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* * * PVRC NEWSLETTER - AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2001 * * *
PVRC CALENDAR:
Weekly Wed BWI Regional weekly breakfast.
Wednesdays 7:30 am, Basil's Deli,
Elkridge Landing Rd near BWI.
Monthly Over-the-Hill Luncheon. TBA.
Aug 2 Thu PVRC/NC meeting.
Aug 17 Fri SWVA meeting.
Aug 18 Sat Fowlfest at W3YOZ park in Churchton, MD
Aug 21 Tue Northwest region meeting.
Tidewater Colony meeting.
Sep 6 Thu PVRC/NC meeting
Sep 10 Mon Center meeting. Location TBA
Sep 18 Tue Northwest Region meeting.
Tidewater Colony meeting. MD.
Sep 21 Fri SWVA meeting.
Sep 30 Sun PVRC meeting at F.A.R.fest 2001 at
PG Stadium in Bowie, MD
Oct 4 Fri PVRC/NC meeting.
CONTEST PREPARATION AND OPERATING by Ken Claerbout K4ZW
I'd like to start out by thanking our editor, Dick K3DI for
providing space in the newsletter for this two part series on
Contest Preparation and Operating Strategy. One of the goals of
PVRC for the coming contest season is to regain an upper hand in
the club competition of ARRL Sweepstakes. A number of members
have or will be sharing their thoughts on this contest. The
focus of this writing will be on my favorite, the DX contests.
Nevertheless, there is a good amount of overlap between domestic
and international contesting so I invite you to take advantage of
the wealth of experience our club has to offer. My goal is to
share some thoughts and lessons learned with the hope that others
can use it to increase their enjoyment and ultimately their
scores in the upcoming contest season.
The first area to address is the station. There is still time
and good weather left to complete antenna/tower projects and
station maintenance. I like to keep a 8" by 5" index card with a
prioritized list of new projects such as an upgrade to my 160
meter antenna system and another list of maintenance items like,
correcting an RFI problem with my SO2R (Single Operator 2 Radio)
box. To the extent possible, it's beneficial to implement at
least one new feature into your station a year whether it be a
new dipole, stacked beams, or a new radio. Along with improving
your final score, it helps to keep the interest level high. Last
season I added stacked beams for 10 & 15 meters. I was eager for
CQWW to roll around so I could see how they held up to the
competition. With our busy schedules, it never fails that we are
rushing to complete something the week before a contest. Having
a prioritized list, will help you to make the best use of the
time you have to devote to your station.
The next area to look at is contest strategy. What category do
you want to operate? The most important question to ask is what
are the strengths and weaknesses of you as an operator and your
station? Secondly, what operating style is going to give you the
most enjoyment and what are your goals? After all, if you're not
having fun, why do it? If your goal is to come away with a
certificate or plaque to hang on your wall and you have a good
15-meter antenna system, you might want to consider a single band
15 meter entry. Whatever category you decide on, take a look at
the results from the past couple of years and set a goal of where
you feel you can reasonable finish. As I was building up my SOAB
(Single Operator All Band) station, I used Fred K3ZO as a
measuring stick. My goal was to be able to compete on the same
level that Fred has been doing for so many years. I knew that
should I reach that goal, I would have accomplished something
pretty special.
For those who decide to operate on all bands, I'd like to share a
few tools I use for building an operating strategy. How do you
know what bands to operate on and at what time? I like to use an
Excel spreadsheet to list all 48 hours of the contest in one
column, and another column with choice one and choice two of the
bands I want to target during these periods. A forth column is
added for comments. Many of the choices are no-brainers but I
find it useful to think through an operating plan before the
contest and also, I have something to refer to later in the
contest when fatigue becomes an issue. When filling out the
spreadsheet, I like to refer to the hourly rate sheets from some
of the other single operator stations and particularly that of
W3LPL. Frank's team has each band fully staffed so his rate
sheet gives a great overview of what bands were hot during
various times throughout a 48-hour contest. I typically look at
rate sheets from the previous year's contest and if available,
the sheets from the previous months contest. (CQWW SSB sheets in
preparation for CQ WW CW). This band plan should be considered
as a guide. Conditions will of course vary so you should be
prepared to make adjustments to your band plan as appropriate.
Rate sheets are usually posted on the 3830 contest reflector.
