Tiny Elephant's Contest Corner
The Latest Contest News -
A NARC Bulletin Exclusive
A monthly column by Ed Deichler, K2TE
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Beware the Digion!
I don’t know what it is or where it came
from. I do know that it is not a virus because
I haven’t downloaded anything weird and
opened it. Besides, the particular computer is
not connected to the Internet and I just use
virgin disks for backups. It started several
months ago and seems to keep coming back
like an incriminating bloodstain to drive me
mad. Care to figure it out?
Like all nightmares, it started innocently
enough. I noticed that my trusty ol’ 38, right
in the middle of the CQ WW CW contest. It
was a minor inconvenience since the CT
contest program logs each QSO to the hard
drive so nothing gets lost. I shrugged it off
as some stray RF running down one of the
lines snaking around the back of my desk.
When it happened a couple more times, I
started wondering if I was driving the amp
too hard. Oh well, I rationalized, I can live
with 3-4 crashes over a 48-hour contest.
The next opportunity to see if it was just
“one of those things” was during the ARRL
CW DX contest. I had Rex, K1HI, over to
work the contest with me so we both could
watch what would happen. I don’t recall it
crashing as much. It even stayed on for
several hours during the wee hours of the
night when I crashed and before Rex arrived.
(Now, the relationship between the rig and
the contest program - well that is another
nightmare for another time.) We finished the
contest in great style, almost equaling my
previous best for the event.
I did not observe any crashing in the time
between the CW contest and the SSB contest
2 weeks later. Rex and I again teamed up to
work the contest. This time, the computer
began crashing more frequently, especially
near the end of the contest. Again, I thought
the problem was due to RFI in the shack,
especially since Rex’s voice is much
stronger than mine (as we noticed from the
RF in the audio… and my neighbor’s
computer and TV). However, I noticed a
change in the pattern of failure. The
computer was not only crashing more
frequently but it would crash when I was
NOT operating. My vexation turned to alarm
when I would come back into the shack after
taking a break to be startled by a blank
screen staring at me like a dead eyeball.
When I calmed down somewhat, I began to
wonder if the problem was the power supply
shutting down from over-temperature
conditions. After all, the XYL had put a lot
of hours on the computer over the years
before I got it for the ham shack.
While I was pondering a “new” old
computer for ham stuff, it occurred to me
that I would have to jiggle the power cord to
get the computer to restart whenever it
crashed. I began to wonder if the power cord
had developed a hairline crack in one of the
wires. After all, the cord had hung down
from the desk to the breakout box on the
floor for years and maybe gravity Murphy
finally got to it. No problem, plenty of
power cords around; I’ll just replace it.
I replaced the power cord and sure enough -
no difference. Oh well, I really didn’t expect
to get off that easy. As my despair deepened,
I noticed a strange sound coming from the
computer. It sounded almost like a low,
human voice. I leaned over the computer,
half-perplexed and half-frightened. The
voice sounded like a taunting laugh. I shook
my head and tried to assure myself that the
sound was just the power supply fan was
dying. I negotiated with the XYL to let me
use her 386 which is a year younger than the
one I was using and maybe not ready to go
south. So I set about swapping out boards
and re-loading software so I could get back
up and running anxiety-free. I got
everything set and plugged the computer in
to let it run.
An hour went by, then two. The computer
was running fine! I finally got the problem
licked! As the time approached 3 hours, the
screen suddenly went blank. I jerked my
head down to look at the computer and it
was dead. I started babbling incoherently as
I struggled to understand what was
happening. Meanwhile, my Pentium
machine continued to run for hours on end
without any complaints. Again applying my
great analytical mind, I noticed that the
Pentium ran off a separate wall socket that
had its own surge protector on it. AHA!
That’s it; dirty electricity is giving the 386 a
binary aneurysm. I’ll just plug it in to the
other socket and I’ll be back in the pink.
I squirmed around moving wires to plug the
computer into the other socket. Once I got
everything in place, I fired up the computer
and left the room to take care of other
chores. I dropped in periodically to check on
it and breathed a sigh of relief as time passed
and it stayed up. A few hours after the
changeover, I strolled into my shack to do
some hamming - and screamed. The
computer was dead again!! This can’t be
right! I swear the thing is possessed. Yes,
that has to be it. Murphy has created some
kind of digital dragon that slays computers -
the Digion! How am I going to exorcise this
thing? Will I ever be sane again? (Ed Note:
Again?) More on this problem after more
problem happens… To be continued…
CQ Worldwide WPX Contest, 29-30 May.
