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PVRC NEWSLETTER - OCTOBER 2002
The summer is closing and we are off to a great contest season.
Please mark your calendar now for the following contests in which
PVRC competes as a club and will earn you points toward the PVRC
5 Million award. The popular January VHF SS does not earn PVRC 5
Mil points.
2002:
Oct 26-27 CQWW SSB DX
Nov 2-3 ARRL CW SS
Nov 9-10 WAEDC RTTY
Nov 16-17 ARRL PH SS
Nov 23-24 CQWW CW DX
Dec 7-8 ARRL CW 160M
Dec 14-15 ARRL CW/PH 10M
2003:
Jan 18-19 ARRL VHF SS
Jan 25-26 CQWW CW 160M
Feb 15-16 ARRL CW DX
Feb 22-23 CQWW PH 160M
Mar 1-2 ARRL PH DX
Mar 29-30 CQ WPX PH
May 24-25 CQ WPX CW
CONTESTIATA by Charles Reville III, K3FT (adapted 22 May 2002)
Go placidly amid the QRN and the QRM, and remember what peace
there may be in S&P'ing. As far as possible, without
surrendering your frequency, be on good terms with all stations.
Speak/send your exchange clearly, and listen carefully to the
response, even to the casual and non-contester types for they,
too, have point value! Avoid loud and aggressive stations; they
are not worth the cost in rate to fight them. If you compare
your Q-total mid-contest with others, you may become vain or
bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser-reported Q-
totals than yours. Enjoy your achievements as well as your
plans. Keep interested in your own station, however humble; it
is a real possession in helping the Club aggregate score.
Exercise caution in playing with new software BEFORE the contest
for untested software is full of trickery. But let not this
blind you to what virtue there is in new software; many stations
have used new software; and everywhere there are useful upgrades.
Be yourself. Especially, do not feign pleasure over a new
multiplier. Neither be cynical about propagation; for in the
face of all plans; propagation is as predictable as the wind.
Take kindly the counsel of the contest sponsors, gracefully
surrendering to their requirements for log submittals. Nurture
strength of spirit to shield you in sudden attacks of Murphy.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears
are born of fatigue and loneliness of being on a band and calling
constant CQ's without answers.
Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are
a contester and licensed operator; no less than the others who
don't contest on the bands; you have a right to be there. And
whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the fortunes of
contesting will change, as they should. Therefore be at peace
with Murphy, whatever you conceive him to be. And whatever your
labors and aspirations, in the QRM and confusion of the contest,
keep an accurate and honest log. With all its QRM, QRN, and
visits by Murphy, it is still fun. Be cheerful. Strive to be
happy. Remember the cry 'WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR!!
PVRCer WINS THE PVRC SCHOLARSHIP
Congratulations to Nat Hetwole, WZ3AR for winning annual PVRC
$1000 scholarship. PVRC has awarded an annual $1000 scholarship
for four years and this is the first time that it was won by one
of ours.
Here is the criteria for winning the PVRC scholarship.
"Applicants must be US residents holding any class of amateur
radio license and seeking a baccalaureate degree from a US
college or university. Preference will be given to active
operators providing documented evidence of amateur radio contest
activity (i.e. log pages, club new letters, magazine articles,
awards, etc.)." The PVRC scholarship is one of over 60
scholarships administered yearly by The Foundation For Amateur
Radio, Inc.
[The paper editon contains a photo here.]
Above is a picture of the scholarship recipient, Nat Heatwole,
WZ3AR. His autobiography is later in this issue.
[The autobiography appears only in the paper issue.]
TREASURER'S REPORT by Dave Baugher, WR3L, Treas.
I would like to thank the following for the donation to PVRC:
W3FJ, N3II, K1HTV, W3PAW, N4GG, N3UM, W3AZD, N3SB, K3UT, W3US,
K3IC, K3WA, K4VV, and K3SO.
The badges are still not printed as of September 23. I am
assured that they are being done. The club will have 75 PVRC and
25 PVRC-NC paid for and ready for calls!
Thanks to all that have supported me as treasurer over the past
few years and look forward to serving the members for at least
another term. Please be sure to get to the next meeting on
October 15 and vote.
PVRC QSL ANNUAL ORDER - BAD NEWS by Craig Lee, N3NT
In contacting the printer for this year's QSL order, I discovered
that the printer recently went out of business due to the
economic downturn. This is bad news indeed because we had a
unique arrangement with this printer in that I did a portion of
the administrative work for him to keep costs down and at the
same time earn some revenue for the club. In addition, the club
logo is fairly intricate in that it has narrow colored bands that
form concentric circles that many printers have problems with in
registering properly.
Due to my present work commitments, I don't have the time to do
the research necessary to find a new printer for the club cards.
If anyone can assist in that effort your help would be
appreciated. Until such time as a new arrangement can be made,
the club card order is on hold. For those in need of cards in
the near term, I understand that W4MPY has a copy of the logo. I
have never seen one of the cards he produces with the logo so I
can't vouch for the quality.
My contact information is Craig Lee, N3NT, via [email protected]
or 410-379-0288. I travel extensively which delays replies.
PVRC FOWLFEST MEETING, August 17, 2002
by Brian McGinnes, N3OC, Pres
PVRC members in attendance: AI3M, K1EFI, K1HTV, K2PLF, K3DI,
K3GV, K3IXD, K3MM, K3TW, K3ZO, K4VV, KD4D, N1KC, N1WR, N3JT,
N3OC, N3UM, N3YDT, N4GG, N4ZH, N6CZG, ND3A, W2GG, W2GPS, W3AZ,
W3AZD, W3BZN, W3EKT, W3HVQ, W3ICM, W3LPL, W3OV, W3PAW, W3TEF,
W3UR, W3YOZ, W6AAN, WB3ANE, WF3J, WR3L, WR3Z
Guests: K4JAB, KA3JIB, KB3EVN, KD3SA, KE4PSV, N3MAZ, N3PQW,
N3VRN, WB3EFQ, and many spouses.
After a brief introduction of members, the first order of
business was to thank our host, Marty Johnson, W3YOZ, for his
hospitality. The food was wonderful again. The recent
blistering heat in the mid-Atlantic area stayed away and there
was a pleasant breeze blowing in off the water.