You can always ask an operator if they will share their rate
sheet. Many of them are willing to share this information. If
you would like to see a copy of a band plan, drop me an e-mail.
([email protected])
I hope this has given you some ideas and motivation to prepare
for the fast approaching contest season. PVRC has a wealth of
contest experience. I would encourage others to share their
secrets to success. A good forum is the PVRC reflector. Next
month, we'll take a look at operating the actual contest.
JOINT NCDXA/PVRC FOWLFEST TO BE HELD ON SATURDAY, AUGUST 18TH
It's Fowlfest time!. The joint PVRC and NCDXA meeting will be
hosted again by Marty, W3YOZ, at his "park" near Annapolis.
Festivities start at noon on Saturday, August 18, with BBQ
chicken and drinks. Some folks may bring the optional salad,
dessert or other munchies. Everybody should bring a big
appetite! Directions:
From Virginia: I-95/I-495 to MD Route 4 (PA Ave. South/East);
turn off at MD Route 258 (Bristol/Deale); take 258 to MD Route
256; turn left and go to Rodgers Road; turn right, go to gravel
road on left, turn left; go to 1062 sign turn right and go to
picnic grounds at the water's edge.
From U.S. DC Beltway/50: Take Beltway to Route 50; take Route 50
east. After crossing Patuxent River the next turnoff is MD Route
424 (Davidsonville Road); take 424 towards Davidsonville, cross
over route 214 (Central Ave), and continue until it dead ends at
MD Route 2. Turn right, go 200 feet and turn left on Mill Swamp
Road. Continue to MD Route 468 (Muddy Creek Road); turn right on
route 468 and go 6 miles to the traffic light at MD Route 256.
Turn right on MD Route 256 and continue to Rodgers Road (first
left after the Churchton Post Office); turn left on Rodgers Road,
go to gravel road on left; turn left, go to 1062 sign, turn right
and go to water's edge.
From I-97: Take I-97 South to MD Route 665 (Allen Blvd.); take
665 to MD Route 2; take Route 2 south to Mill Swamp Road (first
left after Route 424 on right); take Mill Swamp Road to MD Route
468 and follow the directions above.
HAMFEST CALENDAR
Aug 11 Sat Westmister MD
Aug 12 Sun Shrewsbury PA
Sep 1 & 2 Shelby NC Hamfest
Sep 9 Sat Poconos area PA (QTH?)
Sep 15 Sat Allentown PA
Sep 16 Sun York PA
Sep 30 Sun F.A.R.fest, Bowie MD
Oct 7 Sun Howard County MD
Oct 14 Sun Wrightstown PA
Oct 21 Sun Sellersville PA
Oct 21 Sun Westminster MD
Oct 28 Sun Carlisle PA
WWW.PVRC.ORG by Pete Smith, N4ZR
Complete 5M award results for the 2000-2001 contest season are
now available at www.qsl.net/n4zr/pvrc5m.htm. For the moment, to
add up your lifetime total 5M points and see whether you've made
it to the award threshold, you'll need to add this year's points
to the total for the three preceding years (also on the website).
Revised overall totals are in the works.
Pictures from the record-breaking W3AO PVRC Field Day are now up
on the website at www.pvrc.org, and photos from K4JA's open house
will be there soon.
A final note ... to access the members page, you need to enter
the username PVRC and password member (in lower case).
TREASURER REPORT by Dave Baugher, WR3L
I would like to thank the following for the donation to PVRC in
May, June and July:
K7SV, W4IF, K3SV, W4HZ, W3AZ, W3TEF, KD4D, KC4AUF, KS4RX, WJ9B,
K4JA, N7PD, W3AZD, N3UM, AD3F, W6NRJ, W4RIM, K3GEG, N1WR, W3ABC,
W3YD, N3SB, N3HXQ, KC3D, N3TKV, K3ZO, KV3R, KC3EK, WA8WV, W3TEF,
K3SX, HC1CYB, N4ZH, N2WW, WA4QDM, W4DR, K1RZ, N3RQV, K4RET, K3FT,
N3EH, AK3Z, WF3J, N3VOP, K4FJ, N7PD, N3HF, W3IUU, NX9T, K3MQH,
KC9LC, K3TLX, K3SW, AA3SB, N3WKE, W3OQ, K3CTR, WA3AMH, W4HM,
AA3LE, W2YE, W4PRO, K3KZ, W3ECU, N4TW AND K3TM. (Hope I didn't
miss anyone)
I have received a few more badge orders and ARRL renewals. Please
send me your badge order as soon as possible since the blanks for
PVRC are getting low. Please don't forget to renew ARRL through
the club.
