++++++++++++++++++ See also CW Contest Opertating For Newbies ++++++++++++++++++ Date: Mon, 04 Mar 2002 07:42:55 -0600 To: "Gay Family" , elecraft at mailman.qth.net From: Tom Hammond =?iso-8859-1?Q?N=D8SS?= Subject: [Elecraft] ARRL DX: 100! John: CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR FIRST CONTEST, and almost your first HF operation, it appears. I've deleted the text of your message but enjoyed reading it THOROUGHLY! Contesting is a completely different manner of operating from just about any other operating. Fast 'n furious, little time to really sit & think, REALLY works to develop your proficiency in whatever mode you are using, makes you LISTEN and CONCENTRATE. Forces you to pick the most appropriate band to use in order to maximize your signal into the DX location(s), and to maximize QSL rates. For a newbie contester, 40M can be a can of worms. Most (thought not totally all) DX stations TRANSMIT way down in the band... usually around 7040-7060, but sometimes down as low as 7030. They LISTEN for US stations UP in the US phone band (7150-7300), and they also listen for calls from DX stations on their own frequency. So, US stations must first FIND the DX ('down' in the band) they want to work, listen for him to give the frequency he's listening on, set their rig to SPLIT operation, and then move their TX frequency UP in the US band to call the DX station. It's an 'active' operation when working DX in a contest on 40M. There are a few DX countries which can operate IN the US ham bands, but most cannot. On all the other bands virtually all contest DX-to-US QSOs are made 'on frequency', where you hear 'em, you call 'em, you work 'em. Time, and repeated operation will help you to exorcise those pesky 'nervous' demons... it just takes doing it over and over, but they'll disappear much more quickly that you expect, once you get into the 'rhythm' of operating. Though I'm not certain you were serious about a couple of your questions, I'll attempt to respond to them anyway: Multipliers - In most DX contests, a 'multiplier' is a new country worked. In some contests you count a new country multiplier only once, no matter how many bands you work it on, in other contests, if you work the same DX country in 5 bands, you then have five mults. When all the shouting and hair pulling's done, the final score is #QSOs X Mults = Final Score. Sometimes it's don't on a band-by-band basis... 10M QSOs X 10M Mults = 10M Score, 15M QSOs X 15M Mults = 15M Score, ... Then all the band-scores are tallied for the final score. You must read the rules for each different contest to tell how the scores are developed. Some contests use SCP (States, Countries, Provinces), others might use counties, member numbers, just about anything THAT contest considers to be THE defining item in THEIR contest. The CQ WPX contest counts different callsign PREFIXES as its multipliers. DXCC - An Award given by the ARRL to an operator who has worked and CONFIRMED (via QSLs) 100 different 'countries'. There are also 'endorsements' for # DXCC countries worked above the 100 level. One K2 owner, who will probably announce his success sometime in the near future, has worked nearly 300(!!!) DXCC countries since having built his K2 a year or so ago. I'll not mention his call, and allow him to do that a bit later. Good luck, and again, congratulations for your first DX, and your first DX contest as well. 73, Tom Hammond N0SS ++++++++++++++++++ Date: Tue, 19 Nov 2002 20:31:12 -0800 From: Bob Nielsen To: Elecraft Reflector Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Off topic: help me with CY0MM? On Tue, Nov 19, 2002 at 12:56:47PM -0700, tlogan7 at cox.net wrote: > Hi folks - > 1) This is off topic....but you folks are like on-line friends. > 2) I acknowledge I'm not a DX'er. All my experience with cw is > ragchews (been a ham a bit over 2 years) and I have to really > concentrate to copy 20wpm. I seldom do SSB. > 3) I have never entered a contest or "busted a pileup". > 3) I would like to make a contact with CY0MM. > > Now that I have confessed, can some one help me? I'm really confused. > I go to a site like DX Summit which tells me that CY0MM is on 21.030. > I then go to 21.030. I hear a lot of cw but it's pretty jumbled and > almost impossible to sort out. I never do here the call sign CY0MM. I > see someone on DX summit says QSX 21.031.6. Now I'm totally lost. > Does this mean I listen and transmit at 21.030 or 21.0316? I REALLY > want to make this contact: It means he is transmitting on 21.030 and listening on 21.031.6. > > 1) - What will CY0MM be sending? What should I listen for? One side of a typical QSO would probably sound something like: W1AAA 5NN (other stations sends report) TU or possibly (once every several QSOs): TU de CY0MM up > 2) - How should I respond? Do I just send my call sign when it sounds > like a lot of others are doing the same? > 3) - Can some one walk me through exactly how this works.......the > exchange, what freq I listen on and send on etc? This split stuff has > me baffled as well. Sorry to sound like a moron, but I'm humbled and > need help. Thanks folks! For most DXpeditions, the CW is at 35-40 WPM. Usually there is a lot of repetition, so the main thing you need to be able to do is pick out your call, which hopefully you will be able to do at a much higher speed than you can copy 100 percent. Don't worry, it will get easier with experience. There should be a lot