ARRL 10 METER CONTEST

[K1RCT]

Update 12/3/2014

***Reminder***

10M Beam Building at QuickSilver Radio Products this Saturday 12/6/2014 at 10:00AM
Address info here: QuickSilver Radio Products

Putting together a 10M Beam Antenna for W1NRG Club use in the 10M CW/SSB Contest,
Second full weekend of December. Starts 0000 UTC Saturday; runs through 2359 UTC Sunday (December 13-14, 2014).

Attendees (hopefully not a complete list, if your name is not on here and you want to attend/stop by/assist please add your name or just show up).

John B - N1GNV
John B - K1VDF
Mike - K1MVM
Joe - KC1BAQ
Steve - KC1AXJ as time permits
Dave - W1CTN
Haggie - KB1HCC

Meeting Notes:

10M Contest Informal Meeting @ Dad's

Attendance Log


1 Dave Arruzza W1CTN
2 John Blevins K1VDF
3 John Bartscherer N1GNV
4 Rob Cichon KC1ACN
5 Steve Allen KC1AXJ
6 Joe Hamm KC1BAQ
7 Jon Winslow KB1HCC
Decided to equip the Antenna for High Power using the Club
Amplifier. Use of Amp dependant on Operator & Conditions.
Making a directional antenna at Quicksilver Radio on 12/6 10AM
Haggie making a Verticle Antenna for use.
Dave W1CTN digging out an antenna in backyard, directional.
Installing three (3) antennas at W1NRG for the 10M Contest
Working only daytime. May reevaluate if Flux indicates openings
Interest in making Contest Meetings monthly at Dad's
Haggie, Rob, Dave A and John using their Tripod setups for Antennae
Need for Setup Crew before event, TBD as we draw closer.
WiFi Hotspot must be renewed before 10M Contest: Rob
K1MVM wants to Operate AM or Early Afternoon Sunday
N1GNV wants to Operate Saturday Sunday
KC1BAQ committed to Operating
KC1AXJ committed to Operating
John Yusza K1LYP indicated interest.
KC1ACN wants to Operate Saturday and Sunday

I will keep this Forum Post as a Continuing Post for All to keep track of the 10M Contest as we progress. In addition to the above amended notes, please read the following:

-Steve Waldmann WV2KLM offered a 10M Verticle for the Contest.
-Dave W1CTN offered a 10M Hygain 3el Beam for the Contest as well as plans for fabricating 10M 2el Beams for the Fabrication Team to consider.
-Al suggested there may be 'RF In The Shack' issues when using the Amplifier as well as being willing to set up N1MM Classic for the 10M Contest.
-I have several ferrite toroids that I will bring to The Club that we can utilize during the Contest if needed.
- I will fabricate a 10-3 Extension Cord with 5-20P/R Power Connectors for use with the Amplifier during the Contest which I will donate to The Club afterwards.
-Bill W1KKF offered to Operate CW if someone is willing to Log for him during the Contest.
-Haggie KB1HCC indicated "All In" which to me, means he not only is willing to help with the 10M Verticle construction & Station Setup but is willing to Operate as well.

We still need Operators (December 13 - 14 2014 at The W1NRG Clubhouse),
Beam Construction Crew Members on 12/6 at Quicksilver Radio in Meriden (Address Here):
(Quicksilver Radio Products, 387 South Colony St., Meriden, CT 06451)
and Setup/ Takedown Crew Members before and after The Contest to set up the Station.

Please email me via The Reflector or personally at KC1ACN@arrl.net or reply here if you want to or are willing to help!

-- Rob

Update 12/6/2014
Beam Building @ QSR Products Saturday December 6 2014 10:00AM

Attendee Log:

Rob Cichon KC1ACN
John Bartscherer N1GNV
Dave Arruzza W1CTN
John Yusza Jr. K1LYP
Joe Hamm KC1BAQ
Rich Aubin WA1TRY
Gil Andrada KQ1D
Steve Allen KC1AXJ
Haggie Winslow KB1HCC
Bob Kaczor KE1AU
John Blevins K1VDF
Mike Macri K1MVM


