Dayton 2014 - Contest University

Crowne Plaza Home of The Before, During and After Parties

As our Dayton plans became a reality, one of the events I wanted to attend was the Contest University (CTU) which was held at the Crowne Plaza on the Thursday before the Hamvention. The plan was for me to spend the day here and by the time the seminars were over, my close friend Sean, KL1SF and his family would have arrived at Dayton. I was up early and had my wife drop me off about 30 minutes before registration began. It was a short night as we did not arrive until very late on Wednesday night. Our hotel was about 20 minutes away (normal traffic) from the Crowne Plaza hotel. Even though I was still recovering from our 13 hour drive and late arrival the night before, no snooze button was abused as this was a ham radio event I was excited to attend!

Once I arrived and picked up my Contest University bag of goodies, I grabbed a few small items from the breakfast buffet. I found my seat toward the front of the crowded room and enjoyed my wake-up cup of coffee and light breakfast. I then turned my focused on all those hams in the same room. I started looking at all the callsign badges being worn by all those in attendance. Like a quality control inspector candling at an egg packaging factory, my focus was on all those badges going by me.  

I struck up a conversation with Jim, K5ND who was sitting directly behind me. Jim is very active with Radio Scouting and it was very interesting speaking with Jim in regards to this part of the hobby he is very passionate about. You can find more information at the K2BSA website. I had been involved with scouting at an early age but sadly, nothing in regards to radio was ever discussed around our campfires.

Contest University began with Tim, K3LR welcoming everyone. Tim explained the days happenings and how things were going to play out throughout the remainder of the day. Tim was followed by Randy, K5ZD who discussed Radio Sport Contesting. This is the second time I've heard Randy talk about ham radio. Randy is a great public speaker and his topic, "Let's Do This Right - Radio Sport Contesting" was yet another fantastic presentation. The presentation focused on playing the game (contesting) honestly and fairly. 

Contesting Salon (Room)

For those who have never attended Contest University, there were four Contest Topic Sessions going on at the same time. You review the list (schedule) and decide which topic session (Salon or room) you want to attend. If there happened to be a conflict and two of your favorites were being presented at the same time, there was also a voted rerun of the most popular presentations later in the day. This made it possible (at least for me) to snag a session I missed earlier due to the time conflict. I actually looked at the list prior to leaving for Dayton, so I had my sessions picked out before hand. Each of these sessions are lead by well known contesters and subject matter experts. These sessions ran close to an hour in length and were packed with great information.   

The sessions I attended during the morning and early afternoon are listed below. Of course there were a few sessions I would of liked to attend but I've never perfected being in more than one place at a time. So, I was SO1R, Single Operator 1 Room. Here are those sessions that were at the top of my list to attend;

• The Best Hints to Becoming a Better Contester - N0AX
• The Essentials of RTTY Contesting - W0YK
• Advanced RTTY Contest - W0YK
• The DX Cluster, CW Skimmers & The Reverse Beacon - N6TV

Signing the Attendance Poster

The first session was very informative and Ward covered the basics of becoming a better contester. Anyone starting out in contesting would find Ward's presentation full of great information. The 2nd and 3rd presentations I attended covered my favorite contesting digital mode, RTTY (Radio Teletype). Ed's RTTY sessions were extremely packed with information with little time for Q&A. Thankfully the afternoon sessions were an open discussion format for getting any questions answered that one might have. The Advanced RTTY session was similar to the Essentials of RTTY Contesting session but did expand on a few topics a little bit more. After Ed's Advanced RTTY Contest session, we rolled into lunch. Lunch was of the boxed variety and immediately after lunch, Doug, K1DG gave a presentation regarding the World Radiosport Team Competition (WRTC). It was then followed by Tim, K3LR speaking on Radio Contesting's Future.

During lunch, the highlight for me was meeting Kevin, KL7KY. I had heard Kevin on the radio during many contests while living in Alaska and it was great to finally put a face with a callsign. I sat with Kevin and a few of his fellow Alaskan hams at the Contest Dinner but I will expand on that more in a future blog post. 

