you just look at the last number on each line
AwardSelectedAppliedAwardedTotal / Current
Mixed *630143206 / 203
CW94026120 / 120
Phone *540121175 / 172
RTTY420648 / 48
160M9009 / 9
80M300333 / 33
40M800585 / 85
30M7007 / 7
20M *470111158 / 158
17M150015 / 15
15M82019101 / 99
12M2002 / 2
10M4702875 / 74
6M2002 / 2
Challenge3210163--- / 484
* = Award has been issued
I eligible for CW DXCC Now as well as 15m (Mixed)
and only 15 Q's away from getting 40m mixed
cheers !
The DXCC award is very valuable to me and those that have it displayed are in great company
Of course Honor Roll is a long way off for me, but we all start the journey with one step at a time
My thanks to Tom KR5D for mentoring me into the DXCC awards program
Here is my current standings..........
it's a bit tough to read unless you just look at the last number on each line
AwardSelectedAppliedAwardedTotal / Current
Mixed *630143206 / 203
CW94026120 / 120
Phone *540121175 / 172
RTTY420648 / 48
160M9009 / 9
80M300333 / 33
40M800585 / 85
30M7007 / 7
20M *470111158 / 158
17M150015 / 15
15M82019101 / 99
12M2002 / 2
10M4702875 / 74
6M2002 / 2
Challenge3210163--- / 484
* = Award has been issued
I eligible for CW DXCC Now as well as 15m (Mixed)
and only 15 Q's away from getting 40m mixed
cheers !
Monday, June 14, 2010
New Mobile Antenna
I now have the new Rav4 configured for HF operation
Yesterday I installed the Little Tar Heel HP (High Power)
with my IC-706 Mark IIG
This morning I had a pleasant QSO with N5BOS from Alexandria, LA
while in the relatives driveway here in Texas
We will be on 20 or 40 meters while heading home tomorrow
So far the Little Tar Heel is performing well, I'll have a good review after I get home
http://www.tarheelantennas.com/little_tarheel_ii
Cheers!
Yesterday I installed the Little Tar Heel HP (High Power)
with my IC-706 Mark IIG
This morning I had a pleasant QSO with N5BOS from Alexandria, LA
while in the relatives driveway here in Texas
We will be on 20 or 40 meters while heading home tomorrow
So far the Little Tar Heel is performing well, I'll have a good review after I get home
http://www.tarheelantennas.com/little_tarheel_ii
Cheers!
Saturday, June 12, 2010
SV2KBS and KG5VK
Steve KG5VK gets to visit with the prettiest and one of the most experienced DX OPS at Dayton, Victoria is from Greece at was at Dayton during the largest gathering of Ham Radio enthusiast in the world.
Friday, June 04, 2010
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Dayton 2010-DX/Contest Dinners were Memorable
Got to meet KL7RA, VU2PAI, and VQ9LA...and many others. I walked by a table and as we all do glance at call sign badges. I stopped when I saw KL7 Radio Alaska! About 8 or 9 years ago I set up a JOTA station at a local catholic church picnic area for the 40 or so scouts there. That afternoon on 15m I was called by a very loud KL7RA. I thought he was in CF not Alaska. He said I had a great signal up there and he had been listening and going back to when he was a scout in Bossier City-while his dad was stationed @ Barksdale. Said he remembered getting his swimming merit badge on Lake Bisteneau, and was it still there and a lake you could swim in.
He then told me he was testing out his 4(yes 4) stacked array of yagi's on a 100' tower for SS.
Needless to say his great sig, and this qso was a real show stopper for scouts and parents alike there that afternoon. He told me he remembered the qso like yesterday..
VU2PAI was my first India on 17m, phone and cw ever-qso only 2 mo or so ago. He kinda remembered it, as La not often worked on 17m. (Said QSL for sure!) I mentioned he and VQ9La were the "voice of the Indian Ocean"..He responded "he is here also-met him 30' away 2 min later! GREAT!
He then told me he was testing out his 4(yes 4) stacked array of yagi's on a 100' tower for SS.
Needless to say his great sig, and this qso was a real show stopper for scouts and parents alike there that afternoon. He told me he remembered the qso like yesterday..
VU2PAI was my first India on 17m, phone and cw ever-qso only 2 mo or so ago. He kinda remembered it, as La not often worked on 17m. (Said QSL for sure!) I mentioned he and VQ9La were the "voice of the Indian Ocean"..He responded "he is here also-met him 30' away 2 min later! GREAT!
Thursday, May 20, 2010
look for my high school buddy this week-end in CQ WPX CW
Ward Silver N0AX will be running the 15 meter band in CQ WPX CW this week-end with the callsign KU0W
73
steve
73
steve
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
New Green Herone Products in KG5VK's shack
http://www.greenheronengineering.com/download-files/wireless-cable.pdf
One base unit and Four remotes from the product shown in the above pdf
The new dual coupler board for my digital watt meter
Some clip on ferrites (rfi cures) and some heavy duty ground clamps
73
kg5vk
One base unit and Four remotes from the product shown in the above pdf
The new dual coupler board for my digital watt meter
Some clip on ferrites (rfi cures) and some heavy duty ground clamps
73
kg5vk
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
What is Radio Sport, you prob know but if you need help expalining it to a friend this may help
http://www.icomamerica.com/en/media_events/videos/irn5/default.aspx
Icom with the help of a talented young lady by the name of Ashley KI4MTU
do a great job in show casing what Radio Sport is like
cheers!
steve
KG5VK
Icom with the help of a talented young lady by the name of Ashley KI4MTU
do a great job in show casing what Radio Sport is like
cheers!
steve
KG5VK
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Are we a League or a Internet Vendor?
Are we a League or a Internet Vendor?: "The ARRL new website perhaps replaces an outdated webpage style, but at a cost – blatant commercialization. The useful portion of the ARRL homepage has gone down, and now it is tarted-up but with a result of being blah, busy and overloaded with “sales focused web features.” Lets look at the new website, first as [...]
"
"
It's Time to travel to Mecca, Dayton Ohio
Randy Fulco K5SL and I (KG5VK) will be departing early Thursday morning by air
to Dayton, Ohio
It has been about trwenty years since my last trip to Dayton
and Randy and I are eager to see and do as much as we can
We both have tickets to the Conetst and DX dinner and are looking forward to meeting up with other friends during Dayton.
Speaking of old friends Ward Silver is an old High School buddy
of course most of you know he is very active at the ARRL
Ward also has a Blog up for keeping track of Dayton happings......
http://www.arrl.org/ham-zero-dayton-blog-by-ward-silver-n0ax
73 Steve
KG5VK
to Dayton, Ohio
It has been about trwenty years since my last trip to Dayton
and Randy and I are eager to see and do as much as we can
We both have tickets to the Conetst and DX dinner and are looking forward to meeting up with other friends during Dayton.
Speaking of old friends Ward Silver is an old High School buddy
of course most of you know he is very active at the ARRL
Ward also has a Blog up for keeping track of Dayton happings......
http://www.arrl.org/ham-zero-dayton-blog-by-ward-silver-n0ax
73 Steve
KG5VK
Saturday, March 06, 2010
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
what's new.....
