[SFDXA] GAZETTE newsletter #148

[Bill Marx]

 #148


> Jim's GAZETTE
> Newsletter #148
> 20 June 2003
>
> Please feel free to forward this newsletter to any
> and all interested parties, or to reproduce it in
> any other publication. All we ask is that you give
> credit where it is due.
>
> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

> SHORT NOTES: So, how�s propagation? Don�t ask me.
> Every time I sit down in front of the radio, the
> thunder begins to sound off. It can be continuous,
> rumbling hours on end, and just as often producing
> little if any rain. Last night, for example, it
> crashed all night long but virtually all of the rain
> fell a mile or so west of here, out in the Gulf of
> Mexico. This is the lightning capital of the world
> so I don�t fool around. I disconnect the antenna at
> the first hint of the familiar noise, even if the
> sun is shining.
>
> That�s cheap insurance, but it has a way of cutting
> down on my recreation. Hi! Now, on Monday evening, I
> just discovered two new countries on 20M PSK31. Oh,
> I need them now! Almost at the same moment a beep on
> the other computer alerted me to a severe
> storm-warning bulletin. Out side the wind suddenly
> picked up to something over 20 knots, dark clouds
> swept in and the new countries swept out! No more
> radio tonight, folks.
>
> Then, 12 hours later I received this Email from
> Guilherme PY2MJ claiming 126 PSK31 countries. Since
> this would put him one ahead of me in the standings,
> I immediately asked if he meant 116 or 96. His
> response was a work of art, saying N2HOS 125 PLUS 1
> EQUAL PY2MJ 126! It is obvious that he worked one of
> those stations that should have been mine, but what
> can I do? Check the standings. He�s one up on me!
>
> >>>>>>>>>
>
> Now, believe it or not, there is a new version of
> DigiPan that handles both PSK31 and PKS63. This
> latest, V1.7, is available now. Get it at
> www.qsl.net.kh6ty/digipan7.exe
> <http://www.qsl.net.kh6ty/digipan7.exe>. Or get a
> zipped copy at
> <http://mywebpages.comcast.net/hteller/dp17.zip>
>
> >>>>>>>>>>
>
> ANARTS produced some above average scores even with
> our below average propagation. There were comments
> about brief, all too brief, moments of spectacular
> openings on one band or other, but there seemed to
> be no recognizable geographical pattern. Simple!
> Some ops were lucky, some weren�t!
>
> Phil GU0SOP reported a higher score than last year,
> despite the lower Q count. But last year it was sort
> of an All-Europe contest with no openings to
> anywhere else, and with few mults. Phil reports
> that there were still those who don�t quite get with
> the program. As he noted: he saw some poor so-and-so
> calling CQ WPX? And some were sending 599-001-001? I
> also saw several stations that had clocks that were
> 1 or 2 hours ahead of UTC! Maybe you do have to read
> the rules and do a little prep work before jumping
> into these contests.
>
> >>>>>>>>>
>
> Ah, but there are always new opportunities to
> stimulate that competitive spirit resting inside our
> calm exterior. How about this one? On July 5 the 070
> Club is throwing a party for 40 meter fans. It is
> the second annual Firecracker Sprint and this year
> it includes both PSK31 and PSK63. Remember, this is
> the one where the starting times are your LOCAL
> time, so everybody has an equal shot at success.
> Logs are required for each mode. Go to
> www.engelfire.com/folk/leonards/40mrules.html
> <http://www.engelfire.com/folk/leonards/40mrules.htm
> l> for all the details. Be there!
>
> Don�t rush off quite yet. TARA also has a big show
> coming up soon. Originally announced for July 26,
> the test now occupies the 24 GMT hours of 2 August.
> Please note the change. This test is a wide-open
> shoot-out. All bands are included (80 to 6) and
> PSK31/63 and RTTY are the weapons available to the
> participants. There are some unusual rules including
> an exchange that includes the 4 digit Grid Locator.
> Note also that only single/single ops are allowed.
> Rules at www.n2ty.org/sasons/tara_grid_rules.html
> <http://www.n2ty.org/sasons/tara_grid_rules.html>.
> Jump into this one! Multiple mode contests may just
> be the contest of the future. But that is not all
> TARA is doing.
>
> This contest is but an integral part of the new TARA
> approach to their contest schedule. After
> restructuring their calendar they came up with one
> event for each season of the year�Prefix contest for
> Spring, Grid Shindig for summer, PSK Rumble for fall
> and RTTY Melee for winter. TARA then decided to
> create a whole new class of shack wallpaper. Each
> year a Digital King or Queen, whoever has the
> highest combined score, will be crowned as the BIG
> ONE. Neat idea! I trust they have ordered
> appropriate crowns.
>
> >>>>>>>>>>
>
> ARRL�s Field Day stimulates an annual discussion
> about the positives or more frequently the negatives
> of a dedicated digital station. Some insist that the
> slow QSO rate, compared to SSB or CW, seriously
> handicaps the FD operation and thus significantly
> lowers the group�s final standing. There�s a bit of
> truth to that. Others complain that RTTY QRM�s both
> the CW and SSB stations, the rigs where the big
> points come from. Hi! I presume that is a reasonable
> complaint as well. Many simply feel that the time
> and effort required to set up and operate a digital
> station outweighs the potential benefit. Yes, but
> there are people out there who think there might be
> a reasonable solution to any and all of the
> problems.
>
> Jerry NO2T and his N2SE group are going to switch
> the CW station for 10 minutes (on the hour) to clean
> up those stations on RTTY. This, says Jerry, will
> minimize the QRM for the SSB station and handle most
> if not all of the RTTY stations interested in FD.
> They might even run a PSK station though some think
> the CW station will overload the front end of it.
> Hi! There are no perfect solutions. N2SE may also
> give PSK on 20M a break and be there on the half
> hour Sunday morning or, hopefully, as long as the
> demand is there.
>
> Joe K0BX says their BEARS (FD W0MA) station in St.
> Louis confirms that approach. They had, in the past,
> run a full time RTTY station but logged but 226 Q�s.
> Not a record pace! And, it put them in class 3A
> instead of 2A, presumably a major penalty when it
> came to tallying up the score. So, this year, they
> will be running RTTY 10 minutes on the hour on 20M
> as well.
>
> Thus, once again, digital will play a minor part in
> the FD exercise. Somehow, a bunch as bright as we
> claim to be ought to be able to come up with an
> equitable, QRM free, attractive option and role for
> the digital modes. After all, it�s only a contest.
>
> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>
> 73 de Jim N2HOS
> jem@n2hos.com
> GAZETTE at www.n2hos.com/digital
>
>
>