W1AW followup

frenaye at pcnet.com frenaye at pcnet.com
Fri Aug 4 00:09:44 EDT 1995


Dave asked that this note to N3ADL be copied to the contest reflector. - Tom

---------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Dave Sumner, K1ZZ   dsumner at arrl.org
To: N3ADL
Subject: W1AW
Date: Thursday, August 03, 1995 6:29PM

Dear Doug:

Your July 16 posting to the cq-contest reflector has recently been called to 
my attention. I do not follow the discussions on the reflector unless 
someone forwards something to me, so I do not know what other comments you 
may have received in response to your posting. Permit me to share my 
perspective as the trustee of W1AW, and to offer my somewhat belated thanks 
to the contributions you have made to several W1AW operations.

The IARU HF World Championship was inaugurated in 1986, replacing the IARU 
Radiosport Championship. In the first running of the new event W1AW was 
quite active from the regular station location, placing fourth among HQ 
stations with a crew made up mostly of ARRL HQ staff members. The object was 
to make the unique "ARRL" multiplier available to participants, not 
necessarily to compete.

In 1987 a somewhat less ambitious effort, again mostly by ARRL HQ staff 
members, placed 8th. A similar effort in 1988 netted another 8th place 
finish. While these scores were not particularly impressive, each year W1AW 
was generally available as a multiplier to serious competitors and thousands 
of QSOs were made.

In 1989, W1AW was in the throes of renovation. A modest single-operator 
effort by staffer KJ4KB provided 760 QSOs and placed 9th.

The "new" W1AW was first available for HF World Championship operation in 
1990. This was the first of the "guest operator" efforts that you referred 
to in your posting. The team made a good effort, returning W1AW to the 4th 
position that it had attained the first year and more importantly, giving 
out 5,169 QSOs. The 1991 effort, the first in which I find you listed as an 
operator, was similar (4th place, about half as many QSOs owing to poor 
conditions). In 1992 was another respectable effort that placed 5th because 
of the appearance of ZA1A.

Things sagged a bit in 1993, and W1AW dropped to 10th place. I remember that 
year quite well, and being surprised that I had beaten the W1AW score as a 
CW-only single-op (albeit from England). The 1994 effort from W1AW was well 
below par: 11th place and just 1,734 QSOs. I remember Rich Gelber being most 
apologetic when I ran into him at the New England Division Convention that 
fall; at the time I didn't know what he was apologizing for, as I had not 
seen the scores. Not to detract from the efforts of the operators, who were 
severely short-handed, I think everyone can agree that 1994 (and for 
understandable reasons, 1989) fell short of what we should be providing as 
opportunities to work the unique "ARRL" multiplier.

That was all I knew about IARU HF World Championship operations from W1AW 
when the subject came up in May, in a conversation with ARRL Vice President 
Tom Frenaye, K1KI. I had no knowledge of any plans for 1995 and judging by 
the lackluster results in 1994, had no reason to believe there were any. 
Indeed, it was not until June 12 that Bob Reed asked Chuck Hutchinson, K8CH, 
for permission to organize an operation for this year. By that time, I had 
already informed Chuck about two weeks earlier that Tom was in charge of 
this year's operation from his station. Bob didn't wait for a go-ahead from 
Chuck and instead began planning with Jeff Bauer, WA1MBK. I don't question 
Bob's good faith; Jeff was not aware that other plans had been made (because 
they didn't involve the regular W1AW facilities). However, it was quite a 
shock to find out, on June 19, that Bob was recruiting operators via e-mail 
postings dated June 16. I regret that your own plans were disrupted; not 
only was this unintentional, I didn't even know about it until after the 
contest.

Incidentally, of the 9 operators at Tom's station just 4 of us are presently 
on the ARRL HQ staff. Tom himself is, of course, the third-ranking volunteer 
nationally in the ARRL organization. The team was essentially Tom's regular 
multi-multi crew with a couple of hangers-on (such as myself -- previously I 
had only operated from Tom's once). The operations in the early years of the 
contest were much more heavily staff oriented than this year's.

There are three other points on which I should comment.

