uh oh Bob, I am in deep stuff now...you have now got an rx that allows you to
hear good - and all those guys who have been calling you for years that you
have lhad slip by, oh sh**.....and I thought I was in trouble with K1TO
moving into our section! This SS should be a LOT of fun from SFL.
73
zx
---------------------
Forwarded message:
From: n4bp@shadow.net (Bob Patten)
Sender: owner-cq-contest@tgv.com
Reply-to: n4bp@shadow.net (Bob Patten)
To: cq-contest@tgv.com
Just got my FT-1000MP a few days ago and so have not yet had the
opportunity to use it in a CONTEST..
One question I'm hoping an experienced user can answer for me..
I'm not accustomed to using QSK but would like to try it. As I interpret
the manual, I should be able to set a finite VOX delay (instead of the
default "0") with menu item 7-5 and be able to hit BK-IN to provide me
with QSK. I do have the VOX delay set for .24 seconds, but the same
delay remains even when selecting BK-IN. Is there another menu setting
that I'm not seeing, or is it not possible to turn QSK on and off by
means of the BK-IN switch.
Will be watching the various reflectors for tips & tricks with the
FT-1000MP as I learn to use its features. So far, I'm very impressed!
Bob Patten, N4BP
n4bp@shadow.net
>From n1ist@netcom.com (Michael L. Ardai) Wed Jul 3 05:34:24 1996
From: n1ist@netcom.com (Michael L. Ardai) (Michael L. Ardai)
Subject: Boston ARC 3A EMA WX1G
Message-ID: <199607030434.VAA04902@netcom5.netcom.com>
Boston Amateur Radio Club
3A, Low power
Operating from Larz Anderson Park, Brookline MA
Callsign: WX1G
Bonus total: 1020
362 phone contacts X 2 mult 724
(374 cw + 1 pkt) X 2 pts each X 2 mult 1500
Total: 3244
That's up from last year's score of 2464!
737 total contacts:
80 40 20 10 6 2 222 1.2 SAT
-------------------------------------
Phone 173 50 34 2 21 81 1 1 0
CW 119 190 60 0 2 1 0 0 3
Equipment:
TS930 into G5RV
TS130 into G5RV
Yaesu 690 Mark II into 6M dipole
Kenwood 2M Allmode (forget the model) into MFJ 3 elem beam for FM,
5 elem quad for SSB
Icom 24AT w/o battery into a duck for solar power
Icom 3SAT into duck for 220
Icom 120A into corner reflector for 1.2
2 Yaesu 736 into vertical and 2M/440 cross yagis for satelite
Honda 5KW generator for main power plus an older genny for Satelite City
and the coffee pot
>From garyk9gs@solaria.sol.net (Gary Schwartz) Wed Jul 3 06:50:07 1996
From: garyk9gs@solaria.sol.net (Gary Schwartz) (Gary Schwartz)
Subject: Summary 80M FD Antennas
Message-ID: <Pine.3.02.9607030007.A13636-f100000@solaria.sol.net>
On the Tuesday after Field Day I posted the following note=20
concerning FD antennas for 80M. This is a summary of the replies=20
that I have received. Thanks to everyone that replied.
Subject: =0980M Field Day antennas?
I'd be interested in learning what the big guns are using for FD
antennas on 80M. For the past two years, our group has used=20
a horizontal loop(full wave on 80M) at 40 feet on 80,40 and 20M. =20
On 40 and 20M, this thing works great. I've never had any problems=20
maintaining a run. 80M, OTOH, is a much different story. It seems as=20
if we can hear well and also do OK working guys S&P most of the time=20
but just cannot get any runs going.
I'm thinking that this may be due to several factors:
1) Getting on the band too late. (0600 or later) Perhaps the band is
too long by then?
2) Maybe all the QRN from all the summer storms makes it difficult for
the other stations to hear? This year, we used a ~400 foot Beverage on
receive and it really made a difference.
3) Maybe 80M just isn't the "bread-n-butter" band everyone thinks it is
in FD?
Anyway, I'd like to get some responses from FD ops that think the have
a really commanding signal on 80M and learn what they are using.
I'll summarize the replies for the reflector.
73,
Gary K9GS
And the replies..............................................
