Probably no one else from RI entered. Nevertheless, always pleased to have more wall paper.

Happy New Year to all.

73, John, K1JSM

I was up my tower today in the nice wx to realign some antennas that were twisted on the mast and saw the remains of a massive Hornets Nest under my top plate. Wow, that would have been an unpleasant climb with a quick descent had I gone up there before the big windstorm blew their nest off the tower. I also fixed my 160m antenna and made 60 QRP Qs this weekend to check it out – and to make sure our big guns XX and AN had the RI multiplier in their logs. Purely S&P with such low power and interesting which stations can hear and which can’t. Worked as far West as MO. I will send in my paper log later on for what the puny score is worth. 73, Chris

Guess I'll go ahead and post my results. Go ahead and add your scores here too.

2017 ARRL 160M Contest
Call: W1AN
Location: CT
Category: Single Op, HP Unassisted
Club: CTRI Contest Group
QSOs   Sections  Countries
--------------------------
824    70        28
Score: 178,596

I repaired my beverages after all the windstorms of the last few months. Large trees and limbs and wires were down everywhere in the lower woods with the RG6 coax broken and chewed by some small creatures with little teeth. I also added an unterminated ~200 foot beverage running East and West. This proved out to work great as I didn’t need to do as much switching between the others. Noise levels were fairly low except for some occasional man made noise. Possibly leaf blower motors or mowers? Missed several west coast sections and ND MB NT and PR. Mostly running, no assistance. Surprised to work S01WS. A total of 52 5 pointers are in the log. Did hear and work KE1J(VT), KS1J, W1XX, K3IU, W1CTN. Also several RI stations are in the log. Slept thru both sunrises so I gotta set the alarm next time.
Beat last years score by a little.

There is no members meeting this month. Next meeting is Saturday January 13, 2018 at 10 AM.

Guess I’ll start things rolling. Please report your contest results here. Don’t know how many operated, but I worked John, W1XX, on 80m at about 0600 local on Sunday morning. Didn’t hear/work any other club members. I kept my butt-in-chair for about 9 hours. Not my best ever effort, but I’ll take it! 73, Ken K3IU

       Band     QSOs     Pts   ZN  Cty  Pt/Q
         3.5      21      42    8   14   2.0
           7      73     205   15   39   2.8
          14     217     623   21   76   2.9
          21     117     324   17   61   2.8
          28       3       9    3    3   3.0
       Total     431    1203   64  193   2.8

Score : 309,171

 

Guide to the ARRL Sweepstake Contest – here is the link:  arrl sweepstakes contest.

Thanks to PVRC for this 8 page pdf info document.

Don’t know if anyone besides me and XX operated in this contest. Didn’t hear you, John. Mid-level effort from here with about 9.6 hours BIC time. Managed to almost get a clean sweep, but missed NNY, VI, EWA and MB. Heard nothing on 10, 15 was open nicely on Sunday afternoon, but as usual for me, it was a 2 band contest… 40 meters and the rest of them. About half of my Qs were 40m.
73, Ken K3IU

K3IU SOAB HP
Band  QSOs Pts Sec Pt/Q
 3.5    5   10   0  2.0
   7  153  306  35  2.0
  14   95  190  24  2.0
  21   65  130  20  2.0

Total 318  636  79  2.0
 Score : 50,244

It is a sad day that I find I must sell my beloved ham radio gear.  It seems like I just put the station back together to where it should be, a nice loud station, but now I have to tear it down again.

 

Prefer to sell as a package: $2500.00

IC746 Pro with hand mic and Heil Pro Headset

Alpha 86 Legal limit amp loafs along at 1500w with 65w in.

Heathkit SA-2060A 3kw tuner

Is fully operational right now with no known issues.  Come see it!  In Norwich, CT.

Call Chuck -na1cn- ex -ka1cqr- at 508-826-3458.

Who will be active in Sweepstakes this weekend?

I will do some remote operation as K2LE in VT.

Hope to work a bunch of CTRI members!

 

The next members meeting will be Sat Nov 11 at 10AM.

Venue:  T’s Restaurant,  91 Point Judith Rd, Narragansett, RI 02882

Note: The meeting is NOT at Mike Visich’s QTH as previously announced.

 

NEW FEATURES on the CTRI.Club web site

1. All members can now edit their own posts.

2. A password protected Member Directory has been added to the menu at the top.

When the directory page is open:

Enter a name or call in the Search box at the top.

You can sort the directory by call, first name, last name, or email address by clicking on the small black triangles in the column heading.

If your phone number is blank its because you did not enter it in your profile.

If you do not want your data in this directory, send me an email message or add a comment to this post.

