, [email protected]
Subject: April 1997 PVRC Newsletter
PVRC NEWSLETTER - APRIL 1997
OFFICERS
PRESIDENT KE3Q RICH BOYD (301) 464-8014 [email protected]
VICE PRES K3MM TYLER STEWART (301) 414-5444 [email protected]
SECRETARY N3OC BRIAN McGINNESS (301) 652-6768 [email protected]
TREASURER N3KTV JIM HORTON (301) 258-9731
HISTORIAN K3SA STEVE AFFENS (301) 774-0558 [email protected]
PVRC Charter Members: W3GRF (SK), W3IKN, W4AAV (SK), W4KFC (SK), W4KFT,
N0FFZ (SK), W4LUE, W7YS, VP2VI (W0DX).
PacketCluster Contest/DX System (MHz):
K3NA Frederick MD 145.630
W3LPL Glenwood MD 145.590 441.250
KE3Q Bowie MD 145.570 445.375
N3RR Rockville MD 145.510 441.325
N4OHE Mt.Weather VA 145.710 440.925
N4SR Woodbridge VA 145.630 *
WR3L Baltimore MD 145.610 440.950
K4FJ Mt. Vernon VA 145.770 *
K3MQH S Mountain PA 145.630
The system is sponsored by the Potomac Valley DX Spotting Network except
for nodes marked with "*" are funded & operated by the Rappahannock DX
Packetcluster Group.
PVRC on Internet.
PVRC web site: http://www.pvrc.org courtesy of K3SA
PVRC/NC web site: http://www.pagesz.net/~pvrc courtesy of N4AF
PVRC reflector: [email protected] to join. [email protected] to post.
Dues are by donation. The mandatory $10 dues have been discontinued. So
please send your donation - hopefully at least $10 - to Jim Horton, N3KTV,
8527 Calypso Lane, Gaithersburg, MD 20879-1522. Make checks payable to
PVRC. Thank you.
Newsletter Editor: Dick Wilder, K3DI, 913 Shore Acres Rd, Arnold, MD
21012-1724. The communication ports are: (410) 757-6706, FAX/modem
757-6720, [email protected], and the DXcluster. The deadline for articles
is Monday, two weeks before the central meeting.
The Next General Meeting is April 14 (always second Monday):
The meeting will be at the Public Library in Vienna, Virginia on route 123
outside the Beltway. Take the Beltway to VA Route 123 South (Chain Bridge
Road at this point). Cross over Route 7 and pass Tyson's Corner. On right
will be JKJ Chevrolet. Continue on 123 into Vienna where 123 becomes Maple
Avenue. After passing Beulah Road (on right with light), look for Park
Street (about 3 blocks). Park Street has a light. The Library will be
along one block on the left, just before Center Street. Entrance to the
library parking lot is a left off 123 Maple. The lot is just before the
library itself. Alternatively, if you take I-66 off the beltway, and
exit at Nutley Street toward Vienna, you will run into Maple Ave. A right
turn takes you into town. The library will be on your RIGHT just after
Center Street. Going this way, you will not have to make a left turn into
the parking lot across heavy double lanes traffic. Some of the PVRCers
get together at Chili's on route 7, Tyson's, before the meeting and a few
at the Pizza Hut afterwards. Best to check on the 147.000 repeater to
determine the trend for the evening.
PVRC Meeting Calendar:
Mon Apr 14 Central meeting at the P. Henry Library, Rt 123, Vienna VA
Tue Apr 15 NW meeting, Legends Restr, Frederick MD at 8:00 PM
Wed May 1 PVRC/NC meeting, O'Malleys in Raleigh
Mon May 14 Central meeting in Temple Hills, MD
Sat Jun 21 Joint PVRC/FRC meeting at W3LPL
==========================================================================
It is with sorrow that we confirm the passing of a PVRC Charter Member,
Cedric E. Van Pelt, N0FFZ (ex-W4LRI). Cedric was born in Pensacola, FL on
21 July 1912 and passed from us on 11 February 1996 as the result of
congestive heart failure. At the time of his death he was a resident of
519 Oak Terrace, Monmouth, IL.
==========================================================================
NEWSLETTER PUBLICATION SCHEDULE
We delayed this month sufficiently to catch the PVRC/NC minutes and give
us more room for the Reunion issue next month. The May issue with have the
Reunion check list and the July issue (subject to change) will have the
complete membership roster. As an alternate, we may include the roster in
a two ounce May issue. Please get any info changes such as, address,
Email address, telephone number, and call sign to the club Secretary,
N3OC, ASAP.
MINUTES OF THE PVRC CENTRAL MEETING, MAR 10, 97 TEMPLE HILLS, MD
by Brian McGinness, N3OC, Secretary
The meeting was called to order at 7:40 PM by Rich, KE3Q. Members and
guests were introduced. Members attending were: WB6VGI, ND3A, W3XY,
WR3L, N3NT, W2EOS, W3YOZ, KE3Q, K3ZO, W3LPL, K3MM, WA3TAI, WK3I, WI2T,
W3ZZ, W3HVQ, W3AZ, W3CP, N5OKR, N3OC, K3ZB, and W3DAD. Guests were Rod,
WA0QII, and Roger, W3LM.