PVRC president, Brian McGinness, N3OC, announced that the October
meeting of the Central Region would be held on October 15th due
to a holiday conflict. Brian will post the meeting location in a
future Newsletter and on the PVRC email reflector.
Brian announced that PVRC was declared the "post-publication"
winner of the ARRL 10 meter contest. After the results were
initially posted on the ARRL web site, several members reported
that their scores had not been credited to the Club total. After
a bit of investigation, it was noted that the ARRL had used an
old list of participating members from a previous contest. This
was corrected and PVRC once again took top honors in the club
competition category.
Both Brian and Jack Hammett, K4VV, PVRC vice president, have
recently acquired new QTHs and have been busy dealing with these
issues. If you have experienced any delays while trying to
contact them, this is most likely the reason. Both are settled
in now (more or less) and things are back to normal.
Brian stated that nominations for the 2003 PVRC officers are due
next month. Anyone interested in running or interested in
nominating someone to run for one of the offices (president,
vice-president, treasurer, or secretary) should contact Bill
Hider, N3RR, or N3OC as soon as possible. Additionally, if you
are interested in contributing to Club activities as a PVRC
trustee, please contact N3OC.
PVRC treasurer, Dave Baugher, WR3L, say that PVRC is financially
sound. The Club coffers have been more or less stable for that
past 4 years. The next anticipated expenditures will be for the
new 5M plaques that many of our members earned during the past
contest season.
A reminder: The DARC Worked All Europe contest has been added to
the list of PVRC 5M competitive events. WAE takes place over 3
weekends; one for each mode - CW, SSB, and RTTY (members who
excel in RTTY contesting take note!). The CW weekend has come
and gone but there are still opportunities to participate in the
other two modes. Check last month's Newsletter for contest
details.
CENTRAL SEPTEMBER MEETING MINUTES by Brian McGinnes, N3OC, Pres.
The PVRC Central meeting was held Monday 9/9/02 in Temple Hills,
MD at the Church of the Nativity. Members attending were: N3OC,
W3DQ, K3MM, K3PN, K3FT, KE3Q, W3TOM, WR3L, K4VV, N3RR and W0CN.
Introductions were made, and everyone was asked what their plans
were for ARRL November Sweepstakes.
N3OC gave the president's report. The ARRL has agreed to award
the gavel for the 2001 10-meter contest to PVRC, thanks to the
efforts of W2GG. We have changed the way we report our scores to
the ARRL in hopes of avoiding a fourth occurrence of winning this
contest post-publication. PVRC was partially at fault, and the
ARRL was partially at fault, in my opinion. My thanks to N1ND
for working with us to straighten things out.
We are behind in getting things organized for sweepstakes this
year. So far no one has stepped forward to volunteer to manage
the contest, so we are doing the best we can without. W2GG is
preparing contact lists for each regional coordinator, and we are
asking all the regional coordinators to contact as many of their
members as they can, personally or by telephone, and ask them to
get on and help.
Members living in the Atlantic division will soon be electing a
new director. FRCer Tony, N2SS has contacted PVRC, is interested
in the position and is interested in your vote. We are fortunate
that the incumbent, Bernie Fuller N3EFN is a dxer and sometimes
contester too, so we have two good choices.
The PVRC annual elections will be at the October meeting for each
region that wishes to vote, and nominations are being handled by
the trustees and N3RR later at this meeting. Discussions between
K4VV and myself have indicated our desire to elect an additional
vice-president for next year, hopefully from one of the southern
regions. A by-law change allowing this will be introduced at
tonight's meeting, to be voted on at the October meeting just
before the election so we can do this in time for next year.
PLEASE NOTE THE OCTOBER CENTRAL MEETING NIGHT IS CHANGED DUE TO A
HOLIDAY. THE OCTOBER MEETING WILL BE TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15th AT
THE VIENNA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, WHICH IS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER
FROM THE LIBRARY. 7:30 PM
There was no membership action.
New business was a by-law changed proposed by N3OC to add a
second VP. Article III Section I is proposed to be changed to
read "up to two vice-presidents", Section II and Section VI are
corrected to the plural references to the vice-president. In the
event the president is temporarily unable to fulfill their
duties, the trustees would determine at that time which of the
two VPs would assume the duties of the president until a
successor is elected or the president is able to continue. This
motion was moved and seconded and automatically tabled until the
October meeting.
The meeting was turned over to N3RR for nominations and
presentation of the officer and trustee slate for 2003. Since
the second VP position is new, we will announce that nomination
at a later date, but before the elections. The slate of officers
and trustees for 2003 is: President - Jack Hammett K4VV, VP-North
- Brian McGinness N3OC, VP-South - TBA, Secretary - Bob Dannals
W2GG, Treasurer - Dave Baugher WR3L, Trustees - N3RR, KE3Q, K3MM,
N4ZR, W3PP, N4AF, K4IQ, W4ZYT, ND3A, and N1KC No further
nominations were received from the floor.
N3OC gave a short presentation on short beverages. The
presentation was inspired by a nice article in the
September/October NCJ by K9AY about the performance and design of
various short beverage lengths. The article showed "short"
beverages in the 3/8-wave to 5/8-wave length can indeed be
directive, meaning that some beverage can often be better than no
beverage!
The article showed that "short" beverages that are 3/4, 5/8, 1/2
or 3/8 wavelengths still exhibit usable directivity. This means
that on 160 meters, a beverage as short as 202 feet long can be
useful. The article also suggests that short beverages may need
a slightly lower termination resistor than a normal full sized
beverage. The article suggests values as low as 220 ohms for the
shortest beverages, 270 ohms for beverages around 5/8 wavelength,
and 470 ohms for full-sized (one wavelength) beverages. See
http://www.w8ji.com for additional information on this subject.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:30.
NORTHWEST AUGUST MEETING NOTES by Ed Steeble, K3IXD, chairman
The NW region met again at City Buffet in Frederick, MD on 20
August 2002. In attendance were: NE3H, K3WC, W4RW, W2YE, W3LJ,
W3IDT, W8PT, W3TEF, K3IXD, W8ZA, N3HBX, N3UM, N3VOP, W3ZZ, K3NA,
N3KTV, K3SKE, WD3A, K3DNE, and K3MM.
