Marital Bliss and Contesting

[N0bsh at aol.com]

Here's an idea:

How about inviting a newcomer (to ham radio, to contesting) over to take the
reigns of your station for a few contests.  Show 'em the ropes!!  Many new
ops - both young and old - don't have the resources to put together a
"serious" station.  They'd love the chance to play with "real stuff."

The Positives:

     1)  You get to spend more time with your spouse.
     2)  Newguy has fun using a good station.
     3)  Your investment does not sit idle.
     4)  Your call still goes out over the air and shows up in the 
           results.
     5)  Another new contester is born.

The Negatives:

     1)  Newguy may get good enough, build his own station, and 
          start beating you in all the contests!!!  :-)  :-)  :-)


73  Mike  N0BSH
n0bsh at aol.com


>From AGDM25A at prodigy.com ( KEVIN - WA8ZDT)  Sun Sep  4 19:17:53 1994
From: AGDM25A at prodigy.com ( KEVIN - WA8ZDT) ( KEVIN - WA8ZDT)
Date: Sun, 04 Sep 1994 14:17:53 EDT
Subject: WOMEN SUMMRY
Message-ID: <013.01220119.AGDM25A at prodigy.com>

Summary - Women .... now there is a  contradiction.  Can there ever be a
summary on this subject? The social question of integrating family and
social obligations with contesting defies the normal precise technical
answers to subjects routinely discussed on this reflector.  Nonetheless,
many contesters responded....

N0AX wondered why so many contest weekends seem to fall on holidays.  CQWW
PHONE often interferes with Halloween activities.  (Last year it WAS xactly
on October 31).  CQWWCW is always Thanksgiving weekend.  (The busiest
travel and family reunion holiday of the year according to airlines).
CQWPX CW is ALWAYS Memorial Day weekend, (the traditional start of summer),
and the ARRL DX PHONE occasionally coincides with Valentine's Day, February
14th.  (try roses Saturday afternoon after the European run but before the
evening JA run on 15 meters)...

One far thinking chapp advised that a hams check the contest calendar
BEFORE scheduling their wedding date!  That way future anniversaries won't
interfere with traditional contest weekends!  (Avoid November).....

Other folks suggested "trading" a weekend of "quality time" for a contest
weekend.  Let's see .... there are four major contest weekends in OCT-NOV
... so we'll reserve four weekends of "quality time" from SEP -thru- OCT
... Then there's the four weekends of tower and antenna work to prepare the
station .... and hey!  when do you watch the COWBOYS game??????

Finally a number of respondents suggested a new "single-op attached"
category which would allow compensation for the social and family
distractions one might reasonably encounter while attempting to lock
himself in the shack all weekend.  Something like (1) special ten minute
time out exemption to the thirty minute rule in case one's XYL calls on the
landline.  (because you've already locked the shack door)...

Numerous other responses sympathized with the problem but offered no
solutions.  One exasperated ham hypothesized that serious top-ten
contesting and marriage are mutually xclusive.

       "... I doubt there will ever be a way to fully merge the two"

Some folks in fact admitted that contesting activities carried them all the
way to divorce court.....

   ..... "I sold the towers and the HENRY 2K to cover attorney fees"

I also received one response from a YL, who dismissed the WOMEN & CQ topic
as male "whining".....                      88's & 73 ... kevn ... WA8ZDT


>From H. Ward Silver" <hwardsil at seattleu.edu  Sun Sep  4 20:08:10 1994
From: H. Ward Silver" <hwardsil at seattleu.edu (H. Ward Silver)
Date: Sun, 4 Sep 1994 12:08:10 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: WRTC Complaints
Message-ID: <Pine.3.07.9409041208.D19153-a100000 at bach.seattleu.edu>


We had multiple teams from US and UA in WRTC '90, so I wouldn't think it
out of the question to have more than one team per zone.  The logistic
limit of number of hosts, etc. would put a serious brake on opening it up.
 Have there been applications, yet?  Maybe the problem will partially
solve itself due to participation.

By the way, if anybody deserves to be listened to on the subject of
contesting, it's probably K3EST and N6AA, two of the powerhouses behind
the CQWW.  I will still support whatever the WRTC committee chooses to do,
though.

Ward, N0AX



>From oo7 at astro.as.utexas.edu (Derek Wills)  Sun Sep  4 21:46:08 1994
From: oo7 at astro.as.utexas.edu (Derek Wills) (Derek Wills)
Date: Sun, 4 Sep 94 15:46:08 CDT
Subject: WOMEN SUMMRY
Message-ID: <9409042046.AA14561 at astro.as.utexas.edu>

	I also received one response from a YL, who dismissed the 
        WOMEN & CQ topic as male "whining".....     ... WA8ZDT

Well, if you are taking votes, add mine to the above.