A discussion concerning the PVRC regions and the competitive position of
the club was held.
A discussion was held about the PVRC email reflector. For now, it will be
implemented by Howie, N4AF as [email protected] and we will be posting club
information to that address as well as to packet and the newsletter. To
subscribe, send Howie an email at [email protected] and ask him to subscribe
you to the list. It is a manual operation, and will be handled by Howie.
We will be asking most of the local members if they want to be on the list
or not and send the info to Howie, so you can contact N3OC on the repeater
also if you want to subscribe. [In a packet message, N3OC notes that to
post to the reflector send an email to [email protected]. -editor]
New applications were received from Sal Anastasio WM2H, Mark Bailey KD4D,
Dan Zeitlin K2YWE, and Dick Chambers AI3M. Sal come to us as one of the
top ops at N2RM, and has relocated to Arnold, Md. Mark is new to PVRC but
has already proven himself as a top operator at W3LPL, and lives in
Huntingtown, Md. Dan is an extra class op who lives in Annapolis. And
Dick has been a 160 meter op at W3LPL for many years. All were voted into
membership without further discussion.
Frank, W3LPL inquired how the membership felt about the opportunity to
effect a rules change on 160 meters to give the band some structure, such
as a CW-only segment. This was precipitated by several stations clearly
in, or causing QRM to, the DX window of 1830-1835. After some discussion,
a straw vote was taken overwhelmingly in favor of not making any rules
changes at this time. Most seemed to feel that it was a contest-only
problem, and should be addressed by the contest sponsors, not the FCC.
An electronic motion was made by Steve, K3SA, to apply for the internet
domain of pvrc.org, and convert the web page to www.pvrc.org. Steve has
worked an arrangement where we can obtain the domain and server space at a
rate affordable to PVRC. The motion was seconded by N3OC, and was
approved unanimously.
A brief show and tell session was held. N3RR sold a surplus VOM for $5,
which was donated to the club treasury.
Tyler, K3MM, brought up a proposal for a new category of membership,
honorary member, for DX stations who support PVRC members dxpeditioning in
their country.
The Secretary advised that a by-law change would be required for a new
category of member, and Tyler will write up a proposal for a future
meeting.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:30 PM.
NW REGIONAL MEETING MINUTES - MARCH 18 1997
by Tyler Stewart K3MM
The meeting was held at Legend's Restaurant in Frederick MD at 8 PM. It
was a nasty night and yet members K3MM, W8ZA, WA3IKK, K3TZV, WD3A, K3SME,
K3LP, W9LT, NE3H, K3IXD, N3KTV, N5OKR, and guest and new member NY3M, Bill
Long, showed up for fun evening.
After enjoying a nice dinner, we heard from Greg, N5OKR. He is retiring
from the Navy and is building a house complete with tower foundations in
California. He swears he'll be back often to visit! Greg also brought is
burned-up Alpha 91B for show and tell. He had flames coming out the tube
vent hole! His blower quit and the rubber chimney melted down.
Apparently there are lot of fans failing out there on these amps, so if
you have one, call Alpha and ask them if you need a replacement.
K3IXD, Ed, reports that the order for shirts and hats is in the works.
N3KTV, Jim, is working on new sequencers for K3MQH and will be
constructing a new K3MM design for 2 meter SSB to replace the 13B2's in
use now.
NE3H, Joe, has been fighting his ring rotator and showed us a broadband
preamp he's been working on using an AR-1 MMIC. W9LT, Lamar, had K8OQL
over for ARRL phone and did 780k. K3LP, David, got LogEQF set up and
he's acquiring a Henry 3K amp. K3SME, Sid, is interested in reviews of
the TS570 and has been losing lots of sleep on 160 lately. NY3M, Bill
Long, is another father/son act and his son likes the sound of CW and does
the logging for Bill while learning the code. WD3A, Tom, has been
assisting Bob at W8ZA with computer help and operated the ARRL phone
contest there MS. K3TZV, Steve, did mostly S&P during the ARRL contests.
WA3IKK, Dusty, worked 9 new RTTY countries on 80 in the last contest.
W8ZA, Bob, is working on stacking lots of aluminum on a new 90 foot tower
with a pair of 5el 20's going up soon.
K3MM, Tyler, op'ed at W3LPL for ARRL, and is headed to Puerto Rico for WPX
Phone M/M where they'll be using the new club call, WP3X. K8CC, AA8U, and
W8MJ will join this year for a big effort!
After the introductions and a few announcements, we voted in a new member!
Bill Long, NY3M, is an Extra who teaches Biology at Western Maryland
College in Westminster. He has a TH6 at 100' and an 80 meter dipole at
65'. He's been active in all the recent major contests and is a welcome
addition to PVRC!
K3SME then demo'ed several different active noise-canceling headphones.
These were made by Noise Cancellation Technology with the latest version
called the Noisebuster. They are very affordably priced at around 69 to
79 dollars. There is a new version due out any day that has adjustable
level and runs off a couple of AAA batteries. They do a very good job of
dropping the ambient noise level substantially. Sid has strapped on a
Heil boom mike and is very pleased with the results. If all goes well,
K3MM will try out one of these headsets in Puerto Rico which will be a
good test of RFI susceptibility and noise cancellation.