Notes:Chose a 3el Beam Design, 25:1 F/B Ratio abt 11dB Gain
Assembled PVC sections, pre-assembled
Found the elements need support as well as boom support using bungee, rope, etc
John Bee will assemble this week to ease setup
Haggie, John & Rob to bring tripod/support sections
Rich indicated interest in Operating CW
Rich will be in Meriden Thursday onwards through The Contest, committed to The Activity
Rob & Rich & Haggie to meet Thursday to do pre-setup work, check The Amp, etc.
Joe indicated interest in Thursday too.
John N1GNV verified Club Interest in using the Icom 7000 Radio for The Contest (Yes).
Rich advised using the TS-690 for Receive/Spotting work
John B. reviewed using EXNEC Pro w/Rob, Joe and Haggie.
Dave brought the second beam, a 3el beam for Club use during the 10M Contest. Rob has this and will burnish & lubricate the contact surfaces, pre-assemble and test before Friday.
Rob is working on a tentative schedule including two hour Operating blocks, will publish Sunday 12/7
Need help on Friday to set up The Station. Announcements in Reflector, Forum, our Nets & Party.

[KC1BAQ]

Thanks, Rob!

[K1RCT]

Contest Operator Schedules:
SATURDAY SKED

1 7:00 PM 9:00 PM
Friday Haggie KB1HCC

2 9:00 PM 11:00 PM OFF
Friday

3 11:00 PM 1:00 AM OFF
Fri - Sat

4 1:00 AM 3:00 AM OFF
Saturday

5 3:00 AM 5:00 AM
Saturday Rob KC1ACN

6 5:00 AM 7:00 AM
Saturday Rob KC1ACN

7 7:00 AM 9:00 AM
Saturday John N1GNV

8 9:00 AM 11:00 AM
Saturday Steve KC1AXJ

9 11:00 AM 1:00 PM
Saturday Bill W1KKF CW - Needs a Logger

10 1:00 PM 3:00 PM
Saturday John K1VDF

11 3:00 PM 5:00 PM
Saturday Joe KC1BAQ

12 5:00 PM 7:00 PM
Saturday Dave W1CTN

13 7:00 PM 9:00 PM
Saturday John K1LYP

14 9:00 PM 11:00 PM
Saturday Mike K1MVM

15 11:00 PM 1:00 AM OFF
Sat - Sun


SUNDAY SKED

16 1:00 AM 3:00 AM OFF
Sunday

17 3:00 AM 5:00 AM OFF
Sunday

18 5:00 AM 7:00 AM
Sunday John K1VDF

19 7:00 AM 9:00 AM
Sunday Haggie KB1HCC

20 9:00 AM 11:00 AM
Sunday Mike K1MVM

21 11:00 AM 1:00 PM
Sunday Bill W1KKF CW - Needs a Logger

22 1:00 PM 3:00 PM
Sunday Rich WA1TRY CW

23 3:00 PM 5:00 PM
Sunday Steve KC1AXJ

24 5:00 PM 6:59 PM
Sunday Joe KC1BAQ

[KC1SA]

Contest Operator Schedules:
SATURDAY SKED

1 7:00 PM 9:00 PM
Friday Haggie KB1HCC

2 9:00 PM 11:00 PM OFF
Friday

3 11:00 PM 1:00 AM OFF
Fri - Sat

4 1:00 AM 3:00 AM OFF
Saturday

5 3:00 AM 5:00 AM
Saturday Rob KC1ACN

6 5:00 AM 7:00 AM
Saturday Rob KC1ACN

7 7:00 AM 9:00 AM
Saturday John N1GNV

8 9:00 AM 11:00 AM
Saturday Steve KC1AXJ

9 11:00 AM 1:00 PM
Saturday Bill W1KKF CW - Needs a Logger

10 1:00 PM 3:00 PM
Saturday John K1VDF

11 3:00 PM 5:00 PM
Saturday Joe KC1BAQ

12 5:00 PM 7:00 PM
Saturday Dave W1CTN

13 7:00 PM 9:00 PM
Saturday John K1LYP

14 9:00 PM 11:00 PM
Saturday Mike K1MVM

15 11:00 PM 1:00 AM OFF
Sat - Sun


SUNDAY SKED

16 1:00 AM 3:00 AM OFF
Sunday

17 3:00 AM 5:00 AM OFF
Sunday

18 5:00 AM 7:00 AM
Sunday John K1VDF

19 7:00 AM 9:00 AM
Sunday Haggie KB1HCC

20 9:00 AM 11:00 AM
Sunday Mike K1MVM

21 11:00 AM 1:00 PM
Sunday Bill W1KKF CW - Needs a Logger

22 1:00 PM 3:00 PM
Sunday Rich WA1TRY CW

23 3:00 PM 5:00 PM
Sunday Steve KC1AXJ

24 5:00 PM 6:59 PM
Sunday Joe KC1BAQ

Looks good Rob. I can log for Bill on Saturday since his slot is right after mine on Saturday. Thanks for organizing this.

