The monthly newsletter of the Carbon Amateur Radio Club

May 1999

The Constitution and By-Laws proposed by the By-Laws Committee have been mailed to the CARC club members on 4/24. They will be voted on at the May 20, 1999 meeting which begins at 7:30 PM EDT at the Carbon County EMA Office. Approval by two-thirds of all voting members is necessary for adoption. Please plan to attend this important meeting.

Again we had an excellent hunt although very frustrating. Many THANKS to Amy for her choice of a spot. She was at the intersection of RTES 145 & 248 up on the hill opposite the cycle shop and bridge. We had signals bouncing all over the area. The signals went through the GAP, around the hills as they bounced back & forth, echoed off the river etc etc etc. Guess you got the picture. A couple of teams were looking all over Palmerton since that area gave the best signal. On one block a very strong signal and nothing if you went one block further. Only one hound found the foxette within the allotted time. The rest had to be called in at 11:00am.

Congratulations to Bruce(N3RXJ) for finding the fox at 10:21am. The trophy will be awarded at the breakfast before the May hunt. According to him, finding the fox was an accident. He happened to stop to get another confusing reading and this time he hooked up his frequency counter. Doing the normal 360 turn the frequency counter pegged at the knoll right behind him. He also said he spent some time in Palmerton looking. We had two visitors from the Stroudsburg area club join in the hunt; Byron & Bill who were testing their new Doppler RDF equipment. It was a kit that was just assembled and had minimal testing and training on reading the output. It is the same unit appearing in QST this month. I hope they join us again in MAY.

The May hunt will be held on the 15th of the month. We will meet at the SUNSET diner. Breakfast at 7:45, hunt begins 9:00am and ends at 11:00am sharp. The diner is at the intersection of RTES 209N and 534 in Kresgeville. This is all I know about the hunt. The fox for this hunt will be KB3BYT.

De WB2VBR AJ

When I got up Saturday morning the temperature was 31 degrees. I dressed accordingly and figured I would get there very early. Only to find BILL (KA3UKL) already in the process of setting up the generators. He had them purring by 7:00am and they work flawlessly till the very end. THANKS Bill for your dedication. We all appreciated it especially when the coffee and hot chocolate was good and HOT.

Setting up and event is no easy matter but when you have a team like I had it went smooth and my job all day was a snap. I want to THANK all for giving up a good part of your Saturday for such a worthy cause.

BRUCE N3RXJ SUSIE N3DVF

AMY KD3TI ABBIE KB3BPR

GOODY KA3NGH MIKE N3XYU

BERT W3OWP LARRY N3CR

BOB K3PH LAMAR N3AT

MEL N3EHY

We did our part without a hitch and the communications were excellent. It was done in a way that we can really be PROUD of ourselves. Just as I was leaving, AMANDA BECKER, from the March of Dimes Thanked me for a great job and the fact that she had one less thing to worry about when it came to our part. Thanks again everybody for a job well done and for your support.

AJ

This month, I will spend the entire column on one subject, but it’s one of the most important topics in all of contesting. There are two basic strategies to working stations. Running is when you call CQ and answer stations calling you. Searching and Pouncing (S&P) is when you are the hunter prowling the bands for fresh stations who are running. The natural question is, "Which method should I use?"

Thank you and 73 de Glenn K3PP (a.k.a. Dr. Contest) dah dit dididit dah

The answer, as always, is, "It depends!" The absolute best strategy is to grab a frequency, call CQ, and run, run, run. If you have a big signal and there is a lot of participation, this works extremely well. While you may be tempted to chase a semi-rare multiplier during a productive run, you should never break a hot run. You can do the math to see the difference it makes. Your score is usually QSOs times Multipliers. This tells you that multipliers are important, but try to think how many QSOs would get the same results as a new multiplier. Also think about the rarity of the multiplier. Early in the contest, Germany may show up as a new multiplier, but it would be foolish to break a run to chase that multiplier. Generally, a good run will eventually result in a good multiplier total and the common multipliers (like Germany) will come naturally.

