2003 ARRL November Sweepstakes (Phone)
11/17/2003 |
KI4ASK
I'm a new amateur radio operator and this was my first contest. Wow! It was a lot of fun, but hard work at the same time.
I got a late start because I was flying in from a business trip on Saturday. I began working the contest around 0530 on 16 Nov (UTC). Using an Instant Messenger via the internet, I contacted a friend of mine, KT4Q, to find out about the required exchange and away I went.
I used a Yaesu FT-897 (100w), AT-897 auto-tuner (a big help!), and a Van Gorden all-band (not) dipole hanging about 90 ft. up in a big oak tree in my back yard.
Because I didn't have any logging software, I printed out the manual logs and began logging stations. Most of my contacts were on 40m, 20m, and 15m. 20 and 15 seemed to be especially effective.
My XYL and children were asleep when I started. When they awoke, they found me hard at work in the shack. My 8 year old daughter (who will probably be the next ham in the house) helped review my log for dupes when I made calls. We missed a few (more on that below).
Some observations I made during the contest:
1. It helps to have everything you need at your fingertips - especially controls for the rig.
2. Headphones help you hear and focus
3. Most of the folks creating pile-ups were either rare sections and/or had a lot of power. I ran 100w and is was plenty to be heard but not enough to set up shop and wait for people to contact you.
4. Do they really have radios in the Northwest Territories? (just kidding, but I couldn't find them).
5. Almost everyone was friendly. When they heard my 03 check, most welcomed me to ham radio (nice touch - thanks).
6. A few folks took the contest too seriously - I was scolded a few times for making a duplicate contact. Sorry, I only had pen and paper not sophisticated software. We all have to start somewhere.
7. Despite all of the fun, I was disappointed with a few stations who were occupying too much bandwidth. I don't have sophicated monitoring equipment in the shack, but I know (just from using my dial) that a few stations seemed to be spread across double the bandwidth. It's not a good thing when I tune across 5 KHz and hear the same station!
8. I was amused by the non-contesters ragchewing between the QSO's. They seemed to be tucked away weathering the onslaught on traffic - a few even making funny remarks about it.
9. Passing the morse test and getting the General upgrade was definitely worth it! I can't wait until the next contest.
Oh, one other thing. My XYL and other 2 children didn't like having daddy tucked away in the shack for the weekend. Next time, I need to send them shopping, to the movies or something. I'll plan in advance so we can all agree.
73 to all and especially to those of you who made my first contest such a great experience.
"JoeDom" -- KI4ASK
I got a late start because I was flying in from a business trip on Saturday. I began working the contest around 0530 on 16 Nov (UTC). Using an Instant Messenger via the internet, I contacted a friend of mine, KT4Q, to find out about the required exchange and away I went.
I used a Yaesu FT-897 (100w), AT-897 auto-tuner (a big help!), and a Van Gorden all-band (not) dipole hanging about 90 ft. up in a big oak tree in my back yard.
Because I didn't have any logging software, I printed out the manual logs and began logging stations. Most of my contacts were on 40m, 20m, and 15m. 20 and 15 seemed to be especially effective.
My XYL and children were asleep when I started. When they awoke, they found me hard at work in the shack. My 8 year old daughter (who will probably be the next ham in the house) helped review my log for dupes when I made calls. We missed a few (more on that below).
Some observations I made during the contest:
1. It helps to have everything you need at your fingertips - especially controls for the rig.
2. Headphones help you hear and focus
3. Most of the folks creating pile-ups were either rare sections and/or had a lot of power. I ran 100w and is was plenty to be heard but not enough to set up shop and wait for people to contact you.
4. Do they really have radios in the Northwest Territories? (just kidding, but I couldn't find them).
5. Almost everyone was friendly. When they heard my 03 check, most welcomed me to ham radio (nice touch - thanks).
6. A few folks took the contest too seriously - I was scolded a few times for making a duplicate contact. Sorry, I only had pen and paper not sophisticated software. We all have to start somewhere.
7. Despite all of the fun, I was disappointed with a few stations who were occupying too much bandwidth. I don't have sophicated monitoring equipment in the shack, but I know (just from using my dial) that a few stations seemed to be spread across double the bandwidth. It's not a good thing when I tune across 5 KHz and hear the same station!
8. I was amused by the non-contesters ragchewing between the QSO's. They seemed to be tucked away weathering the onslaught on traffic - a few even making funny remarks about it.
9. Passing the morse test and getting the General upgrade was definitely worth it! I can't wait until the next contest.
Oh, one other thing. My XYL and other 2 children didn't like having daddy tucked away in the shack for the weekend. Next time, I need to send them shopping, to the movies or something. I'll plan in advance so we can all agree.
73 to all and especially to those of you who made my first contest such a great experience.
"JoeDom" -- KI4ASK
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