Contesting
I had planned on being at K1TTT's station for this week-end's running of the ARRL DX Phone contest, but instead I am here at the home front getting some work done.
Family
Had a recent scare with a visit to the local emergency room with my wife
when I say scary, I mean it. Zo had a very bad alleric reaction to a new drug she was subscribed. I am glad I called 911 fast, as soon as we knew she was having a reaction (just the itching and rash had begun) by the time they got here she was in dire straits, heart trouble, bearly comontose. An IV and 20mg of benadryl and she was stable, but not out of the woods yet.
I am very thankful she is doing fine now.
We now have an epi pen that we keep close by.
Those that know me and anyone that has been to my station knows how much support I get from my wife in everything I do
She is truely the wind beneath my wings.
Accolades
To me the greatest reward ever is to be recognized by one's peers
at a recent luncheon someone mentioned that they saw kg5vk
in a listing of recent nominee's for membership in the A-1 Operators club
I swear my jaw must have dropped when I heard this
just a nomination to this elite group means a great amount to me
While there is yet no certificate and the nomination may never be seconded I wanted to say Thank You !!!
New computer
I hate breaking in a new CPU or more to the point new software oo even more poignant Operating System
Windows XP Pro was good and stable and it worked with just about everything we hams use, without jumping thru hoops to get things to talk to each other.
Well I am breaking in a new windows 7 machine, life is challenging at times !
Dayton 2010
Randy K5SL and I will be flying to Dayton this year by way of a side trip to the Wright Pat AFB Muesum
this should be a load of fun
I have not been to Dayton since the 80's when Zo and I lived in Indiana
We have dinner reservations at the Contest Dinner Banquet and may also attend the DX Dinner.
I look forward to seeing some old friends and making lots of new ones during the hospitality suite visits
The Big Contest is this week-end
My best effort in any contest without a doubt has to be First Place Europe in the 1981 running of the ARRL DX Phone contest
My self and a few friends, did a MM from N2BVJ/LX and the Luxembourg club
station LX0RL
This was my first ever Wooden Plaque award, thanks to the members of the Grosse Point Farms DX Association for their sponsorship of that really nice plaque !
I am ready to play big time in this contest again
although not from K1TT's super station in Peru, MA
maybe at Pat's station W5WMU in Southern Louisiana
Anyone want to join me ???
If no one wants to do the road trip I might just settle in here at KG5VK for this one. Please let me know asap if your wanting to play in M/S or even M/M
either here at KG5VK or at Pat's station
SARA
The Shreveport Amateur Radio Association
continues to grow, meetings are more and more entertaining
the comraderie is awesome
If you missed the last one you missed a good meeting
Next meeting is the 11th of this month (March)
ARRL FD
just a few months away, ARRL FD
yes I am the chairman this year, but I have several key helpers
Randy K5SL in the cw trailer, Marsh KA5M in the Phone trailer, Mark K5JMR has his own digital trailer (which is roomy and well airconditioned, as are all our trailers)
There will be several UHF and VHF stations and even 6 meters
We will have a Saturday Hot dog outing at Mark's K5JMR the week-end before FD
and of course the first meeting in June will be used soley for FD discussions
Our Goals are....
Be Safe
Have Fun
Present some very good scores to the ARRL and our section manager
Recruit new Ham's and Ham's to the contesting sport
The ARRL Rookie Contest
Speaking of recruiting Ham's to contesting
My doors are open and the rookie contest is a great time to train new ops into contesting
I hope to get at least one new contesters out of this year's Rookie Phone Contest
April 16, if your interested contact me ASAP
So far John K5ESY is the only one eligible that has expressed intrests
Come on guys and gals don't be shy, this will be fun - I promise !!!!
73
Steve
KG5VK
I had planned on being at K1TTT's station for this week-end's running of the ARRL DX Phone contest, but instead I am here at the home front getting some work done.
Family
Had a recent scare with a visit to the local emergency room with my wife
when I say scary, I mean it. Zo had a very bad alleric reaction to a new drug she was subscribed. I am glad I called 911 fast, as soon as we knew she was having a reaction (just the itching and rash had begun) by the time they got here she was in dire straits, heart trouble, bearly comontose. An IV and 20mg of benadryl and she was stable, but not out of the woods yet.
I am very thankful she is doing fine now.
We now have an epi pen that we keep close by.
Those that know me and anyone that has been to my station knows how much support I get from my wife in everything I do
She is truely the wind beneath my wings.
Accolades
To me the greatest reward ever is to be recognized by one's peers
at a recent luncheon someone mentioned that they saw kg5vk
in a listing of recent nominee's for membership in the A-1 Operators club
I swear my jaw must have dropped when I heard this
just a nomination to this elite group means a great amount to me
While there is yet no certificate and the nomination may never be seconded I wanted to say Thank You !!!
New computer
I hate breaking in a new CPU or more to the point new software oo even more poignant Operating System
Windows XP Pro was good and stable and it worked with just about everything we hams use, without jumping thru hoops to get things to talk to each other.
Well I am breaking in a new windows 7 machine, life is challenging at times !
Dayton 2010
Randy K5SL and I will be flying to Dayton this year by way of a side trip to the Wright Pat AFB Muesum
this should be a load of fun
I have not been to Dayton since the 80's when Zo and I lived in Indiana
We have dinner reservations at the Contest Dinner Banquet and may also attend the DX Dinner.
I look forward to seeing some old friends and making lots of new ones during the hospitality suite visits
The Big Contest is this week-end
My best effort in any contest without a doubt has to be First Place Europe in the 1981 running of the ARRL DX Phone contest
My self and a few friends, did a MM from N2BVJ/LX and the Luxembourg club
station LX0RL
This was my first ever Wooden Plaque award, thanks to the members of the Grosse Point Farms DX Association for their sponsorship of that really nice plaque !
I am ready to play big time in this contest again
although not from K1TT's super station in Peru, MA
maybe at Pat's station W5WMU in Southern Louisiana
Anyone want to join me ???
If no one wants to do the road trip I might just settle in here at KG5VK for this one. Please let me know asap if your wanting to play in M/S or even M/M
either here at KG5VK or at Pat's station
SARA
The Shreveport Amateur Radio Association
continues to grow, meetings are more and more entertaining
the comraderie is awesome
If you missed the last one you missed a good meeting
Next meeting is the 11th of this month (March)
ARRL FD
just a few months away, ARRL FD
yes I am the chairman this year, but I have several key helpers
Randy K5SL in the cw trailer, Marsh KA5M in the Phone trailer, Mark K5JMR has his own digital trailer (which is roomy and well airconditioned, as are all our trailers)
There will be several UHF and VHF stations and even 6 meters
We will have a Saturday Hot dog outing at Mark's K5JMR the week-end before FD
and of course the first meeting in June will be used soley for FD discussions
Our Goals are....
Be Safe
Have Fun
Present some very good scores to the ARRL and our section manager
Recruit new Ham's and Ham's to the contesting sport
The ARRL Rookie Contest
Speaking of recruiting Ham's to contesting
My doors are open and the rookie contest is a great time to train new ops into contesting
I hope to get at least one new contesters out of this year's Rookie Phone Contest
April 16, if your interested contact me ASAP
So far John K5ESY is the only one eligible that has expressed intrests
Come on guys and gals don't be shy, this will be fun - I promise !!!!
