For our 2nd excursion to Dayton, we left on Wednesday morning to make the early Thursday morning start to Contest University (CTU) coordinated by K3LR. If you have never been, I highly recommend attending CTU. Much information is to be had as well as networking with fellow contesters but here and abroad. The material was fairly technical, although it applied directly to my operating methods and will hopefully help me work towards optimizing my time contesting. For the price ($50~$90) it was well worth the experience. More information including webinars are on their site http://www.contestuniversity.com/

Since Dave (NB3R) scored us Flea Market vendor spaces, we had to make the 7:30AM cutoff to get in the area to park. All three days consisted of 5AM wake-up calls, which I seemed to have no problem doing at Dayton.

More updates and photos to come later tonight.

73
–jeff
N3QO

The following day, Laurie and I made some adjustments to our 2 meter stack by adding a tilt-over base which allowed me to change the polarity on the cubical quad. Now I can get into N2KEJ’s repeater in South Jersey.[simage=463,576,n,center,][simage=462,576,n,center,]

Throughout the migration, I was able to see how the station has changed over the course of the last 2 years and where it’s going in the near future. More changes are coming!

It’s a new year, even though we’re 3 months in and Hamfest season has begun. This last weekend as I mentioned in my 160m mobile post, was the 2011 Cherryville hamfest. Public turnout was good, although vendor turnout was a little thin. I made a few purchases primarily from Kathy at Sauder Electronics and found an older Daiwa SWR / wattmeter to replace the MFJ that was toasted late last year.

The Timonium hamfest is just around the corner, this weekend. Timonium is a major show that I highly recommend visiting. The major retail vendors are usually there and weather permitting has an excellent outdoor tailgating section and a large inside flea market area. More hamfest posts to come.

Any New Year’s resolutions? At first I didn’t think I had but I guess mine would be the following:

-Actually learn code (CW) besides, CQ DE N3QO, 5NN and TU. A future post…
-Not spend as much money on the hobby as I have in last 2 years, although a Flex 3000 is in works.
-Timonium Hamfest, Timonium, MD.
-Dayton Hamvention. Enough said.
-Sussex Hamfest, I missed this one in 2010 because of work on-call.
-The 2011 antenna projects. See next post.
-..and finally, operate more, build less.

Writing the last post (year in review), I realized I did more station building than actual operation. I’m hoping we have better sunspot performance this year, but now I’m poised to hunker down and start working some DX.

In February I was introduced to 160m and found a great group located in the PA/NJ/DE/MD area who are on 1900khz every night at 8pm. I would finally get to meet them face to face at the Timonium Hamfest in Maryland which would start an every other Saturday tradition of breakfast in Delaware with the guys.

The hexbeam I built back in the previous October (2009) survived the 2ft of snow we saw in March. I would find myself being invited to operate the ARRL DX contest at NE3F’s, which is always fun but also quite an endurance run. I also started operating HF mobile and ended up working VK7ZE on our way to our club station with 100w in a screwdriver antenna on 20m. He was working the states long-path, some 14k miles.

Early in April, I decided to try a 3 element Mosley TA-33 tribander and ended up selling my Hexbeam to Dave (K3GMT). Also in April, I went QRO with a Dentron Clipperton which would be a requirement for 160m in the summer. 1200watts with a set of 4 572B’s. The transformer makes a menacing growl when it’s cranked on 40m, truely a welcomed addition to the shack.

Early in May, Jon (N3INJ) called to tell me 6m was open, of which I didn’t have an antenna for. Within about 45 minutes, I had a 6m delta loop up in the air and started making first 6m contacts. Later that month Laurie and I made it to Dayton. This was our first and plan to make it a yearly event.

I started off the month of June by rotating the polarity of my 2m cubical quad to horizontal and start working 2m sideband. So far it’s been slow, but my furthest stations I’ve worked was Pittsburgh and Connecticut, but the ARRL VHF contest was a blast!

The 1900 guys and I would end up doing a Field Day Expedition to Assateague Island in Maryland. It took a fair bit of planning, governmental politics and a little bit of cash, but we pulled it off. We also pulled off toasting an Alpha amplifier and an Icom 7000. But we all made it out alive with a new experience under our belts and I experienced a pileup the night before on PSK from the beach.

Early in July, I installed the trapped 40/80/160 antenna and start getting S9+40-50 signal reports on 160m, something no G5RV would do. Later that month I would end up in,out and then back in the hospital for a perforated appendix, which made for good rest time for DX at home, but no HT’s in the hospital. I also missed out on IoTA weekend, bummer.

In August I started playing around with satellites and sold the Icom 746 and purchased a Yaesu 847. Just as quickly as I got into this mode, I was out of it, but I walked away with a QSO with Commander Doug Wheelock aboard the ISS while we were mobile.

September my HF configuration came full circle. I ended swapping out the Mosley for my previously rebuilt hexbeam. Luckily for me, K3GMT’s plans for it didn’t work out, and I have my creation back on the roof and working DX like a mad man. At the same time we relocated the 2 meter antennas to a newly installed guyed mast just behind the garage.

October 1st I would wake to find my shack in the basement flooded due to a large rainfall. A normally quiet sump pump would awaken in the night, but a tripped GFI breaker caused it to stop and leave me with a foot of water. No ham equipment was harmed, but the shack ended up being relocated to the dining room. Luckily for me I have a loving, understanding and licensed (general) YL. Speaking of which She and I worked the PA QSO party, but she has not yet given up my Icom 706. I don’t have the heart to take it back, and not that I need it, but it gives me an excuse to buy another rig.

The last quarter of 2010 has been fairly quiet. I’ve been voted into the board for my radio club, working towards DXCC, working more CW and playing around with APRS.

Laurie and I are both looking forward to a prosperous 2011, with me hopefully working HF mobile once again. Hi Hi.

By 9:30AM some of us were on the air, myself on 15 meter where activity was starting to build as the band was opening. Throughout the day I would eventually end up on 20 meter where I would find the DX chaos. Approximately 12 hours into the competition a large thunderstorm began to role in causing us all to take an unintended break. This would be the end of the competition for me with 102 QSO’s logged with approximately 7300 points.

On Sunday Laurie and I went up to Sussex county NJ to a hamfest where we put on a D-Star TV demo with DLARC member, Howard (KB3RTB) and a number of NJDSTAR members. A lot of attention was drawn around the booth as the first pictures were transferred. While there I purchased the parts to build a D-Star hotspot and picked up a Heathkit SWR/Wattmeter for Laurie’s rig.

Photos to come.

On Sunday with a heads up from K3GMT, we drove up to Wilkes-Barre, PA to the Murgas ARC Hamfest & Computerfest. This one was less than stellar. While I appreciate the attempt, having vendors selling their completely unrelated, miscellaneous junk is always a disappointment. If I remember I saw someone trying to sell a guitar and amplifier and someone else trying to sell a Laurel and Hardie doll. WTF!? On a positive note I was able to find the Sauder’s Electronics table and purchase some 3/4″ NMO mounts. Much beefier and look forward to drilling the holes in my roof later this week.

Next Sunday (July 12) is the Sussex County Amatuer Radio Club Hamfest. I hear this is the one to visit. I’ll have to make time since I plan on participating in the IARU HF contest.