VK2/W7BRS QSL .. Now where?

 VK2/W7BRS QSL

The QSL Cards have arrived from the printer.

You can get a QSL card two ways:

1. By the QSL Manager, M0URX   (Highly Recommended!)
2. Or, with me directly,  (while supplies last!)  (You must send a SASE or $2 for international to QSL direct)

The cards turned out beautifully and I am glad for the hard work from Tim Beaumont (M0URX) and his team who made them.

At any rate -- I've been sending cards to local members of the Western Washington DX Club if asked.  If you need card, just say the word. (WWDXC members do not need to send SASE or postage)

What happens next?

The next DX'p has not yet been fully planned but I expect to return in the Pacific / Oceania within a year (2025).  The island has not yet been chosen.  Still working on the logistics.  

No QSO, no Donut

On the very last day the cafe was open, they sold the special donuts -- one had to pre-order them.  I got one of the last "Jam Filled" donuts.  Best $8 I spent on the island.   I saved it for part of the day until I worked more CW.  It was my way of pushing forward.  More CW QSO, then I get the donut.  /hihi/

The DX'p to Lord Howe Island is over and I've been back in the US for a week.  But, I my mind is still on the island.  It is difficult to really leave.  Although I'm physically home, my interests and imagination about the next DX'p in the Pacific is stronger now than ever.

Cooincidentally, the Pacific Northwest DX Convention is underway in Everett, WA.  It's a yearly convention that rotates hosting between four major DX clubs in the region.

Spokane DX Association

Western Washington DX Club

Willamette DX Club

Orca DX and Contest Club

The first day of the convention is an initial view of the activities that will unfold over the next couple days - meet and greet, and some reconnecting among friends in the DX community.

I gave a short talk about the DX'p to Lord Howe Island on Friday and showed the group a small video that encapsulates the experience in a few minutes -- then we went onto a Q/A period that was interesting.   A couple of questions came forward that I thought were interesting.

What was the process to choose the bands and modes that I worked from LHI?

At first I was depending on anecdotal and past experience of what I could recall working Oceania from the west coast.  But that was an incomplete understanding.  A friend from the club did me a solid favor and sent me a batch of Propagation Data tables and with that information plus the VOACAP Propagation Wheel feature I had a better idea of what region and what bands to work.  

The other impact was my local time schedule on the island -- I had to adjust to work more often when the opening was there and less coordinated to my local 'waking time' hours.

Why did I choose LHI for a DX'p location?

A few reasons for me to choose LHI stood out.   First, it was relatively desireable.  Not super rare, but at least in the mid 60's in terms of most wanted.   A few very exciting locations were more desireable in the Most Wanted list, but the history of the island was more interesting to me.  Plus, a recent DX'p from members of the Willamette DX Club made it seem approachable.  For a first-try DX'p, it had an easier logistics for transport -- almost daily flights - depending on the weather.  I would learn later that the weather there is far more chaotic than the reports indicate so I was actually lucky to get into the island.  Last, it's an environment that is relatively safe and I wasn't too concerned about personal safety.  It's a small island that is sparsely populated with one law enforcement officer for 300-ish people that live on the island.   Last, but not least the island is so beautiful and magical for a DX'p.

What kind of antenna system was ideal and what antenna system would be recommended for the next deployment in the Pacific?

This is a difficult question to answer.   For pure conveneience and ease of installation, the vertical antenna system is ideal.   Compact (mostly) and just requires a good set of radials (for typical installations) - if it had been on the beach, the VDA (Vertical Dipole Array) would have been selected -- but the common aspect of the preferred antenna system is a vertical antenna.

But that issue is somewhat academic -- with more weight and shipping allowance, of course a beam antenna would have made a lot of sense.  The VDA actually serves both those purposes with the excellent F/B gain ratio, but without the two-element VDA, a vertical wouldn't compete very well on the higher bands as much as a beam.    Beams need elevation and that adds a whole long list of infrastructure that would have been ruled out for this particular DX'p to Lord Howe Island.

The real heart of the issue is the Location of the Antenna relative to everything else.    Permission to place the antenna where I need it to be and with a location that is virtually unaffected by the possibility of coupling with nearby structures is the key.  I didn't have that on Lord Howe Island, but I made due with what I had -- and in retrospect it wasn't al that bad -- I worked into EU and SA as predicted.   Plus despite a few certain areas in NA, I could reach into NA.   Except in all cases, I wasn't very loud.  That makes an impact of course -- and I can assign the issue to the antenna location more so than the particular antenna system (assuming vertical or even VDA.

