RAC Winter Contest - 2020
Call: VE9AA
Operator(s): VE9AA
Station: VE9AA
Class: SOSB/20 HP
QTH: NB
Operating Time (hrs): 11:46
Summary:
Band CW Qs Ph Qs CW Mults Ph Mults
----------------------------------------
160:
80:
40:
20: 535 200 10 12
15:
10:
6:
2:
----------------------------------------
Total: 535 200 10 12 Total Score = 57,420
Club: Maritime Contest Club
Comments:
(two little puppydog eyes look waaaay up)
Auntie Coreen, Can I ask you a question?
Yes little nephew, what is it hon ?
Does Uncle Mike not like me anymore? (a tear welled up in the little boys eye)
That's silly, he loves you dear. (woman smiles)
How come Auntie, when I come over on weekends, he's always in his toy shop?
That's because he's contesting. (she says in a low voice)
Contesting? What's that?
It's a radio contest nephew.
You mean like when you are the 10th caller and you win a burger and fries from
that DJ on 105.3 The Fox FM radio?
No, not that kind of contest.
What kind then?
Well, it's a HAM radio contest.
Ham? Like what we have at Easter with pineapples?
No, Amateur Radio Ham, that kind.
Amateur radio. Hmmm. Is that why Uncle Mike has all those antennas
on his red car & all those wires in the fir trees ?
Yes hon, he's a ham radio guy, but mostly just on weekends.
But he seems so normal during the week Auntie. Is he OK? Like why does he do
these
contests Auntie? Can he win prizes or sumfin' ? (bewildered look comes over the
little
guys face)
Sometimes dear, sometimes.....(kinda tips head; not knowing what to say)
What has he won?
Oh, a bunch of wallpaper and a few plaques I guess. He got rice from one
contest in the Midwest and we enjoyed maple syrup from Nova Scotia this year.
If we open the door and are very quiet we can peek in on him doing his work and
have a look at his wall.
(creeeeeeak.....toy shop door opens slowwwwly)
(yelling) CQ CONTEST Victor Echo Nine Alpha Alpha, contest.....
Who is he talking to Auntie and where is this wallpaper?
Probably someone far away dear. His wallpaper are those certificates that come
in the mail now and again. See them on the wall there next to our pictures?
(yelling) Your 5-9 November Bravo
Who's November Bravo Auntie Coreen?
It’s us.
Us?
Yes, November Bravo means New Brunswick.
Huh?
It's phonetics. Each letter has its own word and hams use it to express what
they are spelling like you do in grade one. Spelling is always important.
I don't hear anyone talking to him.
That's because he has his headphones on.
Oh. Does he use them to hear far away people better?
Yes, and so the noise doesn't bother us also.
Noise?
(Uncle Mike takes off his headphones and a roar ensues.)
Delta Lima Italy Kilo One Papa Alpha Zulu Zulu Tango Mike Four
<(crackle/squeal)>
WOW Auntie, that IS loud. Please ask him to put his headphones back on.
We won't have to dear, he was just seeing if we wanted anything.
(she motions to Mike that everythings’ ok and to go back to his contest work)
-Mike looks over the top of his spectacles and goes back to work, huffing and
puffing, cheeks rosy as ever-
I heard a lot of loud voices Auntie.
Yes dear. A lot of people want New Brunswick.
Is that November Bravo?
Yes dear.
Why do they want it?
I guess its rare.
Rare like those red steaks he puts on the BBQ in the summer?
No dear. There aren't many contesting hams way up here in the snowy Arctic
regions of NB.
Oh....??.(little nephew looks down now, apparently scared)
Do they want to take November Bravo away?
No dear, they want to work your uncle Mike.
Work him? Doesn't he already have a job making toys for ‘Nicholas Toys’ all
year long?
Yes, but they want to make contact with him and put him in their log for
points.
Auntie, I really don't know what you are talking about now. There are so many
words that have these other meanings. (little head spinning)
They exchange numbers and letters and each person makes a note in their
computer program that they talked to the other and at the end, a board adds up
the points.
Board? Is that how they make the log?
No silly. I mean a group of trusted organizers add up everyones’ points and
determines who wins.
