Tiny Elephant's Contest Corner

The Latest Contest News -
A NARC Bulletin Exclusive

A monthly column by Ed Deichler, K2TE

Murphyus Obstructus

If you read last month's column that documents my trials and tribulations with my 80-meter quad antenna project, I suppose you are either laughing at what surely seems like a waste of time and energy, or you wince in sympathy having gone through similar grief at one time or another. To paraphrase an old baseball legend: the antenna ain't up until the last element is up. It has been a month since I got to the last element and I am relieved to report that I am ALMOST done with it. Procrastination and the weather have not been factors in why it has taken me this long. The real reason goes something like this:

If you recall, the second half of one element of the quad - the path from "third base to home" - was hung up in the trees. From my view on the ground, it looked like all I needed to do was shoot a line over the wire and between the branches and pull the wire free. Piece of cake. Four shots with the wrist-rocket and I had the line over the wire and a small branch. No problem, I thought; the branch will let go of the rope once I start pulling. I pulled on the rope and discovered that the branch and the wire were inseparable. The harder I pulled, the more the tree bent and the less the wire moved.

I was beginning to seethe like a bull elephant when I discovered something very strange: the tree was waving at me as I pulled on the rope. Maybe it was my imagination but I swear it was laughing at me. Suddenly, I realized I was confronted with not just an ordinary tree but the dreaded Murphyus Obstructus. This specie of tree looks like a pine tree - and an oak tree - and a maple tree; in short, it was anything that can tangle a rope or wire. Legend has it that many an antenna experimenter has been driven mad in battles with Murphyus Obstructus. But I was more stubborn than smart (what else is new?) and I was not going to give up. OK; its me and you, tree; here goes! With a mighty tug, I felt the wire let go and for a few milliseconds I thought I had won the battle. Then I noticed the wire pathetically curling around on the ground like a scolded dog - and Murphyus Obstructus waving and laughing at me.

I stood there more in despair than anger, stunned at the futility of my efforts. For the first time in my ham-life, I felt like throwing in the coax and giving up. I went about doing other things that day, all the while trying to figure how I was going to get even.

The following weekend I was raring to go at it again after giving my ego a week to heal. Damage assessment showed that not all of the wire had broken; half of it was still in the tree. At least I could climb the tower and wheel it in on the pulley and resolder it. However, when I got up to the top, I discovered that the pulley was jammed (or did Murphy have his finger in it?) and the wire was 18 feet away. Down the tower I came and scrounged around for something long, strong, and light that I could attach a hook to and pull the wire in. I found an element from a discarded 10-meter beam and a small curved pipe that should do the trick. I got the wire over to the tower and worked my way down to get to the break point. As luck would have it, my extension cord is up at the top and I was half way up the tower. Back down the tower again to get my propane torch, solder, and a board. I made a platform inside the tower and carefully lit the torch, mindful of the fact that if I screwed up I would immediately look like Yul Bryner. The repair job was quick and easy, and I wearily made way back down.

I was now ready to take on Murphyus Obstructus again. This time I was going to use my tower as much as possible since it is much easier to shoot lines out over branches instead of up and over them. To give you an idea of what I was up against, I have a maple tree near the tower that is about 60 feet tall. Beyond the maple looms Murphyus Obstructus about 80 feet tall. Murphyus Obstructus has a convenient gap in his grin like David Letterman that is the right height for where I had to put the line. This should be another piece of cake; nice level shot, fairly close in. Three trips up and down the tower and the line was through the gap.

The next step was to pull the line up over the maple tree and up to the gap. If you raise your arm straight up then bend it at the elbow until your upper arm is about 45 degrees relative to your shoulder, you will have a good idea of what the wire is supposed to look like when it is in position. The wire is pulled up from a rope attached to an insulator at the "elbow". I tied a second line to the insulator to act as a tether to help keep things clear of branches. This worked out easier than I thought it would with the wire working its way up to the gap free of branches. Just before I pulled the "elbow" up to its final height, I shot another line over the "forearm" wire and pulled it down through the space between the maple tree and Murphyus Obstructus. I used the tether line at this point to swing the "forearm" wire down under branches from Murphyus Obstructus and finally to the ground. I won; Murphyus Obstructus was mine!