I think I also added a note to the answer that spending a lot more time optimizing the antenna for the bands I intended to work would have been time well spent.  I used a home-brew clone of the very popular DX Commander antenna.  It's a good antenna (the original) and gets good reviews.  When deployed in an ideal location, it will perform well.  My design was slightly different -- the space between the band-elements was marginally larger and I used aluminum wire rather than copper wire (for weight issues).  I remember having a debate with myself if I was going to bring a retail pre-configured vertical like a CrankIR    -- I was just really concerned about the weight and the size for this particular DX'p.

Is there a list of things you would add or take away from the list of what to bring on the next DX'p?

This was another interesting question that I wanted to answer more fully in the presentation.   I had made copious notes during the Lord Howe DX'p on what I would change about the operation.

Here is the abbreviated list of what would have been different.   Not all of these items are purely "things" but aspects or characteristics about the DX'p.

1. Avoid callsigns for DX'p that involve the pro-sign (/) in the call.   It became extremely tedious having that call with a pro-sign, especially when I was doing S/P during the RSGB IOTA contest.  It confused some operators when they heard my call with the pro-sign.  OC-004 is the IOTA designator for LHI and I'm sure they would have wanted to log a good island in the contest, but they probably didn't come back to my call for reasons that might include the fact it had a confusing pro-sign.  VK2 doesn't "sound like Lord Howe Island".
2. Avoid callsign confusion.   I thought I had prepared enough to get the callsign settled before going, but even as I announced the facts started to emerge that I had made an error in choosing VK9L/W7BRS and even VK9/W7BRS  -- that slowed down the process of getting the Log Book of the World Certificates.
3. Antenna Location -- permission to put the antennas exactly where I wanted to put them.   I don't think anything would have been much different for me on my QTH at LHI, but I think the next DX'p will require a much stricter policy for antenna location.   With this I would add choosing better optimized vertical antenna systems (either the VDA or the CrankIR -- but likely the CrankIR model is preferred).
4. Adopt a schedule based solely on the propagation characteristics and not based on local activities on the site.   For Lord Howe Island, there were so many (good) distractions.   I wanted to enjoy the features of the island as a visitor -- for sure the best part has to be the parts of the island I visited.  But, I also came there to operate DX.   It took too long to figure out how important this issue is.   It comes down to adjusting my schedule to the DX propagation as a primary constraint on when and where to operate.
5. Prepare for the time that I was not able to operate.   This is bit vague -- let me explain.   No matter how serious the DX'p is, the fact that we're on the island is a draw to experience the moment -- go for a walk, take pictures, simply sit and observe and take in the experience.  That refers to the tourist element of the DX'p.   I've seen several after-action reports of very serious DX'p -- and they were definitely serious about focusing on the operations.  But in every one of them there is still an element of fun and the side-show of being on site cannot be simply cast aside for the sake of making Q's.
6. So in order to prepare for this, a bit of effort put into plan out how to take advantage of the time-off effectively -- how to limit it to bare minimum without reducing the fun-factor and optimized for the hours that I should be on the radio.
7. Weather and local conditions will dominate and control the operation more than even propagation.   In extreme weather will it be possible to deploy the antenna?   Is there a limit on the antennas that can be safely put up given the local weather?   It doesn't matter what the RF propagation is, if the antennas you need cannot be deployed or deployed where they need to be to use that propagation.   This is probably a meta-issue that rolls up several of the preceding items -- Antenna selection, Location, Schedule and so on.  But ignoring the Weather Constraints and how strongly they dominate everything that can be done is a blind spot for some DX'p -- it wasn't my worst blind spot for Lord Howe Island, but I saw first hand how important it is.
8. Backups for everything.   I was fortunate.   I did not have any serious equipment failure. Except for a suspicious behavior in the amplifier for 40m, the equipment did not fail me.   But I was prepared for just about any problem.   Every device except the amplifier had a backup.  Backup transceiver, cables, fuses, power sources (two power supplies), second set of plugs and adapters, and even the the antenna -- I had a complete backup antenna in case the fiberglass mast were severely damaged or lost.   I suppose it would have been interesting to have two complete stations operating -- for Digital Modes -- I could have operated FT-8 on two bands.  If I had a second amplifier it would have made the scenario very interesting and exciting.   Of course that adds a lot of weight and space to account - as a solo operation on LHI I didn't have the capability to bring so much gear -- but in a team effort -- then absolutely multiple specimens of equipment would be a requirement.   Two tools made a huge difference and I sort of knew they would, but there's no question they are must-have on a DX'p:   Swiss Army Knife (the most complete) and new roll of Duct Tape.  I solved so many problems with those two things.  I had a tool bag with other tools (drivers, diagonal cutters, etc..) but the pocket knife and the duct tape were so useful in fixing problems with the antenna and in the station.
9. Know your Propagation.   As stated earlier VOACAP data is essential.  But besides having the data, one needs to really understand how to use the data.      Start with the VOACAP propagation tables, and backtrack a schedule that gives access to the bands and regions I want to work.    I suppose with more experience I would have been able to more rapidly deduce the bands/modes and times to work.   I required a bit more time to sort that out -- and those days of getting the bugs worked out in my schedule are precious days that would have been better spent operating fully.
10. Last, comfort.  It sounds weird to talk about comfort on a DX'p, but I challenge you to sit in the most uncomfortable chair you own for 3-4 hours and work CW.  It's difficult. It's actually quite painful to sit in the wrong kind of chair and sustain the ability to "keep working".    Whatever can be done to make it comfortable to operate, do it.   I'll also add a few things to this -- hearing protection.   For some, that might make no sense -- why would I want hearing protection when I'm trying to pick out calls on CW or SSB?  Well maybe not so much on those modes, but even CW can come through fine -- the mode that really needs hearing protection is the digital modes.  I ran my amplifier at maximum cooling which meant the fans were actually quite loud.  The KPA-500 finals never got over 40 C  (intentional, I do not want to roast the finals on a DX'p and although the firmware programming of the amplifier is designed to protect itself I did not want to take chances or operate near the margins of the data sheet for those final power transistors).    The fans are loud.  Ear protection would have been really helpful to sustain comfort and the ability to operate for an extended period of time.