I have corrected the sponsoring of SS plaques for PVRC. We have
sponsored SOHP CW Roanoke Div and SOHP SSB Roanoke Div for 2000.
For 2001 SS we will sponsor:
SOLP SSB Atlantic
SOHP SSB Roanoke
SOLP CW Atlantic
SOHP CW Roanoke
Again, thanks to all that have donated monetarily to the club but
we still need the participation in the contests. Keep the SS
weekends open and plan to operate!
MINUTES FROM W3LPL OPEN HOUSE by Brian McGinnes, N3OC, Pres.
PVRC Minutes from W3LPL open house meeting, Saturday 6/16/01.
The PVRC meeting began in Frank's garage at 3pm on Saturday June
16th, during a cloudburst.
The following were signed in: K3RA, N3OC, N3UM, K1EFI, W6NRJ,
W3MR, W3KN, W8ZA, WR3Z, ND3A, N1WR, W3EKT, W3AZ, K3TZV, N3KTV,
KA3EJJ, NE3H, K3VW, W2GPS, K2YWE, K2PLF, W3AZD, WB3ANE, K1HTV,
K3LP, K3DI, N3FZB (guest), K3FT, W3OQ, AJ3M, N7PD, K3MM, W3TMZ,
W2GG, WF3J, K7SU, W3YOZ, W3TEF, WB3FID, N4MM, K3ZO, N4ZR, K2AV,
AI3M, K3IRV, K4ZW, K4JA, N1KC, and N8II.
N3OC gave the President's report. The trustees have voted for
their WRTC choices, and the result was emailed to Martti Laine on
6/15. The sponsors have requested that the USA clubs not
announce how they voted until after they confirm the team
captains in September. Some clubs will not be releasing their
vote at all. So I think the best way to handle it is to not
publish how we voted, but make it available to interested members
in September. I feel the trustees did an excellent job under
somewhat difficult circumstances in making their selections.
Since club affiliation is not taken into account in this WRTC, we
have no assurance that any of our members will end up being
selected. We did our best to promote them with other clubs, so I
am hopeful we will get at least one of them through.
K3MM has volunteered to be sweepstakes manager for this year.
Tyler gave a report on how we hope to encourage activity this
year. He plans on reminders, phone calls, and incentives to get
folks on. We don't need huge scores from everyone, we just need
more of our 379 in-area members to get on, and we have it made.
Last year we were third to SMC and NCCC. The gap was in number
of logs, not points per log!
An open house was held at K4JA on 7/21 in Callao, Virginia, and a
YCCC/FRC/PVRC picnic on 7/28 in New Jersey. The remaining summer
meeting is the W3YOZ Fowlfest on 8/18 in Chruchton, MD.
N1KC wants everyone to know he has plenty of color PVRC lapel
pins available. Please contact him if you want to purchase one.
WR3L gave a brief treasurer's report. If you want to renew your
ARRL membership via PVRC send it to Dave and he will take care of
it. Dave has also delivered many of the new-style PVRC badges.
Contact him if you need one.
A couple items were raised concerning contest logging software
and how to get it set up. We promised to run something in the
August newsletter of what logging software is out there, which is
free, how to get it, and how to get started logging on the
computer. Everyone agreed that the newsletter was the best means
to do this since demonstrations at meetings only capture a small
audience. N3OC and K3MM will work on this. (See the Oct issue
for software info. editor)
There were no new members to vote in. The meeting was adjourned
and a W3AO field day meeting was conducted immediately afterward.
THE K4JA OPEN HOUSE WAS HELD ON JULY 21ST.
An open house was held on July 21st and Paul and Betsy
Hellenberg's home in Callao, VA from noon. Paul has installed an
outstanding multi-multi station situated on 123 acres with a
separate contest house, separate work shop building, 5 rotating
AB-105 towers with stack OWA mono-band antennas, and a new SA
fixed tower. We also previewed the 80M 4-square and 160M tower 4
square. You had to be there to believe it. Photos will be
posted at www.pvrc.org. The station is ready and it can be
expected that Paul will be looking for operators to keep all
operating positions staffed when there is a glimmer of points to
be pulled in. Paul can be reached at via [email protected], 804-529-
7787, or POB 339, Callao, VA 22435-0339. A look at his station
and detailed directions are at his web site, www.k4ja.com. I am
sure that all attended certainly appreciate the effort Paul and
Betsy extended to make the K4JA open-house a success.
