November 2000 QST

November 2000 Volume 84 Number 11 

CONTENTS 

David Sumner, K1ZZ 

Publisher 

Mark J. Wilson, K1RO 

Editor 

Steve Ford, WB8IMY 

Managing Editor 

Joel P. Kleinman, N1BKE 

Associate Technical Editor 

Larry D. Wolfgang, WR1B; Dean Straw, N6BV; 

Robert Schetgen, KU7G; Charles L. 

Hutchinson, K8CH; Paul Pagel, N1FB 

Senior Assistant Technical Editors 

Joe Bottiglieri, AA1GW 

Assistant Technical Editor 

Ed Hare, W1RFI; Zack Lau, W1VT; 

Mike Tracy, KC1SX; Al Alvareztorres, AA1DO 

Laboratory Staff 

Rick Lindquist, N1RL 

Senior News Editor 

Rosalie White, K1STO 

Public Service 

Dan Henderson, N1ND 

Contests 

Mary E. Lau, N7IAL 

At the Foundation 

Bernie McClenny, W3UR 

How’s DX 

Bill Moore, NC1L 

DXCC, VUCC 

John Hennessee, N1KB 

Washington Mailbox 

John Troster, W6ISQ; Emil Pocock, W3EP; 

Diane Ortiz, K2DO; Stan Horzepa, WA1LOU; 

Paul L. Rinaldo, W4RI; Al Brogdon, W1AB; 

George Fremin III, K5TR; Roger Burch, WF4N; 

John Dilks, K2TQN; Rich Arland, K7SZ; 

H. Ward Silver, N0AX; Kirk Kleinschmidt, NT0Z 

Contributing Editors 

Michelle Bloom, WB1ENT 

Production Supervisor 

Jodi Morin, KA1JPA 

Assistant Production Supervisor/Layout 

Sue Fagan 

Graphic Design Supervisor 

David Pingree, N1NAS 

Senior Technical Illustrator 

Michael Daniels 

Technical Illustrator 

Joe Shea, Paul Lappen 

Production Assistants 

Steffie Nelson, KA1IFB 

Proofreader 

John Bee, N1GNV 

Advertising Manager 

Hanan Al-Rayyashi, KB1AFX 

Advertising Production Coordinator 

Melissa Yrayta 

Advertising Assistant 

Debra Jahnke 

Circulation Manager 

Kathy Capodicasa, N1GZO 

Deputy Circulation Manager 

In order to ensure prompt delivery, we ask that 

you periodically check the address information 

on your mailing label. If you find any inaccuracies, 

please contact the Circulation Department 

immediately. Thank you for your assistance. 

See page 10 for detailed contact information. 

Telephone: 860-594-0200 

Fax: 860-594-0259 

Technical 

28 Utilizing the Constant Bombardment of Cosmic Shelby Ennis, W8WN 

Debris for Routine Communication 

Rocks are raining down from the heavens every day. Why not put them to use 

34 A Beginner’s Guide to Modeling with NEC L. B. Cebik, W4RNL 

“Build” your next antenna on your computer. 

39 A Flexible Digital-Mode Interface Jim Mitrenga, N9ART 

Here’s a digital communication interface that does double duty: You can use 

it with your sound card software, or with software that requires an 

external modem. 

64 Product Review Joe Bottiglieri, AA1GW 

From one end of the price scale to the other: this month we explore the Yaesu 

MARK-V FT-1000MP transceiver and NorCal’s SMK-1 QRP transceiver. 

64 

News and Features 

9 “It Seems to Us. . .” Forty Meters: A Gordian Knot 

15 DC Currents Steve Mansfield, N1MZA 

ARRL luncheon honors Beltway hams; ARRL President Haynie visits the FCC. 

33 No Power No Problem! A Vacation Expedition to The Gambia 

A relaxing DXpedition to an African paradise. Henryk Kotowski, SM0JHF 

43 Discover the Wonderful World of Contesting Dick Green, WC1M 

Find a good contest and jump in. The “water” is fine! 

47 ARRL 2000 Technical Awards Jean Wolfgang, WB3IOS 

It’s time to nominate this year’s winners. 

71 Happenings Rick Lindquist, N1RL 

Balloting under way in three ARRL divisions; Phase 3D set for a Halloween 

launch; Quiat named Honorary Vice President; Morton named Vice Director; 

ham gear delivered to ISS; UK-Canada crossband LF contact completed; 

FCC turns down CB DX petition; more... 

QST (ISSN:0033-4812) is published monthly as its official journal by the American Radio Relay 

League, 225 Main Street, Newington, CT 06111-1494. ARRL yearly membership dues (including a 

subscription to QST), are $34 worldwide. To compensate for additional postage for mailing outside 

the US, please remit $47 for Canada and $54 for other countries. Complete membership information 

is shown on page 5. Periodicals postage paid at Hartford, CT, and at additional mailing offices. 

POSTMASTER: Form 3579 requested. Send address changes to: 

QST, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111-1494 Volume 84, Number 11 

34 

4 November 2000

QST Workbench 

48 The Doctor is IN 

G5RV antennas on 6 meters; SWR bandwidth; bouncing LEDs; more! 

50 Help Desk 

Ham harmonics vs CATV and other services. 

51 Short Takes Steve Ford, WB8IMY 

DXTelnet 4.7 

52 Short Takes Dan Miller, K3UFG 

Ham University 

53 An Inexpensive KISS-Mode TNC John Hansen, W2FS 

A PIC and a few parts make a handy packet terminal node controller (TNC). 

57 Short Takes Michael Tracy, KC1SX 

LogWindows 3.07.30 

58 Short Takes Steve Ford, WB8IMY 

RITTY 4.0 

59 Another Look At Tower Work Rod Peterson, K4QG 

Tips for successful (and safe) maintenance. 

61 Test Your Knowledge! H. Ward Silver, N0AX 

62 Hints & Kinks Bob Schetgen, KU7G 

Strengthen your Cushcraft D40; an “arm holster” for your H-T... 

Amateur Radio World ........................ 87 

At the Foundation .............................. 85 

Contest Corral.................................... 93 

Coming Conventions ......................... 91 

Correspondence................................ 24 

Digital Dimension .............................. 83 

Feedback .................................... 38, 93 

Ham Ads.......................................... 150 

Hamfest Calendar ............................. 91 

How’s DX .......................................... 77 

Index of Advertisers ........................ 174 

New Products ......................... 63, 89, 98 

New Books .................................. 42, 82 

Operating 

45 Coping with Cabrillo Dave Pruett, K8CC 

The hows and whys of this new contest-logging format. 

94 General Rules for ARRL Contests 

97 2000 ARRL 10-Meter Contest Rules 

98 2000 ARRL 160-Meter Contest Rules 

99 2000 ARRL International DX Contest Phone Results 

Dan Henderson, N1ND 

52 

Departments 

Old Radio ........................................... 86 

Public Service .................................... 75 

QRP Power ......................................... 88 

Radios to Go ...................................... 84 

Section News .................................. 107 

Silent Keys ......................................... 89 

Special Events ................................... 92 

Strays ............................... 38, 92, 93, 98 

The World Above 50 MHz ................. 79 

Up Front in QST ................................. 19 

W1AW Schedule ................................ 90 

We’re at Your Service ........................ 10 

75, 50 and 25 Years Ago ..................90 

Our Cover 

The mere mention of “antenna modeling” is 

enough to chill the blood of many amateurs, 

but this software approach to designing 

antennas is now easier than ever. Learn how 

in the first of our four-part series, “A 

Beginner’s Guide to Modeling with NEC” by 

L. B. Cebik, W4RNL, on page 34. In our cover 

photo, Joe Carcia, NJ1Q, W1AW Station 

Manager, works with EZNEC for Windows. 

Membership in the ARRL, including a subscription 

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Licensed radio amateurs age 21 and under may 

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in US funds. 

Copyright © 2000 by the American Radio Relay 

League Inc. Title registered at the US Patent 

Office. International copyright secured. All rights 

reserved. Quedan reservados todos los derechos. 

Printed in the USA. 

QST®, DXCC®, VUCC® and DX Century Club® 

are registered trademarks of the American Radio 

Relay League, Inc. 

The ARRL and QST in no way warrant the 

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Indexed by Applied Science and Technology Index, 

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November 2000 5

THE AMERICAN RADIO 

RELAY LEAGUE INC 

The American Radio Relay League Inc is a 

noncommercial association of radio amateurs, 

organized for the promotion of interest in 

Amateur Radio communication and experimentation, 

for the establishment of networks to provide 

communication in the event of disasters or other 

emergencies, for the advancement of the radio art 

and of the public welfare, for the representation of 

the radio amateur in legislative matters, and for the 

maintenance of fraternalism and a high standard of 

conduct. 

ARRL is an incorporated association without 

capital stock chartered under the laws of the State 

of Connecticut, and is an exempt organization 

under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue 

Code of 1986. Its affairs are governed by a Board 

of Directors, whose voting members are elected 

every three years by the general membership. The 

officers are elected or appointed by the directors. 

The League is noncommercial, and no one who 

could gain financially from the shaping of its affairs 

is eligible for membership on its Board. 

“Of, by, and for the radio amateur,” the ARRL 

numbers within its ranks the vast majority of active 

amateurs in the nation and has a proud history of 

achievement as the standard-bearer in amateur affairs. 

A bona fide interest in Amateur Radio is the only 

essential qualification of membership; an Amateur 

Radio license is not a prerequisite, although full 

voting membership is granted only to licensed 

amateurs in the US. 

Membership inquiries and general correspondence 

should be addressed to the administrative 

headquarters; see page 10 for detailed contact 

information. 

Founding President (1914-1936) 

Hiram Percy Maxim, W1AW 

Officers 

President: JIM D. HAYNIE,* W5JBP, 

3226 Newcastle Dr, Dallas, TX 75220-1640; 

(214-366-9400); w5jbp@arrl.org 

First Vice President: JOEL M. HARRISON,* 

W5ZN, 528 Miller Rd, Judsonia, AR 72081; 

(501-729-4152); w5zn@arrl.org 

Vice President: KAY C. CRAIGIE, WT3P, 

5 Faggs Manor Ln, Paoli, PA 19301; (610-993-9623); 

wt3p@arrl.org 

Vice President: JOHN C. KANODE, N4MM, 

1741 Old Chapel Rd, Boyce, VA 22620; 

(540-837-1340); n4mm@arrl.org 

International Affairs Vice President: 

RODNEY STAFFORD, W6ROD, 5155 Shadow 

Estates, San Jose, CA 95135; (408-274-0492); 

w6rod@arrl.org 

Executive Vice President: DAVID SUMNER,* K1ZZ 

Secretary: DAVID SUMNER, K1ZZ 

Treasurer: JAMES McCOBB Jr, W1LLU 

Chief Financial Officer: BARRY J. SHELLEY, N1VXY 

Staff 

Technical Relations Manager 

Paul Rinaldo, W4RI 

Legislative and Public Affairs Manager 

Steve Mansfield, N1MZA 

General Counsel 

Christopher Imlay, W3KD 

PUBLICATIONS 

Manager: Mark Wilson, K1RO 

Advertising Department 

John Bee, N1GNV, Manager 

Circulation Department 

Debra Jahnke, Manager 

Katherine Capodicasa, N1GZO, Deputy Manager 

MEMBERSHIP SERVICES 

Manager: Wayne Mills, N7NG 

FIELD & EDUCATIONAL SERVICES 

Manager: Rosalie White, K1STO 

VOLUNTEER EXAMINER DEPARTMENT 

Manager: Bart Jahnke, W9JJ 

Business Staff 

Business Manager: Barry J. Shelley, N1VXY 

Comptroller: LouAnn Campanello 

Information Services: Don Durand, Manager 

Office Manager: Robert Boucher 

*Executive Committee Member 

“IT SEEMS TO US…” 

Forty Meters: A Gordian Knot 

On this page in August we explained how 

the 40-meter band got the way it is, with amateurs 

having to compete with powerful broadcasting 

stations outside the Americas in the 

upper two-thirds of the band. We reported that 

WRC-2000 in Istanbul had recommended that 

the realignment of the amateur and broadcasting 

services allocations around 7 MHz be 

placed on the agenda of the next such conference, 

in 2003. 

As expected, the ITU Council accepted this 

recommendation. Also on the WRC-2003 

agenda are two related items: Changes necessary 

to implement digital modulation techniques 

in HF broadcasting, and examination of 

the adequacy of HF broadcasting allocations 

between 4 and 10 MHz. Inclusion of the latter 

item is something of a surprise. It was on a short 

list of items that WRC-2000 had recommended 

if additional budgetary and conference resources 

could be provided, but few thought that 

Council would be able to do so in the prevailing 

“no budget increase” environment. 

The long-standing IARU objective is an exclusive, 

worldwide amateur allocation of no 

less than 300 kHz in the vicinity of 7 MHz, as 

was the case prior to 1938. While the WRC- 

2003 agenda offers the possibility of achieving 

this objective, let’s not kid ourselves: It will 

not be easy. Inclusion of the other HF broadcasting 

items makes it more difficult to resolve 

the 7-MHz issue. Here’s why. 

This will be the third attempt to fix 40 meters. 

The first, in 1979, was a part of a bottom-to-top 

review of the international radio regulations 

and the table of frequency allocations. Several 

administrations proposed separate 7-MHz amateur 

and broadcasting allocations at WARC-79, 

but most of these proposals required reductions 

in the adjacent allocations to the fixed service. 

At the time, the international broadcasters encountered 

strenuous opposition to expansion 

from developing countries, many of whom relied 

on HF fixed links for basic telecommunications 

services. The failure to find a 40-meter 

solution satisfactory to amateurs and broadcasters 

was not unique; international broadcasters’ 

gains at WARC-79 were limited to the bands 

above 9500 kHz, which are less useful for domestic 

fixed services. Below that frequency, 

they were shut out. 

Broadcasters were only slightly more successful 

in 1992. At that conference, they obtained 

future access to an additional 200 kHz 

below 10 MHz: 5900-5950, 7300-7350, and 

9400-9500 kHz. However, the new bands came 

with strings attached. They (along with an additional 

590 kHz above 10 MHz) were only to 

be used for single-sideband (SSB) emissions. 

HF broadcasters were also required to complete 

the transition from double-sideband to SSB 

with all double-sideband transmissions to cease 

by the end of 2015. 

The SSB envisioned for broadcasting was 

not the same SSB that has been the dominant 

amateur HF voice mode for the past 35 years. 

Instead of completely suppressing the carrier, 

broadcasters were to transmit a pilot carrier at 

a level about 12 dB below peak envelope power. 

The plan was for receiver manufacturers to 

design and market SSB receivers with synchronous 

detectors. 

That was the plan, but somehow it never quite 

came together. Most broadcasters’ hearts were 

never in it. They didn’t like the idea of having 

to buy new transmitters (HF transmitters have 

an extremely long service life) and they didn’t 

like listeners having to buy new receivers in 

exchange for what they generally regarded as 

marginal improvements in reception quality. A 

WRC-2000 report said: “No SSB receiver 

equipped with a synchronous demodulator has 

been identified in the price range up to $200. 

Even in the price range from $200 to $600, only 

15% of the HF receiver models identified are 

equipped with a synchronous detector.” While 

exact figures are not available, it is clear that 

only a tiny percentage of the estimated 500 

million to 700 million HF receivers in the world 

are equipped for SSB. 

In recent years, some HF broadcasters have 

become enthusiastic about digital modulation. 

An international consortium, Digital Radio 

Mondiale (DRM), has made considerable 

progress toward developing a proposed worldwide 

standard for digital sound broadcasting 

below 30 MHz. An ITU Task Group meeting in 

Geneva in mid-October (around the time this 

issue of QST is mailed) is expected to approve 

such a standard. This will set the stage for its 

early adoption as an ITU-R Recommendation 

as well as for WRC-2003 proposals to abandon 

the mandatory transition to SSB in favor of 

digital. No doubt some broadcasters will argue 

that WRC-2003 should drop the mandate entirely 

on the grounds that no one knows how 

quickly digital receivers will be available at 

reasonable prices. 

Thus, HF broadcasters go into WRC-2003 

with three objectives. The first is similar to 

ours: Separating amateurs from broadcasters at 

7100-7300 kHz. For this to be achieved, broadcasters 

will have to be accommodated above 

7350 kHz or amateurs will have accommodated 

below 7000 kHz (or both). 

While they (and we) seek concessions from 

fixed and mobile interests (including the military) 

above 7350 kHz and possibly below 7000 

kHz, broadcasters also will be seeking access 

to other bands below 10 MHz. Fixed and mobile 

interests will be less willing to cooperate to 

solve the 7-MHz problem if they feel they are 

under the gun elsewhere. 

On top of that, HF broadcasters will be defining 

their spectrum requirements to include 

both digital and double-sideband. And while 

there may be advantages to digital broadcasting, 

narrow bandwidth is not among them: The 

DRM system envisions a bandwidth of 9 or 10 

kHz, with 18 to 20 kHz for stereo. The objective 

of the transition to SSB was to reduce the 

bandwidth required for each HF broadcast; it 

remains to be seen whether the rest of the world 

will sit still for this objective being turned on 

its head. 

All this notwithstanding, fixing 40 meters is 

not an impossible mission. It is an exceptional 

challenge—one that is worthy of our best efforts, 

now as in 1979 and 1992. May the third 

time be the charm!—David Sumner, K1ZZ 


We’re At Your Service 

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If you have Internet e-mail capability, 

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QUIT 

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You’ll also find the ARRL on the World 

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calendar, exam schedules, an on-line 

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ARRL Audio News 

The best way to keep up with fastmoving 

events in the ham community 

is to listen to the ARRL Audio News. 

It’s as close as your telephone at 

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http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/ 

A 

Interested in Becoming 

a Ham 

R R 

Just pick up the telephone 

and call toll free 

L 

1-800-326-3942, or send 

e-mail to newham@arrl.org. 

We’ll provide helpful advice on 

obtaining your Amateur Radio 

license, and we’ll be happy to 

send you our informative 

Prospective Ham Package. 

ARRL Directors 

Atlantic Division 

BERNIE FULLER, N3EFN 

17668 Price Rd, Saegertown, PA 16433 

(814-763-1529); 

n3efn@arrl.org 

Vice Director: William C. Edgar, N3LLR, 

22 Jackson Ave., Bradford, PA 16701 

(814-362-1250); n3llr@arrl.org 

Central Division 

EDMOND A. METZGER, W9PRN 

1917 Lindsay Rd, Springfield, IL 62704 

(217-546-6870); 

w9prn@arrl.org 

Vice Director: Howard S. Huntington, 

K9KM, 25350 N Marilyn Ln, Hawthorn 

Woods, IL 60047 (847-438-3452); 

k9km@arrl.org 

Dakota Division 

JAY BELLOWS, K0QB 

997 Portland Ave, St Paul, MN 55104 

(651-983-2420); k0qb@arrl.org 

Vice Director: Twila Greenheck, N0JPH, 

3333 Owasso Heights Rd, 

Shoreview, MN 55126 (651-483-1214); 

n0jph@arrl.org 

Delta Division 

RICK RODERICK, K5UR 

PO Box 1463, Little Rock, AR 72203 

(501-988-2527); k5ur@arrl.org 

Vice Director: Henry R. Leggette, 

WD4Q, 7335 Ginger Snap Cove, 

Memphis, TN 38125-4732 

(901-757-0444); wd4q@arrl.org 

*Executive Committee Member 

10 November 2000 

Great Lakes Division 

GEORGE RACE, WB8BGY 

3865 Gibbs Rd, Albion, MI 49224 

(517-531-4758); 

wb8bgy@arrl.org 

Vice Director: Gary L. Johnston, 

KI4LA, 3056 Hergott Dr, 

Edgewood, KY 41017-3377 

(859-341-7477); ki4la@arrl.org 

Hudson Division 

FRANK FALLON, N2FF* 

30 E Williston Ave, East Williston, 

NY 11596 (516-746-7652); 

n2ff@arrl.org 

Vice Director: J. P. Kleinhaus, W2XX 

PO Box 322, Shrub Oak, NY 

10588-0322 (914-528-1604); 

w2xx@arrl.org 

Midwest Division 

WADE WALSTROM, W0EJ 

7431 Macon Dr, Cedar Rapids, IA 

52411 (319-393-8982); w0ej@arrl.org 

Vice Director: Bruce Frahm, K0BJ, 

PO Box DX, Colby, KS 67701 

(785-462-7388); k0bj@arrl.org 

New England Division 

TOM FRENAYE, K1KI* 

PO Box 386, West Suffield, CT 06093 

(860-668-5444); k1ki@arrl.org 

Vice Director: Mike Raisbeck, K1TWF, 

85 High St, Chelmsford, MA 01824 

(978-250-1235); k1twf@arrl.org 

Northwestern Division 

GREG MILNES, W7OZ 

740 SE 24th Ave, Hillsboro, OR 

97123-7286 (503-648-6990); 

w7oz@arrl.org 

Vice Director: Jim Fenstermaker, 

K9JF, 10312 NE 161st Ave, 

Vancouver, WA 98682 (360-256- 

1716); k9jf@arrl.org 

Pacific Division 

JIM MAXWELL, W6CF, 

PO Box 473, Redwood Estates, CA 

95044 (408-353-3911); 

w6cf@arrl.org 

Vice Director: Bob Vallio, W6RGG, 

18655 Sheffield Rd, Castro Valley, 

CA 94546 (510-537-6704); 

w6rgg@arrl.org 

Roanoke Division 

DENNIS BODSON, W4PWF 

233 N Columbus St, Arlington, VA 

22203 (703-243-3743); 

w4pwf@arrl.org 

Vice Director: Leslie Shattuck Sr, 

K4NK, 127 Henderson St, Greenville, 

SC 29611 (864-421-0732); 

k4nk@arrl.org 

Rocky Mountain Division 

WALT STINSON, W0CP, 

999 S Logan St, Denver, CO 80209 

(303-770-3926); w0cp@arrl.org 

Vice Director: Warren G. “Rev” 

Morton, WS7W, 1341 Trojan Dr, 

Casper, WY 82609 (307-235-2799); 

ws7w@arrl.org 

Southeastern Division 

FRANK M. BUTLER JR, W4RH* 

323 Elliott Rd SE, Ft Walton Beach, 

FL 32548 (850-244-5425); 

w4rh@arrl.org 

Vice Director: Evelyn Gauzens, 

W4WYR, 2780 NW 3rd St, Miami, FL 

33125 (305-642-4139); 

w4wyr@arrl.org 

Southwestern Division 

FRIED HEYN, WA6WZO* 

962 Cheyenne St, Costa Mesa, CA 

92626 (714-549-8516); 

wa6wzo@arrl.org 

Vice Director: Art Goddard, W6XD, 

2901 Palau Pl, Costa Mesa, CA 

92626 (714-556-4396); 

w6xd@arrl.org 

West Gulf Division 

COY C. DAY, N5OK 

RR1, Box 254, Union City, OK 

73090-9726 (405-483-5632); 

n5ok@arrl.org 

Vice Director: David Woolweaver, 

K5RAV, 2210 S. 77 Sunshine Strip, 

Harlingen, TX 78550 (956-425-3128); 

k5rav@arrl.org 

As an ARRL member, you elect the 

directors and vice directors who 

represent your division on ARRL 

policy matters. If you have a question 

or comment about League policies, 

contact your representatives at the 

addresses shown.

Get to Know Your Section Manager 

The 15 divisions of the League are arranged into 71 administrative sections, each headed by an elected section manager (SM). Your section manager is the 

person to contact when you have news about your activities, or those of your club. These news items could find their way into the pages of QST! If you need 

assistance with a local problem, your section manager is your first point of contact. He or she can put you in touch with various ARRL volunteers who can help 

(such as technical specialists).Your section manager is also the person to see if you’d like to become a section volunteer. Whatever your license class, your 

SM has an appointment available. If your ARRL section has a Web site, the address can be found at http://www.arrl.org/field/org/smlist.html. 