The 20 attendees represented MD, PA, VA and WV. The home PVRC
regions represented were: Annapolis, Carroll, Central, NW, and
PA. A very good turn out for an August meeting. Needless to say
we had good discussions during dinner and during the business
session.
>From the business part of the meeting:
K3SKE, Dan reported that orders to the PVRC store are trickling
in for hats, shirts, etc. The order form is in the Newsletter.
Don't procrastate. Questions to .
N3KTV, Jim reported on the Force 12 antenna order. This year only
smaller boom beams were ordered, none of the long booms that had
been ordered in the past years.
W3ZZ, Gene reported that logs are coming in from the CQ VHF
Contest.
W8ZA, Bob reminded us that the FARfest committee needs volunteers
to assist with the hamfest. As a member club, PVRC is asked to
supply assistance. The volunteers that work two hours get a free
pass into the hamfest. This year it is at the Howard County Fair
Grounds, 7 and 8 September. Contact a club officer if you can
help.
The NW attendees went on record thanking W2GG, Bob, for his
handling the discussions with ARRL regarding the 10m contest.
Also they appreciated N1ND, Dan's efforts too. We all owe Bob
thanks for gathering the club competition scores, staying in
touch with the sponsors, and examining the results.
>From around the table:
NE3H, Joe remembered the meeting and brought K3WC with him.
K3WC, Dusty reported that his tower is still on the ground. And
the 6m radio he (finally) got back from Sid is still in the box.
W4RW, Floyd said he hasn't been too active.
W2YE, Dick worked the MD QSO party from his VA QTH. He still has
some IRCs for sale. Contact him if you need some IRCs.
W3LJ, Bruce hopes to have his station ready for the upcoming HF
contest season.
W3IDT, Bob is hoping for no more FD exercises at Bruce's during
this contest season.
W8PT, Rick is building his HF station. He has 21 acres near the
MD, VW, PA border. He has three towers up and will be installing
M2 mono band antennas. He operated in the CQ VHF contest.
W3TEF, Roy operated the CQ VHF contest from the W3SO station as a
single op. He will be at W3SO for the ARRL VHF contest.
K3IXD, Ed operated for one hour in the CQ VHF contest and made a
QSO in the MD QSO party. He will be at W3SO for the ARRL VHF
contest and at W8ZA for the HF contests..
W8ZA, Bob showed the 1st place multi-operator WV SS CW
certificate that he and K8OQL won. He is waiting for cooler
weather to do some needed antenna work.
N3HBX, John operated in the CQ VHF contest. John is progressing
with repairs to his rotor.
N3UM, Ben has been operating VHF contest this summer and will be
returning to HF contest operating this fall. He has been
analyzing his past scores. (He is improving.)
N3VOP, Mike operated the CQ VHF contest. He has picked up a 5 el
6m CC beam and a R7 vertical for HF. He reported on the Carroll
County Club's demo station at their tail-fest and their
operations in the MD QSO party.
W3ZZ, Gene operated in the CQ VHF contest but had to miss a lot
of time do to scheduled antenna repairs. He will be at K8GP for
the September ARRL VHF contest.
K3NA, Eric was a referee at WRTC. His duties as a referee were to
insure that the station complied with the rules and the operators
followed the rules. To keep involved for the 24 hours, he logged
what he heard on his computer. He reported that he heard calls
that the team didn't and vice versa. The WRTC committee received
over 700 logs within six hours after the contest, of which 45
were from HQ stations. The committee appreciated getting the logs
and it helped with the scoring. Eric has written an article about
WRTC for NCJ. Eric also demonstrated a new software program he
developed. It takes the NEC output file and produces a color,
graphical beam plot. Look for a write up in one of the future
ARRL publications.
N3KTV, Jim helped with the W3AO FD operation. He hasn't been
active due to his kid's activities, work and a shoulder
operation. He mentioned that the "Gaithersburg" hamfest isn't on
the VHF contest weekend this year. Although it is early for an
announcement, he reminded everyone that the Scouts Jamboree on
the Air is in October. Look for the scouts, they enjoy the QSOs.
K3SKE, Dan is waiting for the weather to break before he does
some antenna work.
WD3A, Tom will be at W8ZA for the contests.
K3DNE, Ed got 2304 working just before the ARRL June contest. He
operated in the CQ VHF contest although it was just three days
after he had successful back surgery. He did nine hours in the
UHF contest. He is getting ready for the ARRL September VHF
contest and will be at W8ZA for the HF contests.
K3MM, Ty was at the FOWLfest. He will be at K8GP for the ARRL VHF
contest.
Then we talked a little about the proposal for ARRL to only
accept electronic logs for 15 days after a contests and to
posting the detailed results on the web. Two issues were raised:
what about foreign stations that don't have internet capability?
(Some thought postal logs would still be accepted if postmarked
within the 30 day period.) And would the results be archived,
i.e. one can always go back to an old QSTs and review results?
(The belief was the results would be kept on the web.)
It was mentioned that in one recent contest, the web results
didn't match the QST printed results. N1ND told the inquirer (a
PVRCer) that the web results were wrong, they are still debugging
the web postings. QST had the correct results.
Next meeting - The September 17th meeting will be at the City
Buffet, 1306 W. Patrick Street, Frederick, MD. (301) 682-6066. It
is on the opposite side of the road from the previous restaurant.
The City Buffet is in a small shopping center. From W. Patrick
Street, turn up McCain Dr. (the Mountain View Diner is on the
corner), then turn right into the shopping center, then turn left
and search for a parking place. The City Buffet is tucked back in
the left corner of the shopping center behind Mountain View
Diner; you can't see it from the street.
The NW Region meetings are on the third Tuesday of the month.
Most arrive about 6PM for diner and informal discussions; the
meeting begins at 7:15 PM.
NORTHWEST SEPTEMBER MEETING NOTES by Ed Steeble, K3IXC, chairman
The NW region met at City Buffet in Frederick, MD on 17 September
2002. In attendance were: N3HBX, K8OQL, K2UOP, N4MM, K2PLF,
K3SKE, W3EKT, WD3A, W8ZA, K3IXD, W3TEF, K4FTO, W3LL, W3ZZ, N3VOP,
N8II, K3DNE, W2YE, W4RW, W6NRJ, K4ZA, W2CDO, and K3MM+family.