73
Steve
KG5VK
The A-1 Operators Web page
Web page
I know I have heard of this before but it is one of those things you figure you may never see your callsign asociated with
what a great honor, to be recognized by our peers !
73
Steve
I know I have heard of this before but it is one of those things you figure you may never see your callsign asociated with
what a great honor, to be recognized by our peers !
73
Steve
Thursday, February 25, 2010
It's not really DX unless it's worked on the air....
I agree it is not really a DX contact unless it's worked thru the air wave from one end of the QSO to the other, in other no links or repeaters
But today with many Ham's stuck in no antenna zoning, or just no antenna resources
D-Star and even Echo link allow them to enjoy our hobby
While no D-Star or Echo link contact will ever get a QSL card from me
many still enjoy it and I do use the mode occasionally
Fact is there are so many aspects of enjoying Ham Radio we often find the local 2 meter repeaters with little or no activity, esp compared to the level of activity we saw in the 70's and 80's
All that said here is some D-Star info........
http://www.dstarinfo.com/Newsletter/D-STAR%20Info%20Vol%201%20Issue%204%20(1.0).pdf
73
Steve
But today with many Ham's stuck in no antenna zoning, or just no antenna resources
D-Star and even Echo link allow them to enjoy our hobby
While no D-Star or Echo link contact will ever get a QSL card from me
many still enjoy it and I do use the mode occasionally
Fact is there are so many aspects of enjoying Ham Radio we often find the local 2 meter repeaters with little or no activity, esp compared to the level of activity we saw in the 70's and 80's
All that said here is some D-Star info........
http://www.dstarinfo.com/Newsletter/D-STAR%20Info%20Vol%201%20Issue%204%20(1.0).pdf
73
Steve
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Tuesday, January 05, 2010
Monday, January 04, 2010
from radio-sport.net - Your home for ham radio contest news
radio-sport.net - Your home for ham radio contest news: "North American QSO Party SSB
1800z January 16 - 0600z January 17; more on the rules at the NCJ web site.
CQ 160 CW Contest
2200z January 29 - 2200z January 31; more on the rules at the NCJ web site.
For much more comprehensive schedule information, check the contest calendars maintained by the ARRL or WA7BNM"
1800z January 16 - 0600z January 17; more on the rules at the NCJ web site.
CQ 160 CW Contest
2200z January 29 - 2200z January 31; more on the rules at the NCJ web site.
For much more comprehensive schedule information, check the contest calendars maintained by the ARRL or WA7BNM"
Monday, December 28, 2009
RTTY Round up
ARRL RTTY Roundup Contest
1800z January 2 - 2400z January 3; more on the rules at the ARRL web site
last year this contest grew in popularity by almost 25% more entries according to Radio-Sport.net
I am not surprised it is a fun contest !
cheers !
Steve
1800z January 2 - 2400z January 3; more on the rules at the ARRL web site
last year this contest grew in popularity by almost 25% more entries according to Radio-Sport.net
I am not surprised it is a fun contest !
cheers !
Steve
Friday, December 18, 2009
KB9MWR Speaks on “ARES/RACES is a Waste”
KB9MWR Speaks on “ARES/RACES is a Waste”: "Steve KB9MWR makes some very valid observations on the ARES/RACES situation:
Everyone’s opinion on ARES/RACES will differ, but Steve KB9MWR has captured many of the issues with ARES/RACES and “Paraprofessional Emcomm” accurately in his presentation.
His points are 100% a fit with why I have been advocating the self-preparation plan Freecom as a replacement for Emcomm.
73
Steve
K9ZW
[...]
"
Everyone’s opinion on ARES/RACES will differ, but Steve KB9MWR has captured many of the issues with ARES/RACES and “Paraprofessional Emcomm” accurately in his presentation.
His points are 100% a fit with why I have been advocating the self-preparation plan Freecom as a replacement for Emcomm.
73
Steve
K9ZW
[...]
"
Sunday, December 13, 2009
DXpedition of The Year 2009
Vote for the DXpedition of the year at:
http://dx-hamspirit.com/dxpedition-of-the-year-2009/
73,
Marsh, KA5M
http://dx-hamspirit.com/dxpedition-of-the-year-2009/
73,
Marsh, KA5M
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
ARRL SS Phone at KG5VK 2009
Just a quick summary
I will post more facts, images and stats later
A Clean sweep was attained at 1020 local Sunday
by working KP4 on 15 meters
Here is the Contest Summary sheet...........
SSSSB Score Summary Sheet
Start Date : 2009-11-21
CallSign Used : KG5VK
Operator(s) : KG5VK, KG5U, KA5M, N5VU, K5SL, N5FH, N5SH
Operator Category : MULTI-ONE
Band : ALL
Power : HIGH
Mode : SSB
Default Exchange : M 72 LA
Gridsquare : EM32
Name : Steven L Smith
Address : 138 Amy Lane
City/State/Zip : Benton LAT 71006
Country : USA
ARRL Section : LA
Club/Team : Louisiana Contest Club
Software : N1MM Logger V9.10.3
Band QSOs Pts Sec
3.5 142 284 7
7 501 1002 22
14 792 1584 50
21 1 2 1
Total 1436 2872 80
Score : 229,760
With Hindsight, we should have spent an hour or so on 15 meters
I need to operate less and manage the station more.
Steve
KG5VK
I will post more facts, images and stats later
A Clean sweep was attained at 1020 local Sunday
by working KP4 on 15 meters
Here is the Contest Summary sheet...........
SSSSB Score Summary Sheet
Start Date : 2009-11-21
CallSign Used : KG5VK
Operator(s) : KG5VK, KG5U, KA5M, N5VU, K5SL, N5FH, N5SH
Operator Category : MULTI-ONE
Band : ALL
Power : HIGH
Mode : SSB
Default Exchange : M 72 LA
Gridsquare : EM32
Name : Steven L Smith
Address : 138 Amy Lane
City/State/Zip : Benton LAT 71006
Country : USA
ARRL Section : LA
Club/Team : Louisiana Contest Club
Software : N1MM Logger V9.10.3
Band QSOs Pts Sec
3.5 142 284 7
7 501 1002 22
14 792 1584 50
21 1 2 1
Total 1436 2872 80
Score : 229,760
With Hindsight, we should have spent an hour or so on 15 meters
I need to operate less and manage the station more.
Steve
KG5VK
Monday, October 26, 2009
College Special Event
Hello,
To celebrate our college turning 98 years old this month, our student
amateur radio club N9GTC is running a Special Events station. The bulk
of the club is made up of non-hams working on their technician license.
(Most of the licensed club members graduated this past May.) As the
club adviser, I will be present during the Special Event operating time
so that all of the club members can get on the air. This is our
opportunity as a contesting community to show a group of technician
class (and soon to be technician class) operators what great fun
amateur radio is.
Our operating plans are;
Thursday, Oct 29, 1400Z-1800Z, SSB, 21.275 14.275 7.275.