The afternoon session by N6TV, Bob covered many of the current modern day spotting methods for Morse Code (CW) and how it all works. One of the things I was excited to learn about was the graphing ability, post contest, from data captured from the Skimmers and the Reverse Beacon Network. In short, it gives you a visual presentation of your signal in regards to how it was being heard around the globe. Also, like a traffic camera at a busy intersection, the Skimmers and Reverse Beacon Network are helping to curb cheating and those who are breaking the rules. Skimmers have sure changed the game in my humble opinion. I prefer contesting unassisted so the only impact I saw was the immediate and crazy pileups when I operated CW contests while in Alaska as KL8DX. You no sooner found a run frequency and the masses showed up. Kinda reminds me of hunting at a hunt club. You can now operate a large part of a contest without touching your VFO. You can continuously click spots on your bandmap and log contacts. But one must remember, not everything spotted is accurate. I bust enough of my own callsigns, I don't need anyone else's help ;0)

Graduate Certficate

I did not attend the entire afternoon sessions as I was more excited to see Sean and his family when they arrived. It had been a few years since we last saw them. They visited with us in Alaska a few years ago on one of their return trips. I did however listen in on a few of the question and answer sessions prior to my early departure. Even though I did not get to attend all the sessions I wanted, it was well worth attending Contest University 2014. The topics were great and the only thing that would of made the experience better would of been if I could have attended all the sessions. Each attendee took home a nice bag of goodies and you know us hams, we love our grab bags of stuff! In the grab bag of stuff was a Contesting University book which had the slides from each of the PowerPoint presentations. So even though I did not get to attend all the sessions, I can still go back and read through each of the slides when time allows.

A tip of the hat goes to Tim, K3LR and all the instructors. There is obviously lots of time and effort that goes into putting Contesting University together. It has something for everyone, even if you are not into contesting. Icom and DX Engineering along with other sponsors made this event possible. I can now cross one more event from my Bucket List.   

Doin' Dayton 2014

Dayton Hamvention 2014

This year was finally the year that I made the Dayton Hamvention. It was made special as it combined a family trip with a family reunion of sorts. Our long time Hamily (hams that are family) Sean, KL1SF and his wife Mindy, KL1MF met us at Dayton. We had not seen them for a few years so this made Dayton even more special.

My wife (KL8SU) and I left MA the Wednesday before the Hamvention as I had reservations for Contest University on Thursday morning. Sean and Mindy were due to arrive in Dayton on Thursday afternoon. The plan was going to be, the guys would do the Hamvention and the girls would do...well, what girls do when their ham husbands do radio stuff.  And that is exactly how it played out. I had surprised Sean with tickets to Saturday nights Contest Dinner. We would then wake up on Sunday morning, have a nice breakfast together and head our separate ways. Sean and Mindy were winding down on their vacation and ours was just getting started.

After Dayton, my wife and I headed to central Ohio and spend a few days with the kids and grand kids. From there, we headed to Northern Ohio to our old stomping grounds near Lake Erie to see a few more of our friends and family before heading back to MA over the Memorial holiday weekend. 

Dayton Hamvention led to some personal sensory overload but it was exciting to finally put faces to many a callsign I had worked over the years. In my next few blog entries, I will highlight most of my activities at Dayton. The weather could not have been better (we did get a little rain and hail) but no complaints from this ham. I did make a few purchases but I did not over overindulge so it was a financially successful trip as well. Unlike Sean, I was not limited to carry on so that is what I'm most proud of. I could have fit plenty in the back of the family car. 

As life gets back to normal and our daily grind is about to begin yet again, Dayton turned out to be the medicine that I needed. Spending a large part of my life living in the Buckeye state, it's hard to believe this was my very first time at Dayton. Better late than never, right? I'm sure it won't be my last trip but it was certainly fun seeing all the ham vehicles driving around Dayton. From hairdo's to vehicles, there were plenty of antennas roaming Dayton Ohio for the Hamvention weekend. 

Ham Stuff

Name Badge From Ham Crazy

Since I'm finding myself attending a few more ham social functions now being the lower 48, I was shopping for a callsign badge. I've had great luck with my callsign hats using Astrid's (WM8C) and I recently used Ham Crazy for my callsign badge. I have no financial interest in either of these companies, I'm only a very satisfied customer. 

I ordered my callsign badge on the 15th of this month and it was in my mailbox on the 18th! My scanner does not capture the true color of my callsign badge but it's as you can see on their website. Great quality and I did change up my order a bit. I did not want my QTH printed on the badge as I see it changing a few more times over the next few years. I opted for my previous callsigns instead of my town and state. It was professionally done and I'm impressed with the order to my doorstep time. As we get close to the BIG Hamvention, it was time for me to update my wearable signage, which I've done with both companies. 