The business part of the meeting:
1) Tom, W3BZN, submitted his application at the Fowl Fest but it
was overlooked so we officially voted W3BZN in as a new member
at this meeting. Welcome Tom.
2) Dan, K3SKE is still taking orders for items from the PVRC
store. The cut off date is September 30th. However he will
accept orders after that and queue them up for another batch
order at a later date.
3) Next month PVRC will be electing new club officers. If you
would like to nominate someone or even run for office yourself,
inform N3RR ASAP!
4) The club is looking for someone to take over the job of
getting PVRC QSL cards printed. N3NT has informed us that:
a) the printer he used has gone out of business and b) he is
doing a lot of traveling and doesn't have the time to search for
another printer, etc.
Around the table:
John, N3HBX, has repaired his rotating tower. But he missed the
WAE and VHF contests because he and his wife were in TX for their
twin granddaughters christening that weekend. He reported
his FT-1000D repaired itself on the trip to the Yaesu repair
shop.
Jerry, K8OQL, said his FT-1000D cured itself twice on the trips
to the repair shop.
Tom, K2UOP, operated both the WAE and the VHF contests. He will
be on for the 10GHz contest. He has installed an inverted V for
80m and a Butternut vertical for 80m and 40m with 30 radials.
John, N4MM, operated both the WAE and VHF contests.
Marty, K2PLF, was at W3SO for the VHF contest. He has installed a
5 el CC 6m beam at home.
Dan, K3SKE, has installed a 160m EWE and a 6 el KLM 6m beam.
Ed, W3EKT, put up his second rocket launcher and the 222, 432 and
1296 antennas for the VHF contest.
Tom, WD3A, plans to operate the RTTY contest.
Bob, W8ZA, said his DEM 432 transverter "unrepaired" itself on
the way back from DEM. He found the broken wire and was able to
get on for the VHF contest. W3ZZ and K3DNE echoed W8ZA that DEM
takes good care of its customers. And there was a lot of comment
about the various delivery services after N3HBX, K8OQL and W8ZA
stories.
Ed, K3IXD, was at W3SO for the VHF contest. Ed finally sent his
battle worn, Heil headset back for repairs. The turn around was
less than a week.
Roy, W3TEF, was at W3SO for the VHF contest. The only problem was
a 70A power supply blew up just before the contest but one of the
local hams lent the group a replacement for the weekend. Roy
will be at W3SO for the PA QSO party. He said Blair County is as
rare as FN00 is on VHF.
Art, K4FTO, operated the VHF contest. This was his first PVRC
meeting.
Gene, W3ZZ, operated at K8PG in the VHF contest. They had
equipment failures but this time there were enough operators to
repair the equipment and to keep operating. He said conditions
were terrible. K8GP used WSJT on 6m and 2m through the night.
Bud, W3LL, converted his 80m and 160m inverted Vs to dipoles. He
operated in the WAE and VHF contests.
Mike, N3VOP, operated in the VHF contest. He changed to a
Diamond V2000 vertical because the two previous Comet verticals
have broken.
Jeff, N8II, operated the WAE. Jeff reported there weren't many
serious operators on. To approximately 25% of his CQs, he
received a serial number less than 10. He said 10m wasn't open to
northern Europe. On passing QTCs, he said the DL's needed less
repeats than others.
Ed, K3DNE, operated the VHF contest, 6m through 2304MHz. Norm has
fixed his rotator so he will be ready for SS.
Dick, W2YE, operated 6m in the VHF contest.
Floyd, W4RW, rode up from VA with W2YE and had nothing to report.
Jim, W6NRJ, doesn't have much time for ham radio now that he is
selling real estate. He was a PVRC volunteer at the FAR Fest.
Don, K4ZA, spent last Saturday helping W3LPL erect his rotating
tower.
Peter, W2CDO, has a FT-1000MP Mark V, Butternut vertical, and is
about ready to erect a 40m half square. This was his first PVRC
meeting.
Ty, K3MM, operated the CW sprint and operated at K8GP for the VHF
contest.
The next meeting is on October 15th, and is at the City Buffet,
1306 W. Patrick Street, Frederick, MD. (301) 682-6066. It is in a
small shopping center. From W. Patrick Street, turn up McCain Dr.
(the Mountain View Diner is on the corner), then turn right into
the shopping center, then turn left and search for a parking
place. The City Buffet is tucked back in the left corner of the
shopping center behind the Mountain View Diner; you can't see it
from the street.
The NW Region meetings are on the third Tuesday of the month.
Most arrive about 6PM for dinner and informal discussions; the
meeting begins at 7:15 PM.
SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA CHAPTER AT THE HAMFEST
By David R. Jones, Jr, N4JED
Thirteen members of the Southwest Virginia Chapter signed in
Saturday August 3rd. at the Roanoke Valley ARC (RVARC) Hamfest
in Vinton, VA. Several others were seen passing through but
never got their signature on the list. Eyeball QSO's were
plentiful among the group as all searched for bargain additions
to their stations and many plans for the fall contest season were
discussed and kicked around.
Several members commented that the flea market seemed to be a
PVRC event. There were quite a few members set up trying to
clear out older equipment to make room for new. Several smaller
purchases were made but nothing of real contesting advantage.
Chapter Coordinator K4IQ almost acquired a 1928 Radiola 60
receiver to round out his station but eventually held out for
something a little more recent. (Ed., actually, he didn't have
room for it anywhere in the house unless he planned to vacate his
half of the bed and sleep in the garage!)
Members who signed in included K4IQ, K1SO, N4GU, KZ1A, N4EL,
W0MAN, W4JAM, W4DF, K1GG, KC9LC, K4EP, and N4JED. Several
others were seen and present for discussions but did not catch up
with the sign-in sheet.
The RVARC Hamfest is a yearly event held each summer in Vinton,
VA. This year's attendance was 350 or so hams. The Southwest
Virginia Chapter PVRC holds one of their eyeball get-togethers
each year during this event.
SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA CHAPTER MEETING NOTES by Michael Barts, N4GU
The Southwest Virginia Chapter of PVRC met on September 6, 2002
at the Roanoker Restaurant in Roanoke, VA. Dinner was at 6:00
followed by the meeting. Present were K4IQ, W4YE and XYL Sarah,
N4JED, KC9LC, N4EL, KA4BSA, WM3T, KF4OKG, WA4BKW, KG6AR,
K1WE/US5WE, N4GU, W4JAM, W0MAN, and K2XX.
Victor, K1WE/US5WE, from Lvov, Ukraine gave us some insights into
contesting and DXing from eastern Europe and the former Soviet
Union. Victor and his father, Vlad, U5WF, are both well known
DXers and contesters with reliable signals that most of us have
worked many times. He teased us all by showing off his freshly
arrived P5 card. Victor expressed a desire to join PVRC. Based on
his U.S. license and base in our chapter region, and previous
meetings with PVRC members, it was determined that he was
eligible for membership and was unanimously approved for
membership.
In other chapter business, an election committee consisting of
K4IQ, W4YE, and K1GG is being formed to determine what officers
the chapter should have and to field nominees for election to
those offices. It is anticipated that chapter elections will be
held in October or November. November will mark the fifth
anniversary of the founding of the SWVA chapter, and the chapter
leadership has essentially remained unchanged from the beginning.
Anthony, WM3T, has taken over the tracking of the 5 Million Point
award program from Pete, N4ZR. Anthony had much praise for the
job that Pete did in setting up and running the program.
At Anthony's suggestion, the chapter has decided to run a chapter
level version of the PVRC 5 Million award program. It will use
the same rules and structure as the club-wide program and will
run concurrently with it, but the scores will be based only on
scores within the chapter. This will hopefully increase the
competition and activity within the SWVA chapter.
Bill, WA4BKW, has finished his Elecraft K2 and has nothing but
praise for it. At the meeting-following-the-meeting in the
parking lot, Bill hooked it up to a mobile antenna and showed it
off. Bill has also taken over as president of the Old Dominion
QCWA chapter from W4YE in a bloodless coup, so the reins of power
remain in PVRC hands.
Nat, N4EL, and Emily, KA4BSA, took a cruise to KL7 this summer.
Nat took along his FT-817 with plans to experience what it was
like to be DX. But alas, the transmitter smoked while charging
the battery, so no Qs, no DX. But they still had lots of fun and
enjoyed the beauty of Alaska.
The formal meeting ended approximately 8:15 and the crowd drifted
out to the meeting-after-the-meeting in the parking lot.
The next meetings will be on October 4, and November 1, at the
Roanoke Restaurant, with dinner at 6:00.
PENNSYLVANIA MEETING MINUTES by Glenn Kurzenknabe, K3SWZ
A picnic was held on August 7, 2002 at the QTH of Glenn, K3SWZ in
New Cumberland, PA. PVRC members is attendance were K3SV, K3WC,
NE3H, W3RY, K3SWZ, and visitors W9QQ and W3SOX. XYL's also
attended. The discussion focused on the upcoming contest season.
K3SV told us about his new tower project. He hired a crane and
rode up in the bucket!
K3WC says he is going to get started on his crank-up tower
project! Hah!
NE3H shared information on the recent changes to the packet
cluster equipment in the area.
W3RY says ham radio is a winter sport!
K3SWZ explained what he has planned for 160 RX antennas this year
W9QQ explored the possibilities for solving K3WC's BCB intermod
problems
W3SOX said that he has antenna repairs to make while the WX is
good. (laughter!)
NE3H, W3RY and W3SOX all arrived in their sports cars!
All agreed that we need to have meetings on a regular basis. We
will discuss this with Steve, K3TZV and set a future date.
Possible programs will be video tapes of DXpeditions and a demo
of the 80 meter 4 square at K3SV.
Everyone ate too much and agreed that Glenn should host another
picnic soon!
CARROLL COUNTY MEETING AUGUST 9 (WITH TAILGATE-FEST UPDATE)
by Jim Nitzberg, WX3B
In attendance were to the August 9th meeting were members:
N3SB, AK3Z, K3STU, WX3B, K1RH, and K1RH/XYL
It's hard to believe that summer is almost over =FE and it was
delightful to have the PVRC gathering at Stables in Westminster,
MD. The stars of the show that evening were our two new guests =FE
K1RH (Rob Heath) and his wife Teresa.
Rob and his family (complete with 5 year old son Robert =FE a real
sweet child, I might add) moved into this area several years ago
and built a home on many, many acres of pristine Carroll County
land. It=FEs just a matter of time before some towers spring up =FE
though Rob is currently using Carolina Windom and 100 watts.
The weekend I met Rob was also the first weekend I worked him on
the air in the MD/DC QSO Party. This was Rob's first PVRC dinner
=FE but he shared with us his stories of hauling AB/577's and
equipment around for many hours to assist the Military style
field day operation at W3AO. One of Rob=FEs funnier stories
relayed the W3AO operators, at 3:00am, sleepily calling CQ while
pretending to nap at 3:00am. Everyone knows W3AO never sleeps!
We look forward to having Rob join PVRC in the very near future =FE
when he can learn the meaning of 200+/hour rates.
Stu, K3STU passed around his proud pictures of his latest
addition =FE and AB/577 50 foot tower sporting a nice Force 12 C-
3SS on it. The tower was planted in the woods =FE where it almost
blends in with the trees. Stu has had so much fun with his new
beam that he sold his amplifier!
John. AK3Z confessed that his wire antennas need a lot of
attention. He has an 80-meter dipole to re-string, and a 160
meter inverted L he wants to lavish some attention on. There
were some fairly serious remarks made about buying an enormous
amount of chicken fencing wire and laying down the groundwork for
a competitive radial field for 160. We're watching John's plans
carefully, because WX3B intends to take a page out of his book
once the signal gets big enough. John =FE please tell us when you
work your first VK on 160 this fall! The other noteworthy
announcement about AK3Z is that John actually has his shack
operating and ON THE AIR! He has been caught on 75 meters rag
chewing with WX3B =FE dispelling the rumor that AK3Z was a "contest
only" call sign. Tune between 3.777 and 3.810 and you never know
whom you might hear.