of good DX during the CQWW contest this weekend. Good luck and 73, Bob, N7XY -- Bob Nielsen, N7XY n7xy at n7xy.net Bainbridge Island, WA IOTA NA-065, USI WA-028S ++++++++++++++ Date: Wed, 20 Nov 2002 08:02:32 -0600 From: "Kenneth E. Harker" To: tlogan7 at cox.net Cc: WA9GQT at aol.com, Elecraft Reflector Subject: Re: [Elecraft] I did it! Thanks! On Tue, Nov 19, 2002 at 06:41:11PM -0700, tlogan7 at cox.net wrote: > Rod - > Totally cool! I read your email...went to the rig...set split for 14024 and 14025.9 and got a response from CY0MM on my first transmit!!!!!!!!!! I finally understand it! Thank you. You should find a copy of W9KNI's _Complete DXer_. It is an excellent, easy-to-read tutorial on how to find and work DX. Much of the book is written as a first-person perspective of W9KNI sitting down in front of his radio and describing in detail what steps he goes through, and what decisions he makes, in finding DX to work. Some of it is a little dated (it was written a little before transceivers were common, so there is some discussion about making sure your transmitter is on the same frequency as your receiver, plus it really predates the DX Cluster phenomenon) but it's still quite good. You might be able to borrow a copy from someone in your local club, or you can get a copy through Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN%3D0961757701/ct1bohwebsiteA/104-0011435-1796743 -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kenneth E. Harker "Vox Clamantis in Deserto" kharker at cs.utexas.edu University of Texas at Austin Amateur Radio Callsign: WM5R Department of the Computer Sciences VP, Central Texas DX & Contest Club Taylor Hall TAY 2.124 Maintainer of Linux on Laptops Austin, TX 78712-1188 USA http://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/kharker/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- +++++++++++++++ Date: Wed, 20 Nov 2002 08:52:09 -0600 To: "Kenneth E. Harker" , tlogan7 at cox.net From: Tom Hammond =?iso-8859-1?Q?N=D8SS?= Subject: Re: [Elecraft] I did it! Thanks! Cc: WA9GQT at aol.com, Elecraft Reflector Hi Ken: Great to have you on the reflector! >Tim (NZ7C) wrote: > > Totally cool! I read your email...went to the rig... > >set split for 14024 and 14025.9 and got a response > >from CY0MM on my first transmit!!! > > >I finally understand it! Thank you. > >You should find a copy of W9KNI's _Complete DXer_. It is an excellent, >easy-to-read tutorial on how to find and work DX. Much of the book >is written as a first-person perspective of W9KNI sitting down in front >of his radio and describing in detail what steps he goes through, and >what decisions he makes, in finding DX to work. Some of it is a little >dated (it was written a little before transceivers were common, so there is >some discussion about making sure your transmitter is on the same >frequency as your receiver, plus it really predates the DX Cluster >phenomenon) but it's still quite good. > >You might be able to borrow a copy from someone in your local club, or >you can get a copy through Amazon: > >http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN%3D0961757701/ct1bohwebsiteA/104-0011435-1796743 And Bob HAS the credentials to back his words up, too. Since building his K2 a couple years ago, he's now worked OVER 300 DXCC ENTITIES with his K2 at 5W...! One 'feature' about the K2 which some may not have latched onto quite yet is that, when operating SPLIT, it's sometimes pretty easy to get caught (using the [REV] button to find the guy the DX s working) accidently releasing the REV button WHILE you're tuning. This results in your having accidently tuned the WRONG VFO and moved it off of the DX's frequency. This is also a common accident with many other rigs as well. Well, to combat this problem, Elecraft offers the DIAL [LOCK] button, just to the lower right of the VFO knob. This LOCKS the displayed frequency, so you can't accidently tune away from the selected frequency. "OK", you say. "That's nice, but then HOW can I tune the alternate VFO so I can find the guy who is WORKING the DX?" Simple! WHILE in SPLIT _and_ WHILE the DIAL LOCK is in force, if you press the [REV] button, it will switch you over to the alternate VFO _and_ it will allow you to tune THAT VFO, even though the main VFO is LOCKed down tight. As a result, you have the best of both worlds, a VFO solidly planted on the DX's frequency, and a TUNABLE VFO for finding who he's working or for positioning yourself in the most beneficial spot to call the DX the next time he goes back in to 'listen' mode. Even if you happen to accidently let go of the [REV] button WHILE you're still tuning the alternate VFO, the LOCKED VFO will not move! This feature works LIKE A CHAMP, and users should avail themselves of it often. Using the [REV] button one can quickly and easily jump 'up' to the 'pileup' and see who's calling the DX, where they are locating themselves when they DO work him, and whether the DX station is working multiple stations on the SAME frequency, or whether he's possibly moving his receive VFO up (or down) just a bit following each successive QSO. Getting the 'feel' of the DX station's operating habits significantly increases your chances of working him. Bob's book discusses MANY other, tried and true methods of finding and working DX. A great book. If anyone had questions about the SPLIT LOCKED VFO, or how to use it, please feel free to drop me a note. 73, Tom Hammond N0SS ++++++++++++++