YCCC - The Contesting Echelon in my Backyard

ID - Contest Style

I spent yesterday afternoon (Saturday) attending the Yankee Clipper Contest Club (YCCC) meeting in Sturbridge, MA. I very much enjoy contesting so once we relocated, taking the advice from a well known contester or two in Alaska, this was the club I wanted to join once we got settled. I fall within the clubs radius (territory) which works out perfectly. The only downside to this entire scenario is my main station is disassembled and I won't be able (with my current situation) to help with other than a minimal score on those contest weekends I participate in. My goal is to eventually help out with some multi-operator stations if I can. Since I run indoors and mostly QRP now, it limits my ability for any high scoring contribution. But, they are glad for any points the membership can contribute. I just know I'm capable of much more but I'm limited by my current setup. I feel like Tony Stewart running a NASCAR race in a 1974 Pinto.  

Attending these meetings, I'm in the company of many of the elite of the contesting world. The club is made up of seasoned and well known contesters along with newcomers who are just getting started. Meetings, such as the one I attended yesterday, can be very beneficial in learning the basics and beyond of contesting. Just as one would sit in a college classroom and learn from their instructor, this is a room full experienced contesters, all of whom are encyclopedia's of contesting know-how. 

The club meeting consisted of a few club presentations, one of which being on the top of my "can't wait to see" list. The first presentation was a detailed slideshow of the planning and building of the contest station owned by Fred & Anita Kemmerer, AB1OC and AB1QB. They have a very nice blog which details their station build. This, like many other stations we read about, is a station I personally could only dream of. However, it's a perfect testament that even with the smallest of stations, it's always worth coming up with a plan after research and before one breaks ground. Anita, like myself, loves the digital modes. Their presentation was extremely detailed and informative even if areas were a bit out of my knowledge comfort zone. The highlight for me was seeing that I had worked Anita, AB1QB from my station in Alaska. They did a nice graphical Google Earth element during their presentation that showed the calls and different countries (entities) they had worked. I got a quick glance at my old call as their presentation scanned over their impressive globe of QSO's.

The second presentation was the one I was even more excited about. Randy, K5ZD put on a great slideshow titled, "How to be a better single operator" and this is where I fall into the contesting mix. I'm always looking for that next tool or piece of advice that will help me increase my contest score. Randy's advice is something of value to ALL contesters, new and old. I've worked Randy many times over the years and he's certainly one to learn from. And, you should recognize Randy's callsign from the CQ Contest World. His signature and callsign are on many of my CQ Contest Awards. I happened to mention to Randy some of the headaches I dealt with on my run frequencies during contests. I would get miss spotted on the DX Cluster and I would immediately start to get several duplicate QSO's. I'd work them, but too many would take what they see on the Cluster as gospel. I would give my call after each and every QSO but I still would end up with several duplicates in most of the major CW contests. And don't guess on callsigns, if you're not sure, ask! Some more great advice by Randy. I used to see many bust my call when I operated in Alaska. One of those contests I summarized my Log Checking Report (LCR) from the CQ World Wide CW DX Contest. In there, are a few I copied incorrectly, many of which were prime examples by Randy. I'm at times challenged being fatigued with the letters "S" and "H" during CW contests, especially if the other station is sending like they having been drinking Red Bull for hours. 

The final presentation was given by Chet, N8RA. His presentation titled, "Field Day from a Sailboat" was very interesting as well. We hams often have a desire to operate in the strangest (and coolest) places. Chet presented his challenges in setting up antenna's on the sailboat but in the end, it was a successful adventure. I also learned some information regarding tides which I had not known previously. 

Even though I did not make a single ham radio QSO, it was a highly productive ham radio Saturday! As the club and many others prepare for WRTC, it's going to be a Northeastern Ham Radio Event like no other. I'm hoping to help where I can but that time appears to be in conflict with the dates of us finding and settling into our next QTH. 

JT9 Transmitted & Received

First JT9 QSO

My very first QSO on JT9 was with PA3FOE just a few minutes ago. Success! I was running my indoor Buddipole antenna with my Icom IC-703+ at 4 watts. Since I was logging with an older version of Ham Radio Deluxe (HRD) Logbook, I had to add the mode as it was not in my drop down menu. Once that was added, in the logbook my QSO went. Not a bad start but I'm finding the bands less than favorable today (Saturday). Obviously, this is when software generated weak signals modes will shine. Roughly a 3,500 mile QSO from MA to the Netherlands. Also, my Buddipole is being a bit stubborn today tuning the different bands. Or maybe the coil taps (clips) are bit more challenging for my ageing eyes today. Running a Buddipole indoors is a bit more challenging to tune (obviously) as there is plenty to effect the SWR. 

