[SOC] ARCI Pet Rock sprint

[Bill Cunningham K4KSR]

Sounds good, Bob.

I might get back by 1800Z.  If so, will look for you and Chuck.  Wish  
I could play.  I can't play in the digital sprint and it doesn't draw  
much participation.  In the meantime, all manner of folks have built  
very simple rockbound/VXO rigs that don't see much action --  
especially in winter.  Jeff's idea can't hurt and might draw some  
interest.  If nothing else, it's a lark.

Having pestered Chuck Hooker, VE3CQH) to get back on the air with  
something simple and from basement of farmhouse, I'd like to see him  
do something that will get a handful  of QSOs just to get a feel for  
footprint.  Chuck is a true SOC in waiting.  He's a master woodworker  
who fusses over that work, getting dragged into projects for various  
family members.  Meanwhile, he takes on overly ambitious ham building  
projects and never get there due to SOC qualifications.  He has a  
splendid shack, well crafted into a drive shed (outbuilding) on his  
farm, with significant antennas attached thereto.  But no rig and the  
building is a trudge thru snow.  He's been working on this K1 based  
transmitter forever and I finally convinced him that he needed to  
create a workspace within warm house with some sort of antenna  
available for testing.  His XYL doesn't want antennas spoiling  
appearance of house, leading to low G5RV in hedgerow along property  
line much like my hidden wires and with coax buried under driveway to  
get there from the basement.  That blew down in latest storm and  
fixing antenna in Canadian winter ain't no joy, but he did it.  His 7- 
band project got sidetracked to put Lil Joe transmitter on the air and  
ran into all manner of SOClike obstacles.

dit dit

On Jan 2, 2009, at 11:10 AM, Bob Patten wrote:

> Bill Cunningham K4KSR wrote:
>> For those unaware, ARCI has changed its contest menu for 2009 --  
>> replacing the summer digital sprint with a Pet Rock sprint on 3  
>> Jan.  Looks like a good idea and a great venue for the hodge-podge  
>> of rockbound homebrew rigs out there.  Rockbound rigs get a bonus,  
>> but all are welcome to play.  The hours are 1500Z-1800Z, which  
>> means it will be over before the RTTY contest starts.
> Got my old SST-20 dusted off and ready to go.  The hours and  
> geography are not conducive to 40M operation for me, and the higher  
> bands are likely to be dead - so this seems the perfect rig for the  
> Pet Rock thingee.  I'll be hanging out probably a little above  
> 14060, then will put in a full time effort in the RTTY Roundup.
>
>
> -- 
> 73,     Bob Patten, N4BP                Plantation, FL
>
> E-Mail :   n4bp at arrl.net                Website: http://www.qsl.net/n4bp
> SOC #1          ARS #799                QRP ARCI #3412       FISTS  
> #7871
> FP #1491                                SMIRK #6625
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