>From WB2DIN :
That's what I've been using and can't tell just how well it works for=20
us. With several non contesters wanting the all night active bands=20
and not the 40M QRM they go for 80M and the loop. Ours is about 30-35=20
feet high but the books say anywhere between 30-50 is good. I've=20
found our signal to be very good and dominant with the loop.
------------------
>From KE3Q:
I don't know if I'd say our sig was commanding, but we were able to run,=20
we were able to get and hold a freq, and I think we worked everyone and=20
were easily heard. Every year we use a dipole or inverted vee and I'd=20
think that's what I'd recommend. And I think we heard everyone that=20
called, just using that antenna, no beverage needed.
We were just one transmitter so we weren't on 80 from start to finish,=20
but we did work 300 stations on CW, no problem.
We started on 20 and when it got long we went to 80, worked 80 most of=20
the rest of Saturday evening and into the night and then went to 40, then=
=20
20 again, that was our basic band change strategy. Worked out well, 450=20
QSOs on 20, 300 on 80, 250 or so on 40 -- all CW -- then added 150 phone=20
QSOs on 40 at the end and a few CW QSOs on 15. 73
------------------
>From NS0B (operated at N0SS):
Gary - I think people's results on 80 in FD depend largely on where
they live in the country. You're close to the middle, like me, so
you should do well. Our FD group always makes 20-30% of its total
qso's on 80 mtrs, using a dipole (cut for 3.75 MHz!) at 20-30 ft.
This year we made 200 out of 950 cw QSO's there, which is probably
a smaller percentage than usual. This year the band didn't really
open up well until about 0700 UTC.
------------------
>From K0WA:
At W0BZN in Newton Kansas...we used a 80 meter Zepp at 40 feet. What I
liked about the antenna; 1) open line feeder gets the power to the antenna
to radiate, 2) you can use long runs of open line feeder to get the antenna
up high which might be far away from the operating position, and 3) the
thing plays well on 40 meters as well. Using a simple MFJ tuner, we could
use the thing al the way to 20 meters if we had too. We also had a 40 mete=
r
dipole at 40 feet and the Zepp out played the dipole. Also, we had a
Butternut vertical mounted 10 feet into the air with sloping radials and th=
e
Zepp out played that most of the time. As conditions changed, sometimes th=
e
Butternut would beat the Zepp, but the Zepp was by far the antenna of choic=
e
by the three CW FD operators.
>1) Getting on the band too late. (0600 or later) Perhaps the band is too
>long by then?
We got on 80 meters when we worked everyone we could hear on 40 meters. In
Kansas, in the summer, the noise on 80 is really bad. We try not to use th=
e
band at all on FD. I was surprised when I went to to 80 meters at 3am CDT,
that I worked just about 200 people on the band by 5:30. I was surprised I
could hear anyone on the band. Prior years had been a wash. Then I worked
a KL7 on the gray line and was over joyed!!!!
>2) Maybe all the QRN from all the summer storms makes it difficult for the
>other stations to hear? This year, we used a ~400 foot Beverage on
>receive and it really made a difference.
Yes...I would think that a Beverage on 80 would play well.
>3) Maybe 80M just isn't the "bread-n-butter" band everyone thinks it is in=
FD?
I've never liked 80 meters in the summer for a contest. I can hear
thunderstorms in the radio from a 500 mile radius here. If there are
Thunderstorms in Eastern Colorado...I avoid 80 meters and stick it out on 4=
0.
40 meters has always been my bread and butter band.
------------------
>From K1EPJ (ex AA1HJ):
I read your mail regarding your 80 meter loop with great interest.
I have been using the full wave loop antenna for about a year or so. The=20
top of the loop is at about 70-80 feet over sloping ground. I live in New=
=20
Hampshire on high ground and have a direct shot to Europe. With 100 watts I=
=20
can work into Europe without any problem when conditions and QRN levels=20
warrant. I have also worked VK9NS, 3B8CF, Africa, Japan etc. ... basically=
=20
anywhere in the world, as long as I get there first and don't have to=20
compete with a bunch of KW's in a pile up. I'm still trying to figure out=
=20
what the excitement is in working dx using 1500 watts.=20
The antenna is currently on the ground so that I can modify it with the=20
relay/insulator for 160. Meanwhile, I am using an alpha-delta sloper. The=
=20
difference in the antennas is remarkable. I have given up even trying to=20
work dx until I get the loop back in the air.=20
------------------
>From KD5PJ/9:
Hi Gary,
I have no idea if our FD group's 80m signal was "outstanding" or not, but I=
was
able to run the band in the wee hours. I took over around 0500z and got 14=
0 q's
in 3 hours. Not a great rate, but enough to keep me awake.