3. A link to the CRTI facebook page has been added in the column on the right. Page down to see it.

The 2017 CQ World-Wide DX Contest

SSB: October 28-29      CW: November 25-26

Starts 00:00:00 UTC Saturday    Ends 23:59:59 UTC Sunday

I. OBJECTIVE: For amateurs around the world to contact as many other amateurs in as many CQ zones and countries as possible.

II. BANDS: Six bands only: 1.8, 3.5, 7, 14, 21 and 28 MHz. Observance of established band plans is strongly encouraged.

III. CONTEST EXCHANGE: SSB: RS report plus CQ Zone number of the station location (e.g., 59 05). CW: RST report plus CQ Zone (e.g., 599 05).

The station here in Ledyard CT will be open for operators. Two stations will be available. Please communicate your preferred times. Bring any special snacks, drinks and food items you may need.  toothbrush, meds, etc.  We will have the usual breakfast lunch and dinner items.

73, John W1AN

The 3C0L DX-pedition to Annobon has been fun chasing the past few days.  It’s pretty rare DX with big pileups.  Big signal last night on 160. Just worked ’em on 12 meter CW….nice signal.  Turns out to be just two Latvian ops who are doing a great job under somewhat difficult circumstances.  A power supply and one of their K3s blew up.

Since they have no internet, you can’t confirm QSOs on line thru ClubLog.  So I looked up their website and found a link describing their 20-meter-and-up antenna on FoldingAntennas[DOT]com.  It’s a version of the Hexbeam that looks quite interesting and could be of interest to club members looking for an alternative to a tower/Yagi installation.

When you go to the website, hit “translate” from German…although the translation is a bit like Sgt. Schultz.  Hit “design” for a detailed description.  Although, primarily designed for quick portable installation, it could be fixed as well.  Collapsed, it folds into a 45 inch long nylon bag which reminds me of our two folding chairs that the wife and I take to free outdoor summer concerts.

Anyone interested in pursuing this further and maybe even buying one?  Any opinions or thoughts on the design? Actually, this could be a great Field Day antenna.  Should the club buy one?  The basic price delivered to North America is $500 (no VAT).  There is a long list of various optional parts separately priced.   All things considered , that’s not a bad price.

Any takers?  Comments please.

Take a look at this great presentation by K9LA and W3LPL. If you don’t have time to watch the full presentation you can fast forward to 9 minutes when Frank, W3LPL starts his band-by-band forecast.

https://youtu.be/kPydjVi6qLw

 

Another great resource is the VOACAP site, just plug in your location and antennas and you will get a great idea which band will be open when.

http://www.voacap.com/planner.html

 

Lars, KE1J

I‘ve always maintained that the most important club office is that of Contest Manager; Kudos to James, K1SD, who has effectively prodded CTRI participation in the recent past.  Since no one was elected CM at the most recent meeting, I suggest that we all become club “contest managers” and encourage contest participation with web postings of your favorite activities. Here’s my take on that.

Our next immediate contest coming up is the CQ World-Wide SSB DX Contest the last weekend of the month.  This is a biggee.  Lots of options:  all band, single band, high low or QRP power, assisted or not, classic,  rookie, etc.  Pick a category and go to it for as many hours as you wish. Exchange is “59 5” (we are in zone 5).

Looking ahead to November, here’s another idea.  Historically, the club has from time to time made a special concerted effort to maximize our club aggregate score.  Remember “one million or bust” in the New England QSO Party?  Special 1 X 1 call-signs in the NEQP?  A mighty 10 meter contest effort?  All highly successful club ventures.

Our club membership has increased in recent months. Some are newcomers to radio contesting.  What upcoming contest could we consider for a concerted effort by all?  I suggest the ARRL November Sweepstakes:  CW Nov. 4 – 5 and SSB Nov. 18 -19.  Why?  It’s a domestic contest, USA and Canada, so a big station is not required.  A dipole at 40 feet is just what the doctor ordered.

Commencing in 1930, SS is the grand-daddy of all contests with an exchange patterned after  the preamble of message traffic….the basis upon which the ARRL was founded!  True, everyone is not conversant in “the code.”  That’s OK.  There is an SSB weekend. This has been my favorite contest for some 50+ years.  It is ideal for newcomers with modest stations.

Here’s how CTRI has done in recent Sweepstakes contests.

2016:  8 entries for 597,756 points

2015:  10 entries for 603,022 points

2014:  10 entries for 755,662 points

2013:  10 entries for 1,060,126 points

   Clearly, we have been going down-hill.  With increased emphasis on a greater number of participants and perseverance, we could do much better. How about “2 million points or bust” as a battle cry?  What a great way to get our newer members — along with our stalwarts — to  contribute to our club’s overall success.  Apathy is not an option. See page 96 October QST for details.

I invite comment here with discussion at the October 14 meeting.