Steve, N3SB is busy building other people=FEs stations =FE
specifically, WX3B. The upgraded 15-meter operating position at
Jim=FEs house now sports a Kenwood TS-950SDX, an upgraded computer,
and a pristine Drake L-4B certified to put out 1400+ watts. All
of the equipment is on loan =FE and we are grateful to Steve for
this wonderful operating position. There=FEs only one thing better
than getting a new radio =FE and that=FEs having a friend lend you
his =FE thanks, Steve.
One last topic of conversation was bantered about by N3SB and
WX3B was the all you can eat, catered, gourmet experience we had
at Super-Station W4MYA in July. It was a great event where we
got to chat with many friends, and courtesy of Lilly (Bob's Wife)
we had a feast. We even had a pause for a big lightning storm as
the rains rolled through the country. A hearty thank you goes
out to Lilly and Bob Morris and their families for hosting such a
wonderful event.
Jim, WX3B has been daydreaming about properties ever since one
came across his desk while surfing on realtor.com. 26 Acres of
un-obstructed, flat land is available just minutes from
Westminster, MD for a reasonable price. Of course, there are a
few complications, such as Jim paying for the land, affording a
house, and getting the land to be "house worthy". Unfortunately,
the property sold before Jim could make an offer! Stay tuned for
more adventures of QTH searching as WX3B looks for the ideal home
to build his growing Multi-Multi station on. Meanwhile =FE a 10-
meter Quad and 36 foot mast sits in eager anticipation for 10
meters during next year's contest season. Finally WX3B will be
able to put a reasonable signal on 10/15/20 simultaneously. Now
it's back to work on low band receive antennas and a decent 160
inverted L.
The Carroll County TailgateFest was held Sunday August 11, 2002.
A PVRC sign-in sheet was passed around during the Carroll County
TailgateFest. Members present were: WX3B, N3SB, W3ARS, K3LP,
N3VOP, K3UG, N3YIM, N3ND and AK3Z. K1RH and son Robert were
guests =FE and this was Robert's 2nd PVRC meeting =FE all occurring
in one weekend. Unfortunately, we couldn't get 10 people
together at once to vote Robert into the club =FE so that will have
to wait until later this month.
A high-power, contest grade station was assembled by field day
master Clint, W3ARS. The club's AB/577 was installed with a
Cushcraft A-4 (four bands!) at 45 feet. The club station ran
stations with a KW and created a good stir on 15 and 20 meters.
Several new operators (never before on HF) enjoyed themselves.
The biggest smile on the face award belongs to veteran
Dxpeditioner David, K3LP. Within minutes, David turned a
lackluster band into a nice pileup =FE and began running stations
as if he were operating from P5. There=FEs something special about
David =FE there's Always a pileup when he=FEs on =FE no matter who he's
working.
It was good seeing many PVRC friends at our hamfest =FE and we had
so much fun with our special event station that there are rumors
about doing it again in October at our Mason-Dixon hamfest in
October. Hope everyone enjoys the remainder of their summer.
CVCC MEETING 9/10/02 by John Youell, W4TNX
We kicked off the fall contest season this evening starting with
dinner at the "Crazy Greek". Steve (K4EU) came down from the
Culpepper area and Paul (K4JA) and Bruce (W3BP) carpooled in from
Callao. Around 16 people were spread over four semi-adjacent
tables for some interesting radio chat prior to the meeting. We
were joined at the regular meeting place by about a half dozen
other folks for a decent crowd.
Bob (W4DR) opened the meeting at 7PM with greetings and a story
of how he has now entered the world of RTTY, with a key quest
being the P5 on 20 meters. While waiting for the opportunity to
get the P5, Bob made a schedule with Jon Rudy (ex-3DA0CA now in
DU land, who Bob is a QSL manager for). Bob heard Jon calling CQ
at the appointed time and answered him, but to no avail. After
the second attempt, Bob heard Jon work .... who else but the
P5/4L4FN! Neither one of the DX heard Bob, so he is still on the
lookout for both of those RTTY DX contacts. We went around the
room for introductions, any comments for / from the group and
offering up any unusual happenings over the past summer.
Following is a brief recap:
John (this author, W4TNX) tore a tendon on his right hand middle
finger sending high speed CW and it has to be in a splint for 6-8
weeks (lie, tore tendon jamming it on door);
Dennis (N4DEN) busy with our packet; Jon (W4HZ) has new 40M beam
up @ ~ 150 feet but needs work on rotator; Bob (NK4H) set new
record time for downing a plate of spaghetti at the =FEGreek=FE; Tom
(N4ZJ) put out an excellent newsletter this month; AJ (W4NM) says
we still have some money in the treasury despite what the last
Prez did to it!
Bruce (W3BP) has a new tower up and has 400 new Band Countries
(BC) this year; Steve (K4EU) reported on some of the activity at
Steve=FEs (NR4M) new developing M/M place in Orange County. Both
W3BP and K4EU will be operating with the Special Event call K4P
tomorrow (9/11), the anniversary of the terrorist attack on the
Pentagon.
Paul (K4JA) was the CW half of the NU1AW/4 IARU USA claimed high
score this summer; Ralph (N4EHJ) has a 3rd tower up and recently
celebrated his 50th wedding anniversary (congratulate your wife
Ralph!); Bob (W4MYA) was the SSB half of the NU1AW/4 IARU USA
claimed high score this summer; Roy (WK4Y) is at 197 new BC for
the year and is in awe of W3BP=FEs record this season!; AC (W4HJ)
is ready to test out his bargain rig from Dayton (an FT-847, I
think) on a trip to Maine next week; Ronnie (WU4G) is looking for
some leads in the IS/IT world and helped W4DR get into RTTY; Dave
(N4DWK) managed to break his heel this summer and is on crutches,
but still worked 8Q & TU and a few other DX to make the pain
less; Ed (NW4V) has made his second meeting and is now eligible
for CVCC membership and he is interested in contesting; Jerry
(K4KJL) and his XYL Marie (K4KML) were both pleased to have been
a part of the NU1AW/4 SSB effort at W4MYA=FEs; Guy (K4CNF) also was
a NU1 participant (I think, this is where my notes run off the
page!); Warren (KO4XB) worked a TF for new DX; Parke (N4KFT) has
a new 65 foot tower; Bill (K4WMA) was just glad to be here and
later, sponsored one of our club plaques.