Atlantic Division 

Delaware 

Eastern Pennsylvania 

Maryland-DC 

Northern New York 

Southern New Jersey 

Western New York 

Western Pennsylvania 

Randall K. Carlson, WB0JJX, 121 Scarborough Park Dr, 

No 10, Wilmington, DE 19804 (302-655-6179); 

wb0jjx@arrl.org 

Allen R. Breiner Sr, W3TI, 212 Race St, Tamaqua, PA 

18252 (570-668-3098); w3ti@arrl.org 

William Howard, WB3V, 2304 Snowflake Dr, Odenton, 

MD 21113 (410-551-6775); wb3v@arrl.org 

Thomas Dick, KF2GC, 4 Jenkins St, Saranac Lake, NY 

12983 (518-891-0508); kf2gc@arrl.org 

Jean Priestley, KA2YKN, 7158 Chandler Ave, 

Pennsauken, NJ 08105 (856-662-3587); 

ka2ykn@arrl.org 

Scott Bauer, W2LC, 1964 Connors Rd, 

Baldwinsville, NY 13027 (315-638-7551); w2lc@arrl.org 

John V. Rodgers, N3MSE, 803 S Main St, Butler, PA 

16001-6326 (724-287-0424); n3mse@arrl.org 

Central Division 

Illinois 

Bruce Boston, KD9UL, 815 E 3rd St, Beardstown, IL 

62618 (217-323-9809); kd9ul@arrl.org 

Indiana 

Peggy Coulter, W9JUJ, 12330 SCR 200 E, Muncie, IN 

47302 (765-288-0481); w9juj@arrl.org 

Wisconsin 

Donald Michalski, W9IXG, 4214 Mohawk Dr, Madison, 

WI 53711 (608-274-1886); w9ixg@arrl.org 

Dakota Division 

Minnesota Randy “Max” Wendel, KM0D, 8539 Bryant Ave S, 

Bloomington, MN 55420-2147 (612-888-5953); 

km0d@arrl.org 

North Dakota 

Roger “Bill” Kurtti, WC0M, RR1, Box 34, Rock Lake, 

ND 58365 (701-266-5646); wc0m@arrl.org 

South Dakota 

Roland Cory, W0YMB, 815 2nd Ave W, Mobridge, SD 

57601 (605-845-2400); w0ymb@arrl.org 

Delta Division 

Arkansas Roger Gray, N5QS, PO Box 166, Searcy, AR 72145 

(501-729-5489); n5qs@arrl.org 

Louisiana 

Mickey Cox, K5MC, 754 Cheniere-Drew Rd, West Monroe, 

LA 71291 (318-397-1980); k5mc@arrl.org 

Mississippi 

Malcolm Keown, W5XX, 14 Lake Circle Dr, Vicksburg, MS 

39180 (601-636-0827); w5xx@arrl.org 

Tennessee 

O. D. Keaton, WA4GLS, 141 Medearis Dr, Old Hickory, 

TN 37138 (615-758-2329); wa4gls@arrl.org 

Great Lakes Division 

Kentucky 

Bill Uschan, K4MIS, 800 Leawood Dr #27, Frankfort, KY 

40601 (502-226-6784); k4mis@arrl.org 

Michigan 

Richard Mondro, W8FQT, 800 Dover St, Dearborn Heights, 

MI 48127 (313-730-2111); w8fqt@arrl.org 

Ohio 

Joseph J. Phillips, K8QOE, 2800 Jupiter Dr, Fairfield, OH 

45014-5022 (513-874-0006); k8qoe@arrl.org 

Hudson Division 

Eastern New York Robert Leiden, KR2L, 19 Willowbrook Rd, Glenville, NY 

12302 (518-399-9343); kr2l@arrl.org 

NYC-Long Island George Tranos, N2GA, PO Box 296, Bellport, NY 11713, 

(631-286-7562); n2ga@arrl.org 

Northern New Jersey Jeffrey M. Friedman, K3JF, 1 Churchill Dr, Succasunna, 

NJ 07876-1803 (973-927-8182); k3jf@arrl.org 

Midwest Division 

Iowa Jim Lasley, N0JL, PO Box 5, Chillicothe, IA 52548 

(515-935-4337); n0jl@arrl.org 

Kansas 

Orlan Q. Cook, W0OYH, 12110 West 71st St, Shawnee, 

KS 66216 (913-631-0423); w0oyh@arrl.org 

Missouri Dale C. Bagley, K0KY, PO Box 13, Macon, MO 63552-1822 

(660-385-3629); k0ky@arrl.org 

Nebraska 

Bill McCollum, KE0XQ, 1314 Deer Park Blvd, Omaha, NE 

68108 (402-734-3316); ke0xq@arrl.org 

New England Division 

Connecticut 

Betsey Doane, K1EIC, 92 Mohegan Rd, Shelton, CT 

06484-2448 (203-929-7759); k1eic@arrl.org 

Eastern Massachusetts Joel M. Magid, WU1F, 47 Drumlin Hill Rd, Groton, MA 

01450 (978-448-5678); wu1f@arrl.org 

Maine William Woodhead, N1KAT, 63 1st Ave, Auburn, ME 04210 

(207-782-4862); n1kat@arrl.org 

New Hampshire 

Michael Graham, K7CTW, 50 Joppa Dr, Merrimack, NH 

03054 (603-424-6987); k7ctw@arrl.org 

Rhode Island 

Armand E. Lambert, K1FLD, 144 Summer St, Woonsocket, 

RI 02895 (401-762-0536); k1fld@arrl.org 

Vermont Bob DeVarney, WE1U, 43 W Milton Rd, Milton, VT 05468 

Western Massachusetts 

(802-482-4280); we1u@arrl.org 

William Voedisch, W1UD, 240 Main St, Leominster, MA 

01453 (978-537-2502); w1ud@arrl.org 

Northwestern Division 

Alaska 

L. Kent Petty, KL5T, 2229 Turnagain Parkway, Anchorage, AK 

99517 (907-243-5856); kl5t@arrl.org 

Eastern Washington Kyle Pugh, KA7CSP, W 5006 Houston Ave, Spokane, WA 

99208 (509-327-5039); ka7csp@arrl.org 

Idaho 

Michael Elliott, K7BOI, 9832 W Gurdon Ct, Boise, ID 

83704-4080 (208-376-3458); k7boi@arrl.org 

Montana 

Darrell Thomas, N7KOR, 743 33rd Ave NE, Great Falls, 

MT 59404 (406-453-8574); n7kor@arrl.org 

Oregon 

William Sawders, K7ZM, 19821 Ponderosa St, Bend, OR 

97702 (541-389-6258); k7zm@arrl.org 

Western Washington Harry Lewis, W7JWJ, 10352 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, 

WA 98125 (206-523-9117); w7jwj@arrl.org 

Pacific Division 

East Bay 

Andy Oppel, KF6RCO, 1308 Burbank St, Alameda, 

CA 94501-3946 (510-523-3953); kf6rco@arrl.org 

Nevada 

Jan Welsh, NK7N, 59 Constitution Ave., Henderson, NV 

89015-5702 (702-565-0242); nk7n@arrl.org 

Pacific 

Ronald Phillips, AH6HN, HCR 2 Box 6637, Keaau, HI 

96749 (808-982-6513); ah6hn@arrl.org 

Sacramento Valley Jerry Boyd, K6BZ, PO Box 252, Igo, CA 96047 

(530-396-2256); k6bz@arrl.org 

San Joaquin Valley Donald Costello, W7WN, 1900 N Ashby Rd, No. 9, 

Merced, CA 95348 (209-383-5739); w7wn@arrl.org 

Santa Clara Valley 

San Francisco 

Glenn Thomas, WB6W, 502 Walnut Dr, Milpitas, CA 

95035-4133 (408-263-9450); wb6w@arrl.org 

Leonard Gwinn, WA6KLK, 2960 Blackhawk Dr, Willits, CA 

95490-9704; wa6klk@arrl.org 

Roanoke Division 

North Carolina John Covington, W4CC, PO Box 217122, Charlotte, NC 

28221(704-577-9405); w4cc@arrl.org 

South Carolina Patricia Hensley, N4ROS, 164 N Main St PO Box 70, 

Richburg, SC 29729-0070 (803-789-5810); n4ros@arrl.org 

Virginia 

West Virginia 

Lynn Gahagan, AF4CD, 208 Velva Dr, Chesapeake, VA 

23325 (757-545-1290); af4cd@arrl.org 

O. N. “Olie” Rinehart, WD8V, 1256 Ridge Dr, 

South Charleston, WV 25309-2434 (304-768-9534); 

wd8v@arrl.org 

Rocky Mountain Division 

Colorado 

Tim Armagost, WB0TUB, 6337 S Lafayette Pl, Littleton, CO 

80121 (303-795-9683); wb0tub@arrl.org 

New Mexico Joe Knight, W5PDY, 10408 Snow Heights Blvd NE, 

Albuquerque, NM 87112 (505-299-4581); w5pdy@arrl.org 

Utah Mel Parkes, AC7CP, 2166 E 2100 North, Layton, UT 84040 

(801-547-1753); ac7cp@arrl.org 

Wyoming Robert Williams, N7LKH, PO Box 130, Wapiti, WY 82450 

(307-527-7758); n7lkh@arrl.org 

Southeastern Division 

Alabama 

Bill Cleveland, KR4TZ, 2113 Wildwood Place, Mobile, 

AL 36609-2583 (334-661-3892); kr4tz@arrl.org 

Georgia Sandy Donahue, W4RU, 15010 Briarhill Ln, Atlanta, GA 30324 

(404-315-1443); w4ru@arrl.org 

Northern Florida Rudy Hubbard, WA4PUP, PO Box 843, Milton, FL 

32572-0843 (850-626-0620); wa4pup@arrl.org 

Southern Florida Phyllisan West, KA4FZI, 1410 Shelby Parkway, Cape Coral, 

FL 33904 (941-574-3467); ka4fzi@arrl.org 

Puerto Rico 

Victor Madera, KP4PQ, PO Box 191917, San Juan, PR 

00919-1917 (787-789-4998); kp4pq@arrl.org 

Virgin Islands John Ellis, NP2B, PO Box 24492, Christiansted, St Croix, VI 

00824 (340-773-9643); np2b@arrl.org 

West Central Florida Dave Armbrust, AE4MR, 1641 Baywinds Ln, Sarasota, FL 

34231-3040; (941-923-1688) ae4mr@arrl.org 

Southwestern Division 

Arizona 

Clifford Hauser, KD6XH, 8741 N Hollybrook Ave, Tucson, 

AZ 85742 (520-744-9095); kd6xh@arrl.org 

Los Angeles Phineas J. Icenbice Jr, W6BF, 19323 Halsted St, 

Northridge, CA 91324 (818-349-3186); w6bf@arrl.org 

Orange 

Joe H. Brown, W6UBQ, 5444 La Sierra, Riverside, CA 

92505 (909-687-8394); w6ubq@arrl.org 

San Diego Tuck Miller, NZ6T, 3122 E 2nd St, National City, CA 91950 

(619-475-7333); nz6t@arrl.org 

Santa Barbara Robert Griffin, K6YR, 1436 Johnson Ave, San Luis Obispo, 

CA 93401-3734 (805-543-3346); k6yr@arrl.org 

West Gulf Division 

North Texas Donald L. Mathis, KB5YAM, 1190 Emerald Sound Blvd, 

Oak Point, TX 75068-2236 (972-292-1203); kb5yam@arrl.org 

Oklahoma 

Charlie Calhoun, K5TTT, 16101 E 98th St N, Owasso, OK 

74055 (918-272-9872); k5ttt@arrl.org 

South Texas E. Ray Taylor, N5NAV, 688 Comal Ave, New Braunfels, TX 

78130 (830-625-1683); n5nav@arrl.org 

West Texas 

Charles C. Royall, WB5T, 2063 Putter Dr, San Angelo, TX 

76904 (915-944-0469); wb5t@arrl.org 


DC Currents 

R 

A 

L 

R 

By Steve Mansfield, N1MZA 

Manager, Legislative and Public Affairs 

Just as radio waves aren’t constrained by artificial boundaries, neither is ARRL’s 

government relations effort. “DC Currents” covers behind-the-scenes activity you 

need to know about in Congress, at the FCC and other regulatory agencies, as 

well as at worldwide bodies such as the International Telecommunication Union. 

ARRL Luncheon Honors Beltway Hams 

About 50 hams from the Washington Beltway areas, most 

of whom are professionally employed in private sector or 

government telecommunications, met for an ARRL-sponsored 

buffet lunch in their honor. In addition to fine food, 

they were treated to a discussion on Amateur Radio issues with 

ARRL President Jim Haynie and the ARRL staff. 

Haynie discussed the League’s “Big Project” and, in explaining 

how Amateur Radio continues to be a spawning ground for potential 

new RF engineers and other technical careers, asked for help 

from attendees who can provide additional ideas on how to promote 

the ARRL’s involvement in educational projects. ARRL 

Technical Relations Manager, Paul Rinaldo, W4RI, gave a presentation 

on the background and history of the efforts on “harmonization 

of the 40-meter band” at the upcoming World Radio 

Conference. Steve Mansfield, ARRL Manager of Legislative & 

Public Information, discussed progress on the House and Senate 

versions of the Amateur Radio Spectrum Protection Act. 

Attendees included some FCC and NTIA staff, representatives 

from Capitol Hill and from the State Department, as well as many 

hams who are professionally employed by several major telecommunications 

operations headquartered in the Washington area. A 

ARRL President Haynie Visits FCC 

• ARRL maintains regular relations with the Federal Communications 

Commission, but in September ARRL President Jim 

Haynie brought “word from the ARRL Board” to Commissioners 

and FCC staff. Much of what Haynie had to say was well received 

by all. 

FCC meetings included a visit with Commissioner Harold 

Furchtgott-Roth to discuss the League’s position on CC&Rs and 

the ARRL petition to get the FCC to incorporate restrictive covenants 

as part of its preemption policy known as PRB-1. The 

Commissioner also listened with some interest to the ARRL’s 

renewed emphasis on Amateur Radio and education. The ARRL 

Attending ARRL’s luncheon in downtown Washington, DC are 

(left to right) Bill Cross, W3TN; Hal Grigsby, WB4GRW; Frank 

Williams, N4FK; and Sam Garrett, AA0CR. Cross is from FCC’s 

Private Wireless Bureau, Grigsby and Williams are from the U.S. 

Department of State, and Garrett is a graduate student at 

American University. 

number of years ago, the ARRL coordinated similar luncheons 

on a regular basis, often referred to as the “Washington Watch” 

group. The group may continue to meet periodically. 

team also met with Private Wireless Division Chief D’Wana 

Terry, Bill Cross, W3TN, and other Wireless Telecommunications 

Bureau staffers. At that meeting, some of the data from the 

ARRL’s CC&R research project was shared (without names, call 

signs or other identifying information) to help demonstrate inconsistencies 

in contract language in CC&Rs around the US. 

The ARRL delegation also met with Clint Odom, wireless 

adviser and legal counsel to FCC Chairman William Kennard, 

Dale Hatfield, W0IFO, and staff members of the FCC’s Office of 

Engineering and Technology that he heads. Software-defined 

radios were part of the discussions at OET. 

ARRL President and staff discuss “The Big Project” with FCC 

Commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth. (left to right) Brian 

Tramont, Commissioner’s assistant; Commissioner Harold 

Furchtgott-Roth; ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP; Steve 

Mansfield, ARRL Manager of Legislative & Public Affairs, 

N1MZA; and Chris Imlay, ARRL General Counsel, W3KD. 

Clint Odom (left), counsel to FCC Chairman William Kennard, 

listens while ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP, (center) and Steve 

Mansfield, Manager of Legislative & Public Affairs, N1MZA (right), 

outline ARRL concerns over CC&Rs and Amateur Radio antennas. 


The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology discusses League 

spectrum issues. Pictured here, around table left to right, are Bureau 

Chief Dale Hatfield, W0IFO, Karen Rackley, Hugh Van Tuyl and 

Julius Knapp. Backs to camera are ARRL General Counsel Chris 

Imlay, W3KD, and ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP. 

DUTCH CONSULATE GENERAL THANKS 

HAMS FOR HELP 

Dutch Consulate General Alexander C. H. van Schelle took the 

opportunity to visit with ARRL President Jim Haynie while he 

was in Washington. Van Schelle wanted to express his gratitude 

and appreciation to Amateur Radio for the role it played in saving 

the life of Dutch citizen Willem van Tuijl, son of Jacco and Janni 

van Tuijl, KH2DT and KH2TE, respectively. For those not aware 

of the story, Willem was shot by “pirates” attempting to board the 

family’s sailboat off the coast of Honduras. Hams monitored the 

event over the air, got on-the-air medical advice for the van 

Tuijls, and Haynie eventually got word of the event to Congressman 

Pete Sessions (D-TX-5th). Congressman Sessions convinced 

Dallas Children’s Hospital to fly Willem from Honduras to its 

Dallas facility. The Washington meeting was arranged by Sessions’ 

chief of staff, Jeff Koch, NU5Z. 

“I think it’s important that Amateur Radio get involved with that 

because of spectrum crowding,” Haynie says. “And besides, we 

should be looking at these technological advances.” 

During the meeting, OET staff raised the possibility of ARRL 

members participating in noise-floor measurement tests in spectrum 

occupied by Part 15 devices. There will be more word of this 

as the project develops. Discussions also touched on Amateur 

Radio exam questions, RF interference issues, spread spectrum and 

the League’s pending petition for a low-frequency allocation. 

ARRL MEETS WITH PUBLIC SERVICE GROUPS 

TO RENEW AGREEMENTS 

During a meeting-packed week in Washington, ARRL President Jim 

Haynie and the ARRL staff met with several groups to renew memoranda 

of agreement establishing how Amateur Radio works together 

with served agencies. The first meeting was with Andy Butler, the 

Chief Engineer for Public Broadcasting (PBS) who is president of 

the Society of Broadcast Engineers. Butler indicated great interest in 

the ARRL “Big Project,” as some broadcasters are having an increasingly 

difficult time recruiting RF engineers. Haynie and Butler 

signed an ARRL/SBE memorandum of agreement on future cooperative 

efforts. The ARRL group also met with Paul Reid, N4EKW, 

emergency communications manager with the Federal Emergency 

Management Agency (FEMA) to discuss renewing the memorandum 

of agreement between ARRL and FEMA. Later, the group also met 

with John Perry, N1EOD, Manager of Telecommunications Disaster 

Services and other representatives of the American Red Cross to 

review a new memorandum of agreement with them, and to tour the 

Red Cross’s Emergency Communications Center. 

ARRL and American Red Cross pause for snapshots during a tour 

of the Red Cross Emergency Communications Center in Falls 

Church, Virginia. Left to right: Chris Imlay, W3KD; Bev Hoover, 

Red Cross Director of External Relations; Steve Mansfield, 

N1MZA; John Perry, N1EOD, Manager of Red Cross 

Telecommunications Disaster Services; Jim Haynie, W5JBP; and 

Bob Bavis, Director of Red Cross Disaster Administration. 


(left to right) Dutch Consulate General Alexander van Schelle 

discusses Amateur Radio’s role in rescue operations with Texas 

Congressman Pete Sessions and ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP. 

Media Hits 

• The New York Times was in Newington recently to write about the 

League’s efforts to promote Amateur Radio locally. Featured in an 

article about license classes at ARRL Headquarters were Dan 

Miller, K3UFG, and Al Cohen, W1FXQ. 

• Randy Carter, N4AYS, spotted a familiar name in the AOPA Pilot, 

a magazine devoted to private aircraft flying. It was none other than 

Dick Rutan, KB6LQS, best known for his nonstop round-the-world 

flight. In a more recent adventure, Rutan and a flying companion 

used Amateur Radio to summon help during a flying trip when they 

were stranded at the North Pole. 

• The Chico Enterprise-Record featured Chico, California ham 

operator Allen Sherwood, K6USN, (he’s a retired Navy commander) 

pictured in his radio shack preparing for his next 

DXpedition to Dunk Island, in the Coral Sea. 

• The Tribune Chronicle, out of Warren, Ohio, showcased local 

hams Chris Walker (11 years old), KC8NLR; Bill Craiger, K8UV; 

Henry, Kay and Ron Parise, NZ8W, N8WER and WA4SIR; Dan 

and Sue Coe, KB8QVS and KB8UXJ; Steve Marshall, N3TPF; and 

others at the 43rd annual Warren Amateur Radio Association 

hamfest. Does the Ron Parise call sign ring a bell That’s right, he’s 

an astronaut! 

• The Romney (West Virginia) Hampshire Review went “up close 

and personal” with Tom Viselli, K2UOP, of Romney, whose 

mountaintop home is an ideal DX location. The paper devoted a 

page to Tom’s pursuit of good DX. 

• Hal McClamma, NN4US, president of the Tuscaloosa, Alabama, 

Amateur Radio Club and Dr Gordon King, W4XI, discussed ham 

radio on the local WTBC talk radio station recently. The appearance 

was part of their promotion for a Technician license class.

UP FRONT IN 

A first day cover to honor 50 years of Amateur Radio in Bosnia- 

Herzegovina. Although the Bosnia-Herzegovina Amateur Radio 

Association was founded in 1947, the first amateur contact did not 

take place until July 6, 1950. Today the ARABiH boasts 3500 very 

active members. 

Three elements on 80 meters—believe it or 

not. Seeing is believing! You’re looking at the 

installation of a full-sized 80-meter Yagi at the 

station of Kan Inshu, 7J4AAL, in Hiroshima, 

Japan. Setting the giant antenna in place on 

its 140-foot tower required a heavy-duty construction 

crane and a crew of 12. 

’Tis the season…for hurricanes. W4EHW, the Amateur Radio 

station at the National Hurricane Center, opened the 2000 hurricane 

season on June 1 with a special event operation. From left to right, 

Julio Ripoll, WD4JR; Max Mayfield, director of the Center (seated) 

and John McHugh, KU4GY. 

You never know where a contact will take 

you. In this case, it took Joe Stephenson, 

WA0NUJ, (right) all the way to Provence in 

the south of France to meet Lars Brolin, 

SM0RSV, at Lars’ vacation home. Their 

friendship began 20 years ago during a random 

contact on 20 meters. If you enjoy classical 

music, you might recognize Lars. He is a 

member of the world-famous Drottningholm 

Baroque Ensemble. 


When it’s Kid’s Day, everyone gets in the act! 

William Wynn, KF6ZFR, thoroughly enjoyed both 

Kid’s Day events in 2000—when he could wrestle 

the radios away from his grandfather, Larry, 

W6AXD, (right) and father, David, N6AXD. 

The next Kid’s Day will be coming up in 

January 2001. Watch QST for details. 

Fifty years with the ARRL! Last April the Central Michigan Amateur 

Radio Club set up a special event station on the grounds of the Ingham County 

Courthouse in Mason, Michigan (left), to celebrate 50 years of affiliation 

with the ARRL. Everyone who worked the station received the attractive 

certificate shown here. ARRL Great Lakes Division director George Race, 

WB8BGY (above, right), showed up to operate and presented the club with 

a certificate honoring the event. Among the operators present on the sunny 

(but chilly) spring day were Ken, W8HNI, and Pam, KB8PSF (bottom, right). 


Signs 

o’ the 

Times! 

Sumner Weisman, W1VIV, discovered this building in Concord, 

New Hampshire. As Sumner observes, “It is obvious to me that a 

facility has finally been built where ham radio operators can resolve 

their conflicts. Shall it be a duel with 10-meter whips, or perhaps 

egg insulators at 20 paces” 

If you need a new directional antenna, this 

may be the logical place to find it. Bob 

Mann, W8LHP, snapped this gem on the way 

home from the 2000 Dayton Hamvention. 

No, but a “spiral sliced” helical antenna might fit the bill. Someone 

at the Hercules Fence Company in Ocala, Florida, has a sense of 

humor, according to Fred Bernquist, N2DCP. 

Build your dream home and take your CW exam at the 

same time. Well, it could happen—especially if the contractor 

is a VE. Ron Ifferte, WB2CMI, found this near 

Hanover, Pennsylvania. 

Travel inexpensively to your next DXpedition destination! 

Donn Fuller, AD0N, was shooting a TV commercial 

in Richmond, Virginia when he spotted this 

intriguing sign. 


CORRESPONDENCE 

Your opinions count! Send your letters to “Correspondence,” ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111. 

You can also submit letters by fax at 860-594-0259, or via e-mail to: qst@arrl.org. 

We read every letter received, but we can only publish a few each month. We reserve the right to edit your letter for clarity, 

and to fit the available page space. Of course, the publishers of QST assume no responsibility for statements made by correspondents. 

DTV: HYPE OR PROMISE 

Referring to the article by Peter Putman, 

KT2B, in the August QST, I trust he is enjoying 

his very expensive HDTV installation. 

As a retired TV engineer following 42 

years of broadcast activity, chief engineer 

of two TV stations and other radio stations 

and full responsibility from the camera lens 

to the beacon on the tip of the antenna, I’d 

like to offer my reactions to his comments. 

