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Contesting:�

An Intro and why

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David West – KO6M

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About me:� Who am I?

  • David West, KO6M
  • Licensed in 2020
  • Manufacturers Representative for Theatrical and Architectural Lighting
    • Not an Engineer, Scientist, or Teacher
    • BFA in Theatre Design
  • Didn’t even know there were things such as contests until mid 2020.
  • Backyard lot the size of a large postage stamp (not a big station)
  • President of Northern California Contest Club

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Tonight’s Talk

  • Antenna construction and using mapping software and antenna plotting to increase efficiency.
  • Building filters to make in band interference lower
  • CW rates
  • Remote operation vs in shack operation
  • A few hours could be spent talking about contesting with various pictures and audio clips.

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  • No, this is an introduction of why and how.
  • More importantly a proof of concept showing how Contesting and various other facets of our hobby can all intertwine.

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The Million Dollar Question: Why?

  • Glory?
  • Fame?
  • The Money?
  • To Congest the Bands?

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  • The Challenge.
  • The Camaraderie.
  • The Practice of our Hobby .

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In a Nutshell� - How I describe it to my non radio friends

  • Contact as many stations as possible as quickly as possible and as efficiently as possible.

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In a Nutshell� - How I describe it to my non radio friends

  • Contact as many stations as possible as quickly as possible and as efficiently as possible.

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  • Let’s compare this to Emergency Communications:
    • Information from A to B
    • Quick and Correct
    • Spread the word to many

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Amateur Radio – Emergency Service

  • Per the ARRL:
    • Amateur Radio operators set up and operate organized communication networks locally for governmental and emergency officials, as well as non-commercial communication for private citizens affected by the disaster. Amateur Radio operators are most likely to be active after disasters that damage regular lines of communications due to power outages and destruction of telephone, cellular and other infrastructure-dependent systems.

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Back to Contesting for a moment:� Where do we do this?

  • Shacks (of course)
  • Expeditions:
    • Parks
    • Summits
    • Islands
    • Boats
    • Anywhere you can bring a radio and a wire

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A different way of explaining the why:

  • It’s a competition (hence Contesting)
  • We operate for 12-48 hours
  • Log everyone (even the duplicates)
  • Send in our logs
  • Wait
  • Who won?
    • The sponsor tells us
  • How do you know people didn’t cheat?
    • We check the logs and trust
  • What do we get?
    • Plaques
      • See what I mean- Glory!

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So it’s a game?� You made our hobby a game?!

  • If a game has:
    • Rules
    • Scoring
    • A defined end/result
    • Fun
    • Possibly a team
    • Competition
  • Then:
    • Yes
    • Plus
      • Self Competition
      • Learning
      • Use of the hobby and the tools we have

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How do we do this� -Let’s talk about the tools

  • Radio
  • Antenna
  • Way to log

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Loggers

  • FastLogEntry
  • Dxlog
  • N3FJP
  • N1MM
  • And many more
    • Some are great at daily logging and contesting is a thing they allow…

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Loggers – The stats

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So let’s talk a bit about N1MM

  • Why I use
  • Why others use it
  • Quick tips

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Getting started

  • File 🡪 New Log
  • *this assumes you already made a database when you opened the program the first time

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Getting started

Logging Window

Log Window

Crtl-L if this isn’t there

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Every Radio is different but on mine with N1MM�I can do…

  • Voice Macros
  • RTTY
  • FTx
  • Automatic Keyer for CW
  • Spectrum Display
  • Control of the Radio and modes

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Simple plus some…

  • Enter call
    • <space> or <tab>
  • Enter Class
    • <space> or >tab>
  • Enter Section
    • <enter>
  • Repeat as needed

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  • Function Keys speed up things…. Voice keyer or auto CW/RTTY (when setup and in correct mode)

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…Plus some

  • “USB”, “LSB”, “CW”, or “RTTY” to change the mode in both N1MM and the radio
  • Open Telnet and Connect to a nearby spotting system:
    • This allows the band map to do it’s thing:

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Contesting with friends� Or others….

  • Why?
    • It’s more fun
    • You’re doing a Multi/Single, Multi/2, or Multi/Multi
    • Different rules, less restrictions (sometimes)
    • Why not?! It’s Field Day…

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Keep track of what you have in the log

  • Sorted by anything
    • Time is best
  • Shows other contacts with same person

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Tips

  • Know your call and the exchange
    • Use a notecard or post-it note to help
  • Don’t waste time with the ”Again? Again?”
    • Stations can come back when propagation is better
  • Work/Log all Dupes
  • When running – ID every 2 or 3 QSOs if you don’t every time
  • Slow down… not everyone has great signals on their end
    • Not everyone speaks the same language either
  • Be patient (the flip side of slowing down)
  • Have fun!

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