Friday, Oct 30, 1400Z-1800Z, CW, 21.080 14.080 7.080.
They asked if we could do cw as well. I plan to load the exchanges in
the keyer and "translate" for them. Imagine that, some of them are
interested in cw...
If you have some time, please stop by the freq. and say hello to our
students. Imagine if you were a non-ham working on your license what an
experience like this could do to boost your enthusiasm. Some of the
college's administration will be stopping by to participate in the event
as well as they are big supporters of the club.
I hope you can stop by the frequency and say "hello". We will send out
a beautiful color certificate to all those that make it into the log.
Pat WW9R
N9GTC ARC Adviser
Gateway Technical College, CATI Campus
2320 Renaissance Blvd.
Sturtevant, WI 53177
To celebrate our college turning 98 years old this month, our student
amateur radio club N9GTC is running a Special Events station. The bulk
of the club is made up of non-hams working on their technician license.
(Most of the licensed club members graduated this past May.) As the
club adviser, I will be present during the Special Event operating time
so that all of the club members can get on the air. This is our
opportunity as a contesting community to show a group of technician
class (and soon to be technician class) operators what great fun
amateur radio is.
Our operating plans are;
Thursday, Oct 29, 1400Z-1800Z, SSB, 21.275 14.275 7.275.
Friday, Oct 30, 1400Z-1800Z, CW, 21.080 14.080 7.080.
They asked if we could do cw as well. I plan to load the exchanges in
the keyer and "translate" for them. Imagine that, some of them are
interested in cw...
If you have some time, please stop by the freq. and say hello to our
students. Imagine if you were a non-ham working on your license what an
experience like this could do to boost your enthusiasm. Some of the
college's administration will be stopping by to participate in the event
as well as they are big supporters of the club.
I hope you can stop by the frequency and say "hello". We will send out
a beautiful color certificate to all those that make it into the log.
Pat WW9R
N9GTC ARC Adviser
Gateway Technical College, CATI Campus
2320 Renaissance Blvd.
Sturtevant, WI 53177
Sunday, October 11, 2009
MO2R, A Sweepstakes Perspective by KG5VK
Yesterday I gave a presentation to the Louisiana Contest Club
on Multi-Op Two Radio (MO2R)
I posted my presentation on my web server here
This is a Power Point File
Comments and feedback are welcome !
73
Steve
KG5VK
on Multi-Op Two Radio (MO2R)
I posted my presentation on my web server here
This is a Power Point File
Comments and feedback are welcome !
73
Steve
KG5VK
Friday, October 09, 2009
Sunday, October 04, 2009
Thursday, October 01, 2009
The National Weather Service will hold an Open House on Saturday, October 24
PRESS RELEASE October 1, 2009
National Weather Service, Shreveport, Louisiana ...
National Weather Service will hold an Open House open to the public...
The National Weather Service will hold an Open House on Saturday,
October 24, 2009 from 10:00 am until 2:00 pm, to allow all of our
customers, partners, and the general public to see our operations and
facilities.
National Weather Service, Shreveport, Louisiana ...
National Weather Service will hold an Open House open to the public...
The National Weather Service will hold an Open House on Saturday,
October 24, 2009 from 10:00 am until 2:00 pm, to allow all of our
customers, partners, and the general public to see our operations and
facilities.
The Mad River Contest Club
A group of guys in Ohio really have their stuff together
They also share a great Handbook they created on ARRL Sweepstakes
Here is the link
ARRL Phone SS is 21 November 2009
They also share a great Handbook they created on ARRL Sweepstakes
Here is the link
ARRL Phone SS is 21 November 2009
Friday, September 18, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
This week-end Sept 19-20 Lots of activity
In addition to FT5GA Glorioso being on the air
the North American Sprint--Phone contest is this week-end
The Texas QSO Party
Woops !
The Texas QSO party is..........
The Texas QSO Party is SCHEDULED ANNUALLY ON THE LAST FULL WEEKEND (SATURDAY AND SUNDAY) IN SEPTEMBER. Operating times for the 2009 contest will be from 1400Z on SATURDAY, September 26 to 0200Z on SUNDAY. September 27 and from 1400Z to 2000Z on SUNDAY, September 27. Stations may work the entire contest period. All logs must be submitted no later than October 31, 2009.
the North American Sprint--Phone contest is this week-end
The Texas QSO Party
Woops !
The Texas QSO party is..........
The Texas QSO Party is SCHEDULED ANNUALLY ON THE LAST FULL WEEKEND (SATURDAY AND SUNDAY) IN SEPTEMBER. Operating times for the 2009 contest will be from 1400Z on SATURDAY, September 26 to 0200Z on SUNDAY. September 27 and from 1400Z to 2000Z on SUNDAY, September 27. Stations may work the entire contest period. All logs must be submitted no later than October 31, 2009.
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
2009 running of ARRL Phone Sweepstakes
I am getting the station and antenna farm ready
for the ARRL Sweepstakes Contest, for years I have hosted
several ops here at my qth for a multi-op effort in this fun contest
The phone version of the contest is
2100Z, Nov 21(Saturday afternoon) to 0300Z, Nov 23 (Sunday evening)
I know of several ops that will be here are you one of them ???
Steve
Monday, September 07, 2009
Progress on the New Four Square..........
The 75m Four Square is now finished
and...........
Just finished the new 4 square
the last part was to run the coax from the phasing box to the shack that measures dumped power
It was the most rewarding part as the good news is the system has at least 91 % efficiency
of transmit power out to the vertical
iow less than 9 % is dumped power back to the dummy load
because of inefficient coupling of the phased verticals !
I understand anything less than 10% dumped power is good.
at 3.640mhz the system is even more efficient (96%) less than 4% dumped power
It transmits apparently really well
but I think we will still be using beverages or the K9AY loop for receive and i have some work to do on those to improve our signal to noise ratios (I have been reading and studying the methods for this) Mainly decoupling the feedline from the rcv antenna system
and use of a second ground system away from the feed point
Steve
and...........
Just finished the new 4 square
the last part was to run the coax from the phasing box to the shack that measures dumped power
It was the most rewarding part as the good news is the system has at least 91 % efficiency
of transmit power out to the vertical
iow less than 9 % is dumped power back to the dummy load
because of inefficient coupling of the phased verticals !
I understand anything less than 10% dumped power is good.
at 3.640mhz the system is even more efficient (96%) less than 4% dumped power
It transmits apparently really well
but I think we will still be using beverages or the K9AY loop for receive and i have some work to do on those to improve our signal to noise ratios (I have been reading and studying the methods for this) Mainly decoupling the feedline from the rcv antenna system
and use of a second ground system away from the feed point
Steve
Sunday, September 06, 2009
Webinar Schedule -- September/October:
Webinar Schedule -- September/October:: "I am pleased to announce the Webinar schedule for September/October.
Things kick off next Wednesday (9/9) with KR2Q's 'When GIANTS First Walked
the Bands - The Early Days of Multi-Multi contesting.' Doug's presentation includes
timeless photos and a nostalgic look back at the early days of multi-multi
contesting. This is one of those presentations where you can put your feet
up and enjoy a great trip down memory lane!"