The rest of the questions were pertaining to the modes and bands I used and some great questions about critters on the island that might be harmful (there aren't any).  

The discussion evolved into other topics (mostly about Remote Operations and the Radio-In-A-Box, RIB phenomenon for some DX'p locations).

I may be back home from Lord Howe Island, but as I wrote earlier, my mind is still there.  I am already pondering seriously the next island DX'p in the Pacific and I look forward to doing the next one with a team. 

If we had a QSO while I was on LHI, thanks for the QSO!  I hope it was a new band/mode you needed.  I had tremendous fun working from Lord Howe Island.

Thanks

73

Jeff

Things happening

It has been a busy few months since I hung up my software-spurs.

On deck --

• DX'pedition for Lord Howe IslandLord Howe Island (July 2024)
• Teaching CW and DX'ing at Long Island CW ClubLong Island CW Club  I'm teaching a GOTA class for DX on Wednesday at 5:30 pm Eastern.
• Preparing to give a talk at the June meeting for Western Washington DX Club.give a talk at the June meeting for Western Washington DX Club.
• And, a few other plans that I'm not ready to announce yet.

I might be doing consulting work in my main field of expertise anyway.  It was always going to be a "semi-retirement".   I think the prefix "semi" is important.

Then, there is the backlog of projects that need attention.  I'll probably restart them after I get back from LHI.

• Installation of 60 foot self-supporting tower and beam antenna at the QTH
• Building a few "French" VDA (Vertical Dipole Array) antenna for a DX colleague.
• And, due to the up-coming DX'pedition opportunities, re-develop a streamlined "kit" for going on adventures.  The LHI trip has identified a few areas to improve.  But, in terms of equipment setup, I have a good list and worksheet to base the next trip.
• Establish the fund-raising needed for a DX'p every year.   I think that at least every two years, and perhaps every year (depending on fund-raising), I will be trying to go on a DX'pedition.    When I get back from LHI, I'll have a much better idea of how that should work.

Amateur Radio Licensing in Australia

TL;DR;  Everything is going to be OK

Story Time

In the last few days I've received some interesting and helpful advice about how to get a license in Australia to operate amateur radio.  This will be of interest to those who are contemplating a future trip to Australia and an island (or worthy DX entity controlled by Australia).

In April 2024, the rules have changed in Australia.

The first misconception to put away is this:  The ARRL DXCC does not decide what prefix is used by the respective country.   That's a lot to accept.  But if the going-in assumption is "Well the ARRL DXCC says so, it must be the prefix."  That thinking will run afoul (potentially) with the sovereignty  of the nation/entity involved.  It may be right, and it may be wrong.  Only the governing body of the country that you are going to can decide -- the ARRL does not decide these things.    What the ARRL DXCC can decide is whether or not the entity in question qualifies as an entity in the ARRL DXCC List.

The tale of Australian amateur radio call signs

As you're aware, this has been both confusing and time-consuming with respect to understanding what to do.

My fault was in not reading the material very well and making some gross errors.