Not everyone found the sign in list so the follow list of
attenders may be incomplete. Listed were: AC4HB, K1SE, K2PLF,
K3DI, K3NC, K3ZO, K4FJ, K4JA, K4VV, K4WMS, K4ZA, K4ZW, K7SV,
KE3Q, N2NC, N2RM, N3FZB, N3OC, N6WHB, NK4H, NR4M, UA6NN, W1BM,
W3AMY, W3KN, W3LPL, W3MR, W3TEF, W3TMZ, W3YOZ, W4DAA, W4HJ, W4HZ,
W4JVN, W4MYA, W6AAN, WF3J, WK4Y, and WR3Z.
REPORT OF CARROLL COUNTY ARC & PVRC FIELD DAY by Jim Nitzberg, WX3B
I am proud to announce that through the efforts of Steve Beckman,
N3SB, there is absolutely no question that we will earn our
publicity bonus for field day in 2001. The web link to the
story in the (Front Page!) Sunday Carroll County Times is:
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm
There were many Carroll County PVRC members that participated in
K3PZN's field day including N3SB, NY3A, AK3Z, K3LP, W3JJH, N3VOP,
W3ARS, and N3FNE.
The iron man award for field day goes to one of our newest
members, Clint, W3ARS. He was field day president, station
captain of two stations, generator commander and hauler, tower
hauler and installer, and 24 hour operator. We had a bigger,
better and more fun field day than ever. Our hats are off to
you, Clint. Thanks for a great job!
Congratulations to W3AO, who at the end of the contest was
signing 26A!
Stay tuned for announcements of the next Carroll County PVRC
Activities planned for the summer.
NORTHWEST MEETING NOTES FOR JUNE, Ed Steeble, K3IXD, NW Chairman
The NW region met at Paradise Restaurant in Frederick on 19 June
2001. The attenders were: K3IXD, K3MQH, WZ3AR, K3SX, N3HBX,
N4MM, W3ZZ, N3YDT, K3ZO, W8ZA, K2UOP, K8OQL, WD3A, N3FX, W6RNJ,
and K3MM. As usual W8ZA was there shortly after 5pm with most
arriving around 6pm, yours truly arriving at 6:25, and several
getting there about 7pm. With a buffet-style dinner, the only
problem was squeezing another chair around the tables. 16
attended.
The business portion of the meeting began about 7:15. The first
item on the agenda was where do we met next month? (I have made
reservations for several tables for the July meeting, let fill
them up again.) Everyone was agreeable to meet gain at the
Paradise Restaurant.
N4MM gave us an update on the ARRL CAC. Their report hasn't been
released yet. John said the discussion points are on the ARRL web
site. He also said that Ducie Island, near Pitcairn Island,
likely to become a new country in November 2001.
W3ZZ gave us an update on his contest director activities with
CQ. Last year's CQ VHF contest was a success and he urged all to
take a break from the IARU contest and work a little 6m and 2m
(and submit the logs). He mentioned that N3HBX has a second
article published in CQ Contest.
Regarding WRTC 2002, K3ZO reported that PVRC has voted, but at
the request of the WRTC Committee, PVRC's vote isn't being made
public.
K3IXD reminded for any club competition contest, get on, submit
your log, AND inform W2GG that you submitted a club entry.
Per N4ZR e-mail on the reflector, please submit a photo and
station write to Pete for posting on the PVRC web page. He is
especially looking for single operator stations. PVRC isn't just
multi-op stations.
Again this year N3KTV is coordinating a club order with Force 12.
If interested don't miss the deadline for the discount.
Around the table; Ed, K3IXD: Ed thanked K3SX for chairing last
months meeting and writing the minutes. Ed was the 222mHz op at
K3MQH in the June VHF contest. He had photos from the site. Ed
sold his quad through an ARRL web page classified ad. Ed passed
around "Array of Light" sub-title: Straight Talk about Antenna
and Related Information, by Tom Shiller, N6BT ($10 plus $2.50
s&h). This was mentioned in a Force 12 catalogue. It does contain
a section on how to do better in contests, a good primer for
newer contesters and a refresher for the seasoned ones.