NW Regional meetings are always on the third Tuesday of the month at
Legend's Restaurant in the Hampton Inn located at I-270 and Route 85 in
south Frederick, MD.
PVRC/NC MEETING MINUTES MARCH 6, 1997
by Pete Soper KS4XG
Site. The meeting was held at Houlihan's restaurant in Cary from
6-8:30pm.
Attendees. AA4NC Will, K2AV Guy, K3KO Brian, K4HA Bob, K4MA Jim, KS4XG
Pete, N3QYE Jim, N4AF Howie, N4CW Bert, and WB8BMV Jay.
Membership. This was the second meeting attended by Bob, K4HA.
Congratulations, Bob! Membership as of this meeting: Will Roberts AA4NC,
Jeff Wittich AC4ZO, Warren Lewis AD4ZE, Guy Olinger K2AV, Brian Alsop
K3KO, Bob Lukaszewski K4HA, Jim Stevens K4MA, Pete Soper KS4XG, Jim Price
N3QYE, Howie Hoyt N4AF, Bert Michaud N4CW, Henry Pollock WB4HFL, and Jay
Brookover WB8BMV
Club business. The February minutes were read. It was decided to
continue alternating meeting places.
NC QSO Party. N3QYE and KO4PY drove across 55 North Carolina Counties to
make 330 mobile QSOs on 40 and 20 meters SSB and CW and on 2 meter FM.
ARRL DX Phone. N4CW put a few hours in and worked 8P9JA on four bands,
bagging 118 mults from 118 Qsos total. K4HA put nine hours into the
contest for over 173k points and wished he could submit his score to the
PVRC. K3KO scored 384x177 for over 200k points during the contest with a
single op assisted effort, but had balun and rotator failures. He pulled
his quad/40m dipole combination down and repaired the balun to be able to
work a few more SA stations on 15m with the antennas 10 feet off the
ground. He reports that the 40m performance at that height wasn't
competitive. N4AF scored over 100k points with a part time effort. KS4XG
scored over 400k points at the AA4NC station. During his 20m run into
Europe Sunday morning he tried to imitate 14.313 by talking over the top
of the voice keyer, severely annoying Belgian and French operators. K4MA
and AA4NC have a shot at the M/S title with their score of 6.8 million
points. They wonder if P40V might have been M/S. KS4XG only heard Carl's
voice but only on three bands so there's a chance Carl had one or more
partners.
After getting to Barbados on Wednesday they prepared to use a station
consisting of a TH6 at about 55 feet, three elements on 40 meters at 90
feet and a six element beam on 10 meters, plus wires for the low bands.
They used a pair of TS850s, an AL80 and a Clipperton (which was low on
power part of the time). Jim's MFJ voice keyer and a couple of laptops
completed the station. They had no filters at all but said there was
almost complete freedom from crossband interference. Line noise was a
frequent problem however and they feel they might have had quite a few
more Qs, especially on 20 meters if the location had been quieter.
Will started the contest on 20 meters but the band died quickly and Jim
took over on 40, working that band for two hours before giving it back to
Will to work 80 meters. They alternated on the run station without any
schedule (Will said he'd never seen a schedule hold up for more than a few
hours so why bother with them) Sunday morning was very hard for Will
because the rate was very low, falling to just a few dozen per hour. By
contrast during the busiest hours the run rate was about 260 per hour.
Their rate at the end of the contest was surprisingly high, possibly
attributed to the line noise handicap earlier.
K4VUD continues his affection for Jim, and twice worked Jim only to begin
calling CQ from 1khz away. This was a temporary annoyance as were other
case of intruders as the 8P9JA station was very loud most of the time. Jim
was also pursued by the SSTV QRM patrol but worked right through them.
Will described the hot water system in the shower at the house as a "hair
dryer with water running through it." He took one look at the wires
attached to the water pipes and decided to just stink it out until he
could find water without running electricity.
Before and after the contest they gave many contacts on phone, CW and
RTTY. Jim decided to get on 160 CW one night, put out a single CQ and was
immediately answered by N6TR and ON4UN.
CW WPX Phone. K4HA will be in New York and may work the contest from a
friend's station there. K4MA hasn't decided where he'll work the contest
and pointed out that it fell on one of his children's birthdays anyway.
Apparently his wife held off telling Jim that she had started labor with
that child until after he'd finished WPX that year. Wow. KS4XG's wife is
due in July but doesn't think he'll have as much luck for IARU.
Other discussion. K3KO is looking for anyone with a voice keyer for sale.
There was some discussion of the fact that the solar index hasn't picked
up in line with the consensus predictions of scientists published last
Fall. A dismal explanation of the Maunder Minimum was provided to those
that hadn't heard of this (the 111 year period of no sunspots that took
place a few hundred years back and which is expected "any year now" by
some scientists).