We were using a sloping 1/4 wave wire vertical. Top end supported by some =
near-
by trees, bottom by a ground stake. Laid out about 8 1/4 wave radials. Us=
ed
a 70' chunk of wire laid on the ground as a "poor mans bev" rx antenna.
We had lots of normal summertime noise on 80, hence the use of the rx anten=
na.
Your bev is a good idea. While the stations calling were not strong, they =
were
readable. Most were just above the noise floor of the FT1000.
Oh yeah... our group was the McHenry County Wireless Assn. and used the cal=
l
W9NB. Last year, using SMC member KS9W's call, we placed in top 5 class 3A=
.
We did even better this year!
Other SMC'ers present were W9KDX and myself. Not sure if K9BG is a member =
or
not, but should be. ( I agree! K9GS)
------------------
>From K0EJ:
Gary,=20
Don't know if we had a COMMANDING SIGNAL but had abt 400 Qs running a=20
TS450 to a dipole at 35' (K4CPO 3A TN with primary 80M ops W9WI and WA6KUI)=
.
------------------
>From KA9EKJ:
GM Gary,
All we used at W4ATD was a dipole sloped from the top of the courthouse
in Decatur (the peak was about 40 feet up). I started on 80 at 0500z
with some S & P and found a clear spot on 3770 at 0600. Maybe the RF
gods were with me that night, but it seemed like I had non-stop pileups
for the next 5 hours. (My average Q rate over 6 hours was 55 per with
paper logs). If the calls went away, I called CQ once and it seemed
like it started all over again. I had contacts from South Florida all
the way to Montana and Western Washington (tough, but I got it). I
couldn't hear the California & Oregon stations as I think the courthouse
blocked incoming signals from that direction.=20
------------------
>From W6EMS :
Hi, Gary. At K6TZ we decided this year to build two log-periodics, one=20
each for 40 and 80. We used the design from the ARRL Antenna Book,=20
p10-7. These antennas originally appeared in an article by John Uhl,=20
KV5E, in the August '86 issue of QST. I was intrigued by the design of=20
securing only one end at a reasonable height <50-75'> and the other end=20
at ground level. It also seemed like they would be fairly high angle of=20
radiation antennas which is what we wanted for FD. And because we're on=20
the left coast, we could just point 'em at 60 degrees and fire away.
The 80m antenna is LARGE. We secured the back end of it at 75' on the=20
clubs big crank-up tower. It used a 125' backstay. Longest element=20
150', boom length around 47', 4 elements, etc. Gain calculates around 4 dB=
i.
We put the 40m log on a 50' tower, immediately below a F12 C4.
Both of these antennas worked very well for us. We put them up and took=20
them down twice -- once during construction and once for FD.
I wish we had had the resources to also put up dipoles at comparable=20
heights for comparison purposes, but it was not to be.
I used both of them at the cw station for awhile. The 40 was very good;=20
the 80 seemed even better. I worked everyone I could hear, and I could=20
hear everybody. It didn't make any difference where people were --=20
local, midwest, east coast -- we worked them.
If you get serious about these, drop me a note. I have some construction=
=20
experience that's not in the article.
------------------
>From K8MR:
Gary,
The answer to your question is (4) all of the above, plus yet
another reason.
=20
The K8MR FD antenna (on all bands) is a 135 foot center fed (open
wire) dipole, about 60 feet high, broadside E-W. This seems to
do well; the same antenna even lower (40') was used with good
success at the K3LR Field Days in the 70's and early 80's.
=20
1. As a CW oriented 1-A we get to 80 before 0200Z. By 0600Z the
little guys have quit and gone to bed, and the big guys are busy
pushing the F1 button.