As I sit here writing this, my legs are slowly loosening up from dozens of trips up and down the tower and the maple tree where I had to do some trimming. By the time you read this, I hope to have the antenna on the air and primed for the CQ Worldwide CW contest. I've completed the relay box and power supply and tested them out. All I need to do over the next few weekends is to install the relay box on the tower, run the power cable and antenna coax, and keep my fingers crossed. If it all works as advertised, no one will be more thankful than I. If it doesn't; well, I only need to climb about 40 feet and add/trim wire to tweak it.

My preoccupation with the antenna project has made me forgetful. I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and good contesting during the month. I sure hope to see all of you at the NARC Christmas party the first Saturday in December. I'm praying we don't have another "wet blanket" snowstorm like last year. I certainly do not want to miss out on contests like these:

ARRL 160-Meter CW, 5-7 December

This is the annual Top Band ARRL contest where the rest of the world works US and VE stations. US and VE stations are also allowed to work one another which helps fill in the daytime when propagation on the band is non-existent. The contest runs from 2200Z on the 5th to 1600Z on the 7th with no time limitation. Single operator and multioperator categories are permitted in 3 power classes: QRP (<5 W), low power (150 W or less) and high power. The usual ARRL contest exchange is RST and section/state for us, and RST for DX stations. Each stateside/VE QSO counts as 2 points while each DX contact is worth 5 points. Final score is the total QSO points times the total multipliers (79 ARRL/RAC sections plus DXCC countries worked).Entries are due at ARRL HQ by 7 January 1998 through snail mail or to contest@arrl.org in the ARRL Standard File Format. (Most contesting programs can generate this format.)

ARRL 10-Meter Contest, 13-14 December

From Top Band to top end of the HF spectrum, this 48-hour contest allows CW and SSB in the respective parts of the band. A maximum of 36 hours operating is allowed; listening time is included in this limit. The operating categories are the same as for the 160-Meter contest. The contest exchange is also same with the addition of a serial number for DX stations. Novice and technician stations are encouraged to sign /N and /T respectively to help others find them. The contest highlights these new amateurs since each QSO with one is worth 8 points on CW. All other CW contacts count as 4 points each, while each SSB QSO is 2 points. Multipliers are the ARRL/RAC sections worked (79 maximum) plus DXCC countries for CW and SSB. Don't forget that you can work a station on both modes so it is a good idea to ask that rare state or country when he will be on the other mode. Logs go the ARRL by 14 January 1998 through the mail or to contest@arrl.org. Since this contest takes place after the CQ Worldwide CW contest, I imagine 10 meters will be in GOOD condition.

Original QRP Contest, 27-28 December

Here is a QRP contest with a unique twist: Only rigs designed for QRP operation may be used. This includes any type of home- brew rig that puts out 20 W or less and some of the commercial rigs like the Yaesu FT-7. The contest covers a 24-hour period beginning at 1500Z on Saturday. Operation is limited to the CW portions of 80, 40, and 20 meters. Contest categories are Very Low Power (VLP) of 1 W out or less; QRP (5 W or less); and Medium Power (MP) of 20 W out or less. Contest exchange is RST, serial number/category (e.g., 599 254/VLP). Scoring is done is by contest officials based on contest entrants. If a station you worked has sent in a contest log, the QSO is counted as 4 points; if no log is sent in, it counts as 1 point. The procedure is similar for DXCC country multipliers: if the DX station you worked sends in his log, he is worth 2 points per band as multiplier. A non-participating DX station (no log submitted) counts as 1 multiplier point per band. Don't worry about the scoring; just dust off the old rig and sneak away to the shack for good old fun!

73 and 58 to everyone! DE K2TE