12/15/2003 | AB9FH This was the first time I got on the air just because of a contest. It was a very limited effort, just 5 contacts in 2 hours, but I enjoyed myself just the same. I put up a dipole in the attic, cut to length by formula but not adjusted for resonance. My radio is limited to 25W. Still, the contacts were in CA, TX, NC, FL, and WI. I am in SE Wisconsin. There were perhaps 3 or 4 other stations which I could hear but could not contact. I did notice my skill in finding the precise frequency was improving, those short contest transmissions require that. The CA contact was my first and after that I did not hear any west coast stations. If I could have started a couple of hours earlier that would have helped greatly. -- AB9FH