One of the real benefits of running is logging the "casual" operators. These are people who are not in the contest, but they will stop by to give you a QSO. You will almost never log these people if you only use Search & Pounce techniques. In any good contester’s log, these casual operators will usually outnumber the contest participants by a long shot. Take a look at contest results published in the magazines. You may see a thousand or so participants in the Sweepstakes contest, but the top scores are in excess of 2000 QSOs. This is a good example to prove my point because you may work a station only once, regardless of band. These extra thousand QSOs are from people who "just stopped by".

Having said all of that, there are times when it is more advantageous to break a run or change tactics altogether. If your run diminishes to one QSO every few minutes, it may be time to move to a Search & Pounce method or it may be time to change bands. Experience will help you determine if this is the case, but don’t waste too much time trying to milk a dry run. Also, you will sometimes find a juicy station running and doing nothing but running. P40W may be so busy running that he will never find time to do S&P on his own. If this is the case, he probably will never find your run and answer your CQ.

Another concern about running has to do with power. If you have big power, big antennas, and a good QTH, you can run more easily than someone who is not so blessed. Weaker stations may find it difficult to hold a run frequency, but you should still try. If one of the bug guns pushes you away, try to find another spot and run again. If all else fails, go S&P. Running is sometimes easier for weaker stations later in the contest. At this point in the contest, you are a more attractive QSO than the big guns. By then, the big guns have worked almost everyone and they get passed by. You, on the other hand, will be fresh meat for many stations.

S&P is just what it says. You Search for stations and you Pounce on them for QSOs. Here are some guidelines to follow for S&P that can help you maximize your results:

Pick the "low-hanging fruit" first. Tune rather quickly through the band and work the loudest stations you hear. You should have little trouble working the loud stations, so get them out of the way early. You may want to jump to new bands, if they have activity, and work the loud stations there too. After logging the easy stuff, you can dig for the weaker signals in the band. This may require slower tuning and maybe some twiddling with the RIT and filter settings, but you need to work everyone you can hear.

Don’t slug it out in a pileup if you don’t have a chance to break through. If there is a big pileup, try a few calls at the most. It is counterproductive to spend a lot of time in a pileup. You can mark the frequency in one of your radio’s memories (some have memo pad memories handy for this) and come back later, after the big guns have filtered through. You can work a lot of less attractive stations in the meantime. In the end, you will have more QSOs in the log, and a higher score. This is especially appropriate for stations with a disadvantage, like low power or poor antennas, but big guns also need to heed this advice. Even the biggest stations sometimes have propagation against them. You might be S9+20dB into Europe, but the big boys of New England could be S9+40dB to the same stations. Come back later.

Start low and work your way up, or vice-versa. It is more efficient to make a straight sweep across the band instead of jumping all around. The choice to go up or go down is largely a matter of preference. Some claim there is a technical advantage to tuning upward, but I haven’t noticed it. I prefer to tune upward, but that’s just my structured engineering mentality at work, nothing more.

When it seems you have worked everybody, think different. The first choice is to find an open frequency and attempt a run. If neither runs nor S&P is working, try another band or try another beam heading. If the time of day coincides with changing propagation conditions, your target may need to change. For example, Europe fades later in the day on 10 meters. Try pointing south to work some South Americans. There always seem to be a ton of Argentina stations on 10m. Work them. Speaking of South America, foreign language skills can help on phone. Learn some very basic Spanish and use it when pointing south. You can draw out a lot of stations whose English skills are poor or non-existent. Another beam heading idea is to try long path. Australia is a popular long path destination. Normally, we would aim generally northwest to southwest for VK contacts. You may get better results aiming to the southeast. Skewed paths on 10m are also common. You might need to aim 90 or 100 degrees for Europe. These are all tricks that can help. Be creative with your ideas for bucking the normal trends. Experience helps here, but don’t be afraid to experiment. This is how you learn. This is how you get to be one of "the experienced" contesters.

