“Storm Watch”

Newsletter of NZ1U – The Barnstormers Contest Group

Volume 16 No.1. April 5,2011

Well, I have really been amiss with getting some issues of Storm Watch out. I’ll try to do better starting with this issue.

Contest Season 2010 – 2011

I guess this past season has to said to be successful. We were very competitive in the Multi/2 class in the four major contests. Again we struggled on 40M and it is that band that we seem to get behind the pack. No horizontal antenna to speak of. I can’t express how disappointed I have been mostly with myself for not finishing this project. In the next few weeks I will do what is necessary to get the job done.

The Barnstormer Team not only has developed immensely but many in the contest community have taken notice of our efforts. The Barnstormers Contest Group shows up in many contests including the NCCC Thursday Night Sprints. W1UJ and NR1X are regulars and NB1U and KB1H make occasional visits.

I don’t have time right now to research all the results but I do know that scores from 2009-2010 are quite a bit lower than 2010-2011 and it wasn’t just conditions. Sometimes millions of points more.

Even in the VHF contest we have done very well. The equipment has become very reliable and more improvements to come. The change to N1WK from KB1DFB made the January VHF contest much easier and it was obvious the score improved just due to the callsign.

Good job by all of you whether you operated or help on the many weekends it took to prepare for the contests.

I am sure the 2011-2012 season will be even better!

Dreaded Project List

Rather than make a list here I will update the project list that we started out with last year and check off what we got accomplished. IT starts long and we plug away.

However…..

The redoing of the ceiling in the shack needs to be attacked ASAP. I say this as when completed we will be fixing all the chewed cables and there has been discussion of reworking the antenna switching.

We need to schedule this the next available weekend. Watch for an email. We should be able to finish the demolition in one day.

W1MKM – Mikey Mavor

Most of you know that Mikey had a serious condition with his diabetes. He had caught the flu and then due to that went into a diabetic coma. He has been in the hospitals and nursing homes for more than 4 weeks now and he is still in the hospital now. His condition now is still serious both medically and mentally. This latest episode short circuited something in his brain and he is in and out of delirium. I visit him almost everyday when I am not traveling and see some improvement. The doctors do not know how much he will come back.

Max – N1LYA (AA1CE XYL)

Max recently suffered a heart attack. Dave reports that due to fast intervention there will be very little permanent damage. Good Luck Max!

Incoming QSLs

Frank, K1EBY has now sorted those last two boxes of Incoming QSLs for us. Unfortunately the USPS lost the first box somewhere between Frank’s post office and the final sorters.

Thanks to Frank for doing a tedious job.

Annual Barnstormer Christmas Party

With no Storm Watch yet this year there was no report on the Christmas Party we held in January. Though there was plenty of food and fun, the only newsworthy happening was the “K1GX Award” which this year went to Dave, AA1CE. A first time recipient, Dave received the award for the many hours he has spent up the towers making sure our antenna systems are working. Though others have helped Dave with climbing I don’t think any job was done without Dave being part of the tower crew.

Dayton 2011

The Barnstormers will be hitting the road again for our semi-annual trip to Dayton. Going in one group will be KB1H, W1UJ, N1WK, NB1U, and NR1X. Tickets for the Contest Dinner have been purchased and we are looking forward to seeing Eugeni, EA3QP, our Spanish member of the Barnstormers. I am sure will be using APRS so you will be able to follow our adventure and maybe even a blog will be running. Stay tuned for any news.

Operating News

Some recent contest results are worth mentioning especially the ARRL SS CW 2010.

W1UJ set a new record in the Unlimited Class for the New England Division and with his #1 finish in New England will be getting a nice plaque for the wall.

NR1X was #1 in CT in the unlimited class.

K9ZO was #1 in the QRP class Central Division and will also be getting a plaque.

W1UJ was ½ the M/S crew for AK1W in CQWW WPX SSB with K5ZD. Though finishing second they set a new record for New England in that class.

Barnstormer Apparel

Look for some of us sporting new Barnstormer shirts, jackets, and hats. As always you can get any of this directly from Hamthreads.com We usually get club discounts and our logo has already been digitized so there is no set up fee.

Future Contests Plans.

For know future plans include CQWW CW as NZ1U in May. Also The June VHF Contest as N1WK and Field Day this year as NZ1U. Think about coming to help out.

ARRL Affiliation

We are in the process of filing for ARRL Club Affiliation. This will allow The Barnstormer Contest Group eligible for awards in many contests as a small club. We will have to have a constitution, by-laws, and officers. Paperwork is still being prepared.

As I think of more to write about the next Storm Watch will come soon.

Thanks to everyone for the great effort the past year!!

73 Dick