[HCRA] 10m contest Rules, Teaser, Propagation and Antenna Project

[djs13@hotmail.com]

Hello all,

This weekend is the ten meter contest. I am sure you will get more =
emails, but I figured since I was prepping myself I might as well write =
a really long email on a couple of things to stir the pot.

Rules: http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2002/10-meters.html

KX1X is looking for some competition in Western Mass as he defends his =
1st place in the section from last year. Mark K1TS now K1MZ??? is =
looking to do the same for his CW QRP place. I understand that KK1W also =
had an award (sorry Jim it escapes me which one.) Who will dethrone =
these guys? A dipole and a hundred watts on 10m is more power then you =
really need most of the time. I can vouch for that myself since I used =
to run only a loop and a hundred watts on 10m and had a ball at the low =
point in the cycle the last time I did this contest. Take an hour and =
enjoy yourself during the test. If you computer log it make sure you =
follow the league rules about formatting and note HCRA as your club. If =
you need a computer logging program or if you need help, holler I am =
sure someone will be knowledgeable enough to sort it out.

Propagation:

The good news is no solar storms are expected tomorrow. The bad news is =
the A is high. The good news is the K is low and the local weather is =
supposed to be crappy keeping us all home. Sounds like a typical 10m =
contest to me. I hope as many people who can get on and toss their =
scores to the club. We came in 10th in the country for club scores in =
the NEQP with just 4 submissions. With 10 submissions we could have done =
a lot better. Let's get 10 submissions for this contest.

The best method of deicing an antenna is running RF thru it and yelling =
really loud for a JA!!!!!!!! (It's also the best way to get divorced or =
evicted hi hi!)

Just as a tease, I have run a few paths thru miniprop, a propagation =
program for those unfamiliar with it. Seems long path to JA is a good =
thing and same with VK. Africa and Europe should open up really early =
Saturday and Sunday morning during and after local sunrise if the solar =
noise and absorption is low. MUF's should easily exceed 30 MHz ***IF*** =
the sun cooperates. (For those who want a copy of this DOS program let =
me know and I can attach and send it. It's very small and if I can use =
it anyone can. It's the most self explanatory program I have used in DOS =
ever.) If you are on at night remember this: 10m is apt to open up =
unexpectedly short hop and up and down the coast and out to the midwest =
for no reason other than it can. This is where you get your close in =
states for WAS and they are also mults this time around.

Below is a copy of the WWV report I found on line as of tonight:

:Product: Geophysical Alert Message wwv.txt
:Issued: 2002 Dec 13 0002 UTC
# Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Environment Center
#
#          Geophysical Alert Message
#
Solar-terrestrial indices for 12 December follow.
Solar flux 153 and mid-latitude A-index 6.
The mid-latitude K-index at 0000 UTC on 13 December was 2 (10 nT).

No space weather storms were observed for the past 24 hours.

No space weather storms are expected for the next 24 hours

A Simple 10m Loop:

Please note these are not scientific directions for launching an AMSAT =
Satellite and are meant as a quick and painful method of getting on the =
air in less than an hour. For better directions consult the Antenna =
Handbook!
  a.. 36' of wire
  b.. 74" *roughly* of 75ohm coax RG 59 *thin stuff*
  c.. you figure out how much 50ohm stuff to run to your rig
  d.. 3 insulators for a delta or 4 insulators for a quad loop
  e.. twine
  1.. Take your length of wire and string the insulators onto it.
  2.. Twist off the two ends of the wire on one of the insulators.
  3.. Solder or Tape or Alligator clip the length of 75 Ohm coax to the =
loop. *Personally I use solder just because I like the mechanical =
strength and knowing its a solid contact. Others prefer the tape or =
alligator clip whatever works for you.*
  4.. On one end each, prepare the two lengths of coax for splicing by =
stripping back the outer cover, exposing a short piece of center =
conductor and a short portion of the shield on each line. Twist the two =
(2) pieces of center conductor and two (2) pieces of shield together and =
then SOLDER the 75 ohm line directly to your 50 ohm line. Being careful =
not to create a short between the wires, tape well for a good seal. *If =
you want to be really fancy use shrink wrap. Just remember to string the =
shrink wrap on the coax first.*
  5.. Using the twine and setting the insulators at their desired =
spacing *this will create your triangle *delta loop* or square/rectangle =
*quad loop* Hang the antenna from a support *a set of trees, a set of =
rafters, a couple of posts etc.* at least a quarter wavelength off the =
ground. On 10m this is about 9 feet. The higher the better for the feed =
point. Horizontal or vertical is up to your circumstances. I like =
horizontal as I have found it quieter. You could argue vertical as a lot =
of people use converted 11m antennas on 10m.=20
  6.. Pug it into the radio and you should find that you DO NOT need a =
tuner for most of 10m. The 75ohm section is a coaxial transformer and =
its a bit of a trick I got from the ARRL Antenna Book with more info =
from KK1W and N1SR years ago. This should replace the need for the use =
of a tuner at all. If you are running a tube radio this should make your =
day as its one less set of knobs to toy with as you QSY around. For the =
transistor rigs its a snap for the rig to go from 28.300 to 29.000 as =
needed with little tuning. To adjust the center frequency up or down =
consult the formulas* in your test study packets or the ARRL Antenna =
book.
*=3D look for a formula on loop antennas and also for deterring the =
velocity factor for the coax used (this should be in chart form).

NOTE: It has taken me longer to write this email then it does to build =
the antenna. Considering how inept I can be with a soldering iron, this =
says a lot. So that means no excuses. Also, I am sure some of you more =
technically oriented can sit and nitpick at my directions and =
explanations of things. Feel free to do so just as long as you do it =
during the contest while racking up mults.=20

Good luck and drop me a note if you have any questions. I will be happy =
to help with the antenna. I will be in and out of work this weekend and =
thus the house so catch me early.

See you on the test below 28.300 I hope.

Dan S.
AA1TE


--- StripMime Report -- processed MIME parts ---
multipart/alternative
  text/plain (text body -- kept)
  text/html
The reason this message is shown is because the post was in HTML
or had an attachment. Attachments are not allowed.
Please post in Plain-Text only.---