I've been fielding some questions about this ---  ClubLog,  M0URX OQRS, and even ARRL LoTW desk, and also had numerous email exchanges with the ARRL leadership in the last 48 hours.   

I am not going to pursue any more questions with the ARRL DXCC Desk or LoTW Desk until after the current LoTW fiasco has subsided.  Their hands are full.  I don't want to exacerbate the problems they face with my tiny issue.

Some of this you may already know, but in case the details were murky hopefully this tells the story completely.

The benefit would be to any future expeditions to any islands in Australia.  For those who already have licenses that contradict the current rules -- none of this applies.  I don't have any authority of course to say one way or the other.   It's just observations and perhaps these observations may save time for those planning future plans later this year or beyond.

1  Who has the authority?

The first step in the Authority path starts with the ITU.    ( I have no idea how the ITU and Australia negotiated the prefixes allocated to Australia -- it isn't important.)

What is important is that Australia decides what to do with their callsign prefix allocation.  Not the ARRL DXCC Desk, or any other entity.

2  Who has the authority to handle Australian amateur radio call signs

Who has the authority to handle Australian amateur radio call sign assignments?

The ACMA 

(Per Wikipedia, but there's more authority in another link that follows)

"In March 2019, AMC was awarded by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) a Deed of Agreement to provide Amateur Radio license testing for Australia, and administration of license issue recommendations to ACMA. AMC has used an already established system of exam invigilators, often associated with Amateur Radio Clubs, who receive license tests from AMC upon application by candidates, conduct the test session, and return the tests to AMC for marking and further administration. While ACMA formally issues licenses, it does so upon advice from ACM that also administers beacon and repeater licenses, and changes of licenses.^[9][10]"

In fact, the page at the AMC displays that the ACMA is now in authority:

https://www.amc.edu.au/industry/amateur-radio/callsigns

Authority link:
https://www.acma.gov.au/amateur-radio-call-signs

Leads to:

https://www.acma.gov.au/sites/default/files/2024-05/Amateur%20radio%20call%20sign%20policy_April%202024.pdf

For Foreigners visiting Australia, Pages 2, 7 and 22 are of most importance.

3  What Call Area Applies?

The question of what call-area the "Island" or "DX" in Australia resides is codified in the above link -- but only to some extent.   There are hundreds of Islands and only a handful are places that occupy the ARRL DXCC List.   LHI, Norfok Island, etc..

So that's a test to perform:

1. Is my DX'pedition currently (2022) a DX entity in the ARRL DXCC List
2. Is that entity considered  a distinct location with respect to the call-area assignment in Australia?

A good place to start the search is here:   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_islands_of_Australia

The big question for a lot of future DX'peditions is -- what is my call area number?

It depends.   The External Territories are listed in that link above.    But if the island is NOT listed in External Territories list, then it probably falls in the call area of the Province.  Just like Lord Howe Island does.   Area 2.  Hence, VK2

One question to ask then is "How can I be sure what Province my island operation is?"

I went to the old-school method I learned in the film "Miracle on 34th Street" -- trust the Postal System.  The Australian postal system would, you think, in theory know precisely what Province a location is.

I asked their query tool "Lord Howe Island" and it is in NSW (New South Wales).. not External Territories.

https://auspost.com.au/postcode/lord-howe-island/nsw/ciji

I asked the query tool "Norfolk Island"   Should be in Area 9 per the ACMA.  For example, VK9.  External Territory.  

Interestingly, it gives an address of the post office on Norfolk Island as in the NSW Province.    Norfolk island, to the Australian Post is a NSW address.   But to the ACMA it's an external territory.  How's that for confusion.

Per the ACMA:

"But for the other External Territories:
Call signs assigned with the prefix VK9 (with either a 2- or 3-letter suffix) can only be assigned to amateur operators intending to visit, or who already reside on, 

Australian islands or external territories, other than the Antarctic. Call signs assigned with the prefix VK9 must only be used when the operator is located in an Australian external territory. The following are Australian external territories: 

> Coral Sea Islands 

> Ashmore and Cartier Islands 

> Norfolk Island 

> Cocos Keeling Islands 

> Christmas Island 

> Heard and McDonald Islands 

Some territories in the above list also include smaller islands, which are part of that external territory.  For example, Mellish Reef and Willis Islands are part of the Coral Sea Islands territory. Applications for use of VK0 and VK9 call signs will not be approved if they are made for use on an island that is not an Australian external territory, for example, Lord Howe Island."  --- ACMA Call sign Policy page 7

4  Are you a visitor or are you a license holder in Australia?

If you are a visitor, you need to satisfy a test per the rubric in this page:

If you are qualified and the country from where your license is granted is in the the table, per those regulations (read it carefully), you have privileges.   In those cases, the document makes it clear (in the Call sign policy) that you don't "get a license" from the ACMA.  One simply puts the VK/  Prefix with their home call sign.

