Well another CQ WW CW has come and gone… Now it’s time to post scores, upload logs to CQWW and LoTW, make a to-do list for the next one and catch up on some sleep. Was anyone else a bit groggy at work today? I’ll post some more updates in the days ahead on my [...]
I’m finally getting around to writing a wrap-up post for CQWW SSB. I managed to get on the air for 30 hours or so in this 48 hr major contest. This was my first entry in this one with the IC-7600 and I was on the air for about 6 more hours than usual attempts. [...]
I managed to spend some time in the ARRL SSB International/DX contest a few weeks ago. Although it was a very casual effort for me (I started about an hour late and took many big breaks) – I still had fun. This contest was a good chance for me to give the IC-7600 a workout [...]
A few days ago the demo CD from the folks at FlexRadio arrived. Unfortunately, the CD was corrupt and missing some key files. After some emails with their support folks and a lot of experimenting, I was able to accomplish my goal: demo the PowerSDR/FlexRadio system in a CW contest environment (without actually buying the [...]
Since posting that the FlexRadio 3000 has been released to the masses a few days ago, I’ve been wondering if SDR & the Flex Radio platform is ready for contesting/DXing prime time. For example, could the FlexRadio 5000 be used as an SO2R machine in a single box? (SO2R in a box) The literature claims [...]
About a year after the ARRL’s DX CW contest, my certificate arrived: 2008 ARRL DX CW – First Place SOA Iowa. For the non-hams out there, this is an annual international (DX) Morse Code (CW) contest. Ham Radio Contests are a lot of fun. Awards aren’t the reason I enter but they are the icing [...]
10,000. That’s another number to tuck into your memory and retrieve when you’re trying to explain ham radio to friends and relatives. I was encouraged to read that the 2008 CQ WW contests had a record turnout – during the bottom of the sunspot cycle! What’s more, CW logs surpassed SSB logs. Who would have [...]
Even casual contesters can easily improve their DXCC counts by participating in a few international contests. CQ Magazine’s major “World Wide” contests provide a great opportunity to “work some new ones”, even when the propagation indices are terrible. (CQ WW CW for Morse Code enthusiasts and CQ WW SSB for those who prefer “phone”). I [...]
If you want some additional insight into your contesting efforts, I highly recommend SH5. Dmitriy, UA4WLI, hosts this program on his TR4W (TR for Windows) website. This little known, free, ham radio software utility will tell you things that your current contest logging software may not. Where did I put my CQ WW CW 2008 [...]
Both the SSB and CW CQ World-wide contests are now behind us and it’s time for a post-mortem analysis. Loyal readers will recall that after my 2007 CQ WW CW effort, I posted a note about what worked and what I needed to improve in future CW contesting efforts. A year ago, I spent 30 [...]
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