Things kick off next Wednesday (9/9) with KR2Q's 'When GIANTS First Walked
the Bands - The Early Days of Multi-Multi contesting.' Doug's presentation includes
timeless photos and a nostalgic look back at the early days of multi-multi
contesting. This is one of those presentations where you can put your feet
up and enjoy a great trip down memory lane!"
Thursday, September 03, 2009
Manufacturer of Texas Bug Catcher Antenna to Cease Operations
Manufacturer of Texas Bug Catcher Antenna to Cease Operations: "After October 31, 2009, GLA Systems -- the manufacturer of the Texas Bug Catcher antennas -- will cease taking orders for new antennas; according to their Web site, all orders received before that date will be filled. "Effective November 1, only orders for items that are in stock at the time will be accepted. Effective December 31, 2009, the toll free line, 1-800-588-2841, will be discontinued." No reason was given for the closure, but on GLA's Web site, owner Henry Allen, K5BUG, said "It has been a fun 30 years, but it is time to hang it up. I would like to thank everyone who has made this experience possible.""
Thursday, August 27, 2009
FCC to Utilities: Don't Look to Hams to Pay for Your Testing
FCC to Utilities: Don't Look to Hams to Pay for Your Testing: "In a case that goes back at more than 10 years, the FCC has told a Pennsylvania utility that the utility is responsible for paying for "efforts to locate and correct instances of [power line] noise." At least one amateur has been complaining to the FCC since 2000 regarding harmful radio interference possibly caused by power line equipment that is maintained by Pittsburgh's Duquesne Light Company (DLC)."
Station on Fort Worden's Artillery Hill Refurbished; Hams Have Celebration:
Station on Fort Worden's Artillery Hill Refurbished; Hams Have Celebration:: "The radio station atop Artillery Hill at Fort Worden State Park is the site of a special event celebrating the 100th anniversary of this communications site. The celebration takes place from 8 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 29, to 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 30. The public is invited to stop by during the park's open hours: 8:30 a.m.-7 p.m. on Saturday and 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. on Sunday. Using call sign W7R, members of the local Jefferson County and Port Ludlow Amateur Radio clubs will be on the air for the full 32 hours in the original brick building, completed in 1909, which is located on the fort's Artillery Hill, surrounded by the original gun batteries. In the early 1900s, this station, using call sign FX, was used by the U.S. Army to communicate with Alaska, supporting the Klondike Gold Rush, using a spark-gap transmitter. In the early 1930s, communication was by voice, code and Teletype, using an SCR radio set with a 300-foot wire antenna with a center tap supported by two 150-foot fir poles. During this weekend's event, radio "hams" will be operating off-grid, on single side band, CW (Morse code), and digital PSK & RTTY modes. Radio frequencies include 14.265 and 7.255 MHz. Volunteers from the radio clubs have been working to clean up the station, which has been victimized over the years by nature and by vandals. Alfred Chiswell of the Coast Artillery Museum at Fort Worden has provided much appreciated assistance during this project."
Monday, August 24, 2009
Keyboard mapping for WL
This tip from Scott K9Jy.com
Keyboard Mapping
Many SO2R contesters will re-map keys on their keyboard to support SO2R contesting. This is done to simplify the number of keystrokes and hand movements needed to perform the SO2R functions.
WriteLog in version 10.45 and up offers a Keyboard Mapping function. Accessing the dialog box from the ‘Tools’ and ‘Keyboard Shortcuts’ from the top WriteLog tool bar yields the following dialog box:
WriteLog Keyboard Shortcuts
Keyboard Mapping
Many SO2R contesters will re-map keys on their keyboard to support SO2R contesting. This is done to simplify the number of keystrokes and hand movements needed to perform the SO2R functions.
WriteLog in version 10.45 and up offers a Keyboard Mapping function. Accessing the dialog box from the ‘Tools’ and ‘Keyboard Shortcuts’ from the top WriteLog tool bar yields the following dialog box:
WriteLog Keyboard Shortcuts
Sunday, August 16, 2009
NAQP SSB Aug 2009 W5WMU Results
Call: W5WMU
Operator(s): W5WMU, KI5XP
Station: W5WMU
Class: M/2 LP
QTH: Lafayette, LA
Operating Time (hrs): 12
Summary:
Band QSOs Mults
------------------------
160: 29 16
80: 125 30
40: 674 59
20: 1443 63
15: 189 44
10: 13 6
------------------------
Total: 2473 218 Total Score = 539,114
Club: Louisiana Contest Club
Operator(s): W5WMU, KI5XP
Station: W5WMU
Class: M/2 LP
QTH: Lafayette, LA
Operating Time (hrs): 12
Summary:
Band QSOs Mults
------------------------
160: 29 16
80: 125 30
40: 674 59
20: 1443 63
15: 189 44
10: 13 6
------------------------
Total: 2473 218 Total Score = 539,114
Club: Louisiana Contest Club
Solar numbers and other great information at an easy to view website
http://www.solarcycle24.com/
I found this site easy to read and understand more about solar cycles
steve
I found this site easy to read and understand more about solar cycles
steve
something new in the contesting community
A Wiki designed for Ham Radio Contesting
It allows for posts by authors and it is also like an on line forum
kind of a text book and a round table discussion area all rolled into one
A wiki offers awesome search tools, finding information in a wiki is what it is all about
So stop listening to me ramble about it and go check it out........
http://wiki.contesting.com/
Steve
KG5VK
It allows for posts by authors and it is also like an on line forum
kind of a text book and a round table discussion area all rolled into one
A wiki offers awesome search tools, finding information in a wiki is what it is all about
So stop listening to me ramble about it and go check it out........
http://wiki.contesting.com/
Steve
KG5VK
Friday, August 14, 2009
The 2009 running of the NA QSO Party is tomorrow
This timely reminder from a buddy of mine...........
Great contest - 100 watts max, no amps - single op only, no packet spots -
easy exchange, just your name & state.
If you can't operate the entire contest, no problem, just join in and pass
out a few QSOs.
73,
Marsh, KA5M
North American QSO Party, SSB: 1800Z, Aug 15 to 0600Z, Aug 16
Mode: SSB
Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m
Classes: Single Op (QRP/Low)
Multi-Two (Low)
Max operating hours: Single Op: 10 hours
Multi-Two: 12 hours
Max power: LP: 100 watts
QRP: 5 watts
Exchange: NA: Name + (state/province/country)
non-NA: Name
Work stations: Once per band
QSO Points: NA station: 1 point per QSO
non-NA station: 1 point per QSO with an NA station
Multipliers: Each US state (including KH6/KL7) once per band
Each VE province/territory once per band
Each North American country (except W/VE) once per band
Score Calculation: Total score = total QSO points x total mults
Submit logs by: August 29, 2009
E-mail logs to: (see rules, web upload preferred)
Upload log at: http://www.ncjweb.com/naqplogsubmit.php
Mail logs to: Bruce Horn, WA7BNM
4225 Farmdale Avenue
Studio City, CA 91604
USA
Find rules at: http://www.ncjweb.com/naqprules.php
Great contest - 100 watts max, no amps - single op only, no packet spots -
easy exchange, just your name & state.
