Tiny Elephant's Contest Corner

The Latest Contest News -
A NARC Bulletin Exclusive

A monthly column by Ed Deichler, K2TE

Are You Ready for Prime Time?

It seems hard to believe but Field Day is just a month away. It seems like Field Day comes around faster each year. I doubt that the compressed waiting period has anything to do with age on my part. Rather, I think it has to do with NARC’s accomplishments over the years taking longer to fade into memory. We have managed to win Field Day outright for the last 4 years in a row, each time improving like fine wine. In 1997, we outdid ourselves with one of our 4 towers going to 100 feet for the first time. We had a ball (as usual) with all the beams and stations on the air. QST honored us in the November issue with a spectacular cover picture of the “Hurricane Hill Skyneedle” engulfed by a beautiful sunset.

The following year saw us return with another super club effort and an all-time club best score, thanks largely to the propagation Gods smiling on 10 meters. We didn’t capture the cover of QST again, but we received nearly a complete columns- width of coverage embracing a remarkable photo. Ray, W1BC, curator of the Marconi Museum in Bedford, NH, honored NARC with a visit from Guglielmo Marconi’s daughter, Princess Elettra, who was in the US for the museum’s opening.

So what is NARC going to do for 1999? More of the same? That depends on one’s perspective. I can certainly appreciate more of the same preparation, enthusiasm, and innovation that we have displayed over the years. We will be operating from the rolling hills of Hollis, NH for the eighth year in a row (I think). Yeah, I know, I’ve been saying, “this is the last year” for about 4 years now, but maybe this “more of the same” is not so good. I’m not complaining about the location (I love it!) but the question of safety. We have been anchoring the guy wires for several of the towers to tree stumps that have begun to rot and could pose a problem. It is not going to be a show stopper since we always seem to rise to the challenge of any obstacles.

I wonder if having the same tower climbers every year is such a good idea. I must admit it is comforting to have experienced folks putting up towers and hauling up beams. However, a lot of the same folks also volunteer to be station masters and even end up dragging their tired bones back up the towers to tear them down two days later. After a while, tower work gets kind of old, and the climbers are not getting any younger.

I wonder about the same operators each year. I have to tread lightly here since I love to operate Field Day. The club has been blessed with a great group of veteran contesters and some spirited young lions to rack up contacts. However, I have to wonder if the contesters among us get a little tired of the same band every year. I also wonder if occasional operators feel left out or intimidated if they don’t work stations rapid- fire.

If it sounds like things are a bit stale, maybe its time to prime the pump. I think it’s time for the NARC spirit of “just do it” to look to the future. We have experienced a significant growth in club members in the past couple of years. It is time to reach into the ranks of the club and prime new contesters, just like the veteran Field Day group we have now. If we can get several folks interested by helping them along with tower work or operating a station, we will be making an investment in lasting excitement for the hobby that will pay dividends in the future. Yeah, we may not win the whole thing this year - do we HAVE to? - but I’m sure we will in the fun category. So how about it? Are you ready for prime time?

ANARTS Worldwide RTTY / Digital Contest, June 12-13

This RTTY contest is held over the full 48 hours of the weekend. Operation is limited to 30 hours for single operators while multi- operator station can operate over the entire weekend. Although all digital modes are allowed, the contest usually is dominated by RTTY. The contest covers 80 through 10 meters with the exchange consisting of RST, CQ zone, and time in UTC. Multipliers are the ARRL DXCC countries plus the 8 Australian call districts, Japanese districts, the Canadian provinces, and US call areas. Each continent counts only once as an additional multiplier. Each Australian station worked counts as 100 points on 20 meters; 200 points on 15; 300 points on 10; 400 points on 40 and a whopping 500 points on 80. These get added into the total score. (I realize this seems strange, but since the Australians are sponsoring it, must be “Aussie rules”). Logs go to VK2BQS by 1 September.

All-Asia CW DX Contest, 19-20 June

This contest is an Asian version of the ARRL DX contest that is 48 hours long with the objective of the rest of the world trying to work the Asian continent and immediate island nations. The “island nations” do NOT include DU, YB, VK, ZL, or any of the pacific islands. This means anyone from 4X4 to UA0 to 9M2 to 4S7 is fair game for us. Categories are single operator-single band, single operator-multiband, and multioperator-multiband. The contest spans 160 (almost impossible this time of the year) to 10 (good bet). Exchange is RST and operator’s age (“00” for YLs). Each DXCC country counts as a multiplier and each QSO on 160 is worth 3 points - if you can get one - followed by 2 points for 80 meters and 1 point each for the other bands. Logs go to the JARL in Japan by 30 July.

ARRL Field Day, 26-27 June

The grand finale for June is the annual ARRL Field Day contest. NARC tries to take advantage of all the operating opportunities Field Day has to offer. Since the “Fletch and Ray” organizing team will showcase our effort this year, I’ll leave the details to them at the June club meeting. If you can’t make it out to the NARC site, don’t be afraid to get on the air and look for N1FD. We plan to be on everywhere so finding us should not be a problem.

73 and see you all at Field Day! de K2TE