This is a difficult judgement call, but don’t dump a productive run of Italians to chase an Icelandic station. Be patient and use your radio’s features to your advantage. Mark your run frequency in one memory (or one VFO), and mark the multiplier’s frequency in another. Continue the run until you reach a slowdown. Quickly switch to the multiplier frequency, make a call, then jump back to call CQ again. Keep doing this until you get the multiplier, but don’t ever attempt more than one or two calls at a time. The delay may cost you your run frequency. This takes some practice, but it is very effective. If your radio has two receivers, you can listen to both frequencies at the same time and time your switches just right. Again, this takes practice (and a pretty expensive radio, HI!).

An extension to this switching technique is to use two radios. This is no simple matter, by a long shot, but the very best contesters use two radios very effectively. In fact, it is almost impossible to win some contests any other way (like the North American QSO Parties). Instead of using two VFOs like above, these operators use two (sometimes three!) radios simultaneously! The concept is to use one radio for running, and tune for new stations and multipliers on the second. In SO2R operation, you are essentially running and doing S&P at the same time!

The switching systems for antennas, audio (in and out), keying, and computer interfacing can get very complex, but the operator skill is the most amazing facet here. Top SO2R operators, like K3WW and K6LL, are capable of thinking about multiple tasks at once and they have trained their brains to listen to two signals at once. It’s downright amazing! I’ve made some inadequate attempts at this, but it really takes a lot of practice, not to mention a brain capable of performing such feats. I don’t believe my brain is so enabled.

This is frightening territory, but with a lot of practice and a lot of wiring (and a lot of money!), SO2R is a technique that can shoot you into the big time. Good luck!

The whole question of when to run and when to S&P is a moot point in the short contests called Sprints. The idea here is to call CQ, then hand the frequency over to the station who answered you call. Then he gives it up and so on. After your QSO, you find another station calling CQ and answer him. You get the idea. Here, you alternate between running and S&Ping on every QSO! It makes for an interesting contest where operator skill really makes a difference.

The first time I played in a sprint, I was REALLY confused and pretty much made a fool of myself because I didn’t read the rules (I’m an engineer, we never read the manual either!). As a result, I had no idea what this QSY thing was all about. After I caught on, I was OK, but I’m telling you about it to hopefully spare you from the same radio faux pas.

ARRL Bulletin 28 ARLB028

From ARRL Headquarters

Newington CT April 29, 1999

To all radio amateurs

SB QST ARL ARLB028

ARLB028 FCC Drops Amateur Radio Enforcement Line

The FCC has discontinued its Amateur Enforcement Line (202-418-1184) for Amateur Radio complaints and now requests amateur-related complaints be sent either via e-mail to [email protected] or by mail.

The FCC instituted the telephone service last fall when it beefed up amateur enforcement under the direction of Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH. However, the FCC never intended to maintain the telephone service permanently.

Complaints sent via the US Postal Service go to: Compliance and Information Bureau ATTN: Amateur Radio Complaints, 1270 FairfieldRd, Gettysburg, PA 17325.

The FCC said this week that complaints already filed on the telephone service will be acted upon, and anyone who has left a message will receive a return call from Commission staff.

SB DX ARL ARLD018

ARLD018 DX news

This week's bulletin was made possible with information provided by Tedd, KB8NW, the OPDX Bulletin, DXNL, QRZ DX, The Daily DX, 599Rpt and Contest Corral from QST. Thanks to all.

FIJI, 3D2. Look for Mat, JA1JQY, Sasi, JA1KJW, Kaoru, JA3MCA/1 and Kuni, JA8VE/1, to be QRV as 3D2SH, 3D2HI, 3D2TK and 3D2KZ, respectively, until May 1. Activity on 160 to 6 meters, including the newer bands, using CW and SSB is expected. QSL to home calls.

NEPAL, 9N. Kazu, JA8MWU, will be QRV as 9N7WU from May 3 to 12 on 20, 15 and 10 meters using SSB. QSL to home call.