If you can't operate the entire contest, no problem, just join in and pass
out a few QSOs.
73,
Marsh, KA5M
North American QSO Party, SSB: 1800Z, Aug 15 to 0600Z, Aug 16
Mode: SSB
Bands: 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m
Classes: Single Op (QRP/Low)
Multi-Two (Low)
Max operating hours: Single Op: 10 hours
Multi-Two: 12 hours
Max power: LP: 100 watts
QRP: 5 watts
Exchange: NA: Name + (state/province/country)
non-NA: Name
Work stations: Once per band
QSO Points: NA station: 1 point per QSO
non-NA station: 1 point per QSO with an NA station
Multipliers: Each US state (including KH6/KL7) once per band
Each VE province/territory once per band
Each North American country (except W/VE) once per band
Score Calculation: Total score = total QSO points x total mults
Submit logs by: August 29, 2009
E-mail logs to: (see rules, web upload preferred)
Upload log at: http://www.ncjweb.com/naqplogsubmit.php
Mail logs to: Bruce Horn, WA7BNM
4225 Farmdale Avenue
Studio City, CA 91604
USA
Find rules at: http://www.ncjweb.com/naqprules.php
Sunday, August 09, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Monday, July 06, 2009
ARRL Sweepstakes Contest, SSB 21 Nov 2009
ARRL Sweepstakes Contest, SSB 2100Z, Nov 21 to 0300Z, Nov 23
Saturday afternoon thru Sunday evening (@9 PM local)
Mark your Calendars Now !
steve
Saturday afternoon thru Sunday evening (@9 PM local)
Mark your Calendars Now !
steve
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Delta Division
The following info is that of State QSO parties within our Division (Delta)
Arkansas QP rules
http://www.arkanhams.org/Documents/AR%20QSO%20Party%20Long%20Form%20060108.pdf
Miss QP rules
http://www.arrlmiss.org/msqsoprty09.pdf
LA QP rules
http://www.qsl.net/kd5wdy/LAQSO_/laqso_.html
Texas QP site
http://txqp.net/
New Mexico QP
http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/newmexqp.pdf
Oklahoma QP
http://www.okdxa.org/web/html/okqprulz.htm
Arkansas QP rules
http://www.arkanhams.org/Documents/AR%20QSO%20Party%20Long%20Form%20060108.pdf
Miss QP rules
http://www.arrlmiss.org/msqsoprty09.pdf
LA QP rules
http://www.qsl.net/kd5wdy/LAQSO_/laqso_.html
Texas QP site
http://txqp.net/
New Mexico QP
http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/newmexqp.pdf
Oklahoma QP
http://www.okdxa.org/web/html/okqprulz.htm
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Mayday, Mayday "Take that HT with you.........."
click here to read this Hunter's Journey into the woods
thankfully he had his HT
cell phones do have bad areas
it's good to have a back up plan
http://www.eham.net/articles/20777
thankfully he had his HT
cell phones do have bad areas
it's good to have a back up plan
http://www.eham.net/articles/20777
Friday, January 30, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
Monday, December 29, 2008
2009 Louisiana Memorial Scholarship
Louisiana Memorial Membership,
There have been no applications to date for the 2009 Louisiana Memorial
Scholarship.
If you know a deserving licensed college student or a beginning
freshman who could benefit from $500 in financial aid, please advise
them apply. Go to http://www.arrlf.org/contact/contact for information
on requirements and how to apply.
73
Gary K5GLS
There have been no applications to date for the 2009 Louisiana Memorial
Scholarship.
If you know a deserving licensed college student or a beginning
freshman who could benefit from $500 in financial aid, please advise
them apply. Go to http://www.arrlf.org/contact/
on requirements and how to apply.
73
Gary K5GLS
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Thursday, December 18, 2008
a very kewel Holiday wish by VE2SB that I wish to pass on
| show details 7:38 PM (13 hours ago) |
|
In the life of a ham radio operator, there is also the joy of communicating secrets about our antennas, our pleasures and strategies in a contest, exchanging the dreams of owning a giant tower, a Big Gun antenna and the future projects of our shacks.
But the greatest joy in the life of a ham radio operator is the magic of making the prettiest smile appear on the faces of the people that we cherish.
Make the most of these festive times with your friends and families.
Be sure to remember that it is greatly appreciated to have a QSO with you rather than. hearing a silent key for you. Be safe when traveling from family to friends.
Merry Christmas and happy New Year 2009.
God bless you and your family all the next year.
I hope to meet you many time in contest in 2009.
Aurevoir.
73
Daniel VE2SB
just announced by our ARRL Section manager.....
Talbert Tipton KD5EJB of Shreveport has been appointed Assistant Section
Manager for the Louisiana Section with special duties of Handiham
coordination.
We are looking forward to working with Talbert in developing a path
forward for his work.
A team of sitting ASMs evaluated the nominees and made the
recommendation for this appointment. We very much appreciate their
work.
Please join me in congratulating Talbert.
73
Gary K5GLS
LA SM
Manager for the Louisiana Section with special duties of Handiham
coordination.
We are looking forward to working with Talbert in developing a path
forward for his work.
A team of sitting ASMs evaluated the nominees and made the
recommendation for this appointment. We very much appreciate their
work.
Please join me in congratulating Talbert.
73
Gary K5GLS
LA SM
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Friday, December 12, 2008
Most DX's know this but we all start some where...
PL-259 Connector
Want a good video on installing a Pl-259 Connector?
This is a six minute video that can be shown at a club meeting.
Installing a PL-259 on RG-213
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1nabA6yMoI
Want a good video on installing a Pl-259 Connector?
This is a six minute video that can be shown at a club meeting.
Installing a PL-259 on RG-213
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Thursday, December 11, 2008
WriteLog Friend File
Here is a nifty little app that allows WL users to
have notes POP-up when a Callsign of a friend shows up in the logging window
WLFriend.zip
Instructions are here
Thanks to N4GG for bringing mention of this neat little application back to life
It was originally hoisted on OE8CIQ's web server but those links are now dead
So right click on the links here and download to a saved place on your hard drive
I offer no tech support on this application, comments and fed back are welcome here and should also be addressed on the WriteLog Reflector !
a friend file looks like this................
(edit it with a text editor like Notepad not a word processor and save it with the ini extension)
[HI]
kr5d=Tom
k5sl=Randy
k8ki=Bob
n0ax=Ward
save it as Friend.ini in the directory where programs, writelog, programs exists
when you launch friend application (after you launch WL)
right click on the blue area of that WLFriend program window and tell it where that friend file is
yes it is a simple and neat app......
I remember a lot of discussion (about three years ago) about huge friend files for cw and voice macros that most decided use of macros just slowed our rates down too much so after further thought I think this simple pop up window makes more since
Of course we could use the traditional Friend file as the big file and a MyFriend.ini file as the true my "select' friends if we instruct wl and the wlfriend programs to look for the data in the right places !
73
steve
KG5VK
have notes POP-up when a Callsign of a friend shows up in the logging window
WLFriend.zip
Instructions are here
Thanks to N4GG for bringing mention of this neat little application back to life
It was originally hoisted on OE8CIQ's web server but those links are now dead
So right click on the links here and download to a saved place on your hard drive
I offer no tech support on this application, comments and fed back are welcome here and should also be addressed on the WriteLog Reflector !
a friend file looks like this................