Station Projects. K2AV continues to plan his station, asking which is the
best high end contest radio available. Some argued for the FT1000D, some
for the FT1000MP. K4HA offered an MP demo after the meeting to win K2AV
over to the newer radio. WB8BMV is still looking for advice for his tower
project. He wants to put up the highest tower he can on his 100x100 lot.
After much discussion it was decided that to stay within Cary's setback
rules he couldn't go much over a self supporting tower with a 90x90 foot
base but this would leave plenty of room for the house to be within the
base. Will described the merits and drawbacks of phillystran. K4MA says
the TR lockups he suffered may be due to a floating parallel port line
that can be fixed with "ptt enable=false" in the TR config file. There
was clarification of the new CT from KC1XX. K3KO reports the dialup modem
line continues to be out to lunch. We think KC1XX would not be able to
provide technical support and this must be done by someone else (missed
the callsign). The jury is still out.
Next Meetings. The next PVRC/NC meeting will Thursday, April 3rd at 6pm
at Houlihans restaurant in Cary. Houlihans is on Walnut street (Cary
Macedonia road technically), at Crossroads Plaza on the east side of US1,
within sight of Home Depot and Lowes.
PVRC/NC 4/3/97 MEETING MINUTES by Pete Soper, KS4XG
Site. The meeting was held at Houlihan's restaurant in Cary from 6-9pm.
Attendees. AA4NC Will, K4MA Jim, KS4XG Pete, N3QYE Jim, N4CW Bert, and
WB8BMV Jay. The mMembership is unchanged at thirteen.
Club business. N4AF sent his regrets as he was called out of town on
short notice. He appointed AA4NC temporary chairman for the meeting.
With use of the N4YA club callsign in DX contests we'll need to set up
buro handling of incoming cards and be ready with reply cards. K4MA
volunteered to make cards to handle the just completed WPX test and KS4XG
will prepare envelopes and postage and offer to handle the buro interface,
subject to agreement and coordination with N4AF.
Contests. The NY4A M/S effort from AA4NC (AA4NC, K4MA, KS4XG) is holding
down the 4th place score so far on the 3830 Internet rumors list. The
various forms of grief during this contest were discussed to explain why
the score was about 2/3 of K4MA's single op effort at the same station
last year. AA4NC said that 20 meters late Sunday afternoon was in the
worst shape he can recall and everyone agreed that propagation was
unusually poor from here. Will also reports the line noise that was so
bothersome during the test is now around S8 on 2 meters and is
"horrendous" on the HF bands. The local power company has promised to come
out again.
There was discussion of WPX rules with arguments favoring points for all
contacts (i.e. an alternative to the current zero point same-country
scoring). K4MA said he's considering offering a service on his Web site
that would take a standard ARRL log file and compute scores based on
different rules to let folks ask "what if" questions about contest rule
issues. There was also a general desire that CQ emphasize current WPX
rules better to reduce the number of multi-band contacts by zero point US
stations.
WB8BMV described using the K6STI RTTY software during a contest, saying it
almost eliminated the need to manually adjust RIT. He also described
several contacts where he couldn't even hear the other station, yet the
RTTY software plus soundblaster pulled the signal out fine. K4MA wondered
if this software can be used with a PCMCIA soundblaster card for
DXpeditions.
Other discussion. WB8BMV plans on attending Dayton this year (for the
umpteenth year in a row) and AA4NC and K4MA expect to fly up. Will will
finally get his Mooney back from repair of hurricane damage.
K4MA and KS4XG busted a gut recalling the hilarious April Fools spoof
WB4HFL posted to the contesting reflector. Henry wrote up a description of
a fictitious magazine called "The Big Gun Journal" (edited by W4QRO) and
managed to poke fun at a lot of contester's hot button subjects. He also
provided highlights of valuable technical info to be included in the
magazine, such as tips for lengthening short circuits.
N4CW showed off his homebrew QSL card made with business card software.
There was a discussion of QSL database software. WB8BMV and K4MA made a
strong case for Logic being most effective for power users who have to
manage logs for many different callsigns.
Station Projects. K4MA has $700 of hardware from TowerTech in hand and has
his base hole dug. He's starting on the holes for guy anchors and expects
to be ready to pour concrete soon and put up his 100' tower.
WB8BMV has decided to put up 50-60 feet of his existing 25G with a house
bracket and one set of guys and use a Pro-67 with that while shopping for
a used crankup tower. He says his current "A4S on a step ladder" at 22
feet is getting old.
KS4XG got a lot of wisdom and advice from all present, especially about
the balance between safe design and engineering overkill. The goal is to
get a foldover up 68-72 feet with a light quad on top before the baby is
born in July. N3QYE offered some surplus 25G sections needed to complete
the tower inventory (now parked in KS4XG's driveway!).
Other News. N3QYE has the lion's share of his research work done and can
see the exit sign flashing for life after graduate school.
Next Meeting. The next PVRC/NC meeting will be on Thursday, May 1st at
6pm at O'Malleys tavern in Raleigh. O'Malleys is in Oak Park Shopping
Center across from Darryls, up Glenwood from Crabtree Valley, going away
from downtown Raleigh.