Regular business stuff:
AJ gave the Treasurer's report and Dennis gave an update on
packet. Our packet is still missing a 440M link, although we have
an Internet link and a "long haul" connect to Lynchburg on 2M.
Roy gave an update on the Christmas dinner. He has tentatively
made reservations for us at the Steak and Ale at Glenside and
Broad on 12/10 from 6:30 to 8:30 PM. We need to have RSVP info to
them by 12/7 and there is an 18% gratuity and a charge for any
=FEshortages=FE in the numbers of persons reserved. We just need to
be prudent when we commit, in that it may cost the club.
The CVCC sponsors two yearly plaques, one for the most new Band
Countries (BCs) and one for the greatest % of needed BCs. This
way, both newcomers and oldtimers alike have a shot at the
awards. This year Bill (K4WMA) will sponsor the most new BC award
and Bob (W4MYA) will sponsor the greatest % increase in BC award.
Bob (W4DR) asked for a show of hands of those persons that may be
attending the Va. Beach Hamfest the end of September. It looked
like we may have about 8 =FE 10 folks interested. The Hamfest is in
the Pembrook Mall Area this year. Bob pointed out that Mel (WB3D)
is planning on coming (Mel was a member of our club for several
years, who moved to Fla. and was our unofficial attorney, helping
with bylaws and a county zoning hearing or two!).
Bob (W4DR) also discussed the need to investigate alternate
meeting sites. The current site will be sold within the next year
or two. AC will investigate the use of a free meeting room at
Chippenham Hospital. Ralph (N4EHJ) will check out the possibility
of a Northside site and Parke (N4KFT) will look into
possibilities around Mechanicsville.
Bob (W4MYA) handed out several Va. QSO Party Awards, including
the plaque for the High Va. Club Score. The Va. Club Score Plaque
was sponsored by the CVCC in memory of Bill Cox (W4DAA) The CVCC
had a total of 1.4 Million Points for an all-time record and it
was presented it to K4JA as the highest contributing station not
previously having received the award. Thanks Paul and Bruce! Bob
handed out several individual certificates to other contributing
operators, thanks to all who contributed! Our club station, W4ML,
got the certificate for High Multi/Operator at .988 Million
Points, which gives us a target to shoot for next year of 1
Million!
The program for the evening was a video of the VP8THU operation.
The video was well done and entertaining. Also entertaining was
watching the old and new CVCC presidents try to operate the video
equipment!
A good time was had by all and we look forward to an excellent
contest season.
NC CHAPTER SEPTEMBER MEETING by Guy Olinger, K2AV
The NC Chapter met 5 September 2002 at Ryan's Steakhouse,
Crossroads Plaza in Cary. Attending were N4CW Bert, K4CIA Bill,
K4QPL Jim, K3KO Brian, NI4S Andy, NT4D Jay, KO7X Alan, NX9T Jeff,
K4HA Bob, K4NYS Chuck, K2AV Guy, N4TL Tom, WW4M Jim, K4WES Wes.
QRM reduced to 20/9 for communications purposes at 6:20, late
mostly fault of chapter Pres K2AV, who got boxed in at work,
showing up late and actually having to eat during BS session.
Unable to bang on salad plate per usual to get everyone's
attention since it was still loaded. Might have been interpreted
as an inducement to a food fight. Or at least that was the excuse
that Carnac got. It seems to have some credence as the notes have
a problem with gravy stains. The attendance list was finally
completed by telling TRLog the list was a contest, and using
super-check partial to fill in the missing letters.
Unfortunately Carnac kept typing and fed in the notes as well.
Happy to report that you can put ANYTHING in Cabrillo format.
As it was the first meeting back after the summer hiatus, the
most popular song, which apparently has more verses than "99
Bottles of Beer on the Wall", was how Summer was too long, too
short, too hot, too cold, too dry, too wet, too inverted, too
busy, too many bugs, too many ..., to get any work done on
antennas.
Carnac has gone into a dither trying to compose an epic ballad
inspired by the September notes. Something based on a tune that
sounds a lot like "Mary had a little lamb". Verse 76 starts with
"Berty had a little amp, little amp, little amp..." Verse 77
starts with "Brian had a little amp, little amp..." Chapter
members are pre-warned not to let Carnac get toasted at the
October meeting and start singing.
NI4S: Summer was a bust. Something about a rash. Super-check
partial returned rush, rich, ratchet, as possible alternatives.
K3KO: Emerging from the notes: FT100 ... S. Pacific ... 6 ...
Full Power ... Swish ... Nostalgia. Which emerges from TRLog and
Cabrillo as: "K3KO took his FT100 to the South Pacific for 6
weeks and ran it at high power the whole time until it went swish
and left him with a lot of nostalgia". The line was flagged as a
dupe and a multiplier in TRLog.
K4QPL: (past most of the gravy stains) Did some multi stuff over
summer with KO4PY, field day at Jordan Lake, and others. Told a
story about a crowing rooster heard plainly in the
not-so-background on 40 SSB, giving new meaning to
"chicken-bander".
K4CIA: Complaining about bum summer and no AC in the Garage. Some
peanut gallery comment about doing stuff on the kitchen counter
instead, proving that Carnac has never been to finishing school.
N4CW: Reports doing WAE, State QSO parties, VHF test, WITHOUT
blowing up any amps. Under hypnosis and cross-examination later,
was forced to reveal that unknown to him at the time, the amp had
been unplugged all summer.
N4TL: Reports working much DX, and getting cards too. Also had a
run-in with Larry Lightning, zorching an Astron PS. The trauma of
it has him in a pathological ground rod driving frenzy.
K4NYS: Spent the summer at his daughter's wedding. TRLog would
not accept this entry as a valid QSO and had to post-edit this
line into the cabrillo.
K4HA: Had a terrible summer, built a new deck, and installed all
new windows. This WAS accepted as a valid QSO by TRLog. No
accounting for taste.