(edit it with a text editor like Notepad not a word processor and save it with the ini extension)
[HI]
kr5d=Tom
k5sl=Randy
k8ki=Bob
n0ax=Ward
save it as Friend.ini in the directory where programs, writelog, programs exists
when you launch friend application (after you launch WL)
right click on the blue area of that WLFriend program window and tell it where that friend file is
yes it is a simple and neat app......
I remember a lot of discussion (about three years ago) about huge friend files for cw and voice macros that most decided use of macros just slowed our rates down too much so after further thought I think this simple pop up window makes more since
Of course we could use the traditional Friend file as the big file and a MyFriend.ini file as the true my "select' friends if we instruct wl and the wlfriend programs to look for the data in the right places !
73
steve
KG5VK
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Thursday, December 04, 2008
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Ve7cc Setting of Filters a simple step by step
KD4K published this step by step how to of setting the filters with VE7CC user software
it is much simpler following these steps than reading the "instructions"
steve
First off you must be connected to a "CC" Cluster such as VE7CC-1.
Click on the "Country" tab.
Click the "NA" bullet.
In the "Band" section click the "ALL" bullet.
Click the "Spotter Country" bullet.
Click the "Clear" button.
Put a check in the "K" and the "VE" check boxes.
Click the "Tell Cluster" Button.
You should now only receive spots from US and VE stations.
73 de Tony, KD4K
My Weather page
http://kd4k.com
My Ham Radio Page
http://kd4k.com/radio.html
it is much simpler following these steps than reading the "instructions"
steve
First off you must be connected to a "CC" Cluster such as VE7CC-1.
Click on the "Country" tab.
Click the "NA" bullet.
In the "Band" section click the "ALL" bullet.
Click the "Spotter Country" bullet.
Click the "Clear" button.
Put a check in the "K" and the "VE" check boxes.
Click the "Tell Cluster" Button.
You should now only receive spots from US and VE stations.
73 de Tony, KD4K
My Weather page
http://kd4k.com
My Ham Radio Page
http://kd4k.com/radio.html
Friday, November 21, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
What we worked by Call Areas ARRL SS Phone 2008
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Friday, November 07, 2008
While preparing for this year I look back at what happened in last year's ARRL SS Phone Contest
Last year we had a false start with some equipment problems that kept us off the air for the first hour.
The First hour or two are always the most intense in a contest and very true in Sweepstakes.
Rick AE5T and His Son N5OZB beat us out of first place in the state as well as our ARRL Division by just over one hundred Q's (106 q's to be exact)
So we were right on their heels !
A good hour and a half with a Q rate of 90 or more an hour and we could have maintained our status in First place in State and Division
Things were a bit more competitive for the region box...........
Foremost we still maintained showing in this Box
however we fell from 2006 fourth place to fifth , still a respectable finish
Again look at how close this race was !!!
KA1ARB 219,840 M (1374 QSO's)
AE5T (N5OZB, op) 182,560 M (1141 QSO's)
W5JJ 174,880 M (1093 QSO's)
W8JI 166,058 M (1051 QSO's)
KG5VK 165,440 M (1034 QSO's)
Sweepstakes Multi-op style is always fun for me
of course like most that enter contest we love to place high in the finish
This Year I believe the competition will even be tougher
with our founding members of the Louisiana Contest Club challenging
all of us for a place in that Region, Division and State places.
And of course this is the 75th year of ARRL SS
and there will be more activity than there has in recent years, possible more OPS on than ever before.
Providing even higher Q counts for everyone.
In the past our target QSO count for finish was often 1500, this year we need to shoot even higher !
ARRL SS Phone is the week-end of 15 November
The contest starts at 1500 local time that Saturday
73
steve
KG5VK
The First hour or two are always the most intense in a contest and very true in Sweepstakes.
Rick AE5T and His Son N5OZB beat us out of first place in the state as well as our ARRL Division by just over one hundred Q's (106 q's to be exact)
So we were right on their heels !
A good hour and a half with a Q rate of 90 or more an hour and we could have maintained our status in First place in State and Division
Things were a bit more competitive for the region box...........
Foremost we still maintained showing in this Box
however we fell from 2006 fourth place to fifth , still a respectable finish
Again look at how close this race was !!!
KA1ARB 219,840 M (1374 QSO's)
AE5T (N5OZB, op) 182,560 M (1141 QSO's)
W5JJ 174,880 M (1093 QSO's)
W8JI 166,058 M (1051 QSO's)
KG5VK 165,440 M (1034 QSO's)
Sweepstakes Multi-op style is always fun for me
of course like most that enter contest we love to place high in the finish
This Year I believe the competition will even be tougher
with our founding members of the Louisiana Contest Club challenging
all of us for a place in that Region, Division and State places.
And of course this is the 75th year of ARRL SS
and there will be more activity than there has in recent years, possible more OPS on than ever before.
Providing even higher Q counts for everyone.
In the past our target QSO count for finish was often 1500, this year we need to shoot even higher !
ARRL SS Phone is the week-end of 15 November
The contest starts at 1500 local time that Saturday
73
steve
KG5VK
| 3 | AE5T (N5OZB, op) | 182,560 | 1,141 | 80 | M | LA | 89 | 24 | 78 | 470 | 537 | 56 | (+ packet) | |||
| 4 | W5JJ | 174,880 | 1,093 | 80 | M | AR | 97 | 22 | 419 | 213 | 418 | 43 | (+ K5DB) | |||
| 5 | KG5VK | 165,440 | 1,034 | 80 | M | LA | 72 | 24 | 390 | 76 | 542 | 26 | Shreveport ARA | (+ KA5M, KF5XV, N5VU, N5FH, N5SH, K5SL) |
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
The newest Issue of the NCJ should be in your hands by now......
The cover is adorned by a group photo of the founding members of The Louisiana Contest Club
This organization is long in coming and we are thrilled to see fellow Ham Radio ops in our state with like interests in contesting
I recently met most of these fellow contest minded ops at the Plain Ville Hamfest a few weeks ago
and while the overall turn out for the HamFest was small, it was great to sit and chat about challenges we contest ops face
As of this post Mark Ka5m, Tom K5UIC and myself are the only local hams that are current members of The L.C.C.
If you have any interests in contesting why not take a close look at the LCC
here is the link
73
steve
KG5VK
PS I will be giving a presentation at the SARA membership meeting this Thursday
the topic is Tools for Plotting your own Beam patterns
with Plotter software and a some hardware.
This organization is long in coming and we are thrilled to see fellow Ham Radio ops in our state with like interests in contesting
I recently met most of these fellow contest minded ops at the Plain Ville Hamfest a few weeks ago
and while the overall turn out for the HamFest was small, it was great to sit and chat about challenges we contest ops face
As of this post Mark Ka5m, Tom K5UIC and myself are the only local hams that are current members of The L.C.C.
