It's a benefit to all of us when an experienced contester has the
opportunity to be in on the design effort for a radio.
The FT-1000D has a most elegant location for tuning knobs and RIT
control.....I remember working hundreds of stations all around my frequency
for hours at a time at AH3C in '89-'90 and never feeling tired, with the
radio sitting in its normal position....Chip, didn't you have a hand in
making that happen? In the 70's, during good propagation, I remember
drooling from W6RTT while you were running JA's for hours at W7RM. That and
your DX exploits must have given you the clue!
I shy away from working split frequency when in command of pileups because
it ties up a frequency pair and the pileup is usually a lot wider than when
working around your own frequency. The downside, of course, is when they
call on top of you and others can't hear you.
There was one occasion when the pileup on 15 M was so thick the rate dropped
to a crawl because of the bedlam. So, I slipped up the band about 40 KHz
using the 2nd VFO and started another pileup. When it got too heady 10
minutes later I switched back to the original VFO frequency and there were
still people calling from before, but it was then easy to pick them off. As
the pile grew again, the 2nd VFO pileup had dwindled down to where I could
run the rate back up to normal. This went on for about 3 hours, switching
every 2-3 minutes at a time....great memorable run.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Tom Osborne" <w7why@charter.net>
To: "CQ Contest" <cq-contest@contesting.com>
Sent: Friday, November 21, 2003 6:43 PM
Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] contest station primer
>
> Tom W7WHY
> > a important consideration in contest receivers is where the >tuning
> knob is located. some radios like the nc183 and super >pro have the
> band spread knob lower down and on the right >side, some higher in the
> middle like the HRO60. tuning knob >height is of utmost importance
> after many hours of operating.
> >
> > some operators like an on-end 2x4 platform to hold the desk
> >equipment, so you have room for logs, keys, etc under the >receivers
> proper, the famed
> > KH6IJ had his HRO60 mounted at a 45 degree angle facing >up so he
> could jst lay his hand on the dial
> >
> > a good crystal filter and an outboard 85 kc if strip helps too.
>
> Yeah, the old ARC-5 receiver was great for that. Really got some
> great filtering using that as an outboard IF.
> You really needed a good Q-multiplier too! The old 2-BQ was a great
> one as was the QF-1.
> And stay away from plug-in coils too! You could get a real jolt
> trying to change one of those when you are half asleep. 73
>
> >
> > make sure the VFO knob is located conveniently to which >ever hand
> you deem to tune it with
> >
> > all send/receive functions should be in a single switch, >preferably
> a small movable one on the desk, i personally never >have been able to
> operate a foot switch over a contest period
> >
> > good luck in the contest
> >
> > mike w7dra
> > ---------------------------------------------------------------
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------
> The world's top contesters battle it out in Finland!
> THE OFFICIAL FILM of WRTC 2002 now on professional DVD and VHS!
> http://home1.pacific.net.sg/~jamesb/
> ---------------------------------------------------------------
>
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>
>
---------------------------------------------------------------
The world's top contesters battle it out in Finland!
THE OFFICIAL FILM of WRTC 2002 now on professional DVD and VHS!
http://home1.pacific.net.sg/~jamesb/
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