K3SA wrote:
>> 12) If you had the power to change one and only one aspect of
>> contesting, what would you recommend?
>> Not change Sweepstakes, but start a new domestic SS contest
> in which you can work each station on each band. This
> would (hopefully) reduce the Sunday pm slow times.
Gee, the non-contest types already hate us. I'm not sure where
we would fit another such contest on the schedule.
Oh yeah... eh,eh... I forgot... we already have a domestic contest
where you can work the same guy on six bands (and accumulate mults
to boot!!) It's the North American QSO Party and the summer edition
is just around the corner. Heck, even DX can participate in this one
if they so choose. See you all the first weekend in August from...
uh, somewhere...
Mike N0BSH
n0bsh@aol.com
(Since PINS and mugs the only REALLY slow time I've experienced was
the last 7 hours last year in SS Phone. The rig blew up - running QRP -
and I had no backup) . .
>From jholly@hposl42.cup.hp.com (Jim Hollenback) Sun Jul 17 20:21:18 1994
From: jholly@hposl42.cup.hp.com (Jim Hollenback) (Jim Hollenback)
Subject: who is this?
Message-ID: <9407171221.ZM24069@hpwsmjh.cup.hp.com>
We interrupt the normal program to bring you this trival question ...
I recently returned from the Seattle area and while bobing around on
Puget Sound I noticed a fair sized collection of steel and Aluminum
at the point of Foulweather Bluff. Who is this? Any stats on the
antenna?
We now return you to the regularly scheduled programming on power ..
73, Jim, WA6SDM
jholly@cup.hp.com
>From oo7@astro.as.utexas.edu (Derek Wills) Sun Jul 17 20:33:01 1994
From: oo7@astro.as.utexas.edu (Derek Wills) (Derek Wills)
Subject: Another SS-type contest???
Message-ID: <9407171933.AA25594@astro.as.utexas.edu>
>>> Not change Sweepstakes, but start a new domestic SS contest
>> in which you can work each station on each band. This
>> would (hopefully) reduce the Sunday pm slow times.
>Gee, the non-contest types already hate us. I'm not sure where
>we would fit another such contest on the schedule. [N0BSH]
Perhaps this goes along with the question about setting aside
certain frequency ranges for contests, so that the non-contest
types are not completely blown off the band.
I would actually favor restricting our contest bands, if at the same
time we restricted ragchewing (defined as anything other than contesting)
to the remaining part of each band. Somehow I don't see this happening,
but to me one of the saddest things is to hear juicy DX underneath the
ragchewing-over-coffee-at-the-same-time-every-day types. Of course,
this happens outside contests too.
The rig blew up - running QRP - and I had no backup . .
I think we have to redefine what QRP means on this group, it
may be the current term for "no more than a few KW".
Derek AA5BT, G3NMX
oo7@astro.as.utexas.edu
>From Robert Wood <w5robert@blkbox.COM> Sun Jul 17 20:31:00 1994
From: Robert Wood <w5robert@blkbox.COM> (Robert Wood)
Subject: 1994 CQ Contest Survey
Message-ID: <9407171431.aa20031@blkbox.COM>
>
> 2) Who do you recommend should be the next inductee into the
> CQ Contest Hall of Fame?
>
>
W5WMU - This boy has got some serious AL up in the air.
73 Robert WB5CRG
>From H. Ward Silver" <hwardsil@seattleu.edu Sun Jul 17 23:56:17 1994
From: H. Ward Silver" <hwardsil@seattleu.edu (H. Ward Silver)
Subject: who is this?
Message-ID: <Pine.3.07.9407171512.A2814-a100000@bach.seattleu.edu>
On Sun, 17 Jul 1994, Jim Hollenback wrote:
>
> I recently returned from the Seattle area and while bobing around on
> Puget Sound I noticed a fair sized collection of steel and Aluminum
> at the point of Foulweather Bluff. Who is this? Any stats on the
> antenna?
>
This is W6RR's QTH. Used to be the home of W7RM in the seventies until a
massive windstorm that also took out the Hood Canal floating bridge. RR
has a 3-el 80m yagi up, plus lots of other goodies. But I never hear him
on the air, maybe he's one of the "owners" of 3795 ;-) Not too far away
is the also impressive aluminum farm of W7XR on the other side of the
Sound. Salt water does offer its advantages!!
73, Ward N0AX
>From tim.ellam@logical.cuc.ab.ca (Tim Ellam) Mon Jul 18 00:35:00 1994
From: tim.ellam@logical.cuc.ab.ca (Tim Ellam) (Tim Ellam)
Subject: Power, or lack thereof
Message-ID: <55048.1000.uupcb@logical.cuc.ab.ca>
In the SS phone 2 years ago a fellow in W4 refused to believe I was
running QRP(real QRP!) and refused to log my exchange..."hell" he said "
your 30 over 9 no way you are running QRP". After a heated debate(I
needed the mult) I moved on called CQ and had a mini pile up for 10min.