The transition from NTSC specs to 

HDTV specs is in no way similar to the transition 

from black/white TV to color TV. The 

B/W sets of the early TV days would still, 

with no modification, display B/W pictures 

from color broadcasts. A modern NTSC TV 

set will not display a DTV signal. Addition 

of a converter “box” will not change the 

sweep frequencies of the display. Even if the 

sync frequency of the broadcast signal is 

within the range of the set’s specs, the vertical 

resolution will not be improved. The horizontal 

resolution may be slightly better but 

very little due to the limited IF bandpass. The 

picture you will get after spending for the 

mandated converter “box” will give you 

about the same quality as you are accustomed 

to. The FCC has just made obsolete probably 

500 million TV sets. But, you say, the 

cable people will do the conversion for us. 

Yes, at great expense they will be forced to 

convert the DTV signals back to NTSC standards 

and probably the UHF signals back to 

their chosen channels. Does anyone believe 

they will do this for free 

The general public is not going to spend 

$3000, maybe $1000 at least, for a new TV 

set when their old one is operating perfectly. 

Reception on computers, with a 

receiver/converter depends on the sync frequencies 

of the broadcast signals, of which 

there are four different standards, at least 

two of which will not work. 

From the broadcaster’s standpoint, the 

FCC has mandated the complete junking of 

all the station equipment, cameras, microwave 

links, transmitters, antennas—the 

works. This will bankrupt many stations. 

NTSC can broadcast pictures that HDTV 

cannot. Visualize a screen full of random 

color pixels filling the 3.5-MHz bandwidth 

available for NTSC. Now randomly change 

the color of the pixels 30 times a second. 

NTSC can do that, compressed HDTV can’t. 

From an engineering standpoint HDTV 

is a stroke of genius. From a public acceptance 

standpoint it is going to be a long, 

hard climb. From a monetary standpoint it 


will be a flop. The FCC has just pronounced 

the death knell of open circuit TV. We will 

have to depend on satellite and cable services 

and deep pockets.—Rowland Medler, 

W4ANN, Gainesville, Florida 

CONTESTS DO NOT PREPARE 

OPERATORS FOR EMERGENCIES 

A letter from Dave Rosen, K2GM, published 

in the July, 2000 “Correspondence” 

addresses a belief that has been circulating 

within the Amateur Radio community for 

years. A segment of the Amateur Radio 

community has long suggested that contesters 

are “well prepared to deal with the operational 

demands that arise following disasters.” 

Perhaps the time has come to take 

a hard look at this belief and offer an alternative 

viewpoint. 

Unlike contesting, in which the information 

exchanged is often identical and 

repetitive, true disaster communications is 

often complex and lengthy. Few emergency 

communicators are afforded the luxury of 

transmitting the same message, consisting 

of just a few words, repeatedly throughout 

a period of extended operations. 

While it may be true that DXpeditions 

are logistical triumphs, they are nonetheless 

logistical triumphs that afforded the 

participants the luxury of months, or perhaps 

years, of preplanning. Disasters typically 

arrive with little, if any, notice. 

Furthermore, disasters often require the 

emergency communicator to deploy to a 

completely unfamiliar location, such as a 

hospital, shelter or Incident Command Post. 

Unlike most contesters, few emergency 

communicators have the luxury of providing 

disaster communications from home. 

There is no doubt that contesting is an 

honorable activity that offers many significant 

benefits. However, if one wishes to be 

fully prepared to provide emergency communications, 

there are activities that offer 

specific training for disaster response, including 

the League’s own ARES and NTS 

programs. 

For example, participating in ARES 

drills and exercises requires one to set up 

portable equipment at command posts, 

Emergency Operations Centers, hospitals or 

shelters. Such equipment may utilize technologies 

uncommon in contesting, such as 

APRS, or even ATV. ARES drills require 

one to transmit unfamiliar data and tactical 

information, such as chemical names, telephone 

numbers, addresses, or requests for 

supplies and personnel. 

Consider NTS nets. The dedicated 

traffic handler must meet on schedule, regardless 

of conditions. He must receive 

unfamiliar messages, many of which contain 

unique addresses, texts and signatures, 

regardless of propagation conditions or interference. 

He must be thoroughly familiar 

with a standard phonetic alphabet, the 

proper usage of prowords and prosigns, and 

the mechanics of net procedures. 

Whether intended or not, when one suggests 

that contesters are best qualified to 

support disaster communications, an implication 

is made that participation in ARES 

and NTS activities is unnecessary. Let’s 

encourage every contester to take time to 

register with his ARRL Emergency Coordinator 

or his NTS Net Manager instead.— 

Jim Wades, WB8SIW, Ypsilanti, Michigan 

EVERYTHING DOESN’T WORK 

“Everything Works” by Thomas Schiller, 

N6BT, in the July QST, told an interesting 

tale, but it might mislead new hams. It describes 

breaking DX pileups using only a 

light bulb for an antenna, it being only 

18-dB less effective than a dipole. (If the 

feed line truly doesn’t radiate, expect about 

–100 dB, and not hearing anything at all.) 

Figure 2 in the article positions triband trap 

Yagis as, on the average, no better performers 

than dipoles while according to everyone 

else, they are 5 to 8 dB better, not to 

mention being multiband. And while the 

“enjoyment” axis of the figure suggests the 

ultimate is using six of the author’s Force 

12 antennas, many hams expand their 

pleasure by trying different bands with trap 

antennas, exploring the MUF, adding amplifiers, 

trying VHF, exploring low-power 

portable operation, and by building. Nonetheless, 

most of us can relate to the article’s 

“path” discussion, and the role of the other 

ham’s station, topics that seem to come up 

early in a QSO.—Gary Gordon, K6KV, 

Saratoga, California 

Judging by the article “Everything 

Works” in the July, 2000 issue, QST has 

decided to get into the “irritainment” business. 

What bothers me is the idea that your 

enjoyment of Amateur Radio is in proportion 

to the effectiveness of your antenna. 

The article implies that you can’t really 

have much fun with anything less than a full 

sized dipole in the clear, higher than onethird 

wavelength, and even then, you are just 

“beginning to experience the fun of radio.”

I have been a ham for 35 years and I have 

never been able to put up even the “0 dB” 

antenna as outlined in this article. 

I think the overwhelming majority of HF 

ham installations would fall below this 

0-dB mark. Yet I can hear them on the air, 

and we all seem to be having a lot of fun. 

Those of us who enjoy LPCA, QRP or 

mobile operation either by choice or necessity 

know that our stations put out signals 

inferior to those of a station that costs thousands 

of dollars. But, let’s face it, there is a 

limit to how far you can talk on this planet, 

and you can do it with a few watts CW to a 

dipole at a compromise height. I have seen 

no evidence that hams with monster stations 

have more fun than the rest of us. There 

are many ways of enjoying Amateur Radio. 

Some of us derive a great deal of pleasure 

from busting DX pileups with our crummy 

stations. Some of us like learning about 

baluns and feed lines. 

If I were a prospective ham reading this 

article I would think twice about taking the 

time to get involved in a hobby that requires 

such an enormous expenditure to “enjoy 

fully.” On the other hand, it sure seems like 

N6BT had a lot of fun with his “light 

bulb.”—Anthony Felino, WN6Q, Santa Barbara, 

California 

POTENTIALLY DAMAGING 

RESEARCH 

I was quite concerned when I read the 

story in the ARRL Letter regarding the 

research being conducted by Kenneth 

Cantor on Amateur Radio and its effects on 

the human body. I was particularly struck 

by the remark made by Mr. Cantor regarding 

his plans to conduct an “inexpensive 

kind of quick study” that would not yield 

fine detail. This seems to be potentially 

damaging to Amateur Radio and the wireless 

community if not carried out properly. 

The lack of dependable, well planned and 

conclusive research regarding RF exposure 

would have the potential to send the FDA, 

FCC, and the public into a tailspin over emission 

requirements and safeguards for Amateur 

Radio and other wireless carriers. While 

the concept of performing this research on 

the amateur community would be a prime 

focus group, Mr. Cantor’s research plan does 

not appear to be seeking concrete evidence. 

This is not the kind of publicity the wireless 

community can afford. Regardless of 

PRB-1 and its provisions, a negative review 

(research report) could trigger an enormous 

avalanche of hysteria and litigation. Major 

SAR and MPE restrictions, antenna structure 

restrictions, community bans on amateur 

operations, Citizens’ Band scares, and 

local law enforcement involvement in 

health and regulatory matters would just be 

the beginning. 

Already the prime time news programs 

have left irreparable scars on the cellular 

phone industry by reporting the theories 

about links between the use of cell phones 

and brain cancer. One detail that seemed to 

be underestimated was the average time the 

cancer patients used their cell phones, and 

one report even stated that the rate of cancer 

in noncell phone users versus cell phone 

users was the same. 

Where’s the link The sensationalism of 

the story seemed to win. I have wondered 

how many cell phone owners living and 

traveling in high crime districts of America 

are now fearful and maybe have even 

thrown away their phones due to the sensational 

news stories. 

Do we want an “inexpensive kind of 

quick study” to shape the future of Amateur 

Radio I can not safely discard any of 

the researchers’ reports and their findings. 

Doing anything excessively, whether good 

or bad, creates a “cause and effect” situation. 

The difficulty seems to start with the 

inability to define safe RF exposure limits 

with regard to our individual body chemistry. 

We’re not created equally! 

I propose that the amateur community 

not only work with Mr. Cantor in finding 

the facts about RF exposure, but that we 

insist on an intensive study. If we as amateurs 

are to be the proving grounds for such 

research, we owe it to ourselves and the 

public to ensure that the facts are accurately 

researched and reported…whatever the results 

may be!—John P. Barnard, N4NB, 

Altavista, Virginia 

The FCC made the ARRL RF Safety 

Committee aware of Dr. Cantor’s epidemiological 

study of hams while it was in its 

early stages. We welcomed this study since 

a similar study performed in the mid-1980s 

was misrepresented as being conclusive of 

a connection between Amateur Radio operation 

and leukemia, something that the 

study design and its results did not support. 

We wanted to make sure that the new study 

was performed as accurately as possible 

and that its results and their implications 

would be properly presented. We met with 

Dr. Cantor at ARRL HQ in Newington in 

order to assure ourselves that he would be 

sensitive to the issues that Mr. Barnard so 

correctly stated. The RFSC continues to 

maintain contact with Dr. Cantor and has 

already helped to improve the accuracy of 

the data. The “inexpensive kind of quick 

study” is the way this field does its business, 

and appropriately so. There is no justification 

for mounting an expensive study 

if no relationship can be found in a preliminary 

study. We are satisfied that Dr. Cantor 

is highly qualified to perform a valid study, 

and that he is sensitive to the fears of a public 

that may misunderstand the results.—Dr 

Gregory D. Lapin, N9GL, Chairperson, 

ARRL RF Safety Committee 


By Shelby Ennis, W8WN 

Utilizing the Constant 

Bombardment of Cosmic Debris 

for Routine Communication 

Thanks to sophisticated software and high-speed CW (HSCW), you can make 

meteor-scatter QSOs on just about any (and every) day of the year. SSB may reign 

supreme during meteor showers, but HSCW has made its way from Europe and is 

now alive and well in North America. 

Confidential: 

“Your mission, Mr. Phelps, should you 

choose to accept it, is to complete a contact 

on 144 MHz over a 600-1000 mile (960- 

1610 km) path in less than 20 minutes every 

morning of the year while developing 

techniques to help others do the same. As 

always, should you or members of your 

2-m force fail, the Secretary will disavow 

any knowledge of your operation. It is 

suggested that you recruit a top-notch team 

for this operation. This tape will selfdestruct 

in 15 seconds. Good luck.” 

Report—For Eyes Only: 

“Mr Secretary: After a slow start, we are 

now approaching the goal. Between January 

1999 and April 2000, 172 out of 215 144- 

MHz schedules were completed with K0XP, 

for an 80% completion rate, usually within 

15 minutes, over an 813-mile (1308 km) 

path, which included schedules during the 

poorest time of the year. 

During the period of February through 

April 2000, 21 of 22 attempts were also 

completed with K1JT on 144 MHz, and 11 

of 11 were completed on 50 MHz over a 650- 

mile (1050 km) path. Details to follow.” 

While the above might sound like an 

opening scene from a Mission Impossible 

episode, it’s actually is a brief summary of 

what’s been happening during the past three 

years. Long-distance 144-MHz contacts 

have become so routine that we’re now 

surprised when a schedule isn’t successful. 

Exotic propagation modes and satellites 

aren’t even in the picture. What we’re using 


is a modern variation of 1950’s ham 

technology—meteor scatter. 

A Brief History of 

Meteor Scatter Operation 

Meteor-scatter operation began in 1953 

when Paul Wilson, W4HHK, 1 (in western 

Tennessee), and Ross Bateman, W4AO 

(northeastern Virginia), kept hearing signal 

bursts while trying to work during a 

widespread tropospheric opening. They, 

along with W2UK, W5RCI, W2NLY, 

W2AZL, W1HDQ, W1FZJ and others were 

soon running tests to determine how 

communication could be accomplished 

using this mode. 2,3 

With the publication of two QST articles 

by Walt Bain, W4LTU, 4,5 meteor scatter soon 

became a popular mode for making contacts 

beyond the normal extended-tropo range. 

1 Notes appear on page 32. 

During the annual Perseids meteor shower, 

although stations were spread out, enough 

were active that QRM became a problem at 

times. (Everyone was crystal-controlled and 

there was no way to use a calling frequency 

in those days). Using various keying methods 

and multi-speed reel-to-reel tape recorders, 

some ops managed to work at speeds of up 

to 100 WPM (slowing the tape for copying). 

Most of the time the “pings” were few 

and short. As SSB operation became more 

common on VHF in the 1970s, North 

American hams were able to exchange more 

information in the same amount of time, but 

SSB operation still required pings of one 

second or longer to be really useful. On 144 

MHz, these seldom occurred except during 

major meteor showers. (On 50 MHz, where 

pings are longer, SSB MS contacts are 

routine for well-equipped stations.) Nearly 

all North American 144-MHz meteor 

scatter operation occurred only during the 

“big three” meteor showers each year (the 

August Perseids, December Geminids and 

January Quadrantids). 

Meanwhile, the Europeans developed a 

different approach. SSB meteor-scatter 

operation was still much too slow to utilize 

the barrage of tiny meteors that constantly 

strike the earth’s protective atmosphere. 

These pings, while numerous, are usually 

weak and very short. The Europeans sent 

CW at very high speeds using electronic 

keyers, and recorded incoming pings on 

modified audio cassette recorders that could 

be played back at a readable speed. 

This was a brilliant solution. Using this

Antennas at W8WN—quad array of KLM 16 LBXs for 144 MHz, 

4-element Yagi for 50 MHz, 10-element X-Yagi for 432 MHz—all 

on the same az-el mount. 

A full-screen shot showing WinMSDSP and Netscape 

Navigator running at the same time. 

method, speeds of 400 WPM or more were 

quickly achieved. European operators were 

soon making routine contacts every 

morning of the year and logging dozens 

during meteor showers. 

Although modifying the cassette 

recorders is relatively simple, this style of 

meteor-scatter operation, now called highspeed 

CW (HSCW) or high-speed meteorscatter 

(HSMS), didn’t catch on across the 

Atlantic. North American hams felt that 

SSB was superior. Several operators 

attempted to spur interest in HSCW, but 

few, if any, contacts were made. 

Across the Atlantic at Last 

North American HSCW started almost 

by accident when, in May of 1997, Steve, 

KO0U (now K0XP), and I learned that we 

each had a mutual interest in CW MS. 

Coincidentally, DL3JIN’s SBMS (“Sound 

Blaster Meteor Scatter”) receiving program, 

which used a computer to emulate a variablespeed 

tape recorder, had just become 

available. We ran several schedules at speeds 

up to 80 WPM using programmable keyers 

or OH5IY’s MS-Soft program. W8WN was 

using SBMS to assist with receiving, while 

KO0U copied by ear at speed. 

In August of that year, Tihomir 

Heidelburg, 9A4GL, a college student in 

Croatia, released the first beta version of his 

HSCW receiving program, MSDSP (Meteor 

Scatter using DSP). It wasn’t as developed 

as DL3JIN’s program, but it had several 

additional features that showed promise. 

E-mail messages began to fly back and forth 

across the Atlantic as Tihomir sent us version 

after version of MSDSP to test, eventually 

adding nearly every feature we requested. 

Before the Perseids peak that year, a test 

version with transmit capability became 

available and speeds jumped to 2000 LPM 

or 400 WPM (LPM, letters per minute; 

LPM = WPM × 5). Things suddenly became 

interesting! Other operators learned of our 

HSCW experiments and began to join the 

fun. Speeds soon reached 4000 LPM (800 

WPM), with one contact between Valerie, 

WD8KVD (visiting in EM77), and KO0U 

(FN42), topping the charts at a blazing 8600 

LPM (1720 WPM), the highest speed then 

possible. 6 Next year (1998), again visiting 

in Kentucky for Christmas, WD8KVD 

and KO0U made a contact on Christmas 

Day at the unheard-of speed of 16,000 LPM 

(3320 WPM)! 7 

Some operators had trouble using the 

DOS version of MSDSP, as many were 

familiar only with Windows. In 1999, 

Tihomir released his first Windows version, 

WinMSDSP 2000. With more features and 

capabilities, it was quickly downloaded and 

adopted by VHF operators around the world 

During 1997 and 1998, another group had 

also been testing various techniques for 

HSCW MS operation. It soon became 

apparent that the procedures used for slow 

CW and SSB meteor-scatter QSOs were 

inadequate for HSCW. The Europeans, with 

their 20 years of HSCW experience, had 

developed many additional techniques. 

However, some of their procedures were 

quite different from ours, however, and it 

was challenging to suddenly change 40 years 

of North American operating experience. 

Many of the schedules between W8WN 

and KO0U were devoted to testing various 

procedures, speeds, techniques and equipment 

settings. This is one reason why the 

percentage of completed contacts didn’t 

increase as rapidly as we expected, 

considering the increase in speeds. 8 

Characteristics of 

HSCW MS Operation 

HSCW meteor scatter operation in North 

America is now established, with speeds of 

4000 to 10,000 LPM (800-2000 WPM) in 

common use. (All information here pertains 

to 144-MHz operation unless otherwise 

specified, as this is the most-used band for 

all types of MS operation.) Most operation 

is by schedule, with few routine CQs except 

during the annual North American HSMS 

Contest, which coincides with the Southern 

Hemisphere Eta Aquarids meteor shower 

during the first week of May. The number 

of North American stations capable of 

HSCW operation is still too small to 

provide many random contacts. (The 

HSCW calling frequency is 144.100 MHz 

in North America. 9 ) Most schedules on this 

side of the Atlantic are arranged using the 

“MS Rocks Live!” real-time Web page 10 — 

often referred to as “Hot Rocks”—or via 

the HSCW Reflector. 11 A station equipped 

for weak-signal operation on 144 MHz (150 

W or more, a 16-element Yagi and a decent 

location) has a good chance of completing 

a contact nearly any morning of the year 

using the underdense pings of sporadic 

meteors—if someone at a suitable distance 

is available for a schedule. 

The equipment needed for HSCW MS 

operation can be found in a typical VHF 

shack: a multimode transceiver, an 

amplifier; a horizontally polarized beam 

antenna and computer running Windows 9x. 

(There are several other methods of 

operating HSCW MS besides using MSDSP 

or a modified cassette recorder. For more 

information about the alternatives, point 

your Web browser to any of the HSCW Web 

sites and follow the links.) 12 

If your station works reasonably well for 

aurora, tropo and other weak-signal modes, 

you should be successful with HSCW MS. 

For distances greater than about 1250 miles 

(2000 km), a good location and high 

antennas are needed. For medium distances 

of 600-1200 miles, however, low antennas 


(in the clear) are quite usable. A quiet 

location is always an asset. 

Don’t worry about hacking up your SSB 

rig—no mods are needed. Keying is 

accomplished via audio tones (similar to 

most digital modes), and standard SSB 

filters work fine up to about 10,000 LPM 

(2000 WPM). The emission designator— 

J2A—produces keying that is indistinguishable 

from keying the main carrier. 

It’s the same method used by many rigs to 

produce CW. 13 

Using standard SSB filters, the bandwidth 

of an HSCW signal is about the same as that 

of a voice transmission. For more technical 

information, see the numerous papers on the 

HSCW Web sites and the resources listed in 

the article by Jim McMasters, KD5BUR 

(now KM5PO). 14 

HSCW MS operation is decidedly 

different from conventional CW or SSB 

meteor-scatter operation. Both require 

overdense bursts or good (strong and long) 

underdense pings to complete a contact. 

SSB and slow CW operators hope for 

specular reflections from heavily ionized 

trails instead of “the abominable ping,” as 

one writer put it. Unfortunately, overdense 

bursts are usually observed only during 

major meteor showers. 

HSCW relies on the numerous subsecond 

bursts and the weak pings scattered 

from underdense particle trains. Pings of this 

type are often produced by the “sporadic” 

particles that constantly bombard the earth. 

Most of the debris that the earth “sweeps” 

into as it orbits the sun are not fragments 

from the asteroid belt but are particles from 

the dust trails left by ancient comets. The 

particles are widely distributed and no 

longer dense enough to produce recognizable 

showers. Their number may vary 

significantly from day to day—and even 

minute to minute. Most of these particles are 

no larger than grains of sand or specks of 

dust, but because of their extreme speed, the 

ionization they produce as they burn in the 

atmosphere is often enough to scatter or even 

refract radio waves. 15 

The duration of these pings is usually 

very short, but the number of tiny pings 

available on many mornings may surprise 

you. It’s been estimated that if you have a 

5% chance of completing a contact on SSB, 

your odds improve to 95% on HSCW. Of 

the approximately 215 completed HSCW 

contacts between W8WN and KO0U/K0XP, 

no more than 10 contacts could have been 

accomplished on SSB. Nearly all of those 

would have taken place during showers, 

when SSB MS comes into its own. 

Meteor scatter (using any mode) is 

difficult at distances of less than 500 miles 

(800 km) or greater than 1400 miles 

(2250 km) because of the height of the 

meteor trails, antenna characteristics, the 


An 11-element Yagi on telescoping paint 

pole for portable operation at our son 

Steve’s home near Clio, Michigan. 

The “basement-portable” operating 

position at Clio, Michigan. The hardware 

includes an IC-706 MKII transceiver, 150-W 

amp, MFJ switching power supply, Bird 

wattmeter, GW2K laptop computer running 

WinMSDSP, audio filter and coffee cup! 

Notice the very fancy recycled cardboard 

box operating table they gave me! 

WinMSDSP. Here we have the main MSDSP 

screen, and the flutter-type QSB on an 

overdense burst (burst length, 8.9 sec). 

scattering mechanism, etc. 16 For close-in 

communication, back- or side-scatter 

techniques (or antennas that can be aimed in 

elevation and azimuth) are usually needed. 

At distances beyond 1400 miles, a good 

location and plenty of power are necessary. 

Although difficult, unusually long and short 

QSO paths are possible during showers. 

Because HSCW relies entirely on signals 

scattered from underdense meteor trains, the 

typical sporadic ping will be weak and very 

short. So, when it comes to output power— 

the more the merrier. Does this mean that a 

150-W station can’t take advantage of 

sporadic underdense pings To see what 

could be done, I talked my daughter, 

WD8KVD, into letting me operate portable 

from her home near Duluth, Minnesota, 

when I visited in July of 1999. 

My IC-706 transceiver drove a 150-W 

amplifier and an 11-element Yagi that was 

mounted on a telescoping paint pole about 

20 feet (6 meters) above the ground. The 

location was merely fair for VHF. I used an 

old laptop computer to run the Windows or 

DOS version of MSDSP. 17 Compared with 

the kilowatt and the large array at home in 

Kentucky, contacts were more difficult, of 

course, but a number of ops were able to 

add a new grid to their logs. 

An indoor portable operation was 

repeated at Christmas 1999 from my son’s 

home near Clio, Michigan (EN83). Using 

the same equipment but with very flat 

terrain, contacts between 500 and 1000 

miles were easily made. (Details and photos 

from both operations are available on the 

W8WN Web site. 18 ) 

Since then, K9KNW/MM has completed 

a number HSCW contacts from his boat, 

running either a halo or a small beam. 

During May of 2000, K9KNW completed 

28 HSCW contacts while sailing in seven 

water grids (EL93, FL03, 13, 14, 15, 23 and 

24). His 12-element Yagi was only about 

three meters above the water, limiting his 

maximum QSO distance to about 1250 

miles (2000 km). Stations less than 1100 

miles (1775 km) distant found the contacts 

to be quite easy, usually taking less than 

20 minutes. Those at greater distances were 

more difficult. Joe has plans for more trips, 

including a possible grid-hopping trip with 

much more time devoted to Amateur Radio. 