Example:  VK2/W7BRS

Refer to Callsign Policy Page 22

On the other hand, if you are a full licensed amateur in Australia, then the process is different and I don't know that is.  The system to use for that process is behind a wall that is only reachable by those with the appropriate Digital ID credentials per ACMA.

Bottom Line

If you're visiting Australia and want to operate amateur radio, then the good news is that the reciprocity schedule is fairly generous.

If on the other hand you want to request a special call sign then the process is steep uphill.  The chances of getting a callsign seem remote for a foreigner visiting Australia.   

To be frank and honest, it makes perfect sense.  The FCC doesn't routinely hand out licenses to foreigners as far as I know -- you have to pass a FCC test to get an FCC issued license.  I could be wrong, I have not heard of any foreigners who just "get granted" a full FCC license on the basis of having a foreign amateur license.

On the other hand, when there is reciprocity, pro-signs are the normal method. 

-Jeff

Appendix

So you read all this and still are confused? Or maybe you're thinking something else.

Things will be complicated even beyond the call-sign assignment.  Let's take a look at a few things that are affected:

• LoTW - TQSL -- so you want a certificate?  Well, the "prefix" may betray your intent because the prefix might indicate the mainland no the other Island entity.    The ARRL LoTW software TQSL does not recognize VK2/W7BRS as a Lord Howe Entity -- rightly so.   TQSL expects LHI to be VK9L (but it's VK9L prefix).    That little glitch will require some human interaction at the ARRL LoTW Desk.  Your planned expedition may also have the same issue.  It will depend on things.   Expect to deal with the Help Desk.
• Same is true for the ARRL DXCC Desk.    The ARRL DXCC Desk will need to understand that some entities that are on the ARRL DXCC list won't have the same prefix.    It will be a bit of a hassle trying to overcome that issue too, probably.
• Then there are the OQRS systems out there.   They, rightfully so try to filter those call signs as being DX or not DX based on the callsign but in some cases now the prefix of the call will betray the actual location.   Another instance of human intervention.
• Not to mention the Spot-Networks and Clusters and all of the Logging software.  Most of this can be addressed manually - in Logging Software, but when some spots occur the actual DX won't be the same as what the call-sign indicates.  In the case of Lord Howe Island this is really obvious.   If you punch in "VK9L" it'll spot as LHI.  If you punch in "VK2/W7BRS" (who will be on Lord Howe Island) it'll come back as a suburb in New South Wales, maybe down the street from Domino's Pizza /grin/ hihi/

I'm not sure what the right solution is.  All I can say -- for the record -- is that this is not as clear as it once was.

QRV Lord Howe Island July 2024

With a lot of encouragement and sage advice gathered in the last couple years from talking with members of the WWDXC, and others --  I am going to try something...

I am activating Lord Howe Island (VK9L) in July of this year.  I've never been on a DX'p before so this will be a grand experiment and an adventure that I've thought about for the last 12 years or so.  It's roughly #63 in the wanted-list.

QRV dates are scheduled between July 20th and August 1st.  I leave Seattle July 17th, touch down on LHI July 19th (local time).

The details are online:  https://howeania2024.org/

It is a solo operation.  I won't have the full DX'pedition experience of being on a Team and all that entails. However, a large part of the goal is about learning what a DX'pedition is like.  Hopefully,  I'm going to learn what I need to work on and return better at DX'peditions for the next times.   

Please listen for me on Lord Howe Island. I'll be doing all I can to work CW, SSB and FT8.

I'll be using LiveStream and log-updates to ClugLog as long as the network access remains in place.  LoTW will be used and the QSL manager set.   More on that later.

I want to thank Al Rovner K7AR and Bob Norin W7YAQ especially for giving me time on the telephone to talk about Lord Howe Island and insights about that location.  Thanks also to the handful of peer-reviewers who provided advice.

Thanks.

Jeff

7-QP 2024

Now that my ears have stopped ringing, I can write a bit about the last big contest.

The 7-Area QSO Party

Again, as last year Rusty (W6OAT) and I Ran CW only from his marvelous QTH out on the Kitsap Peninsula.

We talked this over a bit at Visalia this year.  The idea we had was -- let's run and run hard on CW only.  My advice was -- let's keep the operations going.   We can always take a break here and there, but someone was always at the key for the entire duration.    The other thing we agreed to was speed -- Last year I was a bit nervous and not yet ready for fast WPM so I ran it about 22-23.   We scored reasonably well, but that was a year ago.   In that time since 2023 7-QP, I've been practicing and running in as many CWT/MST as I could (Until the KPA-500 lost the finals).