73,
Steve - KC1AXJ

[KC1BAQ]

For those who missed the 10 Meter antenna building party hosted by John B, here is my own recap of the event which I humbly submit for our next edition of Key Klix. I know I'm a newbie to the club so I hope no one is offended or overly sensitive to my attempt at humor.

Again, thanks for everyone who participated. It was a lot of fun!

Captioned picture attached.

73,
Joe Hamm
KC1BAQ

[K1RCT]

Just an update:

Rich WA1TRY will be at The Club Friday afternoon just after 12:00PM to start the setup process.
Both Rich & I went there last night to 'scout' an Operating Position, check the gear and do some preliminary checks on the Laptop. All look good. We removed the Rack Mounting Hardware from The Amplifier so it's not so easy to cut yourself.

There are two possibilities for Operating Positions:
A) In the Kitchen.
B) In the Garage.

Both have their advantages and disadvantages.
Please consider posting your suggestions here and coming up Friday afternoon to help setup and give your thoughts.

I have The Laptop and The Hotspot. I will visit T-Mobile tonight before the Banquet and get the Account up to date.

Rich has what I think is a good idea: to assemble the Antennae inside The Garage then move them to the Tripods outside through the overhead door. Since John N1GNV is bringing an Electronic Antenna Switch, we can use one main feedline through the access port next to the back door. Saves wear & tear on the cable and eases setup/takedown.

[KC1SA]

Just an update:

Rich WA1TRY will be at The Club Friday afternoon just after 12:00PM to start the setup process.
Both Rich & I went there last night to 'scout' an Operating Position, check the gear and do some preliminary checks on the Laptop. All look good. We removed the Rack Mounting Hardware from The Amplifier so it's not so easy to cut yourself.

There are two possibilities for Operating Positions:
A) In the Kitchen.
B) In the Garage.

Both have their advantages and disadvantages.
Please consider posting your suggestions here and coming up Friday afternoon to help setup and give your thoughts.

I have The Laptop and The Hotspot. I will visit T-Mobile tonight before the Banquet and get the Account up to date.

Rich has what I think is a good idea: to assemble the Antennae inside The Garage then move them to the Tripods outside through the overhead door. Since John N1GNV is bringing an Electronic Antenna Switch, we can use one main feedline through the access port next to the back door. Saves wear & tear on the cable and eases setup/takedown.

The Kitchen worked well on sweeps and is a bit warmer than the garage. The garage was used during SEC...tended have a lot of echos. With headsets it's probably not an issue. Either location is doable.
Steve - KC1AXJ

[W1CTN]

Will anyone be at the Club tonight?
Email or call 203 333 4112 until 4:30 today
Dave
W1CTN
Radio Ansonia

[K1RCT]

For all: I emailed the Final Print version of the Schedule for this weekend thru the Reflector. The only change was Steve Waldmann WV2LKM is filling the Saturday 5PM to 7PM slot.

The pic attached is the changed schedule.
If you need both copies or the Schedule by Operator, please check your email.

[KC1BAQ]

Great job on the 10M setup. The beams are working great and the antenna switch is also very nice.

I do have few items of feedback from operating the 10M contest:
1)Some of the operators aren't capable of going in the backyard and rotating the beams. We should investigate a way to fit each beam with a rotor. Or another idea would be to setup one beam for each major direction (North, South, East, West) so they don't have to be rotated.
2)The headset was causing the radio to get stuck in transmit. John K1VDF suggested that it might be causing RF to get into the wires somewhere.
3)It would be nice for the club to purchase a really nice Heil Pro 7 headset (or similar) for contest use. Leaning over the table and speaking into the mic for a couple hours is not very comfortable. Its also hard to operate with guys hanging out and talking in the kitchen. I certainly don't want to discourage people from hanging out, but it is very distracting to the operator. Also, I noticed that some of our members suffer from hearing loss and a nice headset would help them hear better and without distractions from others in the room.
4)The footswitch was very nice to have during the sweepstakes. It would be nice to have this setup for future contests. We need a good way to keep it from moving around on the floor.
5)We need to get everyone better trained on using the N1MM+ software. For future contests, it would probably be helpful to have a training session on the same day as the contest setup. I'd also suggest that operators arrive early before their shift so they can get up to speed on the setup, see observe the previous operator, and ask questions if needed.

73,
Joe