How Fast is Fast 

Obviously, higher-speed transmissions 

can pack more information into each ping. 

MS speeds were originally 25-35 WPM 

(still the standard for slow CW operation). 

Several pioneer operators could operate at 

50 WPM, copying in their heads. When the 

Europeans developed HSCW, routine 

speeds increased to 2000 LPM (400 WPM) 

or more. The current version of WinMSDSP 

is capable of speeds up to 20,000 LPM 

(4000 WPM). But are these extreme speeds 

practicable And what is the maximum 

usable speed 

Although contacts have been made at 

higher speeds, the practical MS speed limit 

is about 12,000 LPM (2400 WPM) (using 

unmodified SSB transceivers with standard 

SSB filters and audio tone keying). At higher 

speeds, the signal-to-noise ratio degrades and 

the keying begins to sound “soft” and 

indistinct. Remember that, using a 2000-Hz 

injection tone and receiving with a 1500-Hz 

tone, a single dit may not even occupy a full 

audio cycle! By using wider filters and 

higher tone frequencies, faster data rates may 

be possible, but none of the MSDSP test

HSMS Bounty…K9KNW/MM Provides Rare Caribbean Grids to VHF Meteor Enthusiasts 

Joe Goggin, K9KNW, is an avid deep sea fisherman. His love for 

that sport is second only to his love for VHF meteor-scatter operation. 

From May 19 through June 16, 2000, Joe managed to combine 

a fishing expedition with a 2-meter HSCW MS operation and provided 

some exciting QSOs and very rare Caribbean grid squares to 

North American HSMS operators. 

The robust nature of HSMS techniques allowed K9KNW/MM to 

operate from seven rare grid squares and complete 29 QSOs. Some 

contacts were completed in 20 minutes or less, while others took up 

to an hour to complete the required exchange of information (call 

signs, signal reports and acknowledgements). 

Morning operations were the rule, as sporadic meteors—the 

cosmic debris that provides HSMS operators with day-to-day airborne 

signal reflectors even in the absence of meteor showers—are 

most plentiful during the hours around local sunrise. Simple geometry—the 

height of the meteor trails—determined which US stations 

were within range of Joe’s reflected signals. 

The current North American HSMS distance record (anchored 

on one end by K9KNW from his home station) is a little more than 

1400 miles. VHF operators located along the Eastern seaboard and 

much of the lower Midwest could have—had they been active on 

HSMS—picked up a handful of very rare grid squares. 

K9KNW/MM activated grid squares FL03, FL13, FL14, FL15, 

FL23, FL24 and EL93. Joe worked WB5APD (in EM84) and W5SNX 

(in EM73) from every one of those grid squares. “Those two guys 

both had good signals, but, Bob Dodson, WB5APD, pounded me 

with pings in every grid.” 

Dodson and Dick Ray, W5SNX, operate sophisticated 2-meter 

stations and use high transmitter power and large antennas. Both 

were positioned within ideal MS range of Goggin’s floating station. 

“But, I also worked Joe Taylor, K1JT, in FN20 from FL23, a distance 

of about 1164 miles,” says Goggin, “and he runs a modest station 

(160 W to a single 11-element Yagi), which proves that you don’t 

need high power and big antennas to enjoy HSMS.” 

The long-distance QSO champ for this voyage was W9FX, located 

in EM57. K9KNW/MM was in FL23, and the calculated distance for that 

QSO, based on K9KNW’s GPS coordinates, was 1256.1 statute miles. 

Other successful HSMS operators were W8WN, K2TXB and W4WSR. 

Goggin said he was “a little disappointed in the light turnout of stations 

who expressed an interest in working me. But since there wasn’t 

any advance publicity for this trip and it was my first time out, I guess 

that’s to be expected. For future trips, some of which may be tailored 

strictly as HSMS DXpeditions, I’ll try to get the word out in advance 

so that more stations will have the opportunity to join in the fun.” 

HSMS operations are, for the most part, arranged in advance by 

sked. Dean Nickless, W4WHN, served as the primary land-based 

contact (‘pilot’ station in DXpedition terms) for the hungry grid hunters. 

W9FX filled in when Dean wasn’t available. Sked arrangements 

made on the internet by HSMS operators were passed to Joe via 

2-meter SSB or 20-meter PSK31. “Not having an internet hookup on 

the boat slowed things down. I’m going to have to see about equipping 

her with satellite-based internet access,” Goggin stated. 

K9KNW/MM operated from a custom-built 65-foot sport fisherman, 

the Island Gyspy. The wood hulled, twin diesel beauty with her 

20-foot beam provided a relatively stable platform for Joe’s 2-meter 

Yagi. Despite the fact that that all of his HSMS operations were 

conducted while at anchor, the Caribbean wind and waves did pose 

a unique antenna pointing problem. Joe says, “The boat was constantly 

changing position. I had to keep one eye on the computer 

screen and the other on the compass and rotator.” 

“This trip didn’t demand much planning. We simply loaded supplies 

on board and took off,” said Goggin. “That’s why I didn’t post an 

itinerary or publicize the anticipated HSMS operations in advance. 

There was a lot of thought—and work—involved in figuring out how 

to mount an effective antenna on the boat without detracting from the 

operation of the fishing gear or marine electronics.” 

How was the fishing “Great, “ said Joe. “But,” he added, “I had 

more fun on 2 meters!”— Brad Pioveson, W9FX, 301 Kirsch St, 

Benton, IL 62812-1706; w9fx@arrl.net 

stations had this capability, and no one has 

had the ambition to purchase new filters or 

to modify their rigs. Still, North American 

HSCW speeds are quite peppy! 

Other Bands 

HSCW MS operation in North America 

is mostly limited to 2 meters. Most MS 

activity takes place there already, and MS 

work on other bands is too difficult or rather 

easy, eliminating the need for HSCW 

altogether. 

50 MHz (calling frequency 50.300 

MHz): Compared to 2 meters, 6-meter meteor 

pings tend to be weaker, last longer and 

somewhat more frequent. The lower-gain 

antennas and reduced transmitter outputs 

typically used on 6 meters apparently account 

for the drop in signal strength. On 6, 

pings average about one second in length, 

with occasional pings of five or more seconds. 

This is why SSB MS is possible many 

mornings on 6 meters between wellequipped 

operators. Also, with E s , F 2, tropo 

and other propagation modes, grids can 

eventually be worked even without cooperative 

meteor fragments. 

Surprisingly, HSCW MS isn’t all that 

easy on 50 MHz because of the weak 

signals. Most operators find 144 MHz to 

be more workable, making HSCW a relative 

rarity on the magic band. 

222 MHz (no random operating; 

schedules only): As frequency increases, so 

does the difficulty. On 222 MHz, bursts can 

be strong but are fewer in number than on 2 

meters. One-hour schedules are typical 

between well-equipped stations. Little 

HSCW operation has been done on this band, 

but more is expected this year. In fact, the 

first known HSCW MS contact was made on 

May 2 between N7STU and N0KQY—as 

this article was being prepared. The next day 

a second 222-MHz contact was completed 

between N7STU and K0GU. N7STU was 

running 450 W to a 7-wavelength Yagi, while 

K0GU had only 25 W to a 22-element Yagi! 

432 MHz (no random operating; schedules 

only): MS QSOs on this band are difficult, 

but possible. Most 432-MHz MS activity 

has taken place in Europe. An MS QSO 

between SM3AKW and UA9FAD (some 

2141 km) is believed to be the world record. 

The North American record (at 2036 km), 

held by N6RMJ and W7XU, isn’t far behind. 

Working meteor scatter here takes power 

and patience. Pings are infrequent and usually 

short and weak. Schedules are typically one 

or two hours during showers. The most 

successful ops elevate their antennas to null 

out as much ground noise as possible. Also, 

the notes about antenna aiming and using the 

“hot spot” should be carefully considered 

because of the extremely narrow beamwidth 

of 70-cm long Yagis. 

Higher frequencies: These bands are 

generally considered to be unlikely 

candidates for MS operation, although 

902 MHz QSOs should be possible between 

well-equipped operators during major 

showers. 

Using WinMSDSP 

Although modified cassette recorders 

and other means are used for HSCW 

operation, WinMSDSP has become the 

standard. A limited run-time version 

(shareware) can be downloaded from the 

9A4GL web site and other locations. The 

software requires a computer running 

Windows 9x and supporting DirectX 

(additional operating system “helper” files 

may also need to be downloaded). 

WinMSDSP should run with most fullduplex 

sound cards that support DirectX. 

The program is easy to use and requires 

only a few minutes to learn. It’s loaded with 

features, however, so refer to the brief 

Manual and the Problems paper (actually, 

an FAQ) as you do the intial set up. 


Many of the HSCW web sites have a few 

sample pings that can be downloaded to see 

what the different speeds and strengths are 

like. After a few minutes spent playing with 

the program and learning the main 

functions, further “practice” is of little 

value. Now it’s time to join the HSCW 

Reflector and request a sked. (The meteorscatter 

reflector is often used in Europe.) 

What can you expect This depends 

upon your location, equipment, distance to 

the other station, the other op’s equipment, 

the time of year, the time of day—and 

maybe what your dog had for breakfast! For 

two small- or medium-size stations at an 

appropriate distance, ping rates may vary 

from only a few during any half-hour period 

to as many as 20 pings per minute. 

Conditions can vary greatly. 

Does it work The Europeans knock our 

socks off when it comes to routine MS 

QSOs. Also, Europe has many more active 

HSCW stations The biggest disadvantage 

to HSCW in the Western Hemisphere is the 

lack of stations—there just aren’t enough 

stations using this mode. 

Tips and Tricks 

Once you start running HSCW 

schedules, you may immediately notice 

how radically the number of pings varies 

from month to month, day to day and even 

minute to minute. The best time of year 

for sporadic meteors is July to January, with 

February to May being the poorest. HSCW 

will allow you to complete contacts on 

almost any day of the year, although certain 

periods will likely be easier than others. 

The number of sporadic meteors reaches 

a maximum at about 6 AM local time because 

the morning side of the earth is facing toward 

the direction of its orbital travel, sweeping 

up even slow-moving meteors. Around 6 PM 

local time, your location is on the trailing 

side, so only those meteors fast enough to 

overtake the earth will be captured (this is 

why MS is much easier in the morning). 

Meteor showers may be an exception—as 

long as the radiant is above your horizon. For 

information on daylight meteor showers, see 

the listings on listings the HSCW/MS “Hot 

News” Web page. 19 

On 144 MHz, one-second pings are 

excep-tional. Most pings are shorter than 

this, and many are much shorter. Because 

HSCW requires pings of at least a tenth of 

a second at 10,000 WPM (2000 WPM), 

only a fraction of the total pings are likely 

to contain usable information. 

Other interesting things to watch for are 

Doppler shift, doubles, ionospheric scatter 

and—who knows Doppler shift isn’t often 

observed on underdense pings, but if you 

observe Doppler effects on one ping you’re 

more likely to see them on other pings. 

Another phenomenon you may notice 


Val, WD8KVD, operating W8WN’s rig in 

Kentucky in December 1997. This was her 

highest-speed-ever contact with KO0U. 

(especially during certain showers) is that 

pings seem to sometimes come in pairs. At 

first glance, this would appear to mean that 

some meteors are traveling together, 

separated by a second or so. Scientists have 

long contended that this is only a statistical 

fluke, but hams have noticed the phenomenon 

for many years, and visual observers 

have recently been reporting it. (It will be 

interesting to see what ideas the predictions 

of Asher and McNaught eventually bring 

to this idea. 20 ) 

Finally, traces of ionospheric scatter are 

sometimes observed when two EME-class 

stations are running HSCW schedules. So 

when you’re doing this type of operating, 

remember to be alert for unusual occurrences! 

HSCW MS is much easier than other 

types of MS operation and has the advantage 

of visually displaying the pings, which 

makes it easier to carry out other observations. 

MSDSP also gives you the ability 

to save particularly interesting pings for later 

study. (If it all becomes too easy and you 

want a real challenge, see Maj. O. R. 

Disaster’s collection of the works of that 

great wireless pioneer, Owa Taboo Byam. 21 ) 

Conclusion 

If you’re serious about VHF DX, you 

almost certainly have a multimode rig with 

an amplifier, a decent antenna and a computer. 

Don’t let the “CW” in the HSCW scare you 

away. You can slow the received signal down 

to any reasonable speed. At least try HSCW 

MS. If you’re an active VHF DXer already, 

you may be pleasantly surprised! 

Acknowledgements 

Thanks to everyone who helped me with 

this article and to those who helped get HSCW 

MS started here in the states. Special thanks 

go to my wife Lora, WD8LPN; to Val, 

WD8KVD; to Steve and Alisca for the use of 

their homes when operating portable in 

Minnesota and Michigan; to Steve Harrison, 

K0XP, for three years of schedules while we 

tested all of the things listed above; to Maarten, 

W1FIG, and Joe, K1JT; to the MSDSP Alphatest 

group for all of its work with the many 

versions of 9A4GL’s program; to Ilkka, 

OH5IY, whose multi-part MS-Soft program is 

used by nearly every MS operator around the 

world; to Peter, DL3JIN, and Tihomir, 9A4GL, 

whose programming abilities and hard work 

started the modern age of HSCW operation; 

and to those HSCW operators in North 

America and Europe who have helped with 

testing, ideas and operating suggestions. 

Notes 

1 

Rick Lindquist, N1RL, “VHF-UHF Pioneer 

Paul M. Wilson, W4HHK, SK,” Happenings, 

QST, Feb 2000, p 75. 

2 Emil Pocock, W3EP, ed., Beyond Line of 

Sight, pp 95-96. (A book of classic propagation 

reprints for the VHF DXer, available 

from the ARRL.) 

3 Emil Pocock, ed., Beyond Line of Sight, pp 

104-105. 

4 Walter F. Bain, W4LTU, “V. H. F. Meteor 

Scatter Propagation,” QST, April 1957, pp 

20-24, 140, 142, 144. 

5 

Walter F. Bain, W4LTU, “VHF Propagation 

by Meteor-Trail Ionization,” QST, May 1974, 

pp 41-47, 176. Reprinted in Beyond Line of 

Sight, pp 108-115. 

6 

See the sidebar, “HSCW Meteor Scatter 

Records are Made to be Broken,” on page 

38 of Apr 1998 QST. 

7 http://www.qsl.net/w8wn/wd8kvd/ 

wd8kvd2.html. 

8 http://www.qsl.net/w8wn/hscw/papers/ 

archive.html#w8wn/k0xp. 

9 See the North American “Procedures” paper, 

available on most of the HSCW Web sites, 

for more. (The Region I procedures can be 

found at http://www.scit.wlv.uk/vhfc/ 

iaru.r1.vhfm.4e/5B.html.) 

10 

http://www.dxworld.com/hsms.html. 

11 To join, send a message to “Majordomo@ 

qth.net” with “subscribe hsms” as the text. 

12 Start with the W6/PA0ZN Main NA HSCW 

Web Site at http://www.nitehawk.com/ 

rasmit/ws1_15.html, or the HSCW section 

of W8WN’s Web site at http://www.qsl.net/ 

w8wn/. Both have many links to other sites. 

13 

For a discussion of keying methods, see The 

FCC Rule Book, available from the ARRL. 

See the publications ad in this issue. 

14 Jim McMasters, KD5BUR “High-Speed CW 

and Meteor Scatter - An Exciting VHF DX 

Medium!,” QST, April 1998, pp 34-39. 

15 

Kenneth Davies, Ionospheric Radio Propagation, 

U.S. Dept. of Commerce, 1965, pp 

351-376. 

16 See the text files bundled with OH5MS’s 

“MS-Soft” meteor program, available at 

http://www.sci.fi/~oh5iy/. 

17 

WinMSDSP is available at http://ham2. 

irb.hr/9a4gl/index.php3 or VE5EF’s mirror 

site, http:// www3.sk.sympatico.ca/freed/ 

projects/9A4GL. It and other HSCW material 

are also available at the W8WN Web 

site. 

18 

See http://www.qsl.net/w8wn/. 


hot_news.html. Much more also on the 

“Archived News” page. 

20 

See several articles in Sky and Telescope, 

June 2000, pp 30-40. A brief summary of 

their predictions is also available at http:// 

www.qsl.net/w8wn/hscw/prop/ 

leodust.html. 


lose-qso.html. 

You can contact the author at 465 

Springfield Rd, Elizabethtown, KY 42701; 

w8wn@arrl.net.

By Henryk Kotowski, SM0JHF 

No Power No Problem! 

A Vacation Expedition to 

The Gambia 

The best DXpeditions aren’t necessarily 

frenzied, frantic or dangerous. Sometimes, 

a meandering, casual approach is best! 

was a strange coincidence that I 

It 

was assigned bungalow C5 when 

I arrived at the Kotu Strand Hotel 

in The Gambia, West Africa. The 

fact that my bungalow ID matched the 

country’s ITU prefix had to be an 

auspicious sign. It was natural, therefore, 

that I would follow up and go to Gamtel in 

Banjul, the capital city, the next morning 

to apply for a ham radio visitor’s permit. 

Gamtel is the Gambian telecommunications 

company that’s also responsible for 

Amateur Radio licensing. 

Things couldn’t have been easier. I asked 

for call sign C56JHF, and got it in a matter 

of minutes. Tourism is an important part of 

Gambia’s economy, and accommodating 

visiting Amateur Radio operators is viewed 

as another service for tourists. I wish more 

countries shared this attitude! 

When I came to The Gambia in January 

2000 for a short holiday, I packed an ICOM 

IC-746 transceiver, a power supply, an 

automatic antenna tuner and a reel of 

antenna wire. Winters in Scandinavia are 

too long, too dark and too cold; I simply 

have to go south now and then. 

When I got back from Banjul—the C5 

licence burning a hole in my pocket—I was 

exhausted. It was quite hot, and the sudden 

climate change (from Scandinavia to 

Africa) made me weak. Still, I immediately 

connected the transceiver to the power 

supply and the power supply to the mains. 

I was lucky. The electricity was on and 

bungalow C5 was on the air! 

I asked a local “palm climber” to attach 

one end of my 150-foot end-fed wire to a 

tree growing on the edge of the beach. I 

connected the antenna tuner, stuck a 

straightened-out wire clothes hanger into the 

dry soil outside the bungalow and checked 

conditions on 10 meters. The match wasn’t 

good, so I inverted a bottle of water and 

placed it over my makeshift ground rod. As 

the water trickled into the soil I could see 

that more HF power was going into the endfed 

wire. Thankfully, the antenna worked 

well on all bands from 160 to 10 meters. 

Watering my ground connection was a 

daily event for the next two weeks. Hotel 

staffers and guests often asked me to 

explain the upside-down bottle and 

accepted my explanations without raising 

an eyebrow. Everyone is relaxed here 

(unless you’re in the marketplace, that is). 

The Gambia is one of the smallest 

countries in Africa, with arbitrarily drawn 

borders inside Senegal. The population of 

about one million citizens is scattered 

among various tribes and groups. English 

is still the official language, although The 

Gambia ceased to be a British colony in 

mid-’60s. The country is more peaceful and 

secure than many of its neighbors. 

Propagation is typical for equatorial 

regions and completely different from that 

of Scandinavia. I was frequently amazed 

when hams in Rotuma, Tonga or Hawaii 

came back to my CQ while I was using just 

100 W and a piece of wire. I made nearly 

5000 QSOs with hams in 100 countries in 

a very relaxed style. I was often surprised 

by the beautiful openings to the West Coast 

of the US. 

But even the best radio conditions can’t 

compete with frequent power outages, 

which happened morning, noon and night. 

Saturdays and Sundays were the worst. The 

hotels have backup diesel generators, but 

many don’t bother to run them during the 

daytime. Mine didn’t. 

When the ac mains were down I walked 

along the beach to the nearest store, bought 

some gin and tonic or strolled to the 

market to buy fruit. Drinking plenty of 

fluids is highly recommended, but I found 

that the mineral waters available in The 

Gambia weren’t too tasty. Gin and tonic, 

on the other hand, was better than anything 

else and was quite refreshing in the warm, 

dry climate (without promoting intoxication). 

Otherwise, no power might equal 

no fun! 

You can contact the author at 

Sibeliusg 28 XI, SE-16477 Kista, 

Sweden; sm0jhf@arrl.net. All 

photos were taken by the author. 

Not far from my hotel, 

was a radio station 

somewhat more 

powerful than 

my own— 

Radio Syd. 


By L. B. Cebik, W4RNL 

A Beginner’s Guide to 

Modeling with NEC 

Part 1: Getting settled and getting started 

ntenna modeling has become a 

A 

popular engineering and amateur 

activity. You can see the results 

in almost any issue of QST. 

Among the modeling products you might 

encounter are azimuth patterns, such as 

Figure 1, or elevation patterns, such as 

Figure 2, or even an SWR graph, such 

shown in Figure 3. Almost every ham knows 

that antenna-modeling software is available 

at reasonable prices. So only two important 

questions remain: 

1. Can I model antennas, too Can I 

master the software and produce the same 

kinds of results that I see in QST 

2. Is antenna modeling worth the effort 

Does antenna modeling really offer me any 

information that I cannot easily get 

elsewhere 

The answer to both questions is a 

definite “yes.” With a little coaching and a 

little practice, virtually any ham can 

effectively model many kinds of antennas. 

The result will be a better understanding of 

one’s own antennas and of antennas in 

general. The purpose of this 4-part series is 

to provide the “little coaching” part of the 

effort. The practice is up to you. 

In this first episode, we’ll try to 

understand what antenna modeling is and 

become oriented to the many parts of a good 

antenna model. In future episodes, we’ll take 

a closer (but still incomplete) look at crucial 

details that will make the task smoother and 

the output more understandable. 

In all of our work, we’ll focus our 

attention on the antenna-modeling core 

known as NEC-2. This public domain 

software is the heart of numerous commercial 

implementations that provide ways for 

the user to input data and also that supply 

tabular and graphical outputs. There is 

another modeling core called MININEC. 

Rockway and Logan developed it when PCs 

could not handle the Fortran of NEC. There 

are two versions available, a public domain 

version and a totally revised proprietary 


Figure 2—An (EZNEC) elevation pattern 

for a dipole at 70 feet above average 

ground at 7.15 MHz with an azimuth angle 

of 0 degrees. 

Figure 3—A (NEC-Win Plus) SWR graph 

for a 40-meter dipole at 70 feet above 

average ground. 

Figure 1—A (NEC- 

Win Plus) azimuth 

pattern for a dipole 

at 70 feet above 

average ground at 

7.15 MHz with an 

elevation angle of 

27°. 

version. 1 The nature and limitations of 

MININEC have been covered in past ARRL 

publications, and so they need not be 

repeated here. 2 

Our focal software, NEC-2 is neither the 

newest nor the oldest modeling software. 3 It 

is the latest public domain core available and 

appears in several commercial implementations, 

as well as in “raw” form that one can 

download from more than one ftp site. For 

the beginner, one of the commercial versions 

is recommended, since the raw form requires 

that the user develop appropriate input and 

output systems. 4 I happen to have two 

different commercial versions of NEC-2— 

EZNEC 3.0 and NEC-Win Plus. Therefore, 

without prejudice toward or against any 

version, I shall be illustrating these 

guidelines by alternating among the 

programs I have. Figure captions will 

identify the program used for each graphic. 

What is Antenna Modeling 

One common misconception of antenna 

modeling is that it is similar to making model 

boats and cars. The result sort of looks like— 

1 

Notes appear on page 38.

and may even behave a little like—the real 

thing. Still, the model is a pretty but pale 

shadow of reality. Nothing could be further 

from the truth. So let’s start all over again. 

If you have ever referred to a formula to 

cut a dipole, you have done some 

rudimentary antenna modeling. 

L ft = 468 f 

Eq 1 

MHz 

If we choose 7.15 MHz for our design 

frequency, then we need an antenna wire 

that is 65.45 feet long. Of course, the basic 

dipole formula always carries with it the 

advice to leave some extra wire and trim 

the length for the best SWR. 

The formula does not include the 

diameter of the wire or the material out of 

which it is made. Nor does the formula 

account for the height of the antenna above 

ground or the properties of the soil that 

makes up the ground. Suppose we had a 

formula that would account for all of these 

factors 

We do. The oversimplified cutting 

formula for dipoles is just one small extract 

from a large body of mathematical analysis 

of antennas. If we place all of the most 

accurate equations into a single calculating 

piece of software, we would achieve much 

higher accuracy with our wire cutting. Not 

only could we analyze or predict the correct 

wire length for a resonant dipole, we could 

also calculate the field strength at any 

elevation above ground and in any direction 

from the antenna. This is exactly what NEC 

does. For many antenna types, NEC-2 is as 

accurate as engineering mathematics can 

make antenna analysis. 