This year, with Rusty's advice we turned it up to 27-28.  Yee-Haw.   I didn't have too much anxiety about that speed since he was right there with me.

So it was settled -- as we were waiting for the plane back to Seattle after Visalia this April --

• CW Only, let's not do SSB
• Speed up
• Work it hard.  Keep the seat warm
• And we're going to try our best to win.
• But, again as always -- HAVE FUN.

I got the phone call just the week before and Rusty and I ironed out the logistics.    The excitement was there and I felt it too.  This was going to be fun.

(Side note -- I feel like saying that running M/S in any contest is by far one of my favorite things.  You may not win, you may not have a great signal conditions -- but it's always fun to be around your friends when on the radio.   It's about the company.)

Due to some scheduling, I had to wake up Saturday morning at 2 a.m. and then dose up with coffee and hit the road for making the journey AROUND the sound (which means taking I-5 through Tacoma, and then up Highway 3 towards Rusty's place).

About 5:00 a.m. or so I get to Rusty's and the house is dark, but Rusty is up stairs putting on (more) coffee.

We're ready!

The station is switched on and Rusty and I add my Heil Pro-7 to the splitter as well as my N3ZN paddle.

The greyline wall map is turned on and we're watching.  The solar numbers were initially really weird,  K 15, and A 0 (zero).   There was some news about a CME glancing by but the bands were their usual snap-crackle-pop.

At 6:00 a.m. we pressed "F1" on N1MM and began.   We were ramping up the numbers really well.

Within the first hour or so I think we had 8 or 9 of the DX Mults we needed.

Within the first few hours we had pretty much worked all the States except for ND and SD and CT.

Then CT came on, we added that Mult.  Then we had a lull for a while.   A zero call came back to us and Rusty, jokingly said "I hope that's a Dakota."  And sure enough, when we got the exchange it was.

We literally high-fived on that QSO.

The VE Mults proved to be elusive for us.   VE4 VE5 VE6 came later  and it was those YV0  and eastern seaboard stations we really wanted. 

Upstairs food was getting prepared and as the sun was starting to go low, so did our VFO.  20 to

40 then to 80..   Rusty has a really good 160m wire and we were bringing stations to 160 that we had already worked on 80 and 40.

One response was this cryptic  "Let ,, me .. see."

Near the end of the contest, we had already passed our 2023 score.  We had literally four hours more to go and we had already reached the same QSO count we had in 2023.    In my mind I was thinking we could crack 1000 Q.    In 2023 during Salmon Run our count was 1033 Q on CW only.   But that was a differently spaced contest.  If I remember, there was a down-time.

But in this year 7-QP we already passed our Q-count and I think we even topped our Mult from 2023.  We had 62 or 63 now.

For the next four hours it was bursts.   We'd run (which we did for most of the contest) and we also S/P a few times to snag a new Mult.    When it was on fire, it was on fire and we were clocking in 4-5 Q per minute.  Then there would be some minutes before we heard a call.  You think it's rapid but after it's all over the rate was about 0.97 Q per minute for the entire contest.

We ended the contest on 40m.  We had already reached the bottom of the peanut butter jar on 160 and 80m.   40m was still good and open and we could tell people were packing it in.   Our last CQ happened about 30 seconds before the end of the contest.   I turned to Rusty and said, I think we did it.

Score wise, I'm sure.

I love the 7-QP contest as much as any other.   And, it was truly an amazing night of good QSO and lots of good practice at the station.   For reasons that I will post about later, the effort is a training ground for some good work on handling pile ups and DX.

My thanks to Rusty and the members of the Western Washington DX Club who worked our Run.

I also want to give my appreciation to the regulars of the MST/CWT contesting ---  learning your calls helped me quite a bit.    

I hope to hear you all again and be part of a great contest.

CW Games

After Visalia '23 I got CW on the brain.

Some of the 10m buddies I talk with over the years via SSB were in a rut and so I thought what if we had a CW net, once per week.  Just to practice and gain confidence.  I've noticed that a lot of times, new CW operators are just too nervous.  I've been there so I wanted to fix that for the Northwest 10 Meter Net with a CW Net.

I convinced one of my mentors, Jim Fish, K7NCG to start  the CW net on Tuesday at 7:30 local time.  Based on what I was doing in CW and excited about DX, I really thought what the Northwest 10 Meter Net needed was a reason to break out the paddles and just try CW -- even if it was slow -- really slow.

That went well and the net is on-going still.   