Dick, K3MQH: Dick thanked his crew for their operation in the
June VHF contest. This was K3MQH's "last hurrah" from the FM19hx
site on South Mountain.
Nat, WZ3AR: Nat will be in FD as 1D, and on Chincoteague Island,
VA (IOTA NA-083/USI VA-002S) from June 25-30, 2001. This
operation also counts for the relatively rare Accomack County, VA
and ARLHS USA-021. His operation will be nearly exclusively on
the IOTA SSB frequencies of 28.460, 24.950, 21.260, 18.128, and
14.260 +/- QRM with some side trips to the ARLHS and County
Hunter frequencies. Nat will have access to 40m as well. (During
the dinner, we learned Nat would be attending college in
Greensboro, NC. this fall. Maybe there is a PVRC-NC member near
by who can give him a seat in some of the contests.)
Sid, K3SX: He was an operator at K8GP in the VHF contest. He
operated 222 MHz and up. John, N3HBX: John was single op in the
VHF contest and bettered last years score.
John, N4MM: John operated the VHF contest from Spring Gap, VA,
low power, on 6m and 2m. Gene, W3ZZ: He was one of the K8GP crew
in the VHF contest. Gene informed us that ND3F ("Brian the
Rover") truck died so he joined W3IY/R for the contest. Brian has
already purchased an old ambulance (the box-type on an F-350
-type frame).
Jim, N3YDT: Jim made a few contacts in the VHF contest and is
working on a 2.4 GHz rig for satellite operations.
Fred, K3ZO: Fred was on for the VHF contest but missed the 2m AU.
He worked 27 EU stations in 21 different EU grids on 6m. He said
the 6m opening to EU was narrow, from Washington south through
VA, into northern NC. Fred was also in the AA contest.
Bob, W8ZA: He made only a few QSOs in the PVRC roundup, activity
was down. He announced a 3 element, 40m beam was for sale.
Tom, K2UOP: He was in the VHF contest. He bought a Commander 2m
amp at Dayton but doesn't have it yet. He enjoyed the last PVRC
newsletter. Tom is planning changes to his 80m and 160m antennas.
Jerry, K8OQL: Jerry operated the CW WPX from home as single band,
10m. He was in the AA contest too.
Tom, WD3A: By the meetings end, Tom had purchased a 3 element,
40m beam.
Tony, N3FX: Tony said he is sharpening his CW skills.
Jim, W6RNJ: Finally Jim's manager canceled the Tuesday, 5:00 to
6:30 sales meeting so he was able to attend a NW meetings. Jim is
planning to participate in future sales meeting via the cell
phone. He now has a 160m horizontal loop up at 40 feet. (Jim has
all wire antennas, but was thinking about that 40m beam W8ZA
mentioned.)
Ty, K3MM: Ty was the 2m operator at K8GP in the VHF contest. And
by e-mail from W0YR/PP (Perpetually Portable) while staying in a
Helsinki Hotel, Mike said he is on 20/40 CW and PSK31 running
15w, maybe you worked W0YR from OH or OH0. Regarding the home
station, on June 3rd Mike finished installation of two 80 foot
towers with 5 element mono yagis for 10-15-20 and a 2 element 40
beam. Between the towers is an 80m bobtail.
The PVRC NW region meets on the third Tuesday of the month in
Frederick, MD. The next gathering will be on July 17, again at
the Paradise Restaurant. The reservations are in my name for 6pm
and the business part of the evening starts about 7:15.
NORTHWEST MEETING NOTES FOR JULY by Ed Steeble, K3IXD Chairman
The NW region met at Paradise Grill in Frederick on 17 July 2001.
Attending were: K3IXD, K3NA, W8ZA, N3YDT, W3ZZ, N3HBX, N3KTV,
W3TMZ, K3SX, and N3VOP.
From CQ, W3ZZ, Gene reported that local activity in the CQ VHF
Contest was minimum. N3VOP and K3SX said they were on.
K3IXD, Ed, has been sorting his QSL cards and preparing to submit
cards to ARRL for additional band countries. He has 5BDXCC and
WAZ, this is to see how he stands on band countries and band
zones.
K3NA, Eric, is in the states for a month. He is planning to move
to W1 area (MA, NH) when he returns from Moscow at the end of the
year. He and W3ZZ told us about 80m openings and how they move
across the states.