How many serious contesters and DXers really fall for the 
commercial things like Valentine's Day?  If that stops you
from taking part in a contest, you need to Get a Life[tm].

Gee, if your wife only gets your attention a few times a year, 
you are in a bad way.   I know (or I hope) you meant the posting
to be humorous, but it wouldn't strike me that way if I were not
male.  

I think we need more contests, and less of this 'male superiority'
stuff!

Derek Wills (AA5BT, G3NMX)
Department of Astronomy, University of Texas, 
Austin TX 78712.  (512-471-1392)
oo7 at astro.as.utexas.edu 

>From KG6AR at ix.netcom.com (CHRIS WILLIAMS)  Mon Sep  5 00:01:10 1994
From: KG6AR at ix.netcom.com (CHRIS WILLIAMS) (CHRIS WILLIAMS)
Date: Sun, 4 Sep 1994 16:01:10 -0700
Subject: No subject
Message-ID: <199409042301.QAA26679 at ix.ix.netcom.com>

     CQWW Phone 1994

     ZF2JI  Multi-Single entry by John Ataway K4IIF and others.
     John is the DX Editor of World Radio.

     QSL is via KG6AR  Chris Williams
                       1117 S. Del Mar Ave.
                       San Gabriel, Ca. 91776

>From modular!liddy!eric at cs.arizona.edu (Eric Gustafson)  Tue Sep  6 17:24:00 1994
From: modular!liddy!eric at cs.arizona.edu (Eric Gustafson) (Eric Gustafson)
Date: Tue, 6 Sep 94 09:24 MST
Subject: No subject
Message-ID: <m0qi3Jt-00009bC at liddy>

To: arizona!w8hd.org!stevem
CC: cq-contest at tgv.com
In-reply-to: <199409040037.UAA27305 at w8hd.w8hd.org> (arizona!w8hd.org!stevem)
Subject: Re: Vertical Yagi antennas


Steve,

To say that the ground is not important to your vertically polarized yagi
is a bit of an oversimplification.  The ground conditions around that
antenna are certainly important to the performance of the antenna.  But the
ground _that you can do anything about_ (i.e. right under the antenna) is
indeed not a terribly important consideration.

73,  Eric  N7CL


>From Rick, K7GM" <AONISWAN at ECUVM.CIS.ECU.EDU  Mon Sep  5 15:39:23 1994
From: Rick, K7GM" <AONISWAN at ECUVM.CIS.ECU.EDU (Rick, K7GM)
Date: Mon, 05 Sep 94 10:39:23 EDT
Subject: Feb 95 Sprint Dates

     As was pointed out by N1EE, the dates for the February 1995 Sprints
are messed up.  I moved the CW weekend after Phone, but forgot to move
them up.
     Note that the September 1994 weekends are listed ok.
     For Feb 95, Phone is on Feb 5 GMT and CW is on Feb 12 GMT.  The
applicable part of the rules should be:

4.  Contest Periods.  0000 through 0359 UTC.  CW Sprints are September 11,
1994 (Saturday night, September 10, local time) and February 12, 1995 (Saturday
night, February 11, local time).  Phone Sprints are September 18, 1994
(Saturday night September 17, local time) and February 5, 1995 (Saturday
night February 4, local time).  These are two entirely separate four-hour
Sprints.  An entrant may submit scores for one or more Sprints, but he
may not combine his scores.  Note that the CW sprint is first in September
and second in February.


     Sorry for the confusion.


                           Rick, K7GM
                           aoniswan at ecuvm.cis.ecu.edu

>From Richard Hallman <0006135537 at mcimail.com>  Tue Sep  6 00:29:00 1994
From: Richard Hallman <0006135537 at mcimail.com> (Richard Hallman)
Date: Mon, 5 Sep 94 18:29 EST
Subject: 40-2CD Balun???
Message-ID: <30940905232903/0006135537NA2EM at MCIMAIL.COM>

    I just noticed my Coax balun on my 40-2cd 40 meter beam has 
gone into self-destruction!     

   Need to know what is the BEST balun to install on this antenna.
Also the antenna is 10 feet ABOVE the top of the tower and I sometimes
load the 40 meter antenna on other bands....Not on purpose though! 
Need something that will not BLOW apart when something like this happends
and is VERY forgiving!!    Dont want to pull the TOP antenna down and
replace the balun every time I screw up and load it with the wrong band.

          Thanks!      Rich  KI3V/7  KI3V at mcimail.com