NOTE TO PVRC/NC AREA MEMBERS: Howie advises that they are trying to
alternate meetings between the Northern Site (O'Malleys Tavern) and West
Raleigh (Cary) at Houlinhans. Check the PVRC/NC website listed on page 1.
YOU DON'T REALLY NEED AN INTERNET BROWSER
by Dick Wilder, K3DI
Here are two wrong statements:
1. I can't read the Newsletter on the PVRC web page because I don't
have a web browser program like Netscape for MS Explorer.
2. "First, to cruise the Net, you need a SLIP/PPP account and a web
browser." (Quoted from a book about the web.)
To enjoy Internet and connect to web pages, that free communications
software that came bundled with your modem will do just fine in many cases
to connect to web sites as well as foreign DXclusters. Or, you can use
the communications built into Windows, though Windows is slower. Of
course, without a browser, you will not be able to display pictures.
Also, some newer web pages are excessively (my opinion) graphic so you may
not be able to navigate through their menus without a browser.
As an example, connect to Bernie McClenny's (W3UR) web page at
http://www.wdn.com/thedailydx using only a shell account. You can easily
navigate through his text and graphic menu system. Oh, that 7O8AA at the
top of the screen is under a copy of a QSL that you can't see and at the
bottom you can't see Bernie's smiling face. But, you can get information
on how to subscribe to the Daily DX News delivered to you via email daily
50 weeks per year.
THE PVRC EXCHANGE by Ed Steeble, K3IXD [email protected]
For those wanting a PVRC name badge, provide your call sign, your name as
it is to appear on the badge, and $5 (or $7 if you want it mailed to you
instead of picking it up at a club meeting). Mail a check (payable to
Brian McGinness) to N3OC, Brian McGinness, 4618 DeRussey Pkwy, Chevy
Chase, MD 20815.
The embroidered golf shirts, the logo t-shirts, sweat shirts, and hats
should be available for those who ordered them at the April Central
meeting and at the NW Regional meeting. If you paid for shipping they will
be mailed out shortly after I get them. I received orders for 10 hats, 7
sweat shirts, 9 t-shirts, and 24 golf shirts.
ADDITIONAL SCORES FOR THE ARRL DX CW TEST:
W4PRO M/S 552 Q 244 C 404,064
operators: W4PRO, WB4DNL, W4DHZ
N4RP/C6A SOLP 1862 Q 220 M 1,228,920
Total CW 32,988,185
Total SSB 25,641,424
Grand Total 58,629,609
1996 UNLIMITED CATEGORY Logs Grand total
1. FRANKFORD RADIO CLUB 153 101,100,813
2. YANKEE CLIPPER CONTEST CL 104 77,307,702
3. POTOMAC VALLEY RADIO CLUB 85 45,391,194
PVRC ARRL DX SSB SCORES by Dave Blanchard, N3II (#7)
CALL PWR BAND QSO MULTS TOTAL
** SINGLE OP - UNASSISTED
K3ZO C 1733 297 1,544,103
W4PRO C 585 252 442,260
AA4NC C 718 198 426,492
N3UN C 411 178 219,474
N4AF C 315 115 108,675
K4VV C 250 134 100,500
W4ZYT C 158 94 44,556
W4IF C 20 119 55 19,635
KW4T C 40 105 51 16,065
W4YV C 10 104 17 5,304
N4MO/TI7 B 15 1603 51 245,259
W3UJ B 421 153 193,239
W3MR B 243 125 91,125
W3CP B 136 88 35,904
WA4QDM B 40 121 47 17,061
WB2BZR B 10 68 16 3,264
WB3ECU A 78 46 10,764
** SINGLE OP - ASSISTED
KE3Q C 1551 361 1,673,000
N3RR C 1089 323 1,054,272
K3DI C 632 247 468,312
N3II C 505 235 356,025
K3OSX C 509 194 296,238
K3IXD C 370 193 214,230
K3KO C 384 177 203,904
W4JVN C 321 151 145,413
W3YD C 242 127 92,202
N4CW C 118 118 41,772
WR3L C 15 189 66 37,224
K3HH C 119 71 25,347
W4NF C 100 74 22,200
W4DR C 160 51 35 5,355
K6IR B 284 134 114,168
NV3V B 49 40 5,880
** MULTI SINGLE
8P9JA C 7531 301 6,800,493
W9LT C 978 249 729,819
W8ZA C 577 212 364,428
W3USS C 620 0 300,000
** MULTI 2
W3GNQ C 1402 342 1,437,426
** MULTI - MULTI
W3LPL C 3484 487 5,060,000
W4MYA C 2210 404 2,670,036
TOTAL CW 31,759,265 51 <-# logs
SSB 25,641,424 40
-----------------
GRAND TOTAL 57,400,689 91
LAST YEAR - UNLIMITED (CW+SSB) Logs Total
1. FRANKFORD RADIO CLUB 153 101,100,813
2. YANKEE CLIPPER CONTEST C 104 77,307,702
3. POTOMAC VALLEY RADIO CLUB 85 45,391,194
OPERATORS:
8P9JA - AA4NC K4MA