If you have any interests in contesting why not take a close look at the LCC
here is the link
73
steve
KG5VK
PS I will be giving a presentation at the SARA membership meeting this Thursday
the topic is Tools for Plotting your own Beam patterns
with Plotter software and a some hardware.
KG5VK is forming a L.C.C. Team for the ARRL Phone SS contest
Current LCC (Louisiana Contest Club) members on the KG5VK team are
1.KG5VK Steve
2. KA5M Marsh
3. K5UIC Tom
You are welcome to join us !!!!!!!!
Click here to go to the LCC site
73
steve
KG5VK
1.KG5VK Steve
2. KA5M Marsh
3. K5UIC Tom
You are welcome to join us !!!!!!!!
Click here to go to the LCC site
73
steve
KG5VK
Thursday, October 30, 2008
A plot of my 3 el 40m Telrex beam which is at 90 feet above the ground
This real world plt was made using the LP-100A vector graphic watt meter and Polar Plot
I know it is a pretty poor scan of the print out
but it shows a nice dip on the backside of the beam
that depicts aprox 18db front to back
Steve
Friday, October 17, 2008
Friday, October 10, 2008
Is attendance at a contest operation worth your time ?
Even if your not an HF op
There is a lot that non HF ops can do during the contest
but the most important thing is to come and have fun !
Things to do during an HF contest if you either do not want to operate or are just not sure if your fast enough or a proficient HF op......
Monitor the bands on The Multi-Op finder rig
looking for band openings and needed multipliers
In sweepstakes there are 80 multipliers available and the team is eligible for the prestigious Sweepstakes mugs once we work all of those multipliers
(In SS The multipliers are ARRL and Canadian Sections for example many states are divided into several ARRL sections) A couple of the hardest sections to work over recent years has been Alaska and North West Terittory (in Canada)
There will also be periods where the contact rate falls way below 60 -90 QSO's per hour !
and even ops that are not fast or real proficient get to work the rigs alongside a more experienced contester (many dedicated contesters including myself started by watching and learning this way)
Several ops show up just for a few hours to watch us dedicated contesters run the rate count whay up over 100 conteacts per hour, visit the antenna farm and tour the shack just before the contest starts or simply enjoy the wide range of "Contest Ala Gourmier Food" we have on hand
One word of caution......
Contesting is an addictive sport !
73
steve
KG5VK
There is a lot that non HF ops can do during the contest
but the most important thing is to come and have fun !
Things to do during an HF contest if you either do not want to operate or are just not sure if your fast enough or a proficient HF op......
Monitor the bands on The Multi-Op finder rig
looking for band openings and needed multipliers
In sweepstakes there are 80 multipliers available and the team is eligible for the prestigious Sweepstakes mugs once we work all of those multipliers
(In SS The multipliers are ARRL and Canadian Sections for example many states are divided into several ARRL sections) A couple of the hardest sections to work over recent years has been Alaska and North West Terittory (in Canada)
There will also be periods where the contact rate falls way below 60 -90 QSO's per hour !
and even ops that are not fast or real proficient get to work the rigs alongside a more experienced contester (many dedicated contesters including myself started by watching and learning this way)
Several ops show up just for a few hours to watch us dedicated contesters run the rate count whay up over 100 conteacts per hour, visit the antenna farm and tour the shack just before the contest starts or simply enjoy the wide range of "Contest Ala Gourmier Food" we have on hand
One word of caution......
Contesting is an addictive sport !
73
steve
KG5VK
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Mark your Calendar Now !!!!!!!
The 75th year of the ARRL Sweepstakes contest is this year
I will again hoist a team effort during the Phone contest week-end
Mark those calendars for
This week-end I am heading to The Paris Texas Hamfest where I will purchase a few more items to complete the build of my new 75 meter Bi-Square antenna
I will have a Shack familiarization open house early either late this month or a week before the Phone week-end
If you have not yet played in this great contest and are interested in joining our team simply send me an email !
73
Steve
KG5VK
I will again hoist a team effort during the Phone contest week-end
Mark those calendars for
| November 15 - 17 | ARRL November Sweepstakes (Phone) |
This week-end I am heading to The Paris Texas Hamfest where I will purchase a few more items to complete the build of my new 75 meter Bi-Square antenna
I will have a Shack familiarization open house early either late this month or a week before the Phone week-end
If you have not yet played in this great contest and are interested in joining our team simply send me an email !
73
Steve
KG5VK
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Paris Texas Hamfest
Woo Hoo!!!!
Time is getting short!!!
The 4th annual Paris Texas Hamfest will be here before you know it.
When: October 10 and 11
Where: 570 e center st.
Paris Tx. 75460
Costs: $2.00 admission, $15 tables, $10 unlimited tailgate space
This year will be a two day EVENT !!
Friday: Big Fun!!
- Dealers, campers and outdoor vendors setup at noon.
- Doors will open to the public at 5:00 pm
- HamJam 08 !! J.D. Moss and the Texas Highwaymen will take the outdoor stage for a live Concert at 7:00pm (bring your lawn chairs)
- Doors to the main hall close to the public at 8:00
- Overnight camping, tent or RV will be permitted. Hook ups $15
- Overnight security will be provided inside of the building by Phred ‘08
- Concert will be over around 10:00pm.
- Lots of local restaurants will be open.
- Staying over night? Call the Paris Holiday Inn direct at 903-785-9510 and be sure to mention Hamfest for the special rate!!!
Saturday:More Fun!!
- Dealer setup at 6:00 am
- Doors open to the public at 8:00am
- New dealer guests this year will include Austin Amateur Radio Supply, Clear signal Products, GLA Systems (Texas Bugcatcher) , HF Projects and more
- Well over 150 door prizes will be given away starting at 8:30am from sponsors such as Yaesu, Comet antennas, Pro-cuts Paris, Electric Radio, ARRL, Cable X-perts, Borden Radio, N3FJP software, Nifty Accessories, Michael Todd Computers and communications, H. Ward Silver N0AX, Radio Daze, Cheapqsls.com, QRZ.COM, HI-Q Antennas, Sirloin Stockade Paris, SteppIR, Oreilly’s Auto Parts, ABC auto parts, DX engineering, World Radio Magazine, CQ magazine, Phred ‘08, A & A Engineering, Softrock, The Paris Texas Radio Group and more!!!
- Live music by the band "14th Street Reunion" and "Crosstown Connection"
- Contests This year include Global Mobile II, and 80 meter Shoot Out and a 2 meter shout out with cash and Trophies awarded for all 3 contests.
- VE testing
- The Best BBQ you have ever had will be served around 10:00am
- Grand prize awarded around noon!!
As you can see there will be lots going on and we would love to have you here!!!!
If you need more information please go to www.paristexasradio.com/
Tables and vendor space will sell out , book now!!
We are still looking for volunteers, door prize sponsors, event sponsors , a group or club that would like to come up and sponsor a foxhunt and more.
Thanks to The Paris Texas Radio Group, K95.5 FM , The Paris Texas / Lamar County Chamber of commerce, The Red River Valley Fair Assoc, The ARRL , QTH.COM, EHAM.COM , Pitcock’s Wrecker Service, Ted Randall and the QSO radio show, Lamar county Electric Co-op and many others for making this event possible.
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