The basic antenna analysis used by 

NEC-2 relies on the “method of moments,” 

a mathematical technique that subdivides 

an antenna element into segments, 

calculates the correct properties, and then 

combines the results to provide a set of 

results for the entire element (or an array 

of elements). 5 The results can be adjusted 

using standard engineering equations for 

material resistance, element loading, and 

ground effects. For the beginning modeler, 

two points are important to remember: (1) 

The method, when used within the limits 

of the software, is very accurate and (2) we 

have to think in terms of segments of our 

Figure 4—Several types of antenna 

elements with their segmented wire 

components. 

antenna elements. Instead of dwelling on 

the math behind the core, let’s learn how to 

think in modeling terms. 

The Language of Modeling 

Clearly, we’ll have to add some new 

terms to our antenna language in order to 

get a good grip on antenna modeling. We 

have already encountered one of them: the 

segment. In fact, we may find it useful to 

think of three different terms to sort out 

pieces of an antenna and pieces of an 

antenna model. 

Figure 4 shows several different types of 

antenna elements, a dipole, a quad loop, and 

a bent element such as might be used in a 

half square or a Moxon rectangle. NEC can 

only work with individual straight wires, 

although we can form complex geometric 

shapes by joining straight wires at their ends. 

In fact, if we needed to form a circle, we 

would have to approximate it with a collection 

of straight wires, perhaps an octagon. 

Whatever the shape, each wire composing 

each antenna element has the dimensions of 

that part of the real antenna element. Of 

course, the single wire dipole element brings 

together the “wire” and the “element,” but 

we should always keep the ideas of an 

element and a modeling wire separate. 

Next, each wire in an element should be 

segmented. For beginning modelers, the 

following two guidelines are useful to 

stay on the safe side of NEC limits for 

segmentation: 

1. A wire should have at least 9 

segments per half wavelength. If a wire is 

only a quarter wavelength long, then 

perhaps 5 segments is a good minimum 

number. We’ll shortly see why we’re using 

so many odd numbers. 

2. The segment length should be at least 

4 times larger than the wire diameter. There 

is a complex equation for figuring the 

absolute minimum segment length that is 

reliable, but in the beginning, the 4:1 ratio 

of segment length to wire diameter is a safe 

guideline. 

Let’s add one more guideline: 

3. To the degree possible, make all 

segment lengths equal within a model. If 

we have a dipole consisting of one wire and 

specify 11 segments, then the program will 

automatically make them all the same 

length. However, for elements consisting of 

more than one wire, we’ll have to look at 

the number of segments we assign in order 

to equalize their lengths. Dividing the wire 

length by the number of segments gives the 

segment length. If we know the segment 

length we want, then dividing the wire 

length by the segment length gives the 

number of segments. 

The next step is to set up a model 

element. Let’s remain with our simple 

1-dipole wire. In order to model the 

element, we must know the orientation of 

the dipole. For this first model, we shall 

make it horizontal. In fact, let’s play with a 

40-meter dipole cut for 7.15 MHz. To 

determine the wire’s length, we’ll initially 

use our traditional formula and arrive at a 

length of 65.46 feet for our antenna. 

In order to place the antenna into the 

model, we must master the world of 3 

dimensions, also called Cartesian coordinates. 

This system is just a way of 

specifying directions, as shown in Figure 

5. Relative to the earth, we can think of the 

X-axis and the Y-axis as two lines at 90° 

angles, both of which are parallel to the 

Earth’s surface. Then, the Z-axis becomes 

another word for height above ground. 

Since we are going to start with a dipole 

above the Earth, the Z-value can never be 

below zero, although—as we shall see—it 

Figure 5—The 

Cartesian 

coordinate 

system with an 

“earth surface” 

shown. 

Figure 6—The EZNEC wire spreadsheet with 40-meter dipole 

components. 


might be very close to zero. 

As we begin to model, we need to begin 

to think systematically about antenna 

geometry. One of the most convenient (but 

not the only workable) systems for setting 

up a horizontal antenna is to place the ends 

equal distances along the Y axis. For most 

horizontal designs based on 1 /2-wavelength 

dipoles, this orientation will result in a 

pattern of radiation that is strongest along 

the X-axis, and the pattern value of zero 

degrees lies along this axis. So let’s center 

the antenna on the X-axis and make the 

End-1 Y value –33.73 feet with the End-2 Y 

value +33.73 feet. Since we have only one 

wire, the X-value at both ends can be zero. 

However, we must not neglect Z, the 

antenna height. Since a fairly common 

backyard value for the height of a 40-meter 

dipole is about 70 feet, let’s use this value 

for Z—at both ends of the wire. Figure 6 

shows the EZNEC wire window with 

exactly these values plugged in. Note that 

we have defined the wire by its end 

coordinates. If we had other wires as part 

of the same element, we would have added 

them by using either the End-1 or End-2 

coordinates as the coordinates of one end 

of the extra wire. We shall explore more 

complex geometries in a future episode. For 

now, let’s focus on mastering the language 

of the coordinate system of wire entry. 

We can check our work for errors by 

looking at a diagram of the antenna that we 

have just entered. Most NEC programs have 

a “view antenna” option. Figure 7 shows the 

EZNEC view, with the antenna positioned 

above ground on the Z-axis and extending 

along the Y-axis on either side of the “origin,” 

that is, the 0, 0, 0 point of the coordinate 

system. 

Although the elements in all of our 

figures show feed points as small dots, we 

haven’t yet added them to our model. In 

modeling language, a feed point is the 

source. We will have to specify both the 

position and the electrical conditions of the 

source. In NEC, the source is always the 

position within a segment, and for simplicity, 

we take its position to be centered. 6 If we 

wish to have a feed point or source positioned 

exactly at the center of an element wire, then 

we must have an odd number of segments 

on the wire. NEC was designed for voltage 

sources, so we shall specify a value of 1.0 

for the magnitude and 0.0° for the phase for 

most common antennas having only a single 

feed point. For these kinds of antennas, 

changing the values we insert for the source 

will make no difference to the antenna 

pattern, gain or source impedance. We might 

as well keep it simple. 

Different commercial implementations of 

NEC handle source setting in slightly 

different ways. The NEC-Win Plus system 

appears in Figure 8. We “drag and drop” the 

source symbol onto a picture of the wire that 

shows all of the segments. For an 11-segment 

dipole, we drop the symbol on segment 6. 

We then select the source type and values in 

a box that automatically appears. (The 

EZNEC system specifies the source position 

as a percentage of the wire length. For a 

center feed antenna, we specify 50%.) 

The Other Parts of the Model 

The work we have just done corresponds 

to cutting a piece of wire and stringing it up 

between supports. With a wire in place and 

having the correct dimensions, we can turn 

to the other parts of the program that we must 

set up before running the model. For 

example, the wire has a diameter that we can 

express in either the same dimensional units 

as the wire length (feet, in this case) or as an 

AWG wire gauge. Figure 9 shows the NEC- 

Win Plus wire diameter window that allows 

us simply to select a common wire gauge or 

provide a custom entry. 

Not only does the wire have a diameter, 

it is also composed of a conductive 

material. We need to specify this material 

so that the program can account for any 

resistive losses in it. In Figure 9, we also 

see the separate NEC-Win Plus selection 

box for common materials. There is a place 

for entering the conductivity of materials 

not listed, a topic we shall look at down 

the line. For now, checking “copper” will 

get us started. Incidentally, the corresponding 

materials window in EZNEC will 

allow custom entries in terms of resistivity, 

which is simply the inverse of conductivity. 

Next, let’s look at the ground over which 

our antenna hangs. NEC has two “real” ground 

systems, but for our modern fast PCs, there is 

no reason not to select the better of the two. It 

goes under different names in different 

implementations of NEC. You can find it as 

the “high accuracy” ground, the Sommerfeld- 

Norton ground, or simply as SOMNEC, the 

name of the calculating module within NEC. 

Whatever the program-matic name, it is the 

most accurate available system for calculating 

the behavior of an antenna above ground. 

While other systems tend to become inaccurate 

for antennas below 0.1 to 0.2 wavelengths 

above ground, the Sommerfeld-Norton system 

is accurate down to a tiny fraction of a 

wavelength above ground. 

Once we have selected the ground type, 

we need some values for ground conductivity 

(in Siemens per meter) and for the relative 

dielectric constant (also called permittivity). 

We usually derive these values from maps 

of our local area (available in The ARRL 

Antenna Book). However, the ground quality 

values do not make a big difference in 

horizontal dipole performance, so we can 

initially use the program default numbers. 

Most programs default to what is called 

“average” ground, which has a conductivity 

of 0.005 S/m and a dielectric constant of 13. 

We have neglected the test frequency. 

EZNEC is set up for single frequency runs, 

so we would just click on the frequency 

button and enter 7.15 MHz in the box that 

appears. NEC-Win Plus is always setup for 

frequency sweeps, that is, multiple runs 

defined by start and stop frequencies, plus 

a frequency interval between runs. For a 

Figure 9—The NEC-Win Plus wire-diameter 

window and wire-material window. 

Figure 7—The EZNEC 

antenna-view of the 

40-meter dipole model. 


Figure 8—The NEC-Win Plus source-placement window.

Figure 10—The EZNEC elevation pattern data on the main 

screen. 

Figure 13—A (NEC-Win Plus) azimuth pattern for a dipole at 40 

feet above average ground at 7.15 MHz with an elevation angle 

of 49°. 

single run, we just enter the same frequency 

on both the start and stop lines. The interval 

or “step” will not matter. 

We have now completely specified our 

model. We created the wire element and gave 

it an environment. Part of the environment 

was geometric as we set the coordinates to 

position the wire. A second part of the 

environment was electrical as we positioned 

the source. A further part of the environment 

was physical as we specified the wire 

Figure 11—The NEC-Win Plus elevation 

pattern specification box. 

Figure 12—An (EZNEC) elevation pattern 

for a dipole at 40 feet above average 

ground at 7.15 MHz with an azimuth angle 

of 0 degrees. 

material and the ground beneath the antenna. 

Essentially, we would go through all of these 

thinking processes when erecting a real 

antenna. 

We should notice two things about the 

model that may differ somewhat from 

reality. First, there is nothing in the model’s 

backyard except the antenna. All of the 

power lines, trees, and other objects that can 

affect antenna performance are missing. 

Much of this “ground clutter” can be 

modeled, but it takes special techniques that 

go beyond the scope of the basics of 

modeling. Second, the ground is continuous 

to the horizon and homogenous to any depth 

beneath the antenna. In advanced modeling, 

we can add a second set of ground properties 

at a distance from the antenna, but we cannot 

capture the stratified nature of the subsurface 

ground that occurs in many places. For most 

purposes, neither of these limitations of the 

modeling program will invalidate the results 

of the modeling calculations. 

What Output Pattern Do We Want 

If we have completely constructed our 

model and its environment, we have only one 

more step to go before we can hit the RUN 

button. We need to tell the program what kind 

of output pattern we want to see. The 

program will always calculate the source 

impedance, but most of us want to see a vivid 

graphic that tells us something about the gain 

and pattern shape of our antenna. 

The entry is called the specification of 

a far field radiation pattern for our dipole. 

However, we may be initially at sea about 

what pattern to call and what specifications 

to enter for it. We know that the dipole 

radiates broadside to the wire and that this 

direction is an azimuth angle of zero (and 

180) degrees. Let’s begin, then, with an 

elevation pattern along the zero-180-degree 

line, usually specified as an azimuth angle 

of zero degrees. Most programs have a set 

of default values that you can use as 

starters. Figure 10 shows the EZNEC 

elevation data on the main screen, while 

Figure 11 shows the NEC-Win Plus 

elevation data selection box. 

Now we are finally ready to run the 

model. We hit the right button and let the 

program do its calculations—very rapidly 

for this small model. After the run, EZNEC 

will bring up the pattern generated by the 

complex calculations, while in NEC-Win 

Plus, the design philosophy is to let the user 

call up any of the tables, graphs, or patterns 

desired. Figure 12 shows the EZNEC 

elevation pattern for our dipole. 

Notice that the pattern provides us with 

several important pieces of information. 

First, we can see that low height (just above 

1 

/4 wavelength) sends much of the radiation 

at very high angles, too high for most skip 

paths. Looking at the available data gives 

us a gain of 5.87 dBi maximum at an angle 

of 49 degrees above the horizon. NEC 

calculates all gain figures as dBi values, that 

is as gain in decibels greater than a 

theoretical isotropic radiator that would 

send radiation equally in all possible 

directions. Since NEC does not have any 

built-in range test data or similar baselines, 

everything must be calculated against the 

isotropic radiator. If we are interested in 

using some other standard, we can always 

model the standard antenna and compare 

gain figures. We add and subtract gain in 

decibels, using the same reference standard. 

Notice also that the gain is given to two 

decimal places. For most operational 

purposes, a value of 5.9 dBi would be 

sufficient for any comparisons between 

antennas. Even so, the difference among 

5.5, 5.8, and 6.0 dBi would not be 

detectable in amateur operation. 

Figure 13 provides a NEC-Win Plus 

azimuth pattern taken at the elevation angle 

of maximum radiation. Note that there is a 

1° difference in the elevation angles of 

maximum radiation—sometimes called the 


“take-off” angle—reported by the two 

programs. This difference is largely due to 

the complexity of the calculations involved 

as well as where and how a given program 

does its rounding from the long string of 

digits that computers use in their calculations. 

Also note that there is a 0.03-dB 

difference in reported gain, which is also 

insignificant. Of far greater importance is the 

pattern shape—a broad oval. Signals off the 

ends of the antenna will be weaker than those 

broadside to the antenna, but they may still 

be strong enough for contacts. The classic 

figure-8 pattern is nowhere to be seen. The 

reason is the relative closeness of the antenna 

to the ground. 

Before we leave the model, let’s look at 

the source impedance data available as a 

table in most programs. The impedance 

listed is not the classic 72 Ω resistive that 

we associate with a resonant dipole. 

Instead, it is about 91 + j 20 Ω. The original 

cutting formula that we used to create our 

dipole model turns out to yield an antenna 

that is too long, as indicated by the 

inductive reactance at the feed point/source. 

As well, the resistive part of the impedance 

is considerably above the number used as 

the dipole standard. The numbers generated 

by NEC may be surprising. Nonetheless, 

they are accurate within the limits of the 

program, with its homogenous ground and 

clutterless field for the radiation. 

Even though our main purpose in this 

episode was to get oriented to and started 

with antenna modeling, that does not mean 

that we can’t discover some things about 

antennas—even using the simplest antenna 

possible. Even the most familiar antennas 

have new things to teach us about their 

behavior, and antenna modeling is a good 

way to learn them. 

There remains much to be said about 

creating models out of wires and segments. 

The more complex the antenna structure, 

the more careful we must be. As well, we 

should look more closely at the information 

that the azimuth and elevation patterns can 

present to us, including some pitfalls to 

avoid. Next month we’ll look more closely 

at the “ins” and “outs” of NEC. 7 

Notes 

1 Public domain MININEC is available in the 

following programs (with Web URLs listed): 

NEC4WIN (Windows) from Orion: http:// 

www.cam.org/~mboukri. 

ELNEC (DOS) from W7EL: http://www 

.eznec.com. 

Another version still used by numerous 

modelers is AO from K6STI. AO is a DOS 

program. For information e-mail k6sti@n2 

.net. 

Expert MININEC is a proprietary program 

available at various levels from E.M. 

Scientific: http://www.emsci.com/. 

2 See the following references to using 

MININEC in ARRL publications: 

John S. Belrose, “Modeling HF Antennas 

with MININEC—Guidelines and Tips from a 

Code User’s Notebook,” The ARRL Antenna 


Compendium, Vol. 3, pp 156-164. 

L. B. Cebik, “A Beginner’s Guide to Using 

Computer Antenna Modeling Programs,” 

The ARRL Antenna Compendium, Vol. 3, 

pp 148-155. 

Roy Lewallen, “MININEC: The Other 

Edge of the Sword,” QST (February, 1991), 

18-22. 

The latter two items are republished in 

Vertical Antenna Classics. 

3 

For a succinct history of method of moments 

programs for antenna analysis, see R. P. 

Haviland, “Programs for Antenna Analysis 

by the Method of Moments,” The ARRL 

Antenna Compendium, Vol. 4, pp 69-73. 

4 

There are at least three commercial implementations 

of NEC-2 readily available to 

amateurs at reasonable prices: 

EZNEC 3.0 (Windows) from W7EL: 

http://www.eznec.com (reviewed in the 

September 2000 QST “Short Takes”). 

NEC-Win Plus (Windows) from Nittany 

Scientific: http://www.nittany-scientific. 

com. 

Antenna Solver (Windows) from Grating 

Solver Development Co: http://www 

.gsolver.com/ 

5 The actual equations used in developing 

antenna characteristics are available in the 

NEC-2 manuals. Although most users 

encounter only the final “Users” volume, the 

foundational volumes are available on-line at 

http://www.qsl.net/wb6tpu/swindex.html 

and at http://members.home.net/NEC2. 

6 

In MININEC, the fundamental point of concern 

is not within the segment, but at segment 

junctions, called pulses. Hence, to center a 

source on a wire element, we would use an 

even number of segments and specify the 

centered junction as the source location. 

7 Those interested in pursuing each facet of 

basic NEC modeling more thoroughly may 

wish to consult Basic Antenna Modeling: A 

Hands-On Tutorial, available from Nittany 

Scientific (http://www.nittany-scientific 

.com). Although written to accompany NEC- 

Win Plus, with about 300 exercise files in 

.NEC format, the volume can be used with 

other implementations. A disk holding all of 

the exercise files in .EZ format for use with 

EZNEC is available from AntenneX (http:// 

www.antennex.com). 

You can contact the author at 1434 High 

Mesa Dr, Knoxville, TN 37938-4443; 

cebik@utk.edu. 

STRAYS 

QST Congratulates… 

◊ 75 Year Member 

Robert Reid, W4TK, Jacksonville, FL 

70 Year Members 

Kenneth Gardner, W2BGN, Walworth, NY 

Alfredo Sambolin, KP4CI, Ponce, PR 

Wayne Cooper, AG4R, Alexandria, VA 

John Holmes, Jr, W6BUY, Reno, NV 


Robert White, W1CW, Seffner, FL 

Robert Wallace, W1HH, Chelmsford, MA 

A. Warren Nelson, W1LWB, Hope, RI 

William Beal, Jr, W1PNR, Jackson, NH 

Fred Albert, W1QP, Fort Myers, FL 

Arnold Wilson, N2EZ, Audubon, NJ 

Orion Arnold, W2HN, Ho Ho Kus, NJ 

Harrison Moore, Jr, W2JQS, Bronxville, NY 

Herbert Klein, W2NCM, Brooklyn, NY 

Edwin Kephart, W2SPV, Pennsauken, NJ 

P. S. Christaldi, W2TF, Montclair, NJ 

Douglas Morick, W3NNT, Ocala, FL 

Michael Loria, K4CD, Fort Myers, FL 

John Pearson, KE4CR, Melbourne, FL 

Marc Molyneux, Jr, N4EM, Mobile, AL 

Marshall Goldblatt, W4EMB, Miami, FL 

John Spark, W4LHP, Lakeland, FL 

Lyman Treaster, W6IFC, Visalia, CA 

Joseph Roark, W6JGI, Solvang, CA 

John Kemper, W6JN, Torrance, CA 

Veikko West, K6ORP, San Mateo, CA 

George Badger, W6TC, Portola Valley, CA 

Howard Shepherd, Jr, W6US, McArthur, CA 

Robert Roberts, K6VK, Livingston, TX 

Emmett Freitas, AE6Z, San Jose, CA 

Robert Leo, W7LR, Bozeman, MT 

James Young, W7JL, Long Beach, CA 

Nelles Roth, W8UPR, Wauseon, OH 

Wayne Flickinger, W9BKJ, Marietta, GA 


Anthony Fiore, W1LKM, Center Ossipee, NH 

Guy Gianino, W1OPI, Lynn, MA 

Samuel Strauss, W1SS, Royal Palm Beach, FL 

Max Norman, W2IQE, Winter Haven, FL 

Joseph Flaherty, K2IQM, Port Washington, NY 

John Bann, Jr, W2KPV, Garden City, NY 

Donald Field, W2UAE, Lawrenceville, NJ 

Emery Flinn, Jr, N4DX, Carrollton, GA 

Frederick Ritter, W4FI, Longwood, FL 

Paul Van Nostrand, W4HVD, Tallahassee, FL 

Elbert Wood, W4JFL, Lithia Springs, GA 

Frank Butler, Jr, W4RH, Fort Walton Beach, 

FL 

Wallace Borger, W4VBZ, Trussville, AL 

Morris Guzick, W5IO, Sherman, TX 

Daniel Droemer, W5KUV, Houston, TX 

James Cotten, W5PYI, Weatherford, TX 

Fred Ellis, AC5SO, Edinburg, TX 

Dean Manley, KH6B, Hilo, HI 

Salvatore Teresi, W6EOA, Los Altos, CA 

Jay O’Brien, W6GO, Rio Linda, CA 

Charles Allessi, W6IEG, Oakhurst, CA 

Carl Stengel, W6JEO, Goleta, CA 

Paul Williams, W6LHY, Bishop, CA 

Stanley Andrews, Jr, K6MO, San Carlos, CA 

Sam Lalande, W6OXX, Mammoth Lakes, CA 

Donald Burr, AJ6X, Fresno, CA 

Herbert Hoover, III, W6ZH, San Marino, CA 

Clifford Kurtz, N6ZU, Stockton, CA 

Hobart Paine, K7CC, Tucson, AZ 

W. Dean Figgins, WA7EPU, La Mesa, NM 

James Groll, W7KRW, Avilla, IN 

Norman Ray, W7LFA, Kirkland, WA 

John Swafford, II, W7MEU, Seattle, WA 

H. W. Middleton, Jr, W8CXD, Forest, VA 

Kenneth Humbert, W9EDU, Michigan City, IN 

Leroy Stalions, K9IEY, West Frankfort, IL 

Adolph Jelen, W9IT, Marengo, IL 

Edmond Metzger, W9PRN, Springfield, IL 

Paul Ripple, W9SIZ, West Bend, WI 

Edward Martinson, W0GYH, Mounds View, 

MN 

Edward Hardt, W0JS, Minneapolis, MN 

William Kordik, W0LDO, St. Louis, MO 

Emanuel Block, W0PIG, St. Paul, MN 

David Robb, W0YRN, Salina, KS 

Next Stray 

FEEDBACK 

◊ Please refer to Rick Littlefield, K1BQT, 

“A Wide-Range RF-Survey Meter,” QST, 

Aug 2000, p 44, Figure 1. The 0.1 µF capacitor 

near C5 should be labeled C6, not 

C1.—tnx Rick Littlefield, K1BQT 

Next Feedback

By Jim Mitrenga, N9ART 

A Flexible Digital-Mode 

Interface 

One interface, all the 

software—here’s how 

to do it simply and 

inexpensively. 

nly a few short years ago, the fax, 

O 

packet, RTTY and SSTV modes 

seemed to be reserved for those 

who possessed the means to purchase 

and operate sometimes large—and 

nearly always expensive—equipment. This 

began to change in the early ’90s when software 

written for home computers began to 

replace the expensive hardware. Programs 

such as HamComm 1 allow operation of CW, 

RTTY and some ’TOR modes requiring 

only a few “junk-box” components to fabricate 

a simple comparator modem. JV- 

FAX 2 uses the same modem to give us SSTV 

with amazing results. These early DOSbased 

programs were followed by variations 

on the same theme, but eventually gave way 

to Windows-based software. 

Programmers writing software for Windows 

didn’t want to continue with the sometimes-inconsistent 

performance of the simple 

comparator interfaces, so they looked to using 

the sound cards with which most computers 

are equipped these days. A sound card 

can do most of the signal encoding and decoding 

required for these modes. Not only 

does the sound card do a fine job in the DSP 

department, it eliminates the need for some 

hardware. All that’s necessary now is to deliver 

the transceiver audio to the sound card’s 

input and send the sound card’s output back 

to the rig’s mic or accessory input. A means 

of keying the rig helps, too. 3 

Initially, I hesitated to try any of the 

newer SSTV programs because I didn’t 

want to tear apart my reliable comparatormodem 

setup to reconfigure the audio I/Os 

to my computer’s sound card. I wanted to 

continue to use the DOS-based programs, 

but also wanted to enjoy the new modes 

1 

Notes appear on page 42. 

such as PSK31 4 and MT63 5 with software 

running under Windows. Soon I tired of 

manually connecting and disconnecting 

wires to the rig. I realized then that I needed 

an interface that would allow me to use the 

comparator modem for DOS applications 

and use the same I/Os for the sound card 

programs. 