AA4NC - KS4XG
W3GNQ - WI2T N3OC K3LP W3GNQ K3SKE WR3Z ND3A
W3LPL - K3MM K3RA W3LPL N5OKR KD4D K3RV K1RZ
WM2H W3UR K3MQH K1HTV AI3M
W3USS - K3ZB K3ZJ
W4MYA - N4EHJ AD4TS WA4DAI KD4JXY WU4G KJ4VG
KB4DI KI4GM WB4GVZ W4MYA VICKY
W8ZA - K8ZA WD3A
W9LT - W9LT K8OQL
PVRC CQ 160 METER SSB CONTEST RESULTS 1997 by Dave Blanchard, N3II
CALL QSO'S STATES COUNTRIES TOTAL
** SINGLE OP HIGH POWER
W4MYA 1101 57 30 228,027
N3HBX 943 56 28 189,672
K4ZW 541 53 12 80,730
W4JVN 436 50 17 69,345
N3OC 239 46 16 37,696
K3OSX 133 34 7 13,038
** SINGLE OP LOW POWER
W4RM 301 47 9 38,240
WK3I 290 50 8 36,888
K3SWZ 292 41 0 25,502
K3SV 232 41 6 24,299
W3CP 145 36 3 12,246
KS4XG 78 28 0 4,582
** MULTI OPERATOR
K3IXD 550 56 25 109,512
K3MM 338 53 18 62,125
W3UR 271 42 7 29,400
N3AM 226 45 5 24,800
W3HVQ 127 34 10 14,300
KA4RRU 104 36 0 8,316
WA4QDM 114 33 1 7,854
Mode Total Logs
SSB 1,016,572 19
CW 1,734,487 23
GRAND TOTAL 2,751,059 42
--------------------------------------------
LAST YEAR -1995 (CQ & SSB COMBINED) total
1. FRANKFORD RADIO CLUB 9,503,653
2. SOUTHEASTERN DX CLUB 3,853,952
3. YANKEE CLIPPER CONTEST CLUB 3,721,140
4. SLOVENIAN CONTEST CLUB 3,004,848
5. MAD RIVER RADIO CLUB 2,571,017
6. RHEIN RUHR DX ASSOCIATION 2,511,848
7. NORTH COAST CONTESTERS 2,501,730
8. POTOMAC VALLEY RADIO CLUB 2,058,026
PVRC 1997 CQ WPX SSB SCORES
by Dave Blanchard, N3II (#5 04/05/97)
CALL PWR BAND QSO MULTS TOTAL
** SINGLE OP - UNASSISTED
W9LT C 924 466 1,121,662
K3KO C TS 401 272 318,240
N3OC C 80 228 188 114,680
N3RC C TS 201 146 55,772
W4IF C TS 181 147 55,414
W4YV C 10 188 99 43,956
KT4W C 20 67 56 4,368
N4MO B 20 464 336 353,472
WA4QDM B 40 137 121 49,600
WK3I B ts 145 117 43,641
NC3DX B 140 119 37,247
WB3ECU B 135 107 27,071
WA4DAI B 82 78 20,124
N3II B TS 85 82 15,498
WB2BZR B 10 99 59 9,204
W3CP B TS 68 54 8,910
WV3B B TS 66 62 4,154
ND3F A 145 128 45,600
KA4RRU A 139 117 20,124
** SINGLE OP - ASSISTED
W3HVQ C 299 210 164,220
K4VV C TS 100 78 21,216
KE3Q C 50 43 3,784
K6IR B TS 305 91 171,709
WR3L B 20 177 150 73,650
** MULTI SINGLE
NY4A C 1545 644 2,143,876
** MULTI - MULTI
W4MYA C 1193 550 1,436,000
------------------------------------- ---
A = QRP
B = LOW POWER
C = HIGH POWER
TS = TRIBANDER + SINGLE ELEM 160-40
BR = BAND RESTRICTED
R = ROOKIE
SSB: 6,363,192 total 26 logs
OPERATORS: NC3DX - KA3TGY
NY4A - AA4NC K4MA KS4XG
W4MYA - W4MYA WK4Y KB4DI
A PARTING SHOT by Greg Altig, N5OKR..
Greetings fellow PVRCers! In one last gasp before I depart the area, I
thought I'd brag a little about my accomplishments during my three years
here.
First, let me say that I couldn't have done it without being a part of
this fine organization and having friends like you. Although I'll be the
first to admit to being an "appliance operator" type of ham, I've done
more tinkering recently than I ever thought possible. Even a skill as
simple as soldering a connector on to coax used to be a nightmare for me,
but with tips I've picked up both directly and indirectly, it is now no
problem. After all, money will buy the toys, but it takes knowledge and
the confidence to use it that takes one beyond the "plug and play" stage.
Thanks for giving me that push.
I'll also have to admit to being a "phone guy". Sorry, but I just don't
care for CW. The PVRC has some of the top CW ops in the world, but no one
ever held my lack of ability against me. Thanks for that. As a result,
and with a friendly push here and there, CW is becoming a much more
friendly mode for me. I'm so close to Extra Class I can tast it, and it
won't be long before I'll have the confidence to enter a CW 'test. A
sincere thanks (again) to Frank for allowing me to guest op at his fine
station. I remember vividly the late summer night I got the "golden
invitation".....we were on 2M while driving home from a meeting in Temple
Hills and I was on I-270 north of Germantown....I about peed my pants! I
had made it. No single factor has done more for my operating proficiency
than chair time at W3LPL.