=20
2. The summertime QRM can indeed be a bitch. For us it was not
as bad as on our last outing two years ago, but still not
pleasant.
=20
3. You won't make as many QSOs on 80 as some make on 40 or 20:=20
as pointed out before, not many casual guys are passing out QSOs
at 0900Z. In the many 3-A efforts from K3LR, with a station
devoted to 80/20 CW, I don't think we ever made 400 QSOs on 80.=20
Compare this to any 20 meter score from 5-land.
=20
4. You are just too far west for 80 to be your band. Here in
Ohio we can tune 20 meters and do OK, but never do much by CQing
unless sporadic E opens the band to the east coast. You are
getting some of that effect on 80, being just too far from New
Jersey to stand out above all the other east coast clutter.
=20
In conclusion, just put up as high a dipole as you can and work
what you can work.
(350 80 CW QSOs this year, which pleasantly surprised me.)=20
------------------
>From WB2JSJ:
Gary,
80M FD antenna is a half wave fed with open wire line up 50 feet.
This works great for us in the Northeast.
During the summer, 80m can be your best friend or worse
nightmare. Last year, the noise level was very quiet and
conditions were very good. We maintained 100+ /hour in the wee
hours (0600z). The band continued good rates even past sunrise.
This year, on the other hand, it was a long night on 80m. The
static crashes topped over S-9. There was no long skip which
could be heard until 0800. Well before then, we had worked out
all of the close in stuff in 1,2, and 3 land. 20 meters didn't
produce for us after 0200 and 40m isn't even considered on phone
with the big BC out of Europe. As a result we had to tough it
out on 80m. Our cw station reported that 40m was a better choice
than 80m also. We could have probably strung a beverage to cut
down on the noise, but under FD conditions, we didn't want to
spend a week stretching out 1/4 mile of wire!
------------------
>From KM0L:
Gary-
On the KM0L FD we used just one antenna for hf- an HF6V vertical. We=20
managed over 1200 Q's with this, including 74 on 80 meters. We did run=20
some on 80 although we know our signal is not large. The wee hours are when=
=20
we find 80 to be productive- 3 to 6 AM. Since antennas for this band are=20
so large we do not believe there are a lot of FDers concentrating on 80.=20
40 is the bread & butter at night with 20 going during the day. In other=20
words, we believe not enough people go to the trouble to put up big=20
antennas for FD to make 80 and 160 worth spending much time on. Too much=20
activity on other bands.
My observations:
Might mention, in years past, when there were sunspots and better condx,=20
we have put up Delta loops on 80 and 40 with great success. I remember=20
the guys running 120 and 130 Q's in separate hours on 75 ssb. But no such=
=20
success in last few years.
------------------
>From WD8AUB:
I use a 40 meter double extended zepp fed with open wire feed. (plastic=20
coated, of course)
It is then fed through a tuner. Kicks butt. Over 400 cw qsos on 80=20
meters on our 1B - 2 ops at W8TK.
------------------
>From AD4Y:
Hi Gary,
I'm the 20/80 CW station manager for our club's FD in class 5A (K4BFT). We
use a 2 element "spider quad" on a 50 foot tower for 20, and an inverted ve=
e
for 80 suspended from two 10 foot lengths of radio shack TV masting stuck
into the short pipe coupling the rotator and the quad spider. This mast ha=
s
a long (12" or so) 1/4-20 eyebolt bent at a right angle and jamnutted
through a ballbearing which is slipped into the end of the slotted mast and
held by a hose clamp. The eye of this bolt has a stiff wire which dangles
down and hooks into the top of a standard PVC-type dipole center connector.
As the mast turns with the 20m quad, this swivel arrangement keeps the
inverted vee from wrapping around the mast. The mast is long enough so that
the vee clears the quad when tied down to convenient trees. We usually mov=
e
to 80 at around 0430z or whenever 20 dies out. We can often hold a run at
reasonable rates with this arrangement; this year, conditions were
particularly good and I got up to 105/hr at one point around 0600z, but we
averaged around 40/hr. As 80 becomes worked out around 1130z we switch back
to 20 and finish up there. This year, we were on 80 from 0500 to 1130z and
made 246 q's (797 on 20) which we felt pretty good about. The vee is set up
in a North-South plane, but seems fairly omnidirectional. Hope this helps.=
..