W8ZA, Bob, reports no on-the-air activity this past month;
however, he is doing some antenna maintenance.
N3YDT, Jim, has been chasing 6m DX, beating out K3SX in some
pileups, but Sid did snag OX3NUK.
W3ZZ, Gene, told the story of how his rotor hung up, pointing
north, in the CQ VHF contest. And the troubles K8ISK, N3YDT, and
he went through to get it down.
N3HBX, John, was in the IARU contest. He likes that contest since
you have to search and pounce to find the HQ stations. John's
Force 12 antenna farm is comprised of: 2, 8 el 10m beams; 2, 7 el
15m beams, and 2, 6 el 20m beams.
N3KTV, Jim, was at K3MQH for the June ARRL VHF contest. He is
assisting with the dismantling of the K3MQH's antennas. He has
closed the Force 12 order, this year 11 different people ordered
antennas. The shipping is scheduled for the end of August.
K3SX, Sid, has 3 new 6m countries in his log book. He reports 7
QSOs on 2m in the CQ VHF Contest.
W3TMZ, Jack, moved to FL one year ago. His QTH is 60 miles north
of Tampa. He has a Tribander and a 6m antenna up. Last weekend
W3LPL and N3VOP helped take down Jack's 90 foot AB105 tower.
When asked about W3AU, Jack say he had recently visited him.
When asked how PVRCers sound in FL, he said K2UOP has a great
signal on 160m.
N3VOP, Mike, was in the CQ VHF contest, logging 14 QSOs, 12 grids
on 6m. No 2m QSOs. Note that Mike does this with a vertical
hidden in the trees at his town house.
The August meeting will be at the Paradise Grill, 1275 W. Patrick
Street, Frederick, MD. It is in Frederick Shoppers World, across
the Street from PEP Boys. (301) 682-6066.
The NW Region meetings are on the third Tuesday of the month, in
August that is the 21. Most arrive shortly after 6PM for dinner,
the meeting begins at 7:30 PM.
OVER-THE-HILL GROUP, JUNE 2001 by Bill Leavitt, W3AZ
The Over the Hill Group met at the Holliday Inn at the Beltway
and Route #1. We had a good turn out with 15 attenders. Those
attending were Fred Laun, K3ZO; Ken Miller, K6IR; Jim Headrick,
W3CP; Larry Fadnere, W3GN; Bill Leavitt, W3AZ; Tony Fauola, K3WX:
Jim Randall, N3YDT; Bill Hider, N3RR; Brian Hider, N3RR's son;
Cliff Bedore, W3CB; Howard Leake, W6AXX; Dale Harris, W4DM; Ben
Shaver, AA4XU; Hugh Turnbull, W3ABC; and Frank Donovan, W3LPL.
With this number, many conversations were carried on at the same
time on almost any subject. A good time was had by all.
RAPPHANNOCK CHAPTER REPORT by Larry Schimelpfenig, K7SV
The shack and workshop at the NR4M QTH is awaiting shingles and
electric service. NR4M and K7SV spent a morning measuring
geographic features and developed a strawman layout for the
towers and beverages.
K4ZW is polishing up his station in preparation to beat last
years scores and graduate in standing. He's now working on
phased verticals for 160M.
The trees that were far below the KT34XA when K7SV put it up
seven years ago are now growing into it. Half an element was
lost when the XA was snagged by one of the trees in a spring
wind-storm. Given the choice of removing the tree of going up
another ten feet, Mrs. K7SV agreed on the latter. There's now 65
feet of Rohn 25 in place and the kit to rebuild the KLM KT34XA
into an M2 KT36XA is on it's way.
We're looking to schedule a Rap chapter meeting in Aug.
SWVA JUNE MEETING NOTES by Mike Barts, N4GU
The SWVA chapter met at Shaker's Restaurant in Roanoke June 15,
2001. In attendance were K4IQ, K1GG, N4EL, KF4YLM, W4MAN, W0MAN
and N4GU.
K1GG and K4IQ recounted the glories of Dayton 2001 to an envious
audience.
The main tower (70' of Rohn 45G) is now up at W4MAN/W0MAN with a
KT34XA on top. As a result we expect to be hearing a lot more
from them come the fall contest season.
K1GG is planning repairs to his 40m beam this summer and hopes to
be fully QRV for the fall. There may be some other improvements
in the works too.
