[CQ-Contest] Reducing Pain in Ears and Bum while Contesting

[Ed Sawyer]

"I have been contesting for many years and find that the pressure on the
ears from the headphones and the pressure on the butt from prolonged sitting
are both painful.  I use Heil headphones and asked them about the headphone
pressure problem at Dayton.  They said to just pull the sides apart and
stretch the band.  It won't break.  I know this sounds stupidly elementary,
but I was always afraid of breaking them so I had not tried this."

 

I found the Heil headsets, while wonderful, way too bulky to do 45 hours in
a contest without fatigue and even pain at the end.  I now use the Bose QC15
with a boom mic add on and it is wonderful.  The Heil sits in the draw as a
back up or when I multi op with my wife Christine, KB1PQN.

 

For sitting, I have found that once each day in the contest, standing for at
least an hour, helps a lot.  I am able to adjust the screen and prop up the
keyboard.  I usually do it during a pretty high rate hour since I am not
able to SO2R at the same time.

 

73

 

Ed  N1UR