------------------
>From N3BDA:
Hi Gary,
I would hardly call our FD station a big gun (except on 2m), but we tried a
new 80m antenna this year with FABULOUS results. Our ~160 Qs on 80m is poo=
r
by the standards of this reflector, but our FD always concentrates on train=
ing
new ops. Most of the 80m Qs came from no-coders under guidance of an=20
experienced op. Several T-storms and a generator failure at 3 AM didn't
help either. We were down a total of 4 hrs from storms and another 1.5 unt=
il
we picked up and patched in a backup generator. All the kings horses and a=
ll
the king's men, couldn't put generator 1 back together again.
We built the wide-band dipole featured in June or July 95 QST. I don't
recall which for sure, but it's the issue with the solar-powered shack on t=
he
cover. It is an 80m folded dipole with another wire in the center for an
open-sleeve design. I sat down for about a half hour and accounted for
about 40% of the Qs myself. I had no problem getting a run going. On one
run, I had the CT rate meter up to 230. This antenna worked great. We had
several "Big signal!" reports on 80m. I'm going to build one for home.
Next year, we'll put it up again and try to focus more on 80 than we did
this year. We'll also pray for better WX and we'll have the backup generat=
or
right there, not 20 minutes away!
> 3) Maybe 80M just isn't the "bread-n-butter" band everyone thinks it is i=
n FD?
Maybe not "bread-n-butter" like 40m, but certainly EXTREMELY important.
Our 2A station had one XMTR on 40m the entire 24 hrs and the second jumped
around based on condx. When the sun went down, 20 slowly died and 80 becam=
e
the "bread-n-butter" band for the night.
------------------
>From K2VUG:
Gary,
I also used a full wave horiz loop on 80. It is fed with a double L
balanced tuner. Some friends have tried this loop with the conventional
unbalanced tuners that use a balun as the first component. My tuner has a
balun as the last component. I feed the ant with 440 ohm twin lead. Look
at the Feb 90 QST, pp 28. AG6K has a good article on the tuner.
------------------
>From K6NA:
High dipole. Throw everything else away. ( My favorite comment ! K9GS)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------=
--
I was really surprised by the number of different antennas being used. =20
The other thing that really surprised me was the number of vertically polar=
ized=20
antennas being used, especially on the East coast and in the Midwest.
I think that Jim, K8MR, hit the nail on the head. Being located in WI our
group is just located too far west to be able to have a big signal into
the east coast. I think that because of the sheer number of FD stations
on the east coast, having a low dipole will net you a lot of QSO=92s. From
way out west in WI, it is too difficult to put in enough of a signal to
really stand out above the QRN from the summer storms. Perhaps if we were
able to put a dipole up at 60 or 75 feet, things would be different.=20
Thanks again for the replies!
Better Luck next year.......
73,
Gary K9GS=20
__________________
/ K9GS |______________________________
/ FP/K9GS, TO5M |Society of Midwest Contesters |____________________
( | garyk9gs@solaria.sol.net |Secretary/Treasurer/
\ Gary Schwartz | K9GS@WA9KEC.WI.USA.NOAM | Greater Milwaukee/
\__________________| PacketCluster: NB9C | DX Association (
(________________________________| GMDXA \
(_____________________\
>From n4bp@shadow.net (Bob Patten) Wed Jul 3 09:28:29 1996
From: n4bp@shadow.net (Bob Patten) (Bob Patten)
Subject: Fwd: QSK on FT-1000MP
Message-ID: <Pine.SOL.3.91.960703042704.17033G-100000@hyper>
On Tue, 2 Jul 1996 BK1ZX70SFL@aol.com wrote:
> uh oh Bob, I am in deep stuff now...you have now got an rx that allows you to
> hear good - and all those guys who have been calling you for years that you
> have lhad slip by, oh sh**.....and I thought I was in trouble with K1TO
> moving into our section! This SS should be a LOT of fun from SFL.
>
Yes, the '1000MP seems to be an effective hearing aid for this old man!
Looking forward to November, pizza anyone?
Bob Patten, N4BP
n4bp@shadow.net
|