Just wanted to reply to this one myself. I am a "young" contester. Not
quite as young as KG8PE from the way it sounds though. I'm 21, and have been
interested in contesting for about a year now. Field day was my first
experience, but I really got hooked on contesting in the 1995 ARRL RTTY
Roundup. I had just gotten a new PK-232, and wanted to try it out. It just
happened that the RTTY Roundup was coming up in a few days, so I built
cables, got my computer set up with a database for some crude dupe checking
and logging, and then went at it. I had a BLAST. I never realized how alive
the bands can be with 100 watts into a trapped vertical until I worked a
contest. It is a real joy to get on in contests, and I am interested in
learning as much as possible.
It amazes me to this day that with my station at the time, C3S at 25 feet,
Heath SB-230, and a Ken TS-940, I was able to work europe on 15M from W6, and
austrilia on 10M at the bottom of the sunspot cycle during CQWW SSB. People
just need to get on the bands and call, and then listen to the small signals.
I have rescently moved to MA, and am now starting plans to upgrade my station
with a tower, some better antennas on 40, 80, and 160, including beverages
(I've got quite a bit of land to work with where I am now).
I hope to become more involved in contesting, and to become more knowledgable
through my experiences. I love this reflector becuase it provides a wealth
of knowledge and resources. Unfortunatly I won't be in Dayton this year, but
listen up next contest season, you might hear me in the pileups from Mass!
73, gl, es gud dx de Al Frugoli, KE6BER/1, KE6BER1@aol.com
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