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SADARS

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4 Nov 2021 - Dons Contest follow up

Posted: 05 Nov 2021 08:48 AM PDT
https://sadars.co.uk/wp/archives/2942


Don, G4LOO began by saying I suppose youve heard enough of my contest presentations by now but I want to let you know what went wrong and what
went right.

First of all, not a lot went wrong! The aerials used were the A3S for 20m
and up while dipoles were used for 40 and 80m and lower. The team of two operated as a run station throughout but looked out for multipliers as they went. Don did the first shift until very late when Terry, G4UEM took over
for his shift

This year also saw the use of the aerial rotator connected via the logging program so that callsign entry followed by a function key would
automatically turn the beam to the correct heading.

This year the QSO number was almost double mostly due to  last years  problems with the 40m and 80m Four Square aerials.  Hence the use of
dipoles this year. Of course, this years score was higher due to conditions over the weekend being very good; even 10m was very active. Don finished by showing graphs of activity by band and time for this year and last.
4 Nov 2021 – Victors QRP operations

Victor made the point that DX, that is, distant stations, is relative,
mainly due to your location, aerial and power. An amateur starting out
might regard the EU as distant since thats all he is able to contact at
first. With slightly better aerials and more experience, DX is those
stations much further away perhaps even the other side of the earth.

Victor explained the role of the American Amateur Radio Society called
Amateur Radio Relay League or ARRL in making a list of countries and territories with Amateur Radio callsigns assigned by the ITU. Many amateurs strive to contact and confirm all those listed and find its work of a life time!

He then showed the aerial layout in his garden, where and how they are set
up. Several were basic verticals and consist of a glass fibre pole with
wire wound in a helix around and tuned to the band required. They use
elevated feed points with 3 or 4 radials from that point to earth. Using
these aerials and a few watts of power and CW, contacts are made across and around the world.

The total world entities according to the ARRL currently stand at 340 and Victor has worked 332. Those countries still outstanding are mostly
uninhabited islands and are only available if someone goes there to set up
a station, but permission is very difficult to obtain and the cost of
travel is extremely high. From time to time various groups do manage with months or even years of planning and fund raising.

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