Who DOES win Auntie?
Many people dear. People do it mostly for fun and there are many classes.
I have classes at my school, Jingle Bell Elementary!
I have Math and Reading and even Spelling. I could write some notes and give
them to Uncle Mike and help him out !!!
Well, he has to talk to you on the radio to make it count, but if you smile at
Uncle Mike, I am sure he'll see you, even if he's yelling at someone.
Why is he yelling? Is he mad?
No he's not mad. It's just that there are lots of people from all over the
world on the radio all talking at once.....like remember when I took you to the
Christmas
shopping during that big sale at the N.Pole mall last week. Remember that big
crowd?
Do I ever! You lost me and I cried. I yelled and you yelled and we found each
other.
Well, it’s kinda like that Nephew, but with points for getting back together.
Will Uncle Mike always do this? I never see him anymore on the weekends.
No dear, he's promised to retire at midnight on New Years Eve.
Retire? Like Grampy Nick did?
Yes, put up his microphone and keyer up for most of the year and take it easy.
Easy - Uncle Mike?...but he's always tinkering with something....and what's a
keyer?
Well, a keyer is what makes those beeping noises you hear other times when he
unplugs his headphones. I think this weekend it's a multimode contest.
Mode.... Grampy Nick has his pie a la mode, I know that. That’s ice cream. Is
that the mode?
No, mode is like either talking or Morse Code rat-tat-tat (beeping) that kinda
mode.
Oh I heard that last weekend. Sounded like angry bees. Kinda scared me Auntie.
Yes, Uncle Mike deciphers those beeps and makes sense out of it in the same way
he does of all that yelling.
(unplugs headphones) _ ./..../.._ _ _ /_/ ...../_ ./_./ _ ./_. . .
Are those beeps what causes the Christmas lights to flash out by his antenna
above the shed?
When he's on 20meters, yes.
20 meters? You means those dials on his radio and other boxes. I counted 20
of them.
Well, sortof, it's when he puts on his amplifier, those lights really twinkle
! He works very hard to get his signal out to all the boys and girls, all over
the
globe. Sometimes in just one night !
Wow Auntie, I am glad he's going to retire. He seems so stressed.
He is dear, but I guess it's fun for him in his own way. After the contests he
reads all the letters and reports and nods his head and laughs until his belly
shakes and really looks forward to reading all the stories everyone writes. The
guy who made a Million points or even 100 points. They are all special to him.
(eyes get wide) A MILLION POINTS !
Yes and also, he's been pushing it real hard all year for MCC points dear, but
after Jan 1rst, he's only going to do it for WRTC points.
What are MCC points?
Hand me your Reindeer Antler smart phone nephew.
Nephew hands phone to Auntie gently.
(Auntie brings up www.maritimecontestclub.ca and then looks up the links for
MCC awards.
See these pages?
Oh, I see. (looks around not really getting it at all)
He gets a certain amount of points for every contest and then Roger adds
them all up for all the Maritimers in MCC, so they can have a friendly
competition
between one another and increase activity for our area here in the North.
(reindeer
walk across the yard, just outside the window)
Wow Auntie, that seems like a lot of work for just one plaque.
It is dear.
Why does he do it?
No one knows for sure.
Can't he just cut a board on his table saw? I saw him make you a bird house one
time. He made me a toy soldier. And those feeders for the reindeer out back.
His
workshop is full of wood.
Yes, but it's a challenge Nephew. I guess maybe that's why he does it.
So, after this MCC thing, there is a WRTC thing?
Yes.
What's that?
It's kinda like the Radio Olympics.
https://www.wrtc2022.it/
Olympics ! I know what they are Auntie. I watched them on TV. With bobsleds
and skiing like we do at JingleBell elementary.
I like the runners. They're fast.
Well, it's like that, but only for radio hams. They are all in a race.
And he has to be on again every weekend for another year?
No, only 5 or 10 contests a year for about 2½ years.
And he'll win a torch or a gold medal or a million points ?
Probably not dear. He just wants to see if he can get his callsign VE9AA to
climb up the standings a few more notches , only just for fun.
How many contests has he done this year?