JT9, My Next Experimental Mode

First JT9 Decodes by AK2MA

I finally downloaded WSJT-X so I can experiment with JT9. Since I have run JT65A for a few years, this has a familiar feel to it. There are some differences in which I will need to familiarize myself with. Since I'm running QRP for much of my operating here, this will be another great weak signal mode to snag some juicy DX with. 

I decided to just monitor 40 meters tonight to see what I can hear. I probably won't attempt my first QSO with this mode until the weekend but I wanted to start getting familiar with it. The download was quick and the install was very easy. The program was decoding once I got the initial set-up completed (selecting the com port along with adding my callsign and grid square). 

Hamspots JT9 & JT65 Spots with my first DX spot - G3VGZ

Once I saw stations decoding, I set it up to report to the web those stations that I was hearing. This is where I will leave it run, in receive only mode. I prefer not to jump immediately into new software and start making QSO's. It's time now to sit back, read the manual (yes, that thing that we normally don't do) and then when I'm comfortable enough with the software, I'll throw out my first CQ's. I'm sure this will help me in my low band, QRP pursuit of snagging some countries that would otherwise be tough with my minimized set-up. 

I recently ordered a refurbished laptop which I plan on using as my main ham computer. Once it arrives, my desktop will be retired and the laptop will be my casual operating & contest computer. Since I won't have a dedicated hamshack for several more years, it's time I consolidate and downsize.  

Bouncing Around the Globe, QRP Style.

TV Tray Set-up

This weekend was yet another JT65A weekend for me. I saw that 10 meters appeared to be active so on Saturday, I set the Buddipole up for that band. It was not long before I was decoding some very nice signals out of Europe. My first QSO came shortly after 1800z with OK1JKV. I was running 3-5 watts all weekend, not exceeding my band defying QRP wattage. And as the sun progressed westward, the propagation did as well. I copied several stations that I would have loved to have a QSO with but a few of the signals were just a bit on the light side. Strong enough to decode but at -24dB, there was not much hope for my JT65A QRP signal with the others also calling the same stations I had an interest in.

Close but No Cigar

One of the exciting moments for me over the weekend was when I saw that VK2QQ answered my CQ. I was elated to finally hear and possibly work into VK'land! Sadly, that's as far as the QSO went. I went back to VK2QQ a few times with no luck. So, it was close but no cigar! I know that I will have future opportunities and if anything, I now know when to start listening. Actually, if it were easy, it would not be as much fun. If you click on screen shot to the right, you will see that VK7DZ was also working stations and I had a copy on a QSO a few minutes earlier from that station. 

QRP 3 Watts

As I've mentioned so many times blogging over the years, 10 meters is my favorite band. You just never know where it will take you when the band opens. You can work the band with pretty much any antenna with great results. Novice Enhancement opened up 10 meters to hams years ago and it's been a great watering hole ever since. It was one of the first bands I really cut my teeth on and some of the best DX I've worked has been on this band. The other advantage to this band is that it's very broad, running from 28.000 on up to 29.700. There is plenty of room to have fun no matter what mode you prefer to operate. 

AK2MA Table Top DX Station

With the weekend still pretty busy, I was able to let the JT65HF software decode and keep an eye on the band as I went about my other weekend activities. When I'm not operating, I will try to leave the software so that it uploads what I'm hearing. When I'm operating, I also like to see where I'm being heard so I keep my iPad handy connected to hamspots. It's always very interesting to see how well I'm being heard in various directions and by which stations. My little corner of the kitchen is just that, little. But for now, it suits me just fine. As I ponder the thought of permanently downsizing my station, I'm trying to put together the best small station that I can. I've been impressed with the 703's ability on the digital modes. It's obviously not my 756PRO but it's a great compact rig. 

DK2HX Indoor antenna to indoor antenna

When I logged into eQSL I had several cards waiting for QSO confirmation. One of which is pictured to the left. This was a bit unique as both Heinz and I were running indoor antenna's according to his comment at the bottom of his QSL card. Heinz was running 8 watts to his indoor magnetic loop antenna and I was running 5 watts (actually a tad less) with my indoor Buddipole. So, a perfect example what is possible when the band is open. A QSO over 3,500 miles away with a few watts feeding into indoor antenna's, both ways. With some good weak signal software and the right propagation, DX easily falls into the logbook just as it did for me this weekend. I'm hoping to venture on to JT9 here soon as well. I've heard a few hams mention it. That's the grand beauty of this hobby, there is something for everyone!