1. Use of the W1AW call sign off-site. It's true that as trustee, I am 
reluctant to authorize such operations. The only times they have been 
authorized in the recent past have been for Field Day, the ARRL National 
Convention, and the 1989 IARU Region 2 Conference in Orlando. Tom persuaded 
me that this year, when members have had to rally in opposition to W5YI's 
petition that would terminate W1AW HF bulletin and code practice service, we 
should have a high-profile presence. The enormous good will that we 
encountered on the air from rank-and-file amateurs bears out his judgment in 
this regard.

2. Multiple-site HQ operations. They are not as widespread as you suggest. 
For example, it is my understanding that until this year the German 
operation, most recently as DA0HQ, has been conducted from a single location 
(actually two locations very close to one another, i.e., within the normal 
circle for a multi-op). The Hungarians are reputed to have been the first to 
use multiple sites, and some others have followed in their footsteps 
(although not necessarily with big antennas -- I'm told the 40-meter CW 
antenna at S50HQ this year was a ground plane, and the operation, albeit 
from multiple sites, was more like Field Day than a serious DX contest). Tom 
and I discussed the possibility of doing this, but I was reluctant to depart 
from what I still regarded as the proper spirit of a single-site operation. 
It was not until two weeks before the contest, while I was attending the 
DARC convention in Friedrichshafen, that I heard the Germans were planning a 
multiple-site operation this year. Had I known that earlier, I might have 
felt differently about our own plans.

3. What do we do next year? This is a good question, and one I am not yet 
ready to answer. As W1AW trustee I feel pulled in several different 
directions. Should we try to compete seriously, or just to provide as many 
multipliers as possible to the competitors? How aggressive should operators 
signing W1AW be? The multiplier system used in the IARU contest makes it 
extremely difficult for a North American HQ station to compete with the 
Europeans, whether or not one uses multiple sites. The 1995 operators are 
understandably enthusiastic about their performance despite the limitations 
of the single site (albeit a better contest site than the regular W1AW 
facility). I cannot speak for Tom, who invested an enormous amount of energy 
in setting up 8 operating positions and reconfiguring his station for the 
unusual requirements of the contest that he might rather have spent 
improving his station in other ways, but if he is willing to host all or 
part of a similar operation next year it will be hard to say no based on 
this year's success and on the hundreds of hours he devotes to the ARRL each 
year in his volunteer capacity. One thing I will not do is to sanction an 
operation that spreads "W1AW" over, as you suggest, a 500-mile diameter; if 
one of our motivations is to compete with the Europeans, it seems to me to 
be completely contrary to the spirit of such a competition to take advantage 
of the fact that our country is geographically larger than theirs, and 
subject to dramatically different propagation in different places.

While I do not expect this to blunt your disappointment, I hope it will make 
you feel a little better about what happened.

73,
David Sumner, K1ZZ

[end forwarded message]

------------------------------------------------------
E-mail: frenaye at pcnet.com  
Tom Frenaye, K1KI, P O Box 386, West Suffield CT 06093
Phone: 203-668-5444



>From George Cook <george at epix.net>  Fri Aug  4 04:32:26 1995
From: George Cook <george at epix.net> (George Cook)
Date: Thu, 3 Aug 1995 23:32:26 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Call phonetics
Message-ID: <Pine.SUN.3.91.950803233054.11363B-100000 at grape.epix.net>

On Wed, 2 Aug 1995, Kenneth G. Kopp wrote:

> Guys, ya gotta admit that for a domestic voice contest,
> Kilo Zero Porta Potty is hard to beat.  Ya oughta hear
> the giggling callers! 
> 
> 73! de Ken Kopp/K0PP
> k0pp at mcimail.com
> 
> 

Oh I dunno about that!
Best wishes from:
Alpha Alpha Three Jockey Underwear


*************************************************
* George Cook   AA3JU  Bangor, PA  FN21         *
* george at peach.epix.net  AA3JU at N3IQD.EPA.USA.NA *
* If you're not FRC remember:...............    *
* .......There's no shame in being 2nd best!    *
*************************************************




>From Gary Schwartz <garyk9gs at solaria.sol.net>  Fri Aug  4 05:07:53 1995
From: Gary Schwartz <garyk9gs at solaria.sol.net> (Gary Schwartz)
Date: Thu, 3 Aug 1995 23:07:53 -0500 (CDT)
Subject: NON GLINT PAINT
Message-ID: <Pine.3.02.9508032349.B27951-a100000 at solaria.mil.wi.us>

On Wed, 2 Aug 1995, Ron Stone wrote:

> I need to paint a regular aluminum antenna so that it does not glint 
> in the sun. 
> 
> Suggestions please ?
> 

How about having it sandblasted??  It is pretty cheap, at least in the
States, and would last forever.  At least until the exposure to the air
would dull it anyway.

