2008 ARRL November Sweepstakes (CW)
11/03/2008 |
WA3FAE
I worked my first ever SSCW. It was almost as much fun as Field Day. In fact, it's a good warmup, as it involved only ARRL Sections.
I used an AP8A vertical elevated with 8 elevated radials, 4 for 20M and 4 for 40M. Not the best setup, but it was readily available and got out fairly well.
My Elecraft K3 was just upgraded with the 2nd receiver and the internal tuner took the vertical around the bands successfully. As I didn't have a second antenna available, I couldn't try diversity reception, but I did listen to each receiver with different filter settings simultaneously. That was enlightening. I was used to operating with the receive bandwidth much wider and during this contest got used to it being at 200hz. The signals just fell into the filter slot when tuning, like a marble into a trough. Didn't find a strong signal condition that I couldn't handle.
The K3 is a cinch to setup, as the radio config options handled the CW keying through the same RS-232 cable used to control the radio and feedback to the program a one cable solution. I ran the K3 at 38400 baud with DTR keying. I had my regular keying paddle hooked up for the occasional query or correction not handled easily by the canned responses.
As the contest date approached, I was searching for a contest program to use. The K3 forums mentioned the N1MM logger so I downloaded it and set it up. The numerous options are intimidating and at times overwhelming, but I sifted the info for just SS and K3 suggestions and put together a working combo. The N1MM can be setup to give a sequence of responses in the most logical order, saving many button searches for the correct response. In the heat of the competition this really works well. Several status windows can be open during the logging, providing helpful info while operating. I had the check, tuning, section count and log windows open (not necessarily their correct name). I'm certain that I only scratched the surface of what this program can do and will be continuing my education in the future, perhaps on the SSB weekend.
There has been some chatter already about the lack of QRS for slower stations. The average speed I operated was 26 WPM (as set in N1MM). The fastest I used was 34 and the slowest 22 WPM. I effectively sent slower with wider character spacing, but overall people were scorching along. I didn't have to slow down often but I didn't hear many stations below 18 WPM. I acknowledge that higher contact rates and larger scores are only made possible by higher speeds and briefer exchanges.
I believe competitive contests are not going to be the vehicle for new amateurs to learn CW. Maybe Field Day can be, which isn't supposed to be a contest. I have worked many slower stations during FD but it's also become a race, with most stations 24 WPM or higher.
The intimidation factor of higher speeds is a deterrent to new operators. If we are going to have any amateurs to communicate with using CW in the future, they will have to be given the opportunity to learn and operate without feeling like a pariah because of their slower CW speed. I don't claim to have a solution; I only know that newcomers aren't going to feel comfortable jumping into contests at these speeds and we shouldn't expect them to. High speed is fun when you can do it but it'll only last as long as the amateurs you talk to are active. When they are gone, CW may vanish with them.
See you on the SSB weekend. 73, Forrest -- WA3FAE
I used an AP8A vertical elevated with 8 elevated radials, 4 for 20M and 4 for 40M. Not the best setup, but it was readily available and got out fairly well.
My Elecraft K3 was just upgraded with the 2nd receiver and the internal tuner took the vertical around the bands successfully. As I didn't have a second antenna available, I couldn't try diversity reception, but I did listen to each receiver with different filter settings simultaneously. That was enlightening. I was used to operating with the receive bandwidth much wider and during this contest got used to it being at 200hz. The signals just fell into the filter slot when tuning, like a marble into a trough. Didn't find a strong signal condition that I couldn't handle.
The K3 is a cinch to setup, as the radio config options handled the CW keying through the same RS-232 cable used to control the radio and feedback to the program a one cable solution. I ran the K3 at 38400 baud with DTR keying. I had my regular keying paddle hooked up for the occasional query or correction not handled easily by the canned responses.
As the contest date approached, I was searching for a contest program to use. The K3 forums mentioned the N1MM logger so I downloaded it and set it up. The numerous options are intimidating and at times overwhelming, but I sifted the info for just SS and K3 suggestions and put together a working combo. The N1MM can be setup to give a sequence of responses in the most logical order, saving many button searches for the correct response. In the heat of the competition this really works well. Several status windows can be open during the logging, providing helpful info while operating. I had the check, tuning, section count and log windows open (not necessarily their correct name). I'm certain that I only scratched the surface of what this program can do and will be continuing my education in the future, perhaps on the SSB weekend.
There has been some chatter already about the lack of QRS for slower stations. The average speed I operated was 26 WPM (as set in N1MM). The fastest I used was 34 and the slowest 22 WPM. I effectively sent slower with wider character spacing, but overall people were scorching along. I didn't have to slow down often but I didn't hear many stations below 18 WPM. I acknowledge that higher contact rates and larger scores are only made possible by higher speeds and briefer exchanges.
I believe competitive contests are not going to be the vehicle for new amateurs to learn CW. Maybe Field Day can be, which isn't supposed to be a contest. I have worked many slower stations during FD but it's also become a race, with most stations 24 WPM or higher.
The intimidation factor of higher speeds is a deterrent to new operators. If we are going to have any amateurs to communicate with using CW in the future, they will have to be given the opportunity to learn and operate without feeling like a pariah because of their slower CW speed. I don't claim to have a solution; I only know that newcomers aren't going to feel comfortable jumping into contests at these speeds and we shouldn't expect them to. High speed is fun when you can do it but it'll only last as long as the amateurs you talk to are active. When they are gone, CW may vanish with them.
See you on the SSB weekend. 73, Forrest -- WA3FAE
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