N4GU is planning to replace his AB-577 mast with a new AB-621
mast this summer and continues to search for a workable 75/80m
antenna for his QTH.
The Sweepstakes results were a subject of considerable
discussion. It was noted that the SWVA chapter managed a better
than 50% participation last year in Sweepstakes. We hope to do
better this year.
There will be no more regular meetings of the chapter for the
summer. Chapter summer activities will be arranged via email.
Monthly meetings will resume in the fall.
SHORT NOTES by the editor
The Foundation For Amateur Radio, Inc. recently announced this
year's winners for 65 scholarships which it administers. One of
the three FAR Silent Key Memorial Scholarships for $1000 was won
by PVRC member Andy Roberts, W3KN of Davidsonville, MD. The
Ernest L. Walker, WB3DVL Memorial Scholarship for $1000 was won
by PVRC member Jo Ann Simpson, KA3WPD of Temple Hills, MD. The
Potomac Valley Radio Club Scholarship for $1000 was won by Louis
Woofenden, KC7B of Anacortes, WA. Other Hams residing in the
PVRC area that won scholarships are KA3WVL, KB3BBF, KB3FUE,
KC4CZT, KE4ACK, KF4CJR, KF4HJO, KF4LGR, KO4SJ, N3IHX, N3MWX,
N3SRW, N3TIK, N3TMN, and N3WBM.
Larry, K7SV sends in congratulations to Ken Claerbout, K4ZW for a
NR2 USA high power finish in the 2000 CQWW DX SSB CONTEST! CQ
said "Following in second place was PVRC member Ken, K4ZW,
located in Stafford, northern Virginia. What a fine debut into
the top three." Great job Ken. It's going to be interesting to
see what you do this year with the various station improvements
you have made! Hey, the Rap Pack chapter of the worlds greatest
contest club has kicked some butt this past year!
Mike Barts, N4GU, has done a little analysis of the club
competition results from the last 4 years (results available off
the ARRL web site). There are no earth shattering conclusions,
but it points out what he thinks we all know - we have to
generate a large turnout if we want to re-take the SS crown. The
numbers of Mike's conclusions can be seen at:
http://antenna.ece.vt.edu/~n4gu/n4gu/PVRC/SS_analysis.htm
The callsign, W4ML, has been officially assigned to the CVCC
effective July 26, 2001.
Happy Birthday to Larry Fadner W3GN on his 80th.
Congratulating to Mike Sims, K4GMH, for winning the US, Single
Op, High Power category in the 2001 CQ RTTY WPX contest. His
finish was also good enough for #8 worldwide! Mike lives in
Fredericksburg, VA and is a active member of the PVRC Rappahanock
chapter.
In the 10M contest, KP2/N3IQ QRP (ND3F op) broke the world record
and W2GG, W4ZV, and W4MYA set new ARRL division records in their
categories.
The Annapolis Crew at K3DI took first place M/M SS-Phone for
Maryland (W3OQ, W3UL, K3DI) and first place M/M WPX-SSB for the
3rd call area (W3OQ, WA0QII, K3DI).
RESULTS; PVRC REUNION ON-THE-AIR by Dick Wilder, K3DI
During the reunion, Mike Cizek W3MC signed the club call, W3GRF,
and gave his location as PVRC which, within the current framework
of rules, does not count as a separate multiplier. W4YE and
others have suggested that it would be great if working W3GRF
could be counted as a new multiplier. What do the board members
think? Also, I note that nearly 50% of the 40 stations I worked
in the reunion this year were from out of the area so suggest
that such members may wish to supply an input to changing the
rules.
Does anybody know when and by whom the reunion on-the-air was
started? Bud, W4YE thinks that W3GN, W3AU, K3ZO, and W3AZD may
know the answer. Bud believes that Vic Clark W4KFC had the
original idea along with perhaps W3GRF and W4GF.
Below are results report to date. Notice that W3TMZ (Florida)
and WA7LT (Washington; ex-W9LT) finished in the top five which is
more difficult such as DC area stations band hopping via ground
wave. VK6WW (Marv Feldman KH6DL ex-WG4Q) is listed because he
reported his score of zero. He was on but the propagation gods
didn't give him a path.