The CW edition of the WPX contest takes
place over the Memorial Day weekend for
48 hours. Like its SSB counterpart, the
object is to work as many different prefixes
as possible on 160 through 10 meters. The
48 hours applies only to multioperator
stations; all other categories are limited to 36
hours of operation. Off periods for single
operator stations must be at least 60 minutes.
Power categories are QRP (<5 watts); low
power (100 watts); and high power. There
are a number of interesting operating
categories besides the traditional single
operator/multioperator groups. Modest
stations with a tribander and dipoles have
their own category (tribander/single
element). Another is a restricted band
entrant, such as a novice or a technician. A
rookie entrant is one who has had a license
for 3 years or less. Contest exchange is a
report plus a progressive 3-digit number;
multi operator stations will use a separate
serial number for each band. QSOs on 10
through 20 meters between different
continents are worth 3 points each while
contacts on 40, 80, and 160 count 6 points
each. Same-continent QSOs in North
America are 2 point and 4 points for the
respective band groups for US/VE and
US/XE, US/TG, etc. Finally, contacts in the
US count as multipliers but not points.
10-10 International QSO Party, 1-2 May
This contest usually has a large number of
participants and is not always an intense,
high-speed melee. The ten-ten group was
started years ago to keep 10 meters active
through the long solar “winter” and it has
become popular especially with the large
number of no-code licensees. The contest is
48 hours long and takes place on CW and
RTTY. There is just a single operator
category so it is more of a laid-back contest.
The exchange is RST, name, State, and 10-
10 number (I believe you send a serial
number if not a member). Scoring is 1
point/non-member, 2 points/member.
ARI International DX Contest, 1-2 May
The Italians check in with their version of an
international DX contest. This is a
worldwide event occupying 24 hours
beginning at 2000Z on Saturday. Operation
is permitted on CW, SSB, and RTTY with
single operator categories in each mode,
multi-op/single transmitter, and SWL.
Exchange is a RST and serial number for us,
RST and 2-letter province code for Italian
stations. Points are awarded as 1/own-
continent QSOs; 3/different continent, and
10/any Italian station and IS0. Multipliers
are Italian provinces (103 total) and DXCC
countries. Logs go to I2UIY by 2 June 99.
Stateside QSO Parties
Connecticut, Massachusetts, 1-2 May.
Oregon, Nevada, Georgia, 8-9 May.
With the return of spring comes a flowering
of stateside QSO parties. All of these
contests are held on 80 thru 10 meters, with
several of them adding 160 meters. They
also require a signal report and state from
out-of-state stations while hams within the
contest states send report and county. The
Connecticut contest is limited to CW and
RTTY while all the others offer CW and
SSB except Nevada which offers SSTV,
RTTY, and Packet! Except for Oregon
which runs for 48 hours, each contest is
broken up into a portion of the weekend.
Most contests ask for logs to be submitted
within 30 days of the end of the events.
These contests are usually low-key events
that are a good way to build your contesting
skills and work on your 5-band WAS.
Tiny Elephant’s Spring-Cleaning Tip:
Here
is a tip that allows you to get your shack
cleaned up - and you don’t have to do it! If
your spouse has been complaining about
solder droppings, stale chips, and dried pizza
littering the floor, here’s how to take care of
it. First, get a roll of duct tape. Sneak into
the kid’s room when he/she is not there.
Find a pair of those carpet-sweeping jeans
kids are wearing, the grungier, the better.
Apply the duct tape sticky-side out to the
bottom of each leg, throw them back in the
drawer, and go back to the shack. Later,
when your kid comes in to ask you take
them somewhere or bugs you for the car
keys, just ignore him. (Note: this is easy if
you have headphones on.) When the young
one gets restless and starts pouting continue
as before. Soon, he/she will begin stomping
around the room in a tantrum. In the process,
the duct tape gathers up all the crud from
your floor and - presto! - it’s clean. Just take
an annoyed peek to make sure nothing gets
missed before you “give in”. As an added
benefit, your kid will be thrilled with the
new, trashy look to show his/her friends.
(Disclaimer: This is a Tiny Elephant
original. I know guys have made $ from
books on duct tape. Hey, if you guys find
this web-surfing, go ahead and use it.)
73, de K2TE
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