Tiny Elephant's Contest Corner

The Latest Contest News -
A NARC Bulletin Exclusive

A monthly column by Ed Deichler, K2TE

Where is it?

The past month has been very blasé for me waiting for good Spring weather so I can get started on cleaning up the mess from the Winter. The bands have not been all that great so contesting has been lackluster. My trusty 160-meter inverted L finally broke a few weeks ago, which isn't all that bad since Top Band is beginning to slip into its Spring/Summer slumber. Since I've finally run out of excuses for hamming, I decided to do some cleaning around the shack. This is something I find about as exciting as talking to my Mother.

I don’t consider myself an incorrigible slob, just an average ham who stuffs things here and there to take care of it “later”. Well, “later” is here now and I have discovered the joys of the “where-is-it?” game. They say that as you get older, long-term memory dominates over short-term memory. I’m not sure where the dividing line is, but I have no trouble remembering stuff from 6 months or older. So I start the game by looking for a specific connector, roll of wire, splicers, etc. that I KNOW I have around here somewhere. The game quickly gets testy as I try one drawer/box after another looking the specific item. I do manage to earn some bonus points by finding other things that I knew I had but I didn’t want right now (their turn would come later). It is too bad these things do not make giggling noises or squeaks and scratches so I can locate them. I would even settle for tools that have gender like the utensils in the kitchen. Before you think ol’ TE has been sat on by an elephant, just pause for a minute. How many times have come close to dumping a kitchen drawer looking for something only to have your wife calmly reach in and get it?

Enough of this excitement for now; time to take a break. I picked up the NARC Bulletin to scan through while calming down. I came across this column to see what events might be on the air and I noticed a tiny speck where my logo normally resides. Now, I know eyesight also changes when one gets older, but this is ridiculous. I think this is our editor’s down-in-the-noise, subtle way of telling me I should dump K2TE in favor of a 1-land vanity call. From the looks of the icon, the perfect vanity call for me would be Where 1 Incredible Shrinking Elephant. I have a better choice, however, that will restore my fractured ego: Kill 1 Colossal Ant! (Ed note: As of press time, W1ISE was available as a vanity call, K1CA was not. And all blame for the putting the “tiny” in TE goes to N1ONC)

Oh well, back to the game. I think the only bright spot in all this is that I can make a list of what I need to get at Rochester this Spring - if I don’t misplace it. I imagine a number of us will have antenna stuff on our shopping lists as a result of the double whammy from the December and April snowstorms. With that in mind, lets see what contests are available in May that don’t require QRO and stacked yagis.

Texas QSO Party, 3-4 May.

This is the ultimate in state QSO parties for working counties. Starting at 1400Z on the 3^rd and going to 2200Z on the 4^th.. The contest covers 160 through 10 meters, CW and SSB, with CW windows around 5 KHz and 40 KHz up from the band edge, and SSB windows near the middle of the phone segments. CW QSOs are worth 3 points and SSB QSOs count 2 points. There will be some special stations identified as the Texas Armadillo Expedition that will be mobile. These stations can be worked again on the same band once they change counties. Score is simply QSO points times the number of Texas counties worked. The Texas DX Society is sponsoring the contest and they would like logs by 4 June 1997.

ARI International DX Contest, 3-4 May.

This is a 24-hour DX contest sponsored by the Italian version of the ARRL that is open to everybody. It is a combination of CQ Worldwide and ARRL DX contests where everybody can work everybody with Italian stations counting for the most points. There are several categories of single operator on CW, SSB, or RTTY; single operator mixed, and multi-operator mixed. Operation is on 160 through 10 meters, except no 160 meter operation for RTTY. Italian stations will send a report and their 2-letter province abbreviation while others send a report and serial number. Scoring breakdown: 0 points for same country; 1 point/QSO on same continent; 3 points/QSO with countries on a different continent; and 10 points/QSO for any Italian station, including Sardinia (IS0). Each country is a multiplier; scoring is the number of points times the total multipliers.

From my own experiences, you can be assured of plenty of activity for this contest. Judging from the stack of Italian QSLs in my files, I think I must be close to 1000 cards. There are 103 provinces in Italy so there are plenty of multipliers to work. Don’t be surprised if you hear some of them on 10 meters. Logs go to I2UIY by 4 June 1997.

VOLTA RTTY DX Contest, 10-11 May.

The Italian ARI organization sponsors another contest this month featuring RTTY operation. This is a 24-hour contest that starts 1200Z Saturday. It is open from 80 through 10 meters with single operator/single band or all-band categories, and multi-operator/single transmitter categories. Exchange is RST, QSO #, and CQ Zone. Everyone can work everyone else outside his call area or country. Multipliers are the DXCC countries plus call areas in VK, ZL, JA, VE and US. Logs go to I2DMI by July 31. Count on alot of participation by Italian amateurs in this one, too.

Baltic Contest, 17-18 May.

This is an 80 meter contest that features the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania in a CW and SSB contest that starts at 2100Z on Saturday and runs till 0200Z Sunday. The SSB windows are at 3600-3650 KHz and 3700-3750 KHz so you will have to listen for split frequency operation. Stations may be worked once for each mode. Contest exchange is report and a serial number, with the final score simply being the total number of points.

The Baltic amateurs are very good operators, so you should have a good chance at working them on both modes. I think a sprint-type of contest like this is an excellent way for emerging countries to have fun on a beer budget.

This looks like a good selection of contests to play in under “reduced-aluminum conditions”. Hope to CU at Rochester!

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