Circuit Description 

The interface I designed is shown in Figure 

1. The comparator section employs a 

dual op amp (U1) operating as a limiting 

amplifier with full free-run amplification. 

This creates the required rectangular waves 

at an RS-232-compatible level necessary to 

run the DOS-based SSTV and FAX programs. 

The four diodes (D1-D4) in the feedback 

loop of U1A soft-limit the waveform, 

delivering a relatively symmetrical rectangular 

wave with rounded tops and bottoms 

limiting at about ±2.8 V. U1B is another 

maximum-gain stage that ensures correct 

amplitude and rectangular waveform symmetry 

are presented to the serial port at J1. 

Open-loop gain in this stage eliminates the 

effects of the soft limiting at U1A. Op-amp 

operating voltage is supplied by the 

computer’s serial port via the DTR and RTS 

lines. Diode matrix D5-D8 (a bridge circuit) 

ensures proper voltage polarity at the 

JOE BOTTIGLIERI, AA1GW 

appropriate op-amp pins regardless of how 

the RTS and DTR lines are defined by the 

various programs. 

To perform at their best, SSTV and FAX 

programs such as EZ-SSTV, JV-FAX, 

MSCAN 6 and EasyFAX 7 require only a basic 

HamComm-style modem. A HamComm 

modem can be as simple as a single op-amp 

stage, a decoupling capacitor driving the 

inverting input and a resistor to ground (see 

the inset of Figure 1). These programs can 

use such a modest interface because they 

determine the audio-input frequency by 

counting waveform zero crossings. A few 

other SSTV programs, such as GSH-PC, 8 

rely heavily on the symmetry and accuracy 

of the rectangular wave presented to the serial-port 

handshake line (DSR) to produce 

their best picture quality. Waveform asymmetry 

and inaccuracy can be caused by a 

number of variables: A computer’s DTR and 

RTS lines are rarely balanced (ie, having 

equal voltages of opposite polarity) and op 

amps may exhibit a large dc-offset error. 

This circuit, however, fulfills the requirements 

of all the DOS-based programs 

mentioned here by providing a very symmetrical 

waveform at proper RS-232 levels. 

Q1 is driven by the serial port RTS line 

via D10 and R6. K1A is energized when 

Q1 turns on. A PTT switch action is pro- 


Figure 1—Schematic of the flexible digital-mode interface. Unless otherwise specified, resistors are 1 /4-W, 5%-tolerance carboncomposition 

or metal-film units. RS part numbers in parentheses are RadioShack. (Note: All of the resistors used in this project 

can be found in assortment RS 271-312; specific part numbers are also given.) Equivalent parts can be substituted; n.c. indicates 

no connection. J1 pin numbers are for a DB9 connector; pin numbers in parentheses apply to a DB25 connector. The inset shows a 

basic interface referred to in the text. Note that a different ground symbol is used for the connections labeled MIC HOT, MIC GND, 

the bottom end of R10 and the primary of T2. These four connections are purposely isolated from the other grounds (see text) and 

should remain isolated from them and from the enclosure if a metal one is used. The other grounds are connected to a common 

bus and the FAR Circuits PC-board mounting pads and can be connected to the enclosure. 

C1, C2, C4, C6, C7, C11—0.1 µF 

(RS 272-135) 

C3, C5—22 µF, 35 V electrolytic 

(RS 272-1026) 

C8, C9—0.0047 µF (RS 272-130) 

C10—47 pF (RS 272-121) 

C12—100 µF, 35 V (RS 272-1028) 

D1-D14, D16-D19—1N914 (RS 276-1122, 

package of 10) 

D15—1N4001 (RS 276-1101) 


DS1—LED from assortment package 

(RS 276-1622) 

K1—DPDT 12-V dc PC-mount relay 

(RS 275-249) 

Q1—2N2222 (RS 276-1617) 

R1—3.3 kΩ (RS 271-1328) 

R2, R11—100 kΩ (RS 271-1347) 

R3, R4—47 Ω (RS 271-312) 

R5, R6, R13, R15—10 kΩ (RS 271-1335) 

R7—2.2 kΩ (RS 271-1325) 

R8—22 kΩ (RS 271-1339) 

R9, R12—10-kΩ PC-mount pot 

(RS 271-282) or use optional 10-kΩ pot 

with SPDT switch (RS 271-215); see text. 

R10—560 Ω (RS 271-312) 

R14—220 Ω (RS 271-1313) 

R16—100 Ω (RS 271-1311) 

T1—Audio-output transformer 

(RS 273-1380) 

T2—1:1 isolation transformer 

(RS 273-1374) 

U1—TL082 dual op amp (RS 276-1715)

vided by K1B when the software signals 

transmit and toggles the RTS line positive. 

K1C selects the interface’s modulating 

source: the mic, sound card or TxD line of 

the computer’s serial port. When RTS is 

negative, the mic is selected. When RTS is 

positive, the PTT line is actuated and either 

the sound card or serial port is selected. 

A PTT indicator (optional) is provided by 

DS1 at the collector of Q1. 

The modulating source of the interface is 

selected by S1. In the SP position, that source 

is the computer’s serial port. The SC position 

selects the sound card LINE output. R8 

and pot R9 (SC MOD ADJ) attenuate the 

sound card’s LINE output. T2 isolates the interface 

and computer grounds from the rig’s 

mic ground to minimize RFI problems. 

DOS-based digital-mode software provides 

modulating tones in the form of 

square waves at the serial port’s TxD line. 

A brute-force low-pass filter comprised of 

C7, R14, C8, R13 and C9 rolls off much of 

the square waves to present a waveform 

more like a sine wave to the rig’s modulator; 

the rig’s filtering does the rest of the 

job. R5 and D11-D14 form a limiter stage 

that maintains the output of the serial port’s 

TxD line at around ±3 V. (This circuit is 

not required for the interface to function, 

however, and is discussed later.) 

C6 and C12 filter the external dc source. 

D15 protects the circuit from an incorrectly 

polarized power-supply input. R16 and D16 

through D19 act as a limiting stage to protect 

the sound card input from excessively 

high audio input. 

Construction 

Component values and types are such 

that a single trip to RadioShack should be 

all that’s necessary if you can’t find the 

parts you need in your junk-box or that of 

a friend. The FAR Circuits PC board 9 makes 

building this project easy. Duplicate holes 

are provided on the PC board for various 

connections. EXT PTT can be used if an additional 

PTT line output is needed. 

Using a PC-mounted control at R12 to 

adjust the serial-port modulation level is adequate. 

Once this level is set, there is seldom 

any need for readjustment. On the other 

hand, the sound card line output might require 

more frequent adjustment if multiple 

Windows-based sound card programs are 

used; level requirements might vary from one 

program to another. Adjusting the sound 

card’s mixer panel .WAV output is usually 

an acceptable means to ensure proper modulation 

level from the sound card’s LINE output. 

This could be a minor inconvenience, 

but I found an excellent resolution to this 

dilemma in a normally stocked item at 

RadioShack: a panel-mounted 10-kΩ control 

with a SPDT switch (RS 271-215). Using this 

control for R12 instead of a PC-mount pot 

allows not only line-output adjustment, but 

doubles as the modulation-source selection 

switch (S1). Rotating the control fully counterclockwise 

to the OFF position selects the 

serial port (SP) as the modulating source. 

Rotating the control clockwise and turning 

the switch to its ON position selects the sound 

card’s LINE output (SC) as the modulation 

source. If frequent sound card LINE outputlevel 

adjustment is not necessary, the PCboard-mounted 

control should be adequate 

for your application. 

An external 10 to 15-V dc source applied 

via D15 is required to power the relay 

and the optional serial port PTT LED, 

DS1. If the optional PTT indicator circuit 

is not required, omit R7 and DS1. 

Component-Value Considerations 

A few component values might have to 

be changed to accommodate your 

equipment’s level requirements. The TxD 

data-leveling circuitry (R5, D11-D14) in 

conjunction with the insertion losses of the 

low-pass filter (C7, C8, C9, R13, R14) and 

the attenuation provided by R11, R12 and 

R15 sufficiently reduce the amplitude of the 

TxD output to microphone level. This level 

reduction might be excessive for some applications. 

If you find that your rig can’t be 

modulated adequately, remove D11 through 

D14 and replace R5 with a wire jumper. Adjust 

R12 to see if the level has increased sufficiently 

to properly modulate your rig. If the 

level is still not high enough, you can reduce 

the value of R11, but not below a value of 1 

kΩ. Similarly, R8’s value may need altering 

to ensure proper modulation when the 

computer’s sound card is used as the modulation 

source. R8 is the only component in 

this part of the circuit whose value can be 

modified, as your computer’s audio-mixer 

controls should be used to set these levels. 

Alignment 

With all components interconnected and 

a dummy load attached to your rig, rotate 

S1 to the SP position. Ensure R12 is fully 

counterclockwise (minimum resistance). Set 

your rig’s microphone-level control as you 

normally would. Select a DOS-based SSTV 

program and load a picture. From within the 

program, select transmit. The rig should key, 

but should not be modulating. Slowly adjust 

R12 clockwise until the modulation 

peaks just enter the ALC region of your rig’s 

meter. If the modulation level is high as you 

start to open R12, additional attenuation is 

required. Select a value for R11 that allows 

full modulation at about mid-rotation of 

R12. If R12 is full clockwise (minimum resistance) 

and your rig lacks full modulation, 

try one of the steps mentioned earlier to increase 

the level through the TxD low-pass 

filter to your rig’s modulating point. Unkey 

the transmitter. 

A similar procedure is used to adjust R9. 

Place S1 in the SC position to select the 

sound card as the modulating source. Use 

the sound card mixer panel to adjust the 

.WAV output level. Set R9 fully counterclockwise 

(minimum). Select a sound card 

program and set it up to transmit. If you 

choose an SSTV program for this adjustment, 

load a picture. From within the program, 

select transmit. The rig should key, 

but should not be modulated. Slowly rotate 

R9 clockwise and note how the rig begins 

to modulate. If the modulation level is high 

as you start to open R9, increase the value 

of R8 or decrease the sound card’s .WAV 

output level. Select R8’s value such that full 

modulation is realized somewhere around 

midposition of R9. On the other hand, if 

the incoming audio level is insufficient to 

properly modulate the rig with R9 at minimum 

resistance, decrease the value of R8. 

You should easily find a value for R8 that, 

in conjunction with adjustment of the .WAV 

output of your computer’s sound card mixer 

panel, results in proper modulation. 

No provisions have been made to adjust 

the rig’s audio-output level at the interface. 

The input of the comparator (U1A and 

U1B) can handle speaker audio levels ranging 

from barely audible to full-room volume. 

If a fixed audio-level point (such as 

the output at an accessory connector) is 

connected to this point, that should do. Use 

the sound card mixer LINE INPUT control 

to control the audio level fed to the sound 

card. Some SSTV programs provide a control 

for this audio source also. 

PC-Board Pin-Out IDs 

Most of the connections to the PC board 

are obvious, but I thought it might be a good 

idea to identify them here as well. The labels 

near the PC-board interconnection pads 

identify lines from the off-board source. 

• RIG SPKR—Connection your rig’s 

SPEAKER or LINE output (high side) to 

this pad. 

• SC LINE IN—Connects to the computer’s 

sound card LINE INPUT jack (high side). 

• RIG GND, SC LINE GND and PTT GND— 

Electrically, these are all the same point 

on the interface. These points connect 

from the interface to the rig or the sound 

card as indicated in the labeling. 

• EXT PTT—This pad is connected in parallel 

with the relay PTT contacts. This is 

convenient if you have a secondary PTT 

actuator such as a foot switch or a 

grounding switch on the microphone. 

• MIC HOT—If you’re using the rig’s mic 

input as the modulating point for the interface 

and the microphone, connect your 

mic to this pad and the mic ground to MIC 

GND on the interface. 

• RIG MIC IN—From the rig’s modulating input 

point; either the mic connector, or the 


accessory jack LINE input. If you’re using 

your rig’s accessory connector as the 

modulation input to your transceiver, connecting 

a microphone to the interface’s MIC 

HOT pad (as described earlier) isn’t necessary 

as the mic is likely connected directly 

to the rig’s mic connector. 

• SC LINE OUT—Input from the sound card 

LINE OUTPUT jack (high side). 

• +10 to +15 V—External power-supply connection. 

Serial-port connection labels are on the 

component side of the PC board opposite 

the rig and sound card I/Os. Pin numbers 

indicated are those for a 9-pin (DB9) connector 

at J1. If you have a 25-pin serial port 

connection, use the pin numbers enclosed 

in parentheses in Figure 1. 

Summary 

Now you have no excuse for not trying 

AMTOR, FAX, Hellschreiber, MT63, 

PACTOR, PSK31, RTTY and SSTV. With 

this interface, you can operate most of the 

modes by simply running the appropriate 

software (much of which is free) and selecting 

the proper interface. You’re sure to 

have fun! 

Notes 

1 

K7SZL’s Unofficial HamComm home page 

(http://home.att.net/~k7szl) contains information 

on nearly every aspect of the popular 

HamComm program. 

2 

The JV-FAX/JV-Comm32 site is http://www. 

jvcomm.de. 

3 

Most sound card SSTV and other digitalmode 

software can be found at http:// 

www.muenster.de/~welp/sb.htm. 

4 

For PSK31 information and software, visit the 

“Official” PSK31 Homepage at http://aintel. 

bi.ehu.es/psk31.html. 

5 Information on the MT63 experimental mode 

and software can be found at http:// 

members.xoom.com/ZL1BPU/MT63/ 

MT63.html. 

6 

All of these DOS SSTV programs (EZ-SSTV, 

GSH-PC, JV-FAX, and MSCAN) in addition 

to most sound card SSTV software can be 

obtained from http://www.ultranet.com/ 

~sstv/index.html. The EZ-SSTV site is 

http://www.ultranet.com/~sstv/ 

ezsstv.html. MSCAN is available from http: 

//www.mscan.com. 

7 

You can download EasyFAX V1.10 from ftp: 

//ftp.funet.fi/pub/ham/fax_sstv 

/ef110.exe. 

8 GSH-PC is available at http://ourworld. 

compuserve.com/homepages/dl4saw 

and http://www.pervisell.com/ham/gs1. 

htm. 

9 

PC boards are available from Far Circuits, 

18N640 Field Ct, Dundee, IL 60118-9269; 

tel 847-836-9148 (voice and fax); http:// 

www.cl.ais.net/farcir/. PC Board only, $5 

plus $1.50 shipping for up to four boards. 

Visa and MasterCard accepted with a $3 

service charge. 

Jim Mitrenga, N9ART, received his Technician 

class license in March of 1979; he upgraded to 

Amateur Extra class in 1981. Jim’s wife, Sandy, 

is KB9MXF. Jim and Sandy are active on VHF 

and UHF FM for family communication. HF 

CW is Jim’s favorite mode, but he’s active on 

AM, FM, SSB, SSTV, PSK31, RTTY and packet, 

and enjoys Amateur Radio electronics design. 

Jim’s other interests include fishing, hiking, bicycling, 

gardening, computers, audio recording 

and broadcast engineering. Jim is employed as 

a program manager at Motorola, Inc, in 

Schaumburg, Illinois, where he started as an RF 

design engineer in 1979. Currently he concentrates 

on digital communications audio quality. 

You can contact Jim at 1013 Chippewa Dr, 

Elgin, IL 60120; sstv@hotmail.com and 

n9art@arrl.net. 

NEW BOOKS 

THE ELECTRONICS OF RADIO 

By David B. Rutledge, KN6EK 

Published by Cambridge University Press, 40 

West 20th Street, New York NY 10011-4211; 

tel 212-924-3900; fax 212-691-3239; http:// 

www.cup.org. First edition, 1999, 431 pages 

including the index, paperback 10 × 6 7 /8 

inches, B&W illustrations, 3 1 /2-inch disk included. 

ISBN 0521646456. $44.95. 

Reviewed by TA Paul Danzer, N1II 

ARRL Technical Advisor 

◊ The Electronics of Radio is a college-level 

textbook, and the author is a professor of 

electrical engineering at the California 

Institute of Technology. There is a good deal 

of mathematics in many of the chapters, and 

knowledge of basic first-year calculus would 

be helpful to understand some of the material. 

This being the case, why would this book 

be of interest to many hams Because there 

are some real goodies between the soft covers 

of an attractive, well-written text using the 

NorCal 40A QRP rig as its example. 

The first chapter is a summary of radio 

⎯from the Titanic through basic electrical 

laws, receiver and transmitter components 

and stages, up to the NorCal rig. From this 

point onward the following chapters are 

more conventional⎯components, transmission 

lines, filters, amplifiers and so on. But 

included in here are any number of 

interesting sidelights and approaches. As an 

example of acoustics, in Chapter 7 there is 


a problem (or exercise for the student) using 

a resonate tube to change the response of a 

loud speaker. Anyone remember some of the 

old “Hints And Kinks” 

The oscillator chapter of The Electronics 

of Radio contains a very nice explanation 

of RIT, the NorCal circuit that generated this 

function, and a drawing of the components 

on the board to show how it is actually built. 

For those who like to see actual hardware 

along with theory, KN6EK often obliges. 

Chapter 12 is devoted to mixers, and there 

is a bit of math used. However, for anyone 

who is tired of long and inconclusive 

discussions of mixers, spurious products and 

receiver problems, the material in this 

chapter is very much worth 

reading. Included is a very precise 

explanation of key clicks using a 

power spectrum expression ⎯but 

with it is a filter and an explanation 

of the way the filter works. 

The noise chapter a mathematically 

based explanation of 

what goes on in a receiver. Like 

it or not, this is an area where the 

math is needed to explain the 

operation. Although some 

calculus is used, unless you are an engineering 

student, you probably won’t miss 

much by just passing over the calculus 

equations. 

Chapter 15, Antennas And Propagation, 

contains a very nice section concerning the 

Friis Formula. Many technical people will 

recognize most of it as the radar range equation, 

used to predict how far a radar system 

can see a target. Along with it is an explanation 

of how to calculate line-of-sight for 

VHF, UHF and microwave is an explanation 

of why the Earth’s radius is multiplied by 

4/3 for calculating line-of-sight. 

There are several appendices included. 

Appendix B goes through Fourier Series. 

But unlike the treatment in most math 

handbooks, this one is directed and limited 

to radio and electronics applications. The 

examples worked out in detail are for a 

square wave, rectified cosine (or sine) wave 

and narrow pulses. 

Another appendix explains the use of 

Puff 2.1 and the disk accompanying the 

book. Puff 2.1 is a circuit simulator for 

linear circuits that also makes microstrip 

and stripline layouts. I did not 

attempt to use the software. 

The final appendix is a very 

nice feature I appreciated both as 

a reader and teacher ⎯a set of 

data sheets for the critical 

components used in The 

Electronics of Radio, as well as 

the Web addresses of many of the 

suppliers. Often you see a 

transistor or integrated circuit 

used in a technical discussion and 

you have no clue as to its characteristics. 

The appendix thankfully cures this problem. 

In summary, The Electronics of Radio 

uses the novel approach of making a real ham 

rig as the subject of most of its examples. As 

a textbook, it is not general light reading for 

everyone, but it has a number of goodies in 

it, and if you want to see a slightly different 

approach to electronics, take a look at The 

Electronics of Radio. 

Next New Book

By Dick Green, WC1M 

Discover the Wonderful 

World of Contesting 

Sharpen your operating skills and have a blast at the same time! 

ontesting is a major operating 

C 

activity enjoyed by thousands of 

amateurs. In fact, it is one of the 

fastest-growing areas of our hobby. 

One thing that makes contesting special 

is that it often combines several aspects of 

Amateur Radio at once. For example, the 

more you know about antennas, propagation 

and pileup techniques, the better your scores 

will be in a DX contest. In many ways, 

contesting is the ultimate test of knowledge 

and skill in Amateur Radio. Best of all, 

contesting offers competitive options to suit 

just about anyone: you can compete against 

other individual operators, you can compete 

as part of a team in a multi-operator or club 

competition, or you can compete against 

yourself to improve your personal best. 

What is a Radio Contest 

Simply put, most contests are based on 

the idea of contacting as many stations as 

possible in a fixed amount of time, usually 

one or two days. Each contact is brief: often 

the stations just exchange call signs, signal 

reports and locations. A typical exchange 

in a phone contest might go like this: 

WC1M: “CQ CONTEST, THIS IS 

WHISKEY CHARLIE ONE MIKE. 

CONTEST!” 

Steve, WB4OMM, prepares to do battle in 

the 1999 ARRL November phone 

Sweepstakes. 

KA1LBW: “KILO ALFA ONE LIMA 

BRAVO WHISKEY” 

WC1M: “KA1LBW, FIVE NINE, NEW 

HAMPSHIRE” 

KA1LBW: “FIVE NINE, VERMONT” 

WC1M: “THANKS. WHISKEY CHARLIE 

ONE MIKE, CONTEST!” 

The exchange might look like this in a CW 

contest: 

WC1M: CQ TEST WC1M WC1M 

KA1LBW: 

KA1LBW 

WC1M: 

KA1LBW 599 NH 

KA1LBW: 

599 VT 

WC1M: 

TU QRZ WC1M 

Sound familiar If you’ve participated in 

Field Day, you’ve made contacts just like these. 

Scoring 

All contests have rules about how the 

score is computed. Usually, you get one or 

more points per QSO. In some contests, you 

earn more points for working stations outside 

your country or continent, or more points for 

working stations on the low bands. It makes 

sense to study the rules carefully. For 

example, you might be allowed to work the 

same station once on each band, or perhaps 

only once regardless of band. 

The number of QSO points is then 

multiplied by the number of different multipliers 

you worked. A multiplier is usually 

a distinct location, such as a state, ARRL 

sec-tion, grid square, ITU or CQ zone or 

DXCC entity. In one contest, each unique 

call sign prefix (e.g., W1, KH6, DL2) is a 

multiplier. Some contests let you work each 

multiplier once per band, while other 

contests count only the first contact with a 

multiplier. Some contests include more than 

one type of multiplier, such as zone and 

DXCC entity. 

Here’s a simple scoring example: let’s 

say you get one point per QSO and each 

ARRL section counts as a multiplier. If you 

contact 500 stations in 50 ARRL sections, 

your score would be 25,000 points. 

QSO points and multipliers add a 

strategic dimension to contesting. They 

force you to think about the best way to 

optimize your score, given the propagation 

conditions, the time of day, your location, 

your antennas and your operating 

preferences. Should you try for as many 

contacts as possible Should you spend 

more time looking for multipliers When 

should you switch to 80 meters Even the 

most experienced contesters debate these 

questions endlessly. Finding your own 

answer is part of the fun. 

Logging and Computers 

Computerized logging programs have 

had a major impact on contesting, making 

it easier and more fun than ever. These 

programs allow us to enter just the call sign 

and exchange, and then they automatically 

Leon, N1XKT, bundles up for a frigid 

rover operation during the 2000 ARRL 

January VHF Sweepstakes. 


fill in other required information such as 

date, time, band, prefix, country, etc. The 

logging program takes care of “dupe 

checking,” too, warning us when we’ve 

already worked a station on that band. The 

logging program computes your score and 

QSO rate throughout the contest, so you 

always know how you are doing. At the end 

of the contest, you can output your log to a 

file and e-mail it to the contest sponsor. The 

result is that you get to spend more time 

operating in the contest and less time doing 

paperwork chores. 

The most popular logging programs are 

CT, NA, TR-Log and WriteLog. CT, NA and 

TR-Log run under MS-DOS, while WriteLog 

runs under Microsoft Windows. The MS- 

DOS based programs can be run on very 

inexpensive IBM-compatible personal 

computers with a 286 or greater processor 

and minimal configuration. For more 

information, get on the Web and go to http:/ 

/www.contesting.com where you’ll find 

links to the home pages for the popular 

logging programs. 

