[NLRS] NLRS: 2009 Year in Review
W0ZQ at aol.com
W0ZQ at aol.com
Thu Dec 31 18:09:24 EST 2009
Seasons greetings to all in NLRS land.
With 2010 upon us its once again time for us to reflect back on the
previous year. While the World has ebbed and flowed around us with all of its
turbulence during 2009, its our friends, families, and yes hobbies, that
ground us. Here is a summary of NLRS 2009.
* January VHF Contest. NLRS submitted 12 logs and placed 10th out of 18
clubs in the medium category. Club scores came from W0GHZ, W0ZQ, N0KP,
K0SIX, KC0IYT/R, W0VB, NG0R, K0AWU, W0IS, KC0RQH, WB0LJC, and W0JLF.
* Minnesota QSO Party. The NLRS moved up three clicks this year to finish
in 2nd place out of 31 clubs. We also had the most number of logs, nine,
from W0ZQ, W9FZ (2), N0HJZ, KC0P, NG0R, W0TLE, K0SIX, and W0JLF. W9FZ took
home the bacon in the VHF category. Make sure to mark down Saturday,
February 6th, 2010 for this fun event.
* San Bernardino Microwave Society 2 GHz & Up Contest. NLRS has been
using this fun springtime operating event for several years now. The event
uses distance scoring and is a club competition only. I am proud to say that
NLRS once again won this event in 2009 with logs from AI9Z, K0AWU, K0HAC,
K0KFC, KC0IYT, KC0P, KM0T, N0EDV, N0HJZ, N0KP, N0UK, W9GHZ, W9JT, W0ZQ,
WA0SSN, WA2VOI, and WB0LJC. This group made 146 2304 MHz contacts, 79 3456 MHz
contacts, 134 5760 MHz contacts, 368 10 GHz contacts, and four 24 GHz
contacts. Looking for something to do this winter - how about adding a 2304
and up transverter ? While 10 gig's is the main band for activity, we now
has stations active from 2304 through 24 gigs. What great synergy !
* Aurora 2009. Attendance was up slightly to 61. Electronic registration
was tried for the first time and appeared to be generally accepted. With
the conference moved to May, the weather was excellent. The morning
antenna range gave way to afternoon programs from VE3KRP, VE4MA, K0MHC, KC0P,
K0AWU, and N0HJZ. A big thanks to K0AWU for coordinating the afternoons
technical program. Bill, K0AWU was also this years Wesslund Award winner ... a
double congratulations !. The 2008 Limited Rover Awards were given to
Mike, WB8BZK for 1st and David, N9TTX, for 2nd place. The club agreed to
donate $100 to QTH.net for hosting our mailing list, $100 to the ARRL Education
& Technology Fund, and $100 to the ARRL Spectrum Defense Fund. Aurora10
will be held at the same location on May 15, 2010.
* June VHF Contest
The NLRS had a great turn out in June with 22 logs. NLRS placed 5th of 30
clubs in the medium category. This was the first use of our new club
call, W0AUS, as a multi-op station from atop Buck Hill operating FD style.
W0AUS (K0TAR, KA0RYT, KC0IYT, N0HJZ, N0KP, and W0JT) finished 6th in the
nation in the Multi-op class, W0ZQ/R was 10th in the rover category, and
WA0VPJ/R was 3rd in the Limited Rover class. The 22 logs came from W0AUS, K0SIX,
KA0PQW, W0VB, N0EO, K0AWU, W0GHZ, WA0VPJ/R, W0ZQ/R, NG0R, W6GMT, KC0RQH,
W0TLE, WB0LJC/R, K0MHC/R, WA2VOI/R, W0IS/R, KB0NES/R, K0JSP, KC0OIA.R, K0VG,
and KC0P/R.
* Central States VHF Society Conference. Held in Elk Grove Village,
Illinois, saw a number of NLRS members in attendance. Several NLRS members are
currently serving as CSVHFS board members including W9FZ, N0UK, and W0ZQ.
Next years conference will be in St. Charles, MO, a nice one day drive
from the Twin Cities area.
* August UHF Contest. Rovermania (VI) once again saw a big push for
rovers and for activity overall. Logs were up to 244 this year with 67 of
those logs rovers - a big increase in both categories ! In the first year of
the club competition, NLRS finished 2nd out of 10 clubs in the medium
category and with the highest number of logs at 31 ! W0UC finished 5th in the
nation in the SOLP category, KM0T #1 in the SOHP, W0AUS # 1 multi, in the
rover group W0ZQ/R # 7, W9FZ # 8, and KC0IYT/R # 10, and in the rover limited
group WA0VPJ/R # 4, K9JK/R # 5, and N0EDV/R # 8. Club logs included
K0AWU, K0HAC/R, K0MHC/R, K0SIX, K9MU/R, KA0PQW, KB0NES/R, KBOOZN, KC0IYT/R,
KC0OIA/R, KC0P/R, KC0PMW/R, KC0RQH, KC9ECI, KC9FVW, KE3QY/R, KM0T, N0AKC,
N0EDV/R, N0HZO/R, N0UK/R, W0AUS (N0HJZ, N0KP, WA0RSE, K0TAR, KC0IYT), W0GHZ,
W0IS/R, W0JT/R, W0OHU, W0UC, W0ZQ/R, WA0VPJ/R, WA2VOI/R, and WB0LJC/R.
* September VHF Contest. The 2009 contest results are still pending, but
in 2008 the club finished in 9th place out of 18 clubs in the medium
category. N0KP was 7th in the nation in the SOLP class, W9FZ/R was 10th in the
rover class, while WA0VPJ/R was 2nd and K9JK/R was 10th in the limited
rover class.
* 10 GHz & Up Contest. The results for this years contest are still pend
ing. However, 2008 was a banner year for the NLRS with club members taking
all top ten spots in the 10 GHz Only class - wow !
In closing out the year 2009, I turn my final thoughts to Tony Kissinger,
KD0JI, SK. I am sure that many of us, including myself, have fond memories
of Tony - I can still taste his professionally grilled brat's during the 10
GHz contest .... one advantage of operating with the fixed group and
wherever Tony was ! Its gratifying to see that Tony finished in 8th place in
the nation during 2008 10 GHz contest - nice show Tony ... we will miss you
OM.
And with that, we turn forward towards 2010 and what the new year will hold
for all of us. First off, please make sure to attend Aurora 2010. Yes,
it collides with Dayton, and for that I apologize that you may need to make
a call as to where you spend your time - my only plug here is that Aurora
is about us ... you and me and the NLRS. Also, consider attending the
Central States VHF Society near St. Louis, MO this summer. Its only a one day
drive from NLRS land and the conference is likely to head further south for
2011.
In closing, please remember that this is your club. We have all seen
clubs come and clubs go, and the common denominator in all their success, or
lack of success, is member involvement. What does this mean for you? - it
means jump into a contest, volunteer to help with an event or with the web
site, share your experiences on our reflector, add a band, give a
presentation at a local FM club, try a new mode, write an article for Central States,
participate, and foremost have fun in this great hobby that we have. I
have said this before, and will be guilty of repeating myself here - what
makes a good club "good" is it members. NLRS members support each other,
share ideas, share equipment, promote activity, encourage newcomers, try new
bands and new modes, and challenge new propagation paths. I am looking
forward to 2010 and the fun that it will bring to us.
Happy New Year NLRS land.
73, Jon
W0ZQ
President NLRS
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