Several of the participants are distant members and do not
receive the monthly issue of the PVRC NEWSLETTER. Therefore, the
final reunion scores will be published in the May 2002 issue that
goes to all persons who has ever been active in PVRC. That issue
will also contain more soapbox comments. So there is still time
to send in your score (logs are not requested) to K3DI via
[email protected], CBA, or packet before the final scores are
published! Thank you to all who particpated.
Call Q's Mult Score Finish
W4YE 110 17 3740 1
K3DI 116 16 3712 2
W3TMZ 100 17 3400 3
WA7LT 75 16 2400 4
W4EI 75 15 2250 5
K3ZO 62 15 1860
W3GRF 70 13 1820
K2PLF 57 14 1596
W3CP 41 13 1066
W4DM 40 13 1040
K3CKT 42 11 924
DK5AD 39 10 880
W2RS 31 9 558
W6MVW 20 8 320
W5KL 21 7 294
K6SG 18 7 252
W4AGI 20 6 240
W3FZV 25 8 200
WR3L 11 9 198
W4HM 13 6 156
VK6WW 0 0 0
Scores were not received from K2UFT, K3RV, K3TW, K4AW, K4TJ,
KT4P, KT5X, KZ1O, N0TK, N4AF, N4ZR, N5JB, N6RA, W3AU, W3HVQ,
W3KC, W3PAR, W4RIM, & W6UM.
S C O R E S by Bob Dannals, W2GG
Changes/additions/deletions to W2GG via [email protected] or packet.
### = missing information
DXPEDITION SCORES SHOW ONLY THE PORTION OF THE SCORE CREDITED TO PVRC.
CQ WPX CW (FINAL 07.05.2001)
CALL PWR BAND QSO MULTS SCORE
SINGLE OP - UNASSISTED
K3ZO C 2506 762 5,583,936
K2PLF TS 1723 650 3,173,300
WW4M C 10 1585 679 2,582,237
WJ9B B 1480 590 2,300,410
N1WR B 1270 562 2,000,158
N4YDU TS 1361 557 1,862,051
NV4X TS 1101 492 1,368,744
W3UJ B 987 490 1,298,990
K2UOP C 909 449 1,165,155
W4IDX TS 845 431 885,705
W3AZ C 544 338 538,434
W4YE TS 531 350 518,700
W3CP B 436 302 425,518
K4MA C 475 279 375,813
KS4XG TS 511 302 361,494
K1MW B 15 457 305 352,275
W4BQF C 410 280 302,400
N4MM C 339 269 250,977
N3UM C 326 230 220,800
K3DSP B 357 251 212,597
K4VV C 325 247 206,986
K4HA B 329 232 203,696
W2GG B 301 247 188,955
NX9T TS 301 219 178,923
KO1N B 15 647 212 137,164
W3HVQ B 185 149 75,990
AA4KD B 184 158 64,622
K8OQL C 10 174 155 60,140
K6ETM C 450 121 54,450
W2YE TS 133 111 40,404
* SINGLE OP - ASSISTED
NX3A C 2297 774 4,870,008
K3KO C 1230 612 2,260,728
K3DI C 716 459 965,277
* MULTI-SINGLE
KM4M C 3319 928 9,247,520
* MULTI-MULTI
NY4A C 5559 1046 16,343,750
WK4Y C 4304 1035 11,771,000
NR4M C 4027 981 10,158,255
WR3L C 2931 854 6,488,692
AK3Z C 1347 579 2,100,612
* DXPEDITIONS
V25A C 4815 961 6,813,971
A = QRP
B = LOW POWER
C = HIGH POWER
TS = TRIBANDER + SINGLE ELEM 160-40
BR = BAND RESTRICTED
R = ROOKIE
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
40 LOGS CW TOTAL 98,010,837
39 LOGS SSB TOTAL 76,900,272
79 COMBINED LOGS 174,911,109
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
OPERATORS:
AK3Z N3SB NY3A AK3Z WX3B
KM4M AC4HB K4JA K4ZA K9GY K9JY W4JVN
KO1N K1KO
NR4M NR4M K7SV K1SE K4EU K4EC K4GMH WA4JUK K4ZW KT3Y WK3W ND3A
NV4X K4QPL
NX3A W3PP
NY4A N4AF W2CS N4CW K7GM K2AV
V25A N3OC plus one non-PVRC
WK4Y K4GAU W4DR W4HJ WA4QDM WK4Y W4MYA
WW4M W4ZV
WR3L WR3Z K3FT WR3L
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