I am a bona fide contester AND DXer. Although not everyone enjoys both, I
still do and look forward to sampling the environment from the "left"
coast. I've included my accomplishments in both areas below
First, some history on my station. I arrived here in March, 1994, from
Gibraltar having done nearly zero HF operating from the USA (1 DX
contact!). With that clean slate, I started looking for a place to live
with ham radio in mind. I found a great place on a ridge outside of
Libertytown, MD at nearly 1000' altitude and gentle downslope in all
directions. Sure, it was a 50 mile commute to work from here, but we all
have to make sacrifices, right? At first, I was "hardware challenged"
after having sold most of my antennas, towers, and hardware to Jorma
(OH2KI/ZB2X) before leaving Gibraltar. All I had was a salt encrusted R7
to work with the FT-990/FT-757 radios. Now while the R7 was a star on
"the Rock", it just plain sucked without salt water in three directions.
Compounding the frustration was my lack of an amplifier. Heck, I never
found the need for one....southern EU at the peak of the last sunspot
cycle was a bare-foot DXer's paradise. Now, faced with the bottom of the
same cycle, I was going nowhere fast. Between March and October of that
year, my DXCC total stayed below 30 countries, all in the vicinity of the
USA.
Antenna first, amp next. After careful consideration and research, I
chose a 4L, 5-band cubical quad by Lightning Bolt. I had done the
multiband Yagi thing, and wanted to see how the other half lived. The
antenna went up on seven sections of 25G and a Yaesu 800SDX rotor the
Friday before CQWW SSB 1994. The rotor was mistake #1 because somebody
lied about wind load specs. Loved the pre-sets, but it lasted less than a
year and a half before disintegrating internally with such force it blew
parts out the case. The T2X works just fine now, thank you. For the
lower bands, I construct a multi-band sloper and hang it at about the 60'
mark broadside east-west.
The quad is absolutely marvelous! I am pleased beyond all expectations,
but what is all this new static? I am intermittently deaf to the
northeast, south, and west, especially on 10M. Looks like Potomac Edison
has some work to do out here. I find the offending poles and submit my
complaint, but it will be February before the fix is made. The '94 CQWW
SSB and ARRL 10M contests are exercises in frustration. After the fix,
the '95 ARRL DX SSB and CQ WPX SSB, both 10M single-band efforts, were a
blast! Although DX on the upper bands suffered a little due to the power
line noise, my country totals for 17 and 20M are piling up daily. The
sloper is not cutting it at all, and the lower bands need some immediate
attention.
Back up a little to the summer of '94. I'm searching for an amp and lock
on to the rave reviews and "common man" price of the new ETO 91B.
Manufacturing quality is a concern, but I place my order in July. I will
not put hand to knob on the unit until September of 1995. In the
meantime, although the quad has amazing ears, I'm at best second layer in
busting DX pileups. In the summer of '95 I get a new 811A as a stop-gap
until the ETO arrives. It works well and the extra few hundred watts make
DXing a real pleasure.
In the meantime, I turn my attention to the low bands. I had always
intended a second tower with a 402CD or some such animal on top, but
seeing that to be a little while in coming, I compromised by hanging
half-wave inverted "V" dipoles for 40M and 80M at the 65' mark broadside
to the NE. Coupled with the E/W sloper, I now had decent coverage to all
areas except deep southern Africa and S. America. The four antennas are
switched via an Ameritron RCS-4.
With the arrival of the 91B, my station is complete and has remained about
the same ever since. Full legal limit, especially with the quad, has
graduated me to the first layer of DX pileup busting. I am also amazed at
just how well the dipoles do on the low bands with some punch behind them,
but hear ablility remains a problem without the benefit of beverages,
EWEs, etc. I do not recall missing a needed country unless I simply
wasn't home, or the station remained outside my band restrictions.
For the life of me, I can't find the exact date I attained DXCC, but I
know it was within 6 months of putting up the quad and before any amp
graced my shack. That puts it at about the one year mark after moving in.
Now 5BDXCC, however, was a momentous occasion and occurred before I had
two years here on February 18, 1996 when I put OZ1LO in the log on 40M CW
(see, I DO break out the key some-times!). In addition, I'm proud of my
improving contest scores, especially my first 1M score in last year's WPX
and first clean sweep last November.
Instead of going out with a bang, I'm unfortunately leaving with a
whimper. Someone is trying to tell me it's time to go. In the last few
weeks, the 91B has done it's imitation of a barbecue grill when the blower
quit and started one of the chimneys on fire (Alpha Power will be fixing
it under warranty when I deliver it to Longmont next month). Also, the
10M element on the quad broke in a recent wind storm and is now looped
over the 12 and 15M elements, shorting out those bands.