Entry Categories 

Virtually every contest has multiple 

entry categories, providing you with many 

options for participating. In the standard 

Single Operator category, one person does 

all of the operating chores, including 

sending, receiving and logging, and is 

allowed to transmit from only one radio at 

a time. Within the Single Operator category 

there are usually several power classifications, 

including Low Power, High Power 

and QRP. The exact power limits vary 

depending on the type of contest. In the 

Multi-Single category, two or more 

operators share the operating chores, but 

usually transmit from only one radio at a 

time. This is a good choice if you can’t 

allocate enough time to work the entire 

contest (or can’t stay awake that long!). The 

Multi-Two category in the ARRL DX 

contest allows two operators to transmit 

from up to two radios at a time, on different 

bands. The Multi-Multi category allows any 

number of operators to use any number of 

radios, as long as there is no more than one 

transmitted signal on each band. 

One of the hot new trends in contesting 

is Single Operator Two Radio, or SO2R. This 

is a station in which one operator uses two 

radios, but only one transmitted signal is on 

the air at any time. This allows the station to 

compete in the Single Operator category, but 

with the advantage of being able to call CQ 

on one radio while at the same time tuning a 

different band on the other radio. Operating 

two radios at the same time is a little like 

juggling cats, so I recommend that you get a 

lot of experience contesting with one radio 

before you try SO2R. 

Contest Resources 

When you’re ready to get started, the first 

thing to do is to get a calendar of upcoming 

contests, read the rules, and decide which 

contests appeal to you. There’s a contest 

calendar in every issue of QST, in the 

“Contest Corral” department, and the ARRL 

Web site at http://www.arrl.org/contests/ 

has a calendar and rules for all upcoming 

ARRL contests. You can also find contest 

calendars and rules on various contest 

websites, including http://contesting.com, 

http://www.sk3bg.se/contest/, http:// 

www.cq-contest.com/, and http://www 

.hornucopia.com/contestcal/. A great 

magazine resource for contest news and 

information is the National Contest Journal. 

You can subscribe by calling toll free at 

1-888-277-5289 between 8 AM and 8 PM 

Eastern Time, Monday through Friday. 

Try “The ARRL Big Three” 

Within the next few months you’ll find 

three popular contests that are perfect for 

beginners: 

• ARRL November Sweepstakes 

ARRL November Sweepstakes is one of 

my favorite contests, and I try to participate 

every year. Since the contest is limited to the 

United States and Canada (W/VE), excellent 

scores are possible even from modest stations. 

It’s also a great way to accumulate states for 

the WAS and 5BWAS awards. The object is 

to work as many W and/or VE stations as you 

can in no more than 24 of the 30 hours of the 

contest (from 2100 UTC Saturday to 0300 

UTC Monday). There are separate contest 

weekends for CW (November 4-6) and Phone 

(November 18-20). Sweepstakes entry 

categories are Single Operator Low Power 

(150 W or less), Single Operator High Power 

(over 150 W), Single Operator QRP (5 W or 

less) and Single Operator Unlimited/Assisted 

(use of packet spots is allowed), Multi-Single, 

and Club. There’s no Multi-Multi category. 

Complete rules for ARRL November 

Sweepstakes may be found elsewhere in this 

issue, or on-line at http://www.arrl.org/ 

contests/announcements/rules-novss.html. 

• ARRL 10-Meter Contest 

Trying for 10-meter WAS, DXCC or 

5BDXCC Then the ARRL 10-Meter 

Contest is for you! It’s a great DX contest, 

even for small stations. The object of the 

contest is to work as many stations as 

possible on the 10-meter band in no more 

than 36 of the 48 hours of the contest (from 

0000 UTC Saturday to 2400 UTC Sunday). 

The contest takes place on a single 

weekend, December 9-10, so the CW and 

Phone portions are combined. The ARRL 

10-Meter Contest has Single Operator (Low 

Power, High Power, QRP). In the Single 

Operator categories you can work CW only, 

Phone only, or Mixed (both CW and 

Phone). The only other category is Multi- 

Single, which is mixed mode only. 

You’ll find complete rules for ARRL 

10-Meter Contest elsewhere in this issue, 

or at http://www.arrl.org/contests/ 

announcements/rules-10M.html. 

• ARRL January VHF Sweepstakes 

You don’t have an HF rig or antenna 

The ARRL January VHF Sweepstakes may 

be just the ticket for you. It’s the big Winter 

contest for VHF and UHF enthusiasts, and 

you can do very well with modest 

equipment and antennas. You can even 

operate with your mobile FM rig or an H-T. 

The object of this contest is to work as 

many stations as possible in as many “grid 

squares” as possible using authorized 

frequencies above 50 MHz. The contest 

lasts 33 hours and takes place the weekend 

before the NFL Super Bowl (1900 UTC 

Saturday January 20 to 0400 UTC Monday 

January 22). 

The January VHF Sweepstakes 

designates grid squares as multipliers. For 

more information on grid squares, see the 

April 1994 issue of QST, page 86. Even 

better, surf to http://www.arrl.org/locate/ 

gridinfo.html. There you will find a link 

to the QST article, along with links to a Web 

page and a program for your PC that will 

compute the grid square for any set of 

coordinates. You can work each grid square 

once per band for multiplier credit. 

A Roving Rover 

Rover is a special category unique to 

contests above 50 MHz. It’s designed for 

operators of mobile stations that move 

among two or more grid squares during the 

contest. In addition to the grid squares of 

stations they work, Rovers can count each 

grid square from which they make a 

contact as a multiplier. The rules allow 

either one or two operators for a Rover 

station, so you can hop in the car with a 

buddy and have some real fun driving from 

one grid square to another making contacts. 

Complete rules for ARRL January VHF 

Sweepstakes may be found in the December 

issue of QST or at http://www.arrl.org/ 

contests/announcements/01vhfss.html. 

You can contact the author at 190 Lyme 

Rd, Hanover, NH 03755-6602; dick.green 

@valley.net. 


By Dave Pruett, K8CC 

Coping with Cabrillo 

ew developments have affected 

F 

Amateur Radio contest operating 

as much as the development of 

logging software for personal 

computers. Such programs quickly replaced 

paper logs, dupe and multiplier sheets on 

the operating desk. These same programs 

make it a simple task to submit your log 

electronically to the contest sponsor. 

Standardization Needed 

In early 1999, computer professional Trey 

Garlough, N5KO, worked with many of the 

major developers of Amateur Radio logging 

software to develop a standardized electronic 

contest entry specification for the ARRL. 

The result was the Cabrillo File Format 

Specification, which in late 1999 was 

adopted by the ARRL as its standard format 

for electronic contest entries. Beginning with 

contests in November 2000, all logs for 

ARRL contests that are electronically 

generated must be in the Cabrillo file format. 

The ARRL will continue to accept paper 

logs written by hand. However, contest 

entries generated using a computer must 

submit the electronic Cabrillo file. 

A Look at Cabrillo 

Information about the Cabrillo File 

Format Specification is available on-line at: 

http://www.kkn.net/~trey/cabrillo. An 

example of a Cabrillo file is shown below. 

Each line in a Cabrillo file begins with a 

keyword ending with a colon. This keyword 

identifies the data contained in that line. The 

file begins with the “START-OF-LOG:” 

keyword. Other keywords identify summary 

information defining the contest entry. Non- 

QSO data lines can appear anywhere in the 

file; however, QSO data lines must appear 

in chronological order. 

The format of each QSO data field is 

defined in the Cabrillo specification, and 

there is at least one blank space between 

adjacent data fields. These fields must be 

positioned in a specific order. The line starts 

with the “QSO:” keyword, followed by the 

frequency (in whole kilohertz for HF 

contests, or a letter designating the band for 

VHF/UHF) and mode of the contact. Next 

is the date (in YYYY-DD-MM format) and 

four-digit UTC time. The entrant’s call sign 

and sent information comes next, followed 

by the call sign of the station worked and 

the received information. 

The log file ends with the “END-OF- 

LOG:” keyword, which is very important. On 

occasion, the ARRL has received electronic 

log files that have been cut off or truncated. 

This sometimes happens during the e-mail 

process, usually beyond the control of either 

the entrant or the ARRL. With a Cabrillo log 

file, if the “END-OF-LOG:” keyword is 

missing, it is obvious that the file has been 

truncated and the entrant can be contacted 

to send another copy. With the non-Cabrillo 

ASCII files generated by the popular logging 

programs today, this truncation can be 

difficult, if not impossible to detect. 

Generating Cabrillo Files 

Recent versions of most popular contest 

logging programs can generate Cabrillo files. 

Specific instructions for these programs and 

the Cabrillo-compatible version number 

follows. If you have a pre-Cabrillo version, 

you should contact your software provider 

about obtaining a current version. 

• CT by K1EA—As of version 9.49, CT 

supports Cabrillo files for the CQWW, ARRL 

DX (either domestic or DX), Sweepstakes 

and ARRL 10-Meter contests. A Cabrillo file 

can be created from within the program by 

typing the command WRITELOG in the call 

sign field of the logging screen. The Cabrillo 

file will be created along with the other log 

output files. It will be named yourcall.TXT, 

where yourcall is the call sign used during 

the contest. 

• NA by K8CC—NA has supported 

Cabrillo since version 10.43. A Cabrillo file 

can be created when exiting the program. 

On exit, a screen prompt appears saying 

“END PROGRAM: rite Log to Disk, 

rint, xit”. Press “W” to write the 

log to disk. The Cabrillo file will be created 

along with the other log output files in the 

NA output directory. It will be named 

yourlog.LOG, where yourlog is the base 

filename of the NA log being processed. 

• TRLog by N6TR—The first Cabrillocompliant 

version of TR is 6.50. A Cabrillo 

file is created using POST, the separate 

post-contest program provided with TR to 

generate entry files. Run the POST 

program, select “C” from the menu of 

commands and follow the prompts on the 

screen. The Cabrillo file will be created in 

the same directory as the log file being 

processed. It will be named yourlog.CBR, 

where yourlog is the base filename of the 

TR log being processed. 

• SD by EI5DI—A Cabrillo file can be 

START-OF-LOG: 2.0 

CONTEST: ARRL-SS-CW 

CALLSIGN: K8CC 

ARRL-SECTION: MI 

OPERATORS: K8CC, WB8T 

CATEGORY: MULTI-SINGLE 

CLAIMED-SCORE: 172536 

CLUB: Mad River Radio Club 

SOAPBOX: Big pileup on KP2N to get last section for sweep! 

NAME: Dave Pruett 

ADDRESS: 2727 Harris Road 

ADDRESS: Ypsilanti, MI 48198 USA 

QSO: 28002 CW 1999-11-06 2200 K8CC 1 M 69 MI KH7R 1 A 67 PAC 

QSO: 28002 CW 1999-11-06 2200 K8CC 2 M 69 MI KE9I 1 B 75 IN 

QSO: 28007 CW 1999-11-06 2201 K8CC 3 M 69 MI N7VM 2 A 76 UT 

QSO: 28010 CW 1999-11-06 2203 K8CC 4 M 69 MI N0AH 4 B 95 WY 

QSO: 28023 CW 1999-11-06 2204 K8CC 5 M 69 MI W5VX 8 A 59 STX 

An example of the Cabrillo file format. 


created using SDCHECK, the separate postcontest 

program provided with SD to 

generate entry files. The first version of 

SDCHECK supporting Cabrillo is 9.68. Start 

up SDCHECK then select Option 4 - Entry 

File. The Cabrillo file will be created in the 

same directory as SDCHECK. It will be 

named yourlog.LOG, where yourlog is the 

base filename of the SD log being processed. 

• WriteLog by W5XD—To create a 

Cabrillo file with WriteLog, pull down the 

Contest menu and click on Cabrillo File. 

In the screen that appears, make sure your 

sent information (ARRL section, category, 

power, etc.) is all entered correctly, then 

click OK. The Save As window appears 

showing the directory where the Cabrillo 

file (named yourcall.LOG) will be created. 

Helping The Contest Branch Serve You 

By Dan Henderson, N1ND, ARRL Contest Branch Manager 

Our goal in the Contest Branch is simple: provide accurate 

contest results to our participants. Several changes have been 

implemented that have allowed us to make great strides toward that 

goal. E-mail addresses for each contest have helped get logs to the 

correct queues for processing. A back-up server allows us to archive 

all e-mailed contest entries, so that original e-mails can be consulted 

if a problem arises. A listing of logs received at http://www.arrl.org/ 

contests allows participants to verify basic information that affects 

their entry. And you, as a participant, can help us avoid problems by 

following a few easy guidelines. 

While more contesters are using electronic logging, we still 

receive approximately one-third of all logs in handwritten paper 

form. Handwritten paper logs will continue to be accepted for ARRL 

contests. There are generally three major problems we encounter 

with handwritten logs—all easily handled at the participant’s end. 

First, please make certain that you are using the most current 

forms and rules for the contest. Contest rules change occasionally 

and all participants need to make certain their information is up-todate. 

The latest forms and rules may be obtained three ways: (1) 

Send an SASE to the ARRL Contest Branch, 225 Main St, 

Newington, CT 06111 and request the forms; (2) download them 

from the ARRL Contest homepage at http://www.arrl.org/contest/ 

forms; (3) request forms by e-mail to the ARRL Info Server (server 

guidelines are found in each contest rules announcement). 

Another problem we encounter with paper logs is that a 

participant may include entries for several contests in the same 

envelope. For example, in January 1999, we received one envelope 

from a participant, postmarked in late-January, that contained the 

following contest logs: ARRL Sweepstakes CW and Phone, ARRL 

160 Meter Contest, ARRL 10-Meter Contest and the ARRL RTTY 

Round Up. By combining the entries into a single mailing, four of the 

five logs were received after contest submission deadlines. Help us 

serve you by submitting only one contest entry per envelope (and 

clearly marking the contest name on the outside of the envelope). 

The final concern with paper logs is illegible handwriting. A 

recent handwritten entry included a tough-to-read call sign, which 

ended up wrong in the write-up. The entry, written in a sprawling 

script, had what appeared to be the letter W, but was in fact the letter 

U with an extremely long finishing tail. A simple matter to correct, 

but one that could have been avoided. 

Electronic logging, while taking contesting to new levels, 

nonetheless presents its own pitfalls. E-logs share a common 

problem with paper logs when they are either submitted late or sent 

to the wrong contest address. But what can the participant do to 

help eliminate problems with e-logs 

One of the most common problems we encounter is participant 

submitting the log and summary for the wrong contest. In fact, in 

every major contest we receive at least one such log! Recently a 

phone call was received from an individual upset that his 160-Meter 

Contest log had been “lost.” A check of the backup revealed that he 

had submitted a CQ World Wide summary sheet and an ARRL 

November Sweepstakes log! 

Many contesters will name their log files with some variation of 

the contest name and year. Imagine the confusion caused at the 

ARRL Contest Branch when lots of people submit files SSCW99.log. 

That is why the rules tell you to use your call sign for the file name, 

with an extension such as .log (ie N1ND.log). The partici-pant saves 

us time—and helps eliminate potential headaches—by using the 

required file naming protocols. 

The ARRL uses a different e-mail address for each event. E-mail 

sent to the wrong address has the potential to be overlooked. You 

should only submit the required files. When you send more than the 

required log files, you create the potential for saving the wrong file. 

You should only submit the file that contains the new Cabrillo log 

file! Please do not send other files, such as CTLog .bin files, NALog 

.qdf files, breakdown sheets, rate sheets, Excel spread sheets, or 

Word document files. 

Rules for contests do change. All of the major contest-logging 

software programs incorporate rules changes in their latest 

versions. If a new ARRL section is added, or if there is a new entry 

category, older copies of software may not be correct. You may 

miss or lose multipliers, be entered in a wrong category, or your 

software may not recognize the exchange that you try to log. The 

result is that your entry will have a problem, and your score may not 

be accurately reported. 

You should always verify that your summary information and log 

file are accurate before you submit your entry. Don’t assume that 

your software prepares correct summary information. You should 

open the log file and verify what it contains before you submit the 

entry. If your file doesn’t have all of the required information, your 

entry may be entered into a default category. 

E-mail is the easiest method of submitting your log. Before you 

send that e-mail, take a moment to make certain your file is 

complete. Recently, a contest-winning performance ended up with 

a major submission problem, one that was not caught until after the 

results had been printed. The log file appeared to have been 

truncated and, therefore, it was incomplete. In this case, over 500 

QSOs of the log were lost in the transmission. This sometimes 

happens when sending files over the Internet (I’ll leave it to the net 

gurus to explain how this happens). A good way to catch this is to 

e-mail yourself a copy of the file as a cc: to your submission to the 

League. The new Cabrillo file format (with its End of Log statement) 

gives us a way to verify complete logs are received. 

The old contest@arrl.org e-mail address is no longer valid. 

When you send your log to the correct address, you receive an 

automated response indicating that your e-mail has been received. 

Hold on to that receipt until the list of “logs received” is posted on 

the Contest Web page (or until the results are in print). If there is a 

problem with your entry or if it is missing, the response serves as 

proof of your submission before the deadline. If you have contest 

questions, send them to n1nd@arrl.org instead of the entry 

submission address. 

To summarize, here is a “Top Ten” list of ways you can assist us 

in “getting it right.” 

(1) Read and familiarize yourself with the contest rules before 

the event. 

(2) Use current copies of your logging program or paper 

summary sheets. 

(3) Verify that your summary information is complete and 

accurate. 

(4) If using paper summaries and logs, make certain all 

information is legible. 

(5) If using e-logging, submit the required Cabrillo file. 

(6) Send your entry before the 30-day deadline for submission. 

(7) Use the correct e-mail or postal mail address for submitting 

the entry. 

(8) Check to be certain your current mail and e-mail addresses 

are on your entry. 

(9) Electronically logged contests must submit their Cabrillo 

readable log files. 

(10) If you have questions, e-mail n1nd@arrl.org or call 860- 

594-0232. 


Change the destination directory if desired, 

and then click OK. 

Preparing the Entry 

Cabrillo files can be easily viewed or 

edited using the DOS Editor program 

(EDIT.EXE) or Windows NotePad. A word 

processor program is not recommended 

since such programs often insert hidden 

formatting characters into the file without 

the user’s knowledge. 

Opening the Cabrillo file allows the entry 

information to be quickly reviewed. One 

very important item for the ARRL Contest 

Department is the “ARRL-SECTION:” field, 

which is used to compile the score listings 

in QST, which are by ARRL section. Be sure 

to check this field to ensure that your score 

will appear under the correct section in the 

QST listings. Remember that some states 

have multiple sections, so include the correct 

section if you live in one of those areas. 

A common problem with electronic logs 

is incorrect information. For example, 

many popular logging programs allow a 

default location (such as your state) to be 

set. However, many contests use different 

entities for the geographic locator, in which 

case the default may be incorrect. Program 

bugs can also cause the QSO information 

to be incorrect. A few minutes reviewing 

the QSO information in your entry file can 

catch these types of errors quickly. 

Prior to submitting your electronic entry, 

it may be necessary to rename the Cabrillo 

file. The ARRL requires your entry file to 

be named yourcall.LOG, where yourcall is 

the call sign used by the entry during the 

contest. Some programs name the Cabrillo 

file in this way, while some do not (to avoid 

the possibility of inadvertently overwriting 

a prior copy of yourcall.LOG from another 

contest.) If necessary, rename the Cabrillo 

file to yourcall.LOG using either the 

RENAME command in DOS, or using 

Windows Explorer. 

One issue with using the call sign as a 

file name is that the forward slash character 

(/) used in portable call signs is not a valid 

file name character. Use the underscore (_) 

character as a substitute, or omit the character 

entirely. 

Submitting the Entry 

Your electronic entry may be submitted 

one of two ways. One method is to copy the 

Cabrillo file to a floppy and send it to the 

ARRL via regular mail. However, most 

entries are sent as e-mail attachments. 

E-mail programs typically support attachments 

as a way to send an electronic file as 

a separate, detachable part of the e-mail. 

To submit your entry, prepare an e-mail 

addressed to the ARRL for the specific 

contest to be entered. The address is always 

found in the rules for each contest or online 

at http://www.arrl.org.contests. The 

subject line should contain your call sign, 

the name of the contest and your entry class. 

Nothing needs to be included in the body 

of the e-mail because the Cabrillo file is a 

complete entry in itself. 

Attach the Cabrillo log file, send the 

e-mail and you’re done! Don’t send the 

files as the text of the e-mail, as this causes 

problems in detaching and saving the file 

information. 

Submitting an electronic log is easy once 

you’ve done it a few times. Electronic logs 

allow the ARRL logcheckers to do their job 

more quickly and accurately, and Cabrillo 

allows them to spend less time doing data 

translation and more time checking. The 

entrant also benefits from Cabrillo through 

improved integrity of their entry file. 

Electronic log submittal is here to stay, and 

it sure beats killing a tree to print your entry! 

By Jean Wolfgang, WB3IOS 

ARRL 2000 Technical Awards 

Call for Nominations 

Do 

you count yourself among 

those who know that technical 

advancement is not a lost 

ideal in the amateur community 

If so, now is the time to nominate yourself 

or your colleagues for one or all of the 

awards described below. 

ARRL members are encouraged to send 

nominations to ARRL Headquarters. Please 

include basic contact information for both you 

and the nominee. Submit support information 

along with a nomination letter, including endorsements 

of ARRL affiliated clubs and 

League officials. Nominations should thoroughly 

document the nominee’s record of 

technical service and accomplishments. 

ARRL Technical Service Award is given 

annually to the licensed radio amateur whose 

service to the amateur community and/or 

society at large is of the most exemplary 

nature within the framework of Amateur 

Radio technical activities. These include, but 

are not limited to: 

• Leadership or participation in 

technically oriented organizational affairs at 

the local or national level. 

• Service as an official ARRL technical 

volunteer: Technical Advisor, Technical 

Coordinator, Technical Specialist. 

• Service as a technical advisor to clubs 

sponsoring classes to obtain or upgrade 

amateur licenses. 

The Technical Service Award winner will 

receive an engraved plaque and travel expenses 

to attend an ARRL convention for 

the formal award presentation. 

ARRL Technical Innovation Award is 

granted annually to the licensed radio 

amateur whose accomplishments and 

contributions are of the most exemplary 

nature within the framework of technical 

research, development and application of 

new ideas and future systems. These 

include, but are not limited to: 

• Promotion and development of higherspeed 

modems and improved packet radio 

protocols. 

• Promotion of personal computers in 

Amateur Radio applications. 

• Activities to increase efficient use of 

the amateur spectrum. 

• Digital voice experimentation. 

The Technical Innovation Award winner 

will receive a cash award of $500, an engraved 

plaque and travel expenses to attend 

an ARRL convention for the formal presentation. 

ARRL Microwave Development Award 

is given each year to the amateur (individual 

or group) whose accomplishments and 

contributions are the framework of 

microwave development, ie, research and 

application of new and refined uses and 

activity in the amateur microwave bands. This 

includes adaptation of new modes both in 

terrestrial formats and satellite techniques. 

The Microwave Development Award 

winner will receive an engraved plaque and 

travel expenses to attend an ARRL convention 

for the formal presentation. 

Nominate Now! 

Send nominations to: ARRL Technical 

Awards, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 

06111. Nominations must be received at 

Headquarters by March 31, 2001. Send any 

questions to Headquarters, or e-mail 

jwolfgang@arrl.org. 


WORKBENCH 

PROJECTS AND INFORMATION FOR THE ACTIVE AMATEUR 

The Doctor is IN 

QDave, WD8DK, asks, “I am using a G5RV on 80-6 meters. 

How efficient is this antenna on 6 meters I have been 

told that it is very inefficient on this band. In fact, I have been 

told that a 1 /2 wavelength dipole is more efficient than the 

G5RV on 6 meters. Any comments” 

AOn 20 meters, where the G5RV was designed to operate, it 

boasts a little gain over a conventional half-wave dipole. 

Given a reasonably efficient feed line (450-Ω line) and a good 

antenna tuner, there’s no reason why the G5RV can’t be at least 

as “efficient” as, say, a coax-fed dipole in the HF bands. 

However, on 6 meters the G5RV acts as a long-wire antenna, 

with an azimuthal pattern with multiple, very narrow lobes. The 

narrow lobes are what give it gain, but also what make its 

performance compared with a regular garden-variety dipole 

inferior in direc-tions other than the ones it favors. The EZNEC 

plot shown in Figure 1 assumes that the antenna is mounted as a 

flat top at 50 feet above average ground. The G5RV has 

significantly more gain than the simple dipole, but it achieves this 

mainly in four, narrow-beamwidth directions. For the rest of the 

azimuths, its pattern has nulls that the dipole covers well. 

Any multiband antenna is a compromise, but most of us can’t 

have five or more dipoles hanging in our backyards. On 6 meters 

I would recommend a separate antenna designed for that band. 