Allthe stations who called me commented on the big signal, but it did
not last and I was back to the old S&P grind
Propagation can be a big equalizer no matter what power you run!
NB: most RSGB contests wont allow you to enter in that catagory if you
are using a "regular" rig tuned to 5W, you have to use a "QRP" radio. I
guess they are concerned some will be tempted to turn up the gain when
the going gets tough...but they dont have the same stipulation that
entrants in the "high power" catagorymust only use a amp capable of
400W...why not???
Tim VE6SH
----
+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Logical Solutions Computer Systems Inc. Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
| Internet: logical.cuc.ab.ca (403)-299-9900 24 Lines |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
>From oo7@astro.as.utexas.edu (Derek Wills) Sun Jul 17 22:53:21 1994
From: oo7@astro.as.utexas.edu (Derek Wills) (Derek Wills)
Subject: Power, or lack thereof
Message-ID: <9407180253.AA01167@astro.as.utexas.edu>
Remember how loud HC8A was in the last CQWW-ssb? His amp failed
at the start of the contest and he started an hour or so late with
5 watts instead. Great path to HC8, he was at least S9 on 10m.
I called him with 5 watts for fun and told him that, he said that
I was not that much over S9 there...
Just imagine what he would have sounded like with a kilowatt.
Those of you who believe in S-units should ponder the following.
I did a test with a VK, who said that I was S9 + 60dB (hmm), so
I turned off the SB-220 and he said I dropped to S5. If one
S-point is 6 dB, that's a difference of 84 dB or about a factor
of 250 million. So if I was running 100 W without the amp, I
must have been running 25 billion watts with it on - or conversely,
if I was running 1 KW with it on, the transceiver alone was putting
out 4-millionths of a watt.
Does anyone look at the S-meter in giving signal reports? Are we
really using 6 dB per S unit when we say that one person is S5 and
another is S9? People have told me "well, a factor of 4 in power
is only one S-unit, so it doesn't make that much difference".
A factor of 4 is a factor of 4...
I give S9 to anyone who is obviously loud, S5 when I can hardly
hear the person, and S7 to a respectable but not overpowering
signal - do people really believe in finer distinctions?
OK, this is the contest reflector and we all know that everyone
is S9 all the time...
Derek AA5BT, G3NMX
oo7@astro.as.utexas.edu
>From Steve Fraasch <sfraasch@ATK.COM> Mon Jul 18 16:46:00 1994
From: Steve Fraasch <sfraasch@ATK.COM> (Steve Fraasch)
Subject: Elevated GPs
Message-ID: <2E2AA3E4@msm2.ATK.COM>
Doug:
About a year ago, I conducted an analytical experiment on NEC (not MININEC)
to verify Al Christman's claim that a ground mounted vertical w/120 radials
was as efffective as an elevated vertical, .05 to .1 lambda off the ground
with only 4 radials. I found out something different.
I ran 4, 8, 12 and 16 radial cases, over average earth, (conductivity 10
mMhos/m, er = 15), and the 16 radial case was far superior, by almost 2 dB.
The peak gain occurred at a lower angle as well, but I don't remember where
(the data's at home - I'm at work). The drive impedance seemed to converge
to within 1 ohms Re|Z| from 12 to 16 radials. Why did I stop at 16? Because
the compiled version could not handle additional wires at a single node.
Certainly, it would be interesting to determine the knee in both the gain,
and drive impedance curves. I've not yet re-compiled the NEC source code on
workstation, but when I do someday, I'll try this and report the results.
Also, I found that neither the half-wave, nor quarter wave radial length was
the "hot tip." Best performance was obtained with a 3/8 wave, or 100'
radial for 75 meters (3.790 Mhz).
My point is that AT LEAST 16, not 4 radials, is required for high efficiency
using an elevated vertical over average earth conditions. However, I cannot
speak for all ground conditions. Noting the change from 8, to 12, to 16, it
seems drive impedance and gain were well converged.
As far as a 50' elevated vert on 160m: sure, it will work, but with low
bandwidth and lower efficiency unless you've got those 16 or more radials.
You will want to add as much top loading as possible, to "pull" the current
as high as possible, resulting in a higher Re|Z| (radiation resistance),
resulting in higher efficiency. Again NEC, (not MININEC) is well suited for
determining drive impedance and gain. If you're using the NOSC NEC version,
you must use the Norton-Sommerfeld extension to solve for the lossy ground
plane effect. MININEC will provide totally bogus numbers if you're
attempting to analyze elevated vertical systems over lossy ground (i.e.
average earth conditions).