K4WES: Worked the RTTY contest and reports no ill-effects or
recurring nightmares.
NI4S: Hibernated all summer. Except did the IARU, which smoked
his computer. Anybody got the Intel manual which gives the
key-down times and CCS ratings of a Pentium III?
KO7X: Says he had a hard time relating to a NC summer. This
remark produced the only collective verbal pause in the meeting.
NT4D: Says that his rotor has been broke since SS. The first
query heard on that one was "when did he first notice it, or did
he deduce that".
WW4M: Ever the recruiter, reported on some classy newbies he
discovered over FD. Appropriate elmering functions engaged.
K2AV: Reported that Howie has finally figured out how to properly
string all the wires on the wire monster at N4AF (a lot more
complex than meets the eye), and now that wires are mostly in the
design relationships with each other, getting some very good
results. As in how does one work 500+ contacts in the YO contest.
As in being called by W4AN on 40 and told that he couldn't hear
the EU stations Howie was working.
On a general note, was agreed that most of us missed the meetings
over the summer, and would not skip the summer meetings next
year, but do them in varied settings. More to come on that.
Meeting turned over to miscellany and scientific BS at 7:10.
OVER-THE-HILL LUNCH BUNCH by Ben Shaver, AA4XU
Here are the attendees at the September 25 meeting of the PVRC
Over-The-Hill Lunch Bunch, who met in Falls Church, VA: K7CMZ
Mel Woods, W4DM Dale Harris, W6AXX Howard Leake, W3ZZ Gene
Zimmerman, AA4XU Ben Shaver, N3JT Jim Talens, W3AZ Bill Leavitt,
and W3GN Lawrence Fadner.
SHORT NOTES BY THE EDITOR
On Sept 27th, the ARRL announced that Gene Zimmerman, W3ZZ, will
be the new "World Above 50 MHz" editor starting with the
December issue.
While communicating with Chuck, K3FT, relative to CONSTESTIATA on
page 1, I learned that he scored in Top Ten W/VE 2001 ARRL 10M
contest as SO LP CW from the W3PP QTH. This was his first SO in
34 years of Ham radio.
Hal Kennedy, N4GG, was the winner of the QST Cover Plaque Award
for July for his article "The N4GG Array."
Pete Smith, N4ZR, announced that other impending responsibilities
make it necessary for him to clear the decks a little.
1. Howie, N4AF, has generously agreed to take over the
administration of the club web site. Please contact him for any
additions, corrections, etc. Pete will continue to maintain the
World HF Contest Station Database, housed on the PVRC web site.
2. Anthony, WM3T is the new czar of the 5M numbers, effective
with the August WAE contest, and will be working with Howie to
post 5M point totals on the web page, as before.
Bob Thames, K3RT, Laytonsville, MD is selling numerous towers
and associated rotators, hardline, coaxial cable, HF antenna, VHF
antennas, and hardware. Also radios, microphones, keyers, and
amplifiers. He may be reached at [email protected] or 301-253-
4050 (home).
S C O R E S by Bob Dannals, W2GG
Corrections, additions, etc email to [email protected].
### - missing data.
WAE CW 2002 Final 9/16/02
Single Op - High Power
CALL QSOs QTCs MULTs SCORE
K4JA 1509 1507 176 1,374,840
NY4A 1597 1592 162 1,321,716
N4CW 745 745 236 351,640
KT3Y 502 496 97 280,157
W3BP 622 621 66 190,026
W3GG 393 381 227 175,698
N4ZR 353 346 78 123,723
K3DI 260 259 90 111,066
N4MM 193 185 148 55,944
K3KO 200 0 58 25,400
KO7X 196 194 ### 65,520
N4GG 66 62 32 10,496
Single Op - Low Power
WJ9B 293 286 74 102,129
K4QPL 156 147 56 39,996
K2UOP 51 0 86 4,386
W2GG 12 10 9 396
DX
PJ2M 1413 1409 166 1,157,020
HA/W0YR 421 160 136 79,016
18 Logs. Club Score 5,469,169
Operators:
K4JA - K9GY
NY4A - N4AF
PJ2M - KD4D
WAE SSB 2002 #4 01-Oct-02
Single Op - High Power
CALL QSOs QTCs MULTs SCORE
W4MYA 1656 1485 187 1,366,062
N8II 1189 1160 152 765,774
AD4L 606 605 107 273,686
K3DI 340 337 257 173,989
N4GG 263 258 96 116,183
N3AM 230 228 197 90,226
KO7X 260 258 81 89,096
K2UOP 75 0 42 7,650
Single Op - Low Power
N1WR/3 703 686 145 449,064
N4MM 201 ### 162 64,638
N4JED 120 82 109 22,018
N3FNE 64 40 39 6,552
W2GG 33 30 ### 2,772
Multi-Op
K4JA 2147 1947 214 2,112,760
11 Logs. Club Score: 5,540,470
Operators:
K4JA - K4JA, K9GY, KE9I, W3BP
KO7X - at KI7WX
N1WR/3 - KD4D at N1WR
ARRL Sept VHF #4 01-Oct-02
Call Pwr Bands QSO Mult Total
Single Operator
K3DNE H 7 598 208 205,920
K2UOP H 9 263 113 52,658
W3EKT H 5 180 53 12,127
N3UM L 2 145 35 5,075
K3DSP L 2 100 38 3,800
W6AXX L 1 112 29 3,248
W3ARS L 3 104 ## 3,180
N3AM L 3 86 27 2,565
N3VOP L 4 68 18 1,530
W8ZA L 3 41 25 1,225
W4XP L 4 56 19 1,159
W2YE L 1 42 14 588
N4MM L # 34 17 578
W3KHZ L 2 30 11 330
K4NYS L 3 13 ## 150
N3FNE L 1 14 5 70
N4JED L 1 3 3 9
K1SO L 1 1 1 1
Rover
W3IY H 10 840 1,681 179,867
Multi-Op
W3SO H 4 757 176 176,176
16 Logs. Club Score 650,256
Operators (non-PVRC in parentheses):
W3SO - WR3Z K4VV AI3M K2PLF K3IXD W3YOZ K3RUQ N1WR W3TEF (KD3SA)
----------------------------------------------------