Webpage Update

Posted on June 11, 2013 by Rob

This weekend, I was off at a genealogy conference in Burbank, California and did not get on the air. However, I did get some time to make a small addition to the web page. Current HF propagation information was placed at the bottom of the main page.  The font is a bit smaller than I would like.  I tried the putting it on the sidebar to the right, but that was a bit too cluttered. So for now, a small HF propagation indicator will have to do.

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Field Day Practice

Posted on May 17, 2013 by Rob

There is nothing like practice. The CQWW WPX CW contest (May 25 & 26, 2013) is a great opportunity to brush up on your CW skills and get reacquainted with your contest logging software.

Before the contest, there are some small things that I like to do to be ready. First item is to program the logging software specifically for the contest. There needs to be function keys set up for the normal exchange, calling CQ, answering CQs, re-sending each part of the exchange, and re-requesting your report. Of course, a key in parallel is a must. It is helpful to use a 3″x5″ index card as a quick reference for these function keys. Also, a single sheet summary of the logging program functions is good to have as well.

This weekend I will make out a band plan, and test it out in the CQ WW WPX contest. Across the top in the columns are the different operating stations. For field day there will most likely be more 3 or 4 (or more), These would include all stations that plan to be on at any time during the contest. Of course, for my test with the CQ WW WPX contest, it will be just my one station with a single operator. Put time down along the left side, broken out by either one hour or thirty minute increments. Under each station, for each increment of time, I will list out the band for that station will operate. This weekend, I will listen to propagation, and get an initial idea of what would work best to maximize the number of contacts. During the contest, i will try to stay to the band plan, but make notes of any changes that are needed, and update my field day band plan.

 

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Field Day Thoughts

Posted on April 19, 2013 by Rob

Field day (June 22-23, 2013) has many purposes. The first that comes to mind is an emergency preparedness. Field day provides a good excuse to call the club members together to setup the equipment in a remote operating area. Thus testing the equipment’s health, and people’s ability to make it work.

If this had been an actual emergency, would you or your club really have set up remote operations? Would team members be able to get to the equipment packed away in a storage room? Would they then go outside and start stringing up wire antennas? Or, would you have actually used the pre-configured emergency operating center with as minimal a setup time as possible? This does not even begin to address having the relationship with local authorities and having a pre-defined role for which individuals are trained.

Field day can be an opportunity for a club to work as a team, get to know each other a little better than just a monthly meeting, or learn from each other an aspect of amateur radio you have been interested in, or had never thought of before. It was at field day when I first operated any of the digital modes. I had misconceptions about the equipment needed, and thought that it was too difficult to tackle myself. Having a club event that is inviting to the public can help attract new interest in amateur radio, especially if there are different aspects for them to see.

Every time I participate in field day, something has been learned.  One field day we learned better knots were needed to properly secure a tower. Other times it was that I did not bring the tools or connectors that were needed, resulting to changes to what I put in my “go kit.” As a club we learned what equipment to bring and what should stay connected in the shack. Some of us learned how to lay out a multi-station band plan for a contest that followed the band conditions, and how to adjust when conditions (or equipment) were not what we had planned.

I see field day as a chance to test my equipment, my skills, and possibly learn something new (hopefully not by accident). In past field days, I have participated in the planning and execution of contest style field day where the club put forth a large effort and ranked high in the overall field day contest scoring. Early field days were more about families and friends going camping and maybe making a couple of contacts. More recently, they have been about getting my home station setup with a new capability, working and tested, in time to have fun in the contest.

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A contact here and there

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Rob

The weekend was full of fun activities. One of them was the CQ WW RTTY WPX contest.  I had set up and tested the equipment before the contest. The old PC was using MixW software, connected using a RIGblaster Pro to a Yaesu FT-990 transceiver. The first couple of contacts went well, then the computer froze up a couple of times, and finally the blue screen stopped me cold. After a couple of reboots, I was back on the air.

With RTTY, I am not good at holding a frequency and calling CQ.  I am just not as experienced with the software.  All my contacts were made by the hunt and pounce method. I would go back to the radio and make a few contacts and then return to do other things around the house, leaving the equipment tuned up on 15 meters. The logs were hand written, and manually transcribed after the contest to convert them to ADIF format. I made a grand  total of only 52 contacts, but had a good time making them.

The other fun this weekend was the Mardi Gras parade in Long Beach, and a trip to the dentist.

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DX Clusters on the web

Posted on February 3, 2013 by Rob

The DX cluster sure has evolved from the days of local friends announcing on the 2 meter repeater the DX stations that they heard. Before today, there were two DX cluster web pages that I like to watch: DX Summit and DX Watch.  But today, I found another interesting page, DX for Me, that includes some real-time statistics along with the spots.

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