Steve, K0SF
sfraasch@atk.com
>From jholly@hposl42.cup.hp.com (Jim Hollenback) Mon Jul 18 15:32:36 1994
From: jholly@hposl42.cup.hp.com (Jim Hollenback) (Jim Hollenback)
Subject: who this is
Message-ID: <9407180732.ZM26272@hpwsmjh.cup.hp.com>
Thanks all. The votes are for W6RR. The three element yagi on 80 sure
caught my eye!
73, Jim, WA6SDM
jholly@cup.hp.com
>From Ronald D. Rossi" <rrossi@VNET.IBM.COM Mon Jul 18 13:58:20 1994
From: Ronald D. Rossi" <rrossi@VNET.IBM.COM (Ronald D. Rossi)
Subject: SOUPED
I would be willing to bet that SOUPED derives from some form of super
and that SUPED just spelled funny. Like a souped up car or whatever.
It's likely that the word came from the pronunciation and was
assumed to be souped then becoming soup. The dictionary has souped-up
and nothing for suped. Doesn't language evolve nicely?
Ron Rossi
/====================================================================/
/ IBM Microelectronics Internet: rrossi@vnet.ibm.com /
/ H/P ASIC SRAM Design VNET: RROSSI at BTVLABVM /
/ Dept N93 Bldg 861-2 Voice: 802/769-7477 /
/ 1000 River Road RF: N1PBT/AE /
/ Essex Junction, VT 05452-4299 /
/ /
/ "I work for IBM, I don't represent its views!" /
/ /
/====================================================================/
>From Steve Harrison <sharriso@sysplan.com> Mon Jul 18 16:43:14 1994
From: Steve Harrison <sharriso@sysplan.com> (Steve Harrison)
Subject: Where to measure the power?
Message-ID: <Pine.3.87.9407181114.A18856-0100000@eagle>
On Fri, 15 Jul 1994, Dick Dievendorff wrote:
>
> I have observed that there are vast cultural differences regarding "following
> the rules" or "doing the right thing". For a graphic example, visit the
> hovercraft port at Folkestone. The crowd consists of generally English and
> French. The English are very adept at standing in lines (queues). The French
> attitude seems to be, "You English can stand in line if you wish, that is your
> choice. I'll get to the front as fast as I can." I don't believe that the
> French (or Italians, or Russians or whatever) really think that they're doing
> anything at all wrong. The notion of obeying a "rule" when you have little
> chance of being caught is not a universally accepted concept.
OH! Is THAT why there are so many idiotic drivers on the east
coast of the good ole U.S. of A....they are all really French or
Italians or Russians in disguise...Steve, KO0U/4
>From Lunt, Billy" <blunt@arrl.org Mon Jul 18 17:02:00 1994
From: Lunt, Billy" <blunt@arrl.org (Lunt, Billy)
Subject: New VHF Rover Rules
Message-ID: <2E2AA7DB@arrl.org>
The American Radio Relay League
225 Main Street, Newington CT USA 06111
Telephone: 203-666-1541
Telefax: 203-665-7531
MCI Mail ID: 450-7394
Internet: contest@arrl.org
CONTEST NEWS RELEASE
July 18, 1994 For Further Information Contact:
Billy Lunt, KR1R
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Rover Rules Adopted
Today, the ARRL Awards Committee voted unanimously to accept a
recommendation to modify rover category rules for the January VHF
Sweepstakes, June VHF QSO Party and September VHF QSO Party. The new rules,
proposed by W3EP, are as follows:
Rule 1 (C) Rover: A rover consists of one or two operators of a single
station that moves among two or more grid locators during the contest. A
rover vehicle may transport only one station using a single call sign; thus
a rover may not operate with multiple call signs under the family rule 7
(C). Rover vehicles must transport all the equipment, power supplies, and
antennas used at each operating site. This rule is not intended to prevent
an operator from using the same call sign to submit separate logs for
single-operator (fixed station) and rover-class entries. Rovers add rover
on phone and /R on CW after their call signs.
Rule 4 (D) Rovers only: The total rover score is the sum of the scores made
from each grid locator. Submit separate logs for each grid where operating
sites were established and score them individually, as explained in
paragraphs (A)-(C) above. Then add the scores from each grid on the summary
sheet for the total rover score. Rovers are listed in the published contest
results under the division from which the highest aggregate score was made.
[For the January VHF Sweepstakes only:] Rovers entering club competition
must indicate the grid locators where operating sites were within 175 miles
of the club s center. Only scores made from those grid locations count for
club competition.
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