KG8PE, how did you get interested in contesting?

[KE6BER1 at aol.com]

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 at aol.com

>From n3rr at cais.cais.com (Bill Hider)  Tue Feb 27 00:51:05 1996
From: n3rr at cais.cais.com (Bill Hider) (Bill Hider)
Date: Mon, 26 Feb 1996 19:51:05 -0500
Subject: Clg QSOs via Packet and others...
Message-ID: <199602270051.TAA26277 at cais.cais.com>

At 03:22 PM 2/25/96, py2ny at sp-gw.py2bjo.ampr.org wrote:
>N4ZR wrote about packet use to call people band to band.
>This isn't the only problem with packet use and other bad tips, specially in my
>area.
>I  can't accept packet use to spot myself. Even if rules avoid this way, people
>wiil try to get other person spotting his call to get multipliers on the bands.
>All problems related by N4ZR had no easy solutions... Rules isn't the matter HI
>HI. I know that many hams here are fighting like Single Operator no-assistance,

******************************************************

>but  I  can  see them on DX CLuster. 

There is a feature of PacketCluster (tm) that allows you to be connected and
yet only PUTOUT spots but not receive them. Any SYSOP can initiate this for
a user station. (I used this feature for many years while a single-op
single-band 20 M in the ARRL DX CW contests).

CT also allows single ops (UNassisted) to provide spots to the cluster and
does not send spots to the single op.  (I used this in the recent CQ160 CW
contest).  

Either way, the station would show up on the PacketCluster (tm) as being
connected.  So, let's be careful when analyzing these types of situations.

Bill, N3RR

*******************************************************

>Many other trying low power (like me), but
>with 1 KW (not like me...) ! ! !
>Packet has conditions to be under our eyes, and we need to relate bad operators
>to  Contest  Organizations.  Power and antennas (let's wait new WPX categories)
>isn't easy to get under rules, but only for ethical condition of each operator.
>Sorry,  I  don't know to write well in English... 73 and hope to see many of mu
>contest  friends  in  Dayton  Hamvention  (my  wife  and  me are thinking to be
>present) ! ! ! 73 73 from Vitor,  PY2NY  -  PW2N in contests...
>