At the same time, I also had a friend who was just a bit timid about using CW so I brain-stormed a way to help build his confidence and one afternoon drafted an article/instructions for a set of CW-games that would have one goal:   Increase confidence and hopefully make the activity of using CW fun.  A recursive goal -- confidence leading to fun, and so on.   He and I worked the games out and practiced them.  If nothing else, he is a lot less timid about trying CW.  That's all I wanted for him.

Well, the ARRL took the article, and it will be in the May 2024 QST.   

I didn't realize that the ARRL would put together a video with David NA2AA, Steve K5ATA, Becky W1BXY and Sierra W5DX working the game through.

What a surprise!   

It may not be the right game for all people learning CW, but the intent was to make it fun and partner with a skilled operator to hands-on coach them through the basics.   I'd be interested if anyone has tried it with their friends who are really new to CW -- what works and doesn't' work about the games.

And here's the video link that I found:

https://youtu.be/OXbYhQtE2Rs?si=hTDHThfUl7lI8uJ-

Enjoy,

Visalia 2024 - Summary

Back home from Visalia 2024.    It was a really productive convention.  

Here's a brief run-down of some of the talks/sessions that I enjoyed the most

Brian, N9ADG

"How NOT to get into the log" put on by Brian Moran, N9ADG.  A tongue in cheek way of describing exactly how to get in the log, the right way.  Synopsis:

1. Listen
2. Listen
3. and Listen

The talk had a great level of humor and advice and I loved the way Brian wove in bits of advice of what to do.   I hope that Brian is able to publish the synopsis again for the club.  The DX Code of Conduct really is the cornerstone for being a better DX'er.

Tom, ND2T

The next day had a full slate of tutorials and sessions on contesting.  In that subject there were several very important sessions to hear:

"Train for your weaknesses and Compete your strengths" put on by Tom Berson, ND2T

The take home message for that talk is simply to practice and train on the activities that you are least effective -- "Aspiration without allocation is folly." -- By that Tom meant that in order to train and prepare it will require time (allocation) and dedicated effort.  "Put time into the effort that will pay off later" and "A little goes a long way" -- to mean that each iterative session you put into training will accumulate better skill.   

He also made some other notes clear "Strength is mental" -- getting stronger at the things about contesting that seem like your weakness is about strengthening your mental acuity to handle the tasks you will have contesting.

And he made a few final comments:

"Study the moves of those you want to emulate" -- a contester you admire and appreciate -- find them on the air and emulate the same methods that you want to aspire to.

As a contest schedule and plan is formed (another thing to do -- plan your attack!  Make a schedule for what contest(s) you want to perform and then work backwards from those dates to plan your training and preparation to peak when those events take place.   Using any of the numerous contests that occur is the best angle to use.   CWT, MST, State QSO Parties, and the CQ WW contests - even the NCCC Sprints -- all good exercises.

Hank and Rusty

Hank W6SX and Rusty W6OAT gave a really lively talk on contesting mechanics and operations.  It was a culmination of a lot of the best ideals to strive for when contesting.   Slicing up the pile up, handling contacts in the contest -- the bottom line is "Be minimal"  DO NOT repeat what is not needed to be repeated.

If the other station comes back to you with their call sign, for instance, there is no need to repeat their call -- they know their own call sign.   Just stick to the exchange and the information that is pertinent to finishing the contact.   Ending the QSO in a contest comes down to a simple TU (thank you) or 73 -- and as much as there is debate among experienced contesters about using TU vs 73 to end the QSO, you will have to decide for yourself.  TU is of course a speedier way to end than 73, but that doesn't mean you are required to use it.   Going back to what Tom ND2T said -- emulate the behaviors that you want to strive for in other experienced contesters.

The best part of Hank and Rusty's talk was the simulation of a live SSB pile up.   

Hank called CQ to the room (emulating SSB contesting) and in the room dozens of attendees tried to shout out their calls (the pile up) and we saw and heard Hank work the room just as if it was on the HF band.  It illustrated a few points that were already discussed:

1. Use full call signs
2. Use standard phonetics, (don't mess around with fancy arcane phonetics)
3. Only give out the information that is new and required, don't repeat what is already confirmed.
4. End the QSO cleanly with the TU or 73
5. Reset for the next QSO with the pattern that keeps the rate up.

Mark, K6UFO

In the scheme of things, the digital modes FT-8, FT-4, etc. are appearing (no surprise) as dominant factors in the total Q-counts for DX'peditions.  I don't think I heard a single expedition summary talk show less than 50% of their contacts were using FT-8.   This mode is the way forward for those DX'peditions to elevate rate of Q across the expedition time.  SSB and CW will still be crucial, but the FT-8 mode is dominant and will continue to be so.