Around 60, but some years over 100
100 ! ! ! WOW - Are there that many weekends in a year Auntie Coreen?
No hon, but often he does more than one a weekend. Sometimes he uses packet to
assist him, like having many little helpers to get the work done, like in the
woodshop.
WOW, Uncle Mike is crazy.
Uh-huh (she nods her head).
Is that why he drinks 3 cups of hot cocoa & coffee even before coffee break
in the
mornings? Grammy always makes those sugar cookies too.
Yes, well, he needs the caffeine & sugar to keep up with the other runners.
He's not as
young as he used to be you know. With a big belly and a greying beard and that
red shirt, he's showing his age during this festive season.
And does he know any of these other runner guys?
Some of them. He talks to people on the radio and gets letters and emails from
all over the world dear. Many are his friends, but some are naughty and he's
not friendly with them much because they have nasty signals and they're rude.
Today on his lunch break I made him some gingerbread man cookies and milk and he
told me that
special friends from India and Guam called him and the excitement on his face
was like you are on Christmas morning little one.
Where else has he talked to?
Well,. all over the world really. USA, Canada, many places in Europe like the
Netherlands we visited a couple years ago, remember that place?
Oh yes, I loved Holland ! So many tulips, windmills, chocolate , wooden shoes
and cheese....You're from there right? Is that why Sinter Klaas brought us
chocolate for our shoes the other night?
Yes dear. The Dutch people were very nice to us. Maybe if Uncle Mike gets off
the radio a bit we can save up and go back someday and see them again.
What other places has he talked to?
All kinds of places hon. I am sure Uncle Mike will tell us tomorrow where else
his signal have landed last night. I hear him saying "Arigato" now,
so
I think he just talked to Japan. He likes to be friendly with everyone.
And they understood him Auntie !! He can speak Japanese. Uncle Mike is Cool.
. (we better shut the workshop door, uncle Mike can't hear the weak signals now
as
it's getting dark)
Well hon, he just knows a few words and is just being friendly to all the boys
and
girls on the radio.
How many more contests does he have left this year?
Only a few. One of the last this year is the RAC WINTER contest, which is his
time to say Hello, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays and thank all his radio
friends for all the points they exchanged with him all year long. He enjoys the
BIG
contests and the QSO Parties too. After that is the big Stew.
Parties with Stew? Like Uncle Mike makes with the leftover turkey bones on
boxing day?
No dear, the Stew Perry. It's a Top Band contest.
Top...uhh..band? Is that a holiday music contest Auntie?
No, it's a special band very low on the dial and in this one where they award
points based on distance talked.
Like when I throw a snowball farther than little Tim Elfy next door and I win?
Sortof.
Uncle Mike really loves all this contesting stuff eh?
Yes dear, but it's been a hard year on him. So much to do at work and he misses
spending weekend time with his family at home. He's spent all year building up
these points in his workshop only to have them all go away like fairy dust on
New Years Eve.
That's why he's said he's going to do less contests from now on and take some
time off over the holidays to be with all of us like most other families are
doing around this time of year.
He really loves us Auntie, huh? (sniffles)
Yes dear. I bet all hams love their families. (gleams)
=====================================
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~*******************.~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from New Brunswick, Canada
Enjoy the celebrations of the season, regardless of your beliefs.
73 de VE9AA, Mike in "November Bravo" 8^)
Mike, Coreen & Corey
Keswick Ridge, NB
*QZB* = You\'re all zero beat ; pse use ur XIT +/- !
CU (all of a sudden) in the next one.
dit dit
Mike VE9AA in New Brunswick, Canada
(when I\\\'m SO2R)
2 X Icom IC-7410 and an assortment of arboreal based flexible antennas;
10m - Wire Gnd Plane, raised radials
15m - 5-el wire SVDA or Delta Loop
20m - Wire 4-Sq (raised radials) or Delta Loop
40m - Wire 4-Sq (raised radials)
80m - Wire 4-Sq (raised radials)
160m - Wire Inverted L (more like an inverted U or J) (raised radials)
When operating SO2R,a ZS6BKW @ 35feet w/15m add-on dple,only used for radio 2
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