73,
Gary K9GS
         ________________________________________________________________
        |                                                                |
        | Gary Schwartz  K9GS           E-Mail: garyk9gs at solaria.sol.net |
        | Society of Midwest Contesters   Packet:K9GS at WA9KEC.WI.USA.NOAM |
        | Greater Milwaukee DX Association Member                        |
        |________________________________________________________________|






>From James White <0006492564 at mcimail.com>  Fri Aug  4 05:06:00 1995
From: James White <0006492564 at mcimail.com> (James White)
Date: Thu, 3 Aug 95 23:06 EST
Subject: Wedding invite!
Message-ID: <62950804040626/0006492564PK1EM at MCIMAIL.COM>


bum bum bum   dee dum dum  dum dee dum
bum bum bum   dee dum dum  dum dee dum
                          
and another one gone
and another one gone

another one bites the dust..... 





Seriously-good luck! Peace and happiness (mebbe some multipliers, too)

...sorry can't make it - unfortunately, there's a contest this weekend. 
                         **********************************************

                                                Jim zx


                           ^
                           |
                           |-----an important phrase for you to practice


>From Silvergran Jonathan, SEME" <L.J.Silvergran at telub.se  Fri Aug  4 08:23:00 1995
From: Silvergran Jonathan, SEME" <L.J.Silvergran at telub.se (Silvergran Jonathan, SEME)
Date: Fri, 04 Aug 95 07:25:00 +02
Subject: TOEC WW GRID CONTEST - The saga continue
Message-ID: <302CBA22 at noak>



Dispite the meager interest for the SSB test in June (see a separate posting
to this reflector) we would like to remind the contest community that the CW
portion is coming up in a few weeks. See the enclosed rules for all the
info you need.

I hope we can beat the SSB results... Wouldn't be too hard, but you never 
know...

Just a reminder...  Only three weeks left...

73
Jon, SM3OJR
Contest manager - Top Of Europe Contesters

 ------------------------------------------------------------------

                     TOEC WW GRID CONTEST

The Top Of Europe Contesters (TOEC) hereby has the pleasure to
invite all amateur radio stations world wide to participate in
the TOEC WW GRID CONTEST 1995. The contest is divided into two
separate events, one for CW and one for SSB. In 1994 the very
first attempt was called "TOEC field contest", but the name was
changed because many stations was confused by the name and thought
it was a field day. The word GRID is also probably more well
known on a world wide basis.

Definition: A "grid" is a 2x1 degree square, and a "field" is a
            20x10 degree square as defined by the Maidenhead
            system. Your national amateur radio society does
            probably have more detailed  information on grid
            squares.

SSB  2'nd weekend in June, Saturday 1200z - Sunday 1200z
     (1995: June 10-11)

CW   4'th weekend in August, Saturday 1200z - Sunday 1200z
     (1995: Aug 26-27)

Classes:

1) Single Operator. Packet Cluster is not allowed. Stations using
   packet is regarded as multi-operator.
a) All band
b) Single band
c) Low power, only all band. Maximum output power 100 W.

2) Multi Operator. Only all band. All stations must be located
   within 500 meters diameter.
a) Single Transmitter. Stations must remain on a band for at least
   10 minutes. Faster QSY allowed only for a new multiplier on
   another band.
b) Multi Transmitter.

3) Mobile stations. Only single op all band. If more than one field
   is activated, all stations may be contacted once per field and
   band. The log must clearly show the fields activated.

The winner in each country (or US/VE call area) and class will
receive a certificate, providing that a resonable QSO total has
been acheived.

General
160 - 10 m bands are allowed. (Not 10, 18 and 24 MHz)

Keep the following frequencies free from contest traffic:
CW  3500-3510, 7000-7010, 14000-14010, 21000-21010, 28000-28010
SSB 3600-3650, 3790-3800, 7040-7045, 14100-14125, 21100-21175, 28200-28300

Mobile stations includes both  /M and /MM stations.

Exchange
RST + grid identifier according to the Maidenhead system,
i.e. 599 JP73  (two letters + two figures)

Multiplier:
Each field (ie JP, KO, EM etc) worked gives 1 multiplier per band.