For that reason, Mark's talk on FT-8 was a summary of the impact of FT-8 as well as a thumb-nail guide for those who want to use it effectively both from the DX chaser and DX'peditioner side of the fence.  Advancements in the FT-8 exchange will be announced more formally, but the technology that is emerging will include authentication schemes to help suppress pirate operations fouling up the overall DX'pedition.   Technology alone won't really eliminate the DQRM problem, but the authentication schemes for establishing truth about the contacts will definitely help tamp down the problem to an extent.

Mark's talk went through these issues and a highlight of the benefit when FT-8 and FT-4 is used for maximum efficiency.   It was an excellent capsule of knowledge for those using FT-8 -- which it turns out is a majority of the DX chasers if the statistics are followed.

H44WA and H40WA

There were two other talks that the conference had.   I missed the H44WA talk from Robin, WA7CPA (I had seen the presentation at the Western Washington DX Club meeting, but I still wanted to hear Robin's re-telling of the story -- I was in the Contest Academy at the time).   H40WA was reviewed by Rob, N7QT on the Sunday breakfast session and that was a really engaging story about the difficulties for working that province in the Solomon Islands.

I was really glad to see the Western Washington DX Club so well represented at the convention -- both in terms of members being there and also the number of presentations given by our own WWDXC DX'peditioners.

Nice job to Robin, Rob, and shout out to Brian Moran, N9ADG for very effective work and support patching the WSJT-X to allow for streamlined F/H QSO rate.

The Convention

The convention itself had slightly less attendees than last year, but it was still a very rousing and successful convention.   Another highlight were the dinners that occurred during the weekend -- to the side of the convention were a number of fine restaurants and in the evenings, a few people gathered to share a meal and talk DX, and all sorts of things in a smaller setting.  I was glad to be able to attend a couple of these.  I had a great time listening and the engagement was really helpful.

We didn't have a huge number of third parties at the vendor area.  It was reduced somewhat from the last convention in 2023.  However, it was good to see representation from the Flex Radio company as well as Elecraft -- who put out some demos of their products.  The new hand-held KH1 CW transceiver was remarkable.  Wayne, N6KR very enthusiastically showed all of the features of the KH1 and the physical design that went into the device -- it's a really compact HF radio (80-15m).   The picnic-table operators or SOTA folks will appreciate it.

The convention was organized by an integrated cooperation between the Northern California DX Club and the Southern California DX club and they pulled off a great convention -- well organized and really satisfying.

I met a few friends who were first-timers to the convention.   I want to mention a couple:

Jim, N7AUE -- I had worked Jim many times on MST and CWT so it was fun to meet him F2F.  I think he had a great time at the convention.  The only advice I gave him was "For this convention especially, become an extrovert and talk to as many DX'ers as you can -- you'll find they want to help and the connections you make will be really important."  

Danny, KX7DX -- His first IDXC.  I carpooled with Danny and Rusty from the Fresno airport to the convention and it was great to hear Danny remark about what he enjoyed about the convention.

New Friends

It was a whirlwind of meeting new people this year.  At the after-hours dinners especially.

I got to know better some of the active DX'ers and contesters that I have read about before.

End Notes

Just the same message -- if you haven't gone to IDXC, go.  If you are into chasing DX, or being the DX, go.  And if you enjoy the company of friendly amateur radio operators who live and work in that field (DX and Contesting), then go.   You will have a great time.

See you next year!

Picture of the author at the special event station K6V handing out signal reports

QST + Visalia 2024

I was informed in February 2024 that my article I wrote for QST last Spring is going to be in the May edition of the QST.  A fun article with some ideas on CW practicing and training.  I hope you enjoy it.

In the article, I needed to use call-signs to demonstrate an idea.  I decided to use the call sign of my XYL's great uncle, WA6SLI -- Art Rutledge.   He no longer is able to operate his superb station, but the memory of showing how amateur radio works first hand, and visits to the "Candy Store" (Ham Radio Outlet) in Burbank, CA are unforgettable.   Get well Art!

(Above:  1525 W Magnolia Blvd, Burbank, CA -- now closed.  Next closest shop is in Anaheim on 933 N Euclid St)

About Visalia 2024 --

The itinerary is setting up nicely!

Meet-ups and gatherings are being formed via email -- looking forward to the opportunity to see old/new friends again for a good eye-ball QSO.

Instead of camping-down the whole way to the convention, I'll be flying in.  Saves me a bit of time.  

I really (really) liked the camp-out aspect last year, but I'll have to leave the van behind this time.