BAHRAIN, A9. Ed, WH6CXQ, will be QRV as A92GJ from IOTA AS-002 for the next few years. QSL to home call.

CHINA, BY. The BI5D IOTA DXpedition team will be QRV from Dongtou Island in the Zhejiang Province Group, until May 3. QSL per operator's instructions.

TURKMENISTAN, EZ. EZ7ST has been QRV near 14021 khz around 2340z. QSL via UA9LM.

MARTINIQUE, FM. Pertti, OH2RF will be QRV as FM/OH2RF from May 1 to 7 using CW and SSB. QSL to home call.

SCOTLAND, GM. Scotish stations may use the special prefixes 2A, 2S, and 2T to mark their parliament opening between May 6 and July 31.

WALES, GW. Welsh station may also change their prefixes temporarily to 2C, 2W and 2X to mark the parliament opening between May 6 and July 31.

SUDAN, ST. Dr. Sid, ST2SA, has been QRV on 14274 khz around 1500z.

TUVALU, T2. Look for T22JY, T22KJ, T22TK and T22VE to be QRV from Funafuti Atoll until May 9 on 160 to 6 meters, using CW and SSB. QSL per operator's instructions.

PALAU, T8. After their 3D2 expedition, look for Hide, JM1LJS, Misao, JJ1DWB, and Hiro, 7N1KAE, to be QRV as T88LJ, T88MT and one other T8-call using CW and SSB on 80 to 6 meters, and FM on 10 meters. T88LJ might also use SSTV. QSL to home calls.

CHAGOS ISLANDS, VQ9. Rob, ND1V, is QRV as VQ9DV for one year. QSL to home call.

Robert KB3BYT has passed the 13 WPM code test after weeks of practice. Next on his agenda is the General Theory exam. Congratulations, Robert, and good luck on your General Theory.

If you are on the Internet, and want to find a way to make your own QSLs for free, try connecting to this URL, and download the QSLMAKER program. It is freeware, and does a real nice job. The URL is: http://www.qsl.net/wb8rcr

If you download and use the program, be sure to send a thank you note to the author.

72 de Lamar

Local DX’ers should submit mixed-mode DXCC by band, total DXCC, or IOTA totals to K3CT prior to the newsletter deadline each month. Stations need not be confirmed just worked.

May 1 - 10-10 Int. Spring Contest CW, Massachusetts QSO Party, ARI International DX Contest, MARAC County Hunters

May 8 – 902/1296/2304 Mhz Spring Sprint, VOLTA WW RTTY Contest, Oregon & Indiana QSO Parties, EU Spring Sprint CW

May 15 – *** Foxhunt *** , 50 MHz Spring Sprint

May 20 – *** CARC Meeting 7:30 PM EMA Center on Route 93 ***

May 21 – Major Six Club Contest

May 22 – Texas QSO Party, CW Honor Sprint #2, Baltic Contest

May 29 – CQWW WPX Contest CW

** denotes CARC supported or sponsored events

bold indicates items of local interest

Secretary - Andrew Roomberg KB3CWH

W3HA Callsign Trustee – Bill Dale WY3K

Public Information Officer – Bill Kelley KA3UKL

Skywarn Coordinator - Mike N3XYU

Editor – Goody KA3NGH [email protected]

Contesting – Glenn K3PP [email protected]

DX and Foxhunting – AJ WB2VBR [email protected]

Propagation and Commentary – Larry N3CR [email protected]

QRP – Lamar N3AT [email protected]

Skywarn – Mike N3XYU [email protected]

Newsletter Printing, Folding, Mailing - Andrew KB3CWH and Robert KB3BYT

CARC Website : http://www.cpals.com/~elitehom/carc/

Webmaster – Robert KB3BYT [email protected]

Regular Membership is $15.00, Regular with Autopatch is $20.00.

Mail your checks to AJ to receive your membership card in the mail.

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