Scoring:
Fixed stations
QSO with stations outside your continent gives 3 points.
QSO with own continent (including QSO with same country) gives 1 point.
QSO with mobile stations gives 3 points, regardless of QTH.

Mobile stations
All QSO's gives 3 points.

Each station can be contacted once per band.
Exception: Mobile stations (both /M and /MM) may be contacted again,
           providing that the mobile station have changed field since
           the previous QSO. These additional QSO's gives no QSO
           points, only multiplier credit. Note! Mobile stations may
           credit QSO points for additional QSO's.

Final score:
Multiply the total QSO point score with the number of fields worked
on all bands.

Logs:
The log must be checked for dupes, correct scoring and multiplier
credits. Indicate the multipliers only the first time they are worked.
Use separate logs for each band. Include a summary sheet with the
regular contents, and a dupe-sheet for all bands with more than 300 QSO.

The log may be submitted on DOS-formatted disks. Use ASCII, CT or N6TR
style files. Name the file with your call. (i.e. SM3SGP.LOG) Enclose a
signed summary sheet. Send a SASE or SAE+1 IRC if you want confirmation
that the log has been received.

Logs can also be submitted via e-mail (Internet or X.400) Send the file
in the same format as above to one of the following addresses.

Internet:      toec at pobox.com  (preferred)  L.J.Silvergran at telub.se  (alt.)
X.400:         I=LJ;S=Silvergran;P=telub;A=400Net;C=se

A confirmation message will be sent to confirm that the log has been
received.

Deadline:
The log must be postmarked not later than 30 days after the contest.

Address:
TOEC, Box 2063, S-831 02 OSTERSUND Sweden


>From becker at shell.portal.com (Tony and Celia Becker)  Fri Aug  4 04:05:54 1995
From: becker at shell.portal.com (Tony and Celia Becker) (Tony and Celia Becker)
Date: Thu, 03 Aug 1995 23:05:54 -0400
Subject: Magazine and Bulletin addresses
Message-ID: <199508040609.XAA02892 at nova.unix.portal.com>

Hi All!

Can any one help me with the email, telephone number or mailing addresses of
the following:

1.  The DX Bulletin

2.  QRZ DX

3.  59(9)

Please respond by direct email.  

Thanks!

AE0M, Tony Becker - becker at shell.portal.com - Silicon Valley, U.S.A.


>From Marijan Miletic <s56a at ljutcp.hamradio.si>  Fri Aug  4 08:16:14 1995
From: Marijan Miletic <s56a at ljutcp.hamradio.si> (Marijan Miletic)
Date: Fri, 04 Aug 95 07:16:14 UTC
Subject: W1AW followup
Message-ID: <68380 at ljutcp.hamradio.si>

Hi contesters,
                                                                         
K1ZZ kindly mentioned my humble effort to contribute to our society head-
quarter's  station S50HQ in IARU contest with 10m high ground plane on
40m CW.  May I add that driving to S53M site I was hit by BIG OE truck
who overlooked RED traffic light.  It stoped on my trunk full of radios
and PC's but thanks to rigid USA Chrysler technology everything survived
(only SB-220 front was twisted by MLA-2500 sitting above it).

I admire W1AW participation in almost all IARU contest events and it
always makes a nice and reliable multiplier.

S50HQ showed up for the first time this year and we realised that we need
two signals per band only a week before contest as K3EST may witness!  
We had to spread in about 15 miles circle which does NOT contravene
this contest rules.  We know that our HA neighborougs claim even judicial
interpretation for their multi-multi national station in CQ WW contest
which we feel is against the spirit of rules.  In our case, the only
distinct antennas were 6+6 el. for 15m and 4 phased GP for 160m on ONE
sight and KLM 4 el. 40m beam and 5 el. 10m beam on second site.  All the
other antennas were "made in USA" KT34 and TH6 (SRI 4 GP for 80m on
separate site). 

Considering our higher number of hams per head of population then USA,
we may even beat W1AW although they made 10k QSO against our 8k.  

I'd prefer to operate from K1KI single site and pass multipliers and
especially good operators easily.

CU WAE & 73 de Mario, S56A, N1YU.

P.S.  Pse NO USA QRM in EU HF championship on Saturday!  I propossed
popular EU 100W power limit but many kW will polute air worldwide...



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