One final note, lest you think that I live and breathe nothing but ham
radio.....During this time I reached several other milestones in my life I
am equally proud of, and all during my "spare" time. Such as my degree in
Middle East Studies. I also joined the local volunteer fire department
and qualified Fire Fighter I, Rescue Technician (cutting up cars is
cool!), and Hazardous Materials Ops. I also requalified as an EMT and
completed the ambulance driver's training. Last, but certainly not least,
as the ultimate test of character I handled the W3LPL QSL chores for the
95/96 contest season.....all 10,000 cards worth!
Well, there you have it. As I sit composing this tome, the Spratleys are
very readable on 20M and I sit away from the pile-up putting 100W of CW
into space trying to put just one more "new one" in the log. Man, if I
just had the amp.......
Sorry for the length of this, but it is so hard to say goodbye. As I said
at my going away party (thanks again, Bob!), the PVRC was my first contest
club and will always be #1 with me. The NCCC may get my future scores,
but my heart remains right here. Thanks for friendships that will last a
life-time, and rest assured, come hell, high water, and air fare wars, I
will be back! Anyway, here are the raw numbers. The contest scores with
(?) are tentative.
Bnd/Mode Confirmed Worked
Mixed 276 295
PHO 273 289
CW 37 83
80m 71 163
40m 69 133
20m 223 277
17m 100 171
15m 122 194
12m 11 31
10m 81 106
NAME CLASS SCORE STANDING
94 CQWW SSB SO/LP/10M 22814 2ND W3/4TH USA
94 ARRL 10M SO/LP/SSB 50400 4TH W3/9TH USA/18TH WW
95 ARRLDX SSB SO/LP/10M 23562 1ST W3/4TH USA/13TH WW
95 CQWPX SSB SO/LP/10M 24480 1ST W3/2ND USA/13TH WW
95 IARU MS/ASST 235635 1ST MDC/17TH USA/53RD WW
95 NAQP SSB SO 40020 1ST W3/31ST NA
95 WAEDC SSB SU/SSB 233356 3RD USA/13TH DX
95 CQWW SSB M/M 9638216 3RD USA/17TH WW @W3LPL
95 ARRL SS SO/LP/SSB 97280 1st MD/7th Div/65th NA
95 ARRL 10M SO/LP/SSB 41870 1st W3/2nd USA/4th WW
96 NAQP SSB SO 73179 1st W3/33rd NA
96 ARRLDX SSB M/M 5599509 1st USA/2nd WW @W3LPL
96 CQWPX SSB SO/TS 1350701 3rd USA/11th WW
96 IARU HF M/M 5138721 10th HQs @W1AW/3 ('LPL)
96 WAEDC SU/SSB 266662 2nd USA/18th DX
96 CQWW SSB M/M 10379586 4th USA/10th WW @W3LPL
96 ARRL SS SO/LP/SSB 120900 2nd MD/22nd NA (?)
96 ARRL 10M SO/LP/SSB 81120 1st W3/2nd NA/2nd WW (?)
97 NAQP SSB SO 65968 3rd W3/46th NA (?)
97 ARRLDX SSB M/M 5039000 1st USA/3rd WW @W3LPL/?
The warmest of 73 to one and all, Greg
ARE YOU A HAM by N5NU and family
(sent to us by Leo Boberschmidt, KA3TGY)
You are definitely a ham if:
1. Your latest edition of QST is in the bathroom.
2. You have got at least one old broken Heathkit receiver stored under you
bed.
3. You have ever opened your QSL cards before opening your IRS refund
check.
4. You always save the cord from any electrical appliance that you are
going to through away.
5. You once named your cat "dummy load".
6. You have seen the Drake twins.
7. You can remember the formula for finding the electrical length of a
half-wave dipole in free space, but don't have a clue as to what day your
anniversary is on.
8. You have ever tried to convince your wife that the portable generator
that you want for field day is a necessity for the times when the
electricity goes off.
9. You have ever tried to convince your wife that the "stick-on" antennas
are no good, and you really need to drill a 5/8" hole in the top of her
new car.
10. You have ever counted more than 100 birds on your antenna at one time.
11. You have ever activated your neighbors alarm system from within your
shack.
12. You have ever sketched an electrical diagram while in a business
meeting.
13. You worry about your antennas when a hurricane is forecast and don't
even think of you house.
14. You have ever used the cigarette lighter plug to control the
windshield wipers on your car.
15. You have a set of bookends made from old vacuum tubes.
16. You have more than five articles of clothing with your callsign on
them.
17. You know most of your friends by their callsigns but not their names.
18. You planned your wedding and honeymoon around the contest schedule.
19. You have ever destroyed a perfectly good electrical appliance trying
to see how it worked.
20. You plan your family vacation to include K5SL, K5NZ, N5JA, etc.
21. You have more than three tie clasps or personal jewelry with radio
insignias on them.
22. Your idea of a good time is to be snowed in during the weekend of a
major contest with a good supply of pizza and softdrinks.
23. You have ever wondered why your friends at work don't really
understand you.
24. You have ever been heard singing in Morse Code while taking a shower.
25. You have ever tapped out the road signs in Morse Code while taking a
trip.
----------------End of April 1996 PVRC Newsletter-----------------