There are a couple of inexpensive 6-meter wire antenna designs 

on the ARRL TIS Web site at http://www.arrl.org/tis/. Go there 

and click on “Antenna Projects,” and then “Other VHF Antennas.” 

QI have a 10-year-old Realistic 13-inch color TV that I use 

with my ATV station. Recently the TV went completely 

dead. It won’t turn on when I press the ON button on the front 

panel, or when I try to turn it on from the remote. I checked the 

power supply fuse and it is okay. The power supply appears to 

be working as well. Any ideas 

TVs operate in what you might call a “sleep” mode. 

AMany That is, there are circuits within the TV that are active 

continuously—even when the rest of the TV is off. Usually the 

primary microprocessor is always active, waiting for the 

command to switch on the rest of the set. If the microprocessor 

isn’t responding to manual or remote “on” commands, the 

microprocessor could be defective. If you have a volt-ohm meter 

and a schematic diagram, measure the voltage at the V cc 

pin of the 

microprocessor. Is it receiving power from the power supply 

(probably 5 V) If so, find the microprocessor pin that produces 

the output signal to turn on the rest of the TV. Do you get a 

reading at this pin when you press the TV’s “ON” button If not 

(and I suspect you won’t), the microprocessor is probably dead. 

On the other hand, if you do get a reading, it’s time to troubleshoot 

the rest of the circuit that is responsible for switching on the set. 

This is likely to include a couple of switching transistors and 

possibly an optoisolator. 

QLast night I heard a strange CW signal on 6 meters. It was 

hissing and buzzing, but I was still able to copy. To my 

astonishment, I learned that the station was 500 miles away 

from me. Was this sporadic E propagation 

AMy guess is that you heard auroral propagation. The clue is 

your description of the signal as having a hissing or buzzing 

characteristic. 

Those of us who reside at the higher latitudes are occasionally 

treated to the visual spectacle of the aurora borealis, better known 

as the “northern lights.” (Yes, there are “southern lights” as well, 

visible occasionally in South America and Africa.) The aurora is 

caused when the Earth intercepts a stream of charged particles 

Figure 1—This is an EZNEC plot of a G5RV antenna on 6 

meters compared to a dipole cut for 6 meters. The solid line 

represents the G5RV pattern while the dashed line represents 

the dipole. Notice that the G5RV is creating numerous narrow 

lobes of radiation. 


Figure 2—The auroral “curtain” can function like a giant 

mirror in the sky, reflecting radio signals over substantial 

distances.

ejected from the Sun, resulting in a “geomagnetic storm.” These 

fast-moving particles funnel into the polar regions of the Earth 

thanks to our magnetic field. As the particles interact with the 

upper atmosphere, the air glows, which we see as an aurora. The 

shimmering, ghostly curtain of light is not only a treat for the 

eyes, it can reflect radio signals like a giant mirror (see Figure 2). 

Like sporadic E, you’ll encounter auroral propagation more 

often on 6 meters than on 2 meters. Nevertheless, 2-meter aurora 

is far more common than 2-meter sporadic E. You can also work 

distant stations using auroral propagation on 222 and 432 MHz. 

As you’ve discovered, auroral DX signals are very distorted. 

That’s why CW is the most commonly used mode, although you’ll 

hear SSB from time to time. Auroral CW signals have the raspy, 

buzzing quality you heard. (It sounds like the other guy is 

operating an ancient spark-gap transmitter!) Just listen carefully 

and you’ll be able to decode the signals. 

You do not need directional antennas and high power to work 

aurora on 6 meters. The Doctor has done it with dipoles and 

100 W. Many hams have even enjoyed success with 6-meter 

aurora from mobile stations! 

QI live on the top floor of an apartment building. We have 

a small balcony, but I can’t hang wire antennas for HF 

because they’ll droop onto the balconies below. I also need an 

antenna that I can remove quickly. Can you help 

AYou actually have more options available than you think. 

You could try a compact tuned loop antenna such as those 

sold by MFJ. Other extremely compact antennas such as the Bilal 

Isotrons (http://www.rayfield.net/isotron) may help. You might 

also try using a lightweight mobile antenna such as a Hamstick. 

You could mount the Hamstick on the balcony railing, for 

example, and attach a counterpoise wire to the ground side of the 

antenna mount. (The counterpoise wire should be 1 /4 wavelength 

for the desired band.) Just route the counterpoise wire along the 

floor of the balcony. Be sure to stay away from the ends of these 

counterpoise radials, where high RF voltages can exist even at 

modest transmitter power levels. 

All of these antenna options are, of course, compromises. They 

sacrifice efficiency to save space. Don’t expect any of them to 

outperform even a full-sized dipole mounted high in the clear, but 

they will get you on the air and provide many enjoyable contacts. 

Q 

I’m confused about the concept of “SWR bandwidth.” 

Can you explain 

bandwidth” is a term you’ll often encounter when 

A 

“SWR 

you’re reading about antenna designs, or checking the 

specifications of commercial antennas. Basically, the SWR 

bandwidth is the frequency range after the antenna has been tuned 

at one frequency, over which the SWR is 2:1 or less. This is easier 

to explain visually, so take a glance at Figure 3. Let’s say that we 

have a 40-meter dipole antenna that is tuned to resonance at 7100 

kHz. If our dipole has an SWR bandwidth of 200 kHz, we’d expect 

the SWR to rise to 2:1 at 7000 kHz and 7200 kHz. 

Some types of antennas such as compact tuned loops have 

extremely narrow SWR bandwidths when tuned to resonance. Trap 

dipole and vertical antennas will have varying SWR bandwidths 

for each band, usually becoming narrower on the lower bands. Be 

wary of an antenna that claims a 2:1 SWR bandwidth covering all 

of a wide band, such as 80 meters. This band covers 3.5 to 

4.0 MHz, a percentage bandwidth of more than 13%. While a wide 

SWR bandwidth may seem ideal, it’s often the hallmark of an 

inefficient design with high losses. After all, dummy loads have 

the “best” SWR bandwidths of all! Read all about broadband 

antennas in Chapter 9 of The ARRL Antenna Book. 

QDon, WB5UIA, asks, “Can I still find RTTY on the HF 

bands What about VHF What do I need to get started 

with this mode” 

ARTTY as a digital mode is still very much alive, although it 

is primarily used for DXing and contesting these days 

Figure 3—An SWR vs. frequency plot of a 40-meter dipole 

with a 2:1 SWR bandwidth of 200 kHz (see text). 

(PSK31 has taken over the lion’s share of the “conversational” 

HF digital activity). You’ll find RTTY on just about every HF 

band, but it is mostly heard on 20 meters between approximately 

14.080 and 14.095 MHz. As far as VHF is concerned, RTTY was 

once heard on 2 meters—there were even “RTTY repeaters”— 

but VHF RTTY activity today has all but disappeared in the US. 

To operate RTTY you have two options: purchase an external 

multimode interface for your computer, or purchase software that 

will send and receive RTTY signals using your computer’s sound 

card. The external interfaces are still popular, but the software 

approach is gaining ground. (See our review of RITTY 4.10 by 

Brian Beezley, K6STI, elsewhere in this issue.) Beyond that, all 

you need is an SSB transceiver and you’re good to go. 

To learn more I’d strongly recommend that you pick up a copy 

of the ARRL HF Digital Handbook. You can purchase this book 

at your favorite dealer, or order directly from the ARRL. See the 

ARRL Publications page in this issue. 

QI know that VOX is voice-operated switching, but what is 

“MOX” I see this popping up in transceiver feature lists 

from time to time. 

is manually operated switching. It is a front panel 

AMOX button that places the rig in the transmit mode. MOX is handy 

when you need to transmit, for antenna tuning purposes, for 

example, but don’t have a mic or key connected to the transceiver. 

QI use a station clock that has large, red LEDs. I’ve noticed 

that if I am chewing on something (a mid-contest snack!) 

and happen to glance at the clock, the numbers seem to be 

jumping or flickering. Assuming that this isn’t the symptom of 

some dreaded disease, what really causes the flickering 

AIf you’re chewing on something hard (crunchy potato chips, 

candy, etc) you set up vibrations in your jaw that propagate 

to your eyes, shifting their positions ever so slightly. The LED 

segments are “refreshing” themselves at a high rate of speed and, 

because of the movement of your eyes, the bright “moving” 

segments are in different places from where the visual centers of 

your brain expect them to be. You may see the same effect while 

watching your computer monitor. 

This phenomenon involves something called the critical fusion 

frequency, which is the point where we begin to perceive things 

that are flickering as if they are solid. Different factors influence 

that frequency, including the size of the object, its brightness, and 

which part of the retina it is seen by. The brighter the background, 

for example, the greater the flicker. The action of chewing jars the 

visual axis and changes your line of sight relative to the particular 

point you are focused on, moving it far enough off the central 

retina to change your ability to perceive a flickering image as a 

stable one. 

Do you have a question or a problem Ask the doctor! Send 

your questions (no telephone calls, please) to: “The Doctor,” 

ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111; doctor@arrl.org; 

http://www.arrl.org/tis/. 


THE HELP DESK 

The relationships between fundamental (F) amateur signals, and their harmonics, 

and CATV, over-the-air TV and other services. 


DXTelnet 4.7 

DX Clusters have become the nerve centers of the HF and VHF 

DXing world. The first of these information-sharing networks was 

born in the heyday of amateur packet radio. Known as 

PacketClusters, the networks consisted of various interconnected 

packet switching nodes scattered throughout a state or region. These 

nodes functioned as hubs for packet radio connections established 

by dozens or even hundreds of DX hunters. 

With the advent of the Internet, a few Web-based clusters have 

emerged, but radio-based PacketClusters are still very active. In 

fact, many PacketClusters have incorporated connections to the 

Internet. These are not Web connections in the sense that you might 

normally think of them. To access these clusters you need to use 

the TCP/IP telnet function. Back in the “old days” of the Internet 

(before the Web), this was a straightforward procedure if you knew 

the proper TCP/IP commands. Hams today are more accustomed 

to navigating the Internet through Web browsers and many Web 

browsers lack a telnet plug-in. This makes the process of establishing 

a telnet connection a baffling experience. 

Enter DXTelnet 

DXTelnet is a Windows based software package developed by 

Fabrizio Sartoni, IK4VYX. DXTelnet streamlines the process of 

connecting to DX clusters via telnet. Now you can connect easily, 

and enjoy a number of convenient features to boot! 

DXTelnet is really three Windows applications: DXTelnet, 

DXPlorer and DXTNC. DXTelnet is the telnet software, DXPlorer is 

a kind of specialized Web browser for Web-based clusters and 

DXTNC is designed for use with TNCs in radio-based PacketClusters. 

So, with one software package, you can choose any method you wish 

for connecting to your favorite DX spotting networks. 

DXTelnet is much more than a simple terminal program or telnet 

client. DXTelnet is overflowing with bells and whistles that add 

even greater pleasure to the DXing game, especially for busy hams. 

For instance, you can filter DX spots so that duplicate spots (announcements 

about the same station posted more than once) are 

eliminated. You can set sound alerts that will chime when a spot 

for specific station call sign, or a particular entity, appears. You 

can even filter the alerts according to band. DXTelnet can export 

spot data into almost any log, or even to another cluster. 

You can visually monitor the DXTelnet windows, or have 

DXTelnet audibly “announce” each incoming spot for you. If your 

PC is equipped with a sound card, DXTelnet will speak in a crisp 

voice with a slight Italian accent. Best of all—and this is a real 

hoot—DXTelnet can be configured to key a transmitter, such as a 

Family Radio Service (FRS) unit, and transmit the voice 

announcements to remote locations (it even includes an ID function). 

I tried this using two tiny Ranger FRS H-Ts and a juryrigged 

keying line for the “base” unit. I set up DXTelnet to key 

the transmitter using an interface attached to my PC’s printer port. 

Whenever a new DX spot showed up on the cluster, DXTelnet 

keyed the FRS rig and broadcast the call signs and frequencies to 

me while I was working in the yard. If you want to hear what this 

sounded like, listen to the audio sample at my personal Web site 

at: http://home.att.net/~wb8imy/dxtelnet/dxtelnet.htm. 

On the Cluster 

For this review I used DXTelnet primarily to connect to various 

Internet DX clusters and DX chat areas. You don’t have to 

SHORT TAKES 

Steve Ford, WB8IMY QST Managing Editor 

The main DXTelnet window (shown while connected to 

N6RT’s popular CQDX-IRC node). 

know the IP addresses to make a connection. DXTelnet has its 

own list of more than 50 active addresses. You begin by establishing 

your connection to the Internet. Once you are on line, 

bring up DXTelnet and click on the cluster you wish to try. 

As you connect, DXTelnet logs you in automatically. If the 

site is active, you’ll begin to see DX spots and other information 

within seconds. If you click on any received call sign and go to 

the HamInfo menu, you can activate a variety of online services 

to gather more information about the call sign. For example, you 

can do an address search, QSL manager search and so on. 

By double clicking any displayed call you will get a pop-up 

window with information including the actual name of the DXCC 

country, distance, antenna heading, sunset and sunrise times, and 

much more. 

I tried DXTNC briefly with a Kantronics KPC-3 TNC and it 

also worked very well. The split windows made reading easy and, 

once again, the voice announcements were particularly convenient. 

(This is especially so if you are puttering around the shack 

while trying to keep one ear on the radio.) 

Downloading 

DXTelnet is shareware and you can give it a try by downloading 

a copy at any of the following sites: 

http://www.qsl.net/wd4ngb/telnet.htm 

http://www.powernetonline.com/~dbald/dxtelnet.html 

http://www.qsl.net/ad5xa/dxt.html 

The unregistered version will operate for 30 minutes in the 

Web or telnet mode before shutting down. The TNC module will 

function for 60 minutes before quitting. If you enjoy DXTelnet, 

register the software and you’ll not only get rid of the annoying 

premature shutdowns, you’ll receive free “lifetime” upgrades as 

they become available. 

Manufacturer: Fabrizio Sartoni, IK4VYX. $35, payable with 

VISA or MasterCard at the on-line ordering site on the Web at: 

http://www.golist.net/, or visit http://www.geocities.com/ 

dxtelnet/other.htm for information on other methods of payment. 

Minimum computer requirements: 486-66 or faster PC running 

Windows 95, 98 or 2000. 

Next Short Take 


Ham University 

As someone who teaches Amateur Radio classes in both theory 

and CW, I am constantly seeking new ways to help newcomers 

learn what they need to know. Hardly a week goes by without 

someone asking for the best way to learn theory, Morse code, or 

both. Often they mention specific tools, such as a particular book 

or some software they heard about from a friend. Only if I’ve 

actually worked with that item will I be able to give an answer 

based on anything except hearsay or rumor. 

When I was offered an opportunity to try another tool, I couldn’t 

refuse. Especially since I’ve heard so much about Ham University 

and its designer, Michael F. C. Crick. Over the years, many 

programs have been developed in the name of teaching about 

Amateur Radio. A few have withstood the test of time. This is one. 

Installation and Use 

My home computer is a modest 486 PC running Windows 95. 

Since I found no mention in the installation and operation manual 

of specific computer requirements, I was a little concerned that 

my “ancient” machine might be too slow for the task. I was 

relieved to discover that program installed perfectly the first time. 

The book does say, however, that if you plan on using Ham 

University for learning Morse, a properly functioning sound card 

is necessary. I knew mine was working well (I’ve used it with 

the G3PLX PSK31 software), so I 

proceeded. 

Using the instruction booklet, I 

quickly realized how easy this program 

is to use. At the title screen, you can pick 

from a variety of tools available under 

the “Activity” menu at the top of the 

page. 

The first two items under the Activity 

Menu are FCC Question items. “Quiz” 

allows you to pick and choose which 

questions and/or topics you wish to be 

tested. The entire question pool is 

available to browse through, or you can 

focus on a particular topic. Each quiz is 

automatically given a default name 

(.QIZ extension) unless you assign a 

specific name. All option settings are 

saved when you leave. When you return, 

you can pick up right where you left off. 

Clicking on FCC Question “Exam” 

brings a screen allowing you to either 

continue an existing exam or begin a 

new exam. All questions and answers 

are drawn word-for-word from the new 

FCC question pools, in use since April 

15, 2000. At the end, the score shows 

exactly how many questions were passed 

and how many were missed. You can 

review those with incorrect answers. 

Exams are saved with .XAM extension, 

and can be saved before you start, during 

the exam, or after you’ve completed it. 


SHORT TAKES 

Morse Training and Testing 

Actual Morse code lessons are accessed by clicking on 

“Lessons.” You must first put a Lesson Plan together. This is easily 

accomplished following the directions guided by Morris the Cat— 

an animated cat who assists by describing each function the mouse 

pointer indicates. 

My favorite method is the “Exercise” approach done by 

copying with the keyboard. What you type is shown in the lower 

panel. At the end of the exercise, you can compare what you typed 

with the sent message displayed in the upper panel. Variables that 

you can manually adjust include speed in words per minute, 

character speed, message length and word length. 

In addition to all this, Ham University offers a Morse game 

called PENTODE. The object is to build a large number of points 

in a short period of time. These points are received by connecting 

two or more tiles (the more the better), each containing the same 

character, as a diode (side by side), triode, tetrode or pentode. 

Personally, I found the game far less exciting than the speed exercise 

to copy Morse on the keyboard in the shortest possible time. 

Conclusion 

Ham University takes a creative, entertaining 

approach to teaching Morse code. 

“Morse” the cat grills you on Element 2 of 

the Technician exam. 

Dan Miller, K3UFG ARRL Certification Specialist 

Ham University is an excellent tool for anyone wishing to use 

a computer to study for an Amateur Radio license, regardless of 

which level they wish to pursue. Of 

course, my recommendation is to use 

such a program in conjunction with a 

class. The interaction of others provides 

the additional element of experience, 

expertise, and a warm body to answer all 

of your questions. 

In the absence of such a class, Ham 

University provides everything you need 

to go from ground zero all the way to 

Amateur Extra…in the comfort of your 

own living room. 

I’d be remiss in this review if I neglected 

to mention something else. Displayed 

at the top of each page of the instruction 

booklet is a flag of a foreign 

country. Next to the flag is the appropriate 

country name, accompanied by its 

latitude and longitude, CQ Zone number 

and call sign prefix. This is a very nice 

touch, adding to the educational and instructional 

factor of the Ham University 

program. 

Manufacturer: Michael F.C. Crick, MICA, 

2845-140th Ave NE, Bellevue, WA 98005; 

mica@crick.com; http://crick.com/ 

hamu/; tel 425-883-2876 (9 AM to 9 PM 

PST). $40 with on-disk documentation; $45 

with a printed manual (shipping via US 

Postal Service included). 

Next Short Take

By John Hansen, W2FS 

An Inexpensive KISS-Mode TNC 

Four ICs on a slice of PC board aren’t 

edible, but the combination makes a 

deliciously simple TNC! 

or some time, I’ve thought it possible to use an inexpensive 

PIC microcontroller with an equally cheap modem 

F 

chip to construct a packet-radio TNC that would be 

small, cheap and consume little power. In this project, 

that idea became real. 

Background 

This isn’t a full-featured TNC, but one that is designed to operate 

primarily in KISS mode. KISS mode was developed by Mike 

Chepponis, K3MC, and Phil Karn, KA9Q, and is one of the modes 

now included in almost all commercial TNCs. If you think of the 

computer and TNC as the non-RF parts of a data-communication 

system, originally almost all of the system’s intelligence was built 

into the TNC, not the computer. As a result, it was possible for 

completely dumb terminals to be used with TNCs to provide packet 

communications. This was done because the personal computers 

available when TNCs were first developed weren’t very powerful. 

With time, computers became substantially more powerful. Taking 

the opposite approach, the Baycom and Poor Man’s Packet 

modems move all of the intelligence out of the TNC and into the 

computer. KISS mode plows a middle ground, moving a portion 

of the intelligence from the TNC to the computer, but leaving 

some intelligence in the TNC as well. 

A KISS-mode TNC can’t be used in conjunction with just any 

terminal program. That’s because certain TNC functions must be 

carried out in the computer, not the TNC. However, a significant 

amount of software has been created that supports KISS mode, 

including APRS, TCP/IP, my own HamWeb software and a range 

of other programs. (See the sidebar “KISS Mode Packet-Radio 

Software.”) 

In addition to being a KISS-mode TNC, this TNC has a second 

mode. It can be interfaced with a GPS receiver and used to send 

APRS position reports (in Mic-E compressed format) and monitor 

incoming unconnected (UI) packet frames. 1 Here, I’ll refer to this 

as “APRS Tracker mode.” In this mode, the data can be displayed 

using any terminal program available on any computer; it does not 

require KISS-compatible software. 

Circuit Description 

The hardware for this project (see Figure 1) is relatively simple 

since most of the heavy lifting is done by the firmware in the PIC. 

U1 is a programmed PIC16F877 microcontroller. 2 This chip sends 

and receives data from the computer or terminal, formats incoming 

and outgoing packets, receives and interprets data from the 

GPS stream (if one is used) and drives the modem chip. 

Even if the radio channel is busy and transmission is delayed, 

data continues to flow from the computer to the TNC. Because 

KISS mode does not support hardware or software flow control, 

a substantial amount of static memory is required. To avoid losing 

1 

Notes appear on page 56. 

PHOTOS BY JOE BOTTIGLIERI, AA1GW 

KISS-Mode Packet-Radio Software 

Here’s a listing of just a few of the packet-radio programs 

that support KISS. Please note that I have not tested all of these 

programs; I list them here solely because they claim to work well 

with KISS-mode TNCs. 

JNOS (TCP/IP Package): 

http://www.tapr.org/tapr/html/softf.html 

Pr4Win (general Windows-based Packet program): 

http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Vista/9244/ 

WinTNC (another packet terminal program): 


WinAPRS (Windows-based full-featured APRS program): 

http://www.tapr.org/tapr/html/sigf.html 

CLX (DX Cluster software): http://www.clx.muc.de/ 

G8BPQ (Packet switch software): 


—John Hansen, W2FS 

data, it’s necessary to have a sizeable transmit-data buffer. The 

PIC itself doesn’t contain enough memory to provide this function. 

Fortunately, static RAM chips of sufficient capacity are now 

extremely inexpensive. U2, a 62256 32-kB static RAM chip, is 

one of these devices. Of the 32 kB of memory contained in the 

62256 static RAM, 28 kB are devoted to the transmit buffer. In 

addition, there is a 4-kB receive buffer. This buffer is required 

because the unit must accumulate an entire receive frame before 

it can check to ensure the CRC calculation matches the data in the 

receive frame and decide whether to discard it (if there is an error) 

or send it on to the computer (if it is not in error). 

U3 is a MAX232 level-conversion chip. The PIC microcontroller 

communicates at TTL levels (0 to +5 V), while almost 

all computer serial ports communicate at RS-232 levels (±12 V). 

U3 handles the conversion in both directions. U4 is an MX-Com 

MX-614 modem IC. It takes the signals coming from the PIC and 


54 November 2000 Figure 1

Figure 1—Schematic of the KISS TNC circuit. Unless 

otherwise specified, resistors are 1 /4-W, 5%-tolerance 

carbon-composition or metal-film units. Equivalent parts 

can be substituted; n.c. indicates no connection. JDR = JDR 

Microdevices, 1850 S 10th St, San Jose, CA 95112-4108; tel 

800-538-5000, 408-494-1400, fax 800-538-5005, 408-494-1420; 

http://www.jdr.com, Mouser = Mouser Electronics, 958 

N Main St, Mansfield, TX 76063-4827; tel 800-346-6873, 817- 

483-4422, fax 817-483-0931; sales@mouser.com; http:// 

www.mouser.com. 

C1-C11⎯0.1 µF monolithic (JDR 0.1UF-MONO) 

C12⎯220-µF, 35-V electrolytic (JDR 220R35) 

DS1-DS3⎯LED 

J1⎯PC mount 5-pin DIN socket (Mouser 161-0503) 

J2⎯PC mount DB9F (Mouser 152-5609) 

Q1⎯2N2222 

R6⎯10-kΩ PC-mount trimmer pot 

U1⎯Programmed 16F877-20P microcontroller; see Note 2. 

U2⎯62256LP 32 kB static RAM (JDR HM62256LP-10) 

U3⎯MAX232CPE RS-232 transceiver (JDR MAX232CPE) 

U4⎯MX-614 modem (available from http://www.tapr.org) 

U5⎯78L05 5-V, 100-mA positive voltage regulator 

Y1⎯10-MHz ceramic resonator, with capacitors (Mouser 

520-ZTT400MG) 

Y2⎯3.58-MHz ceramic resonator, with capacitors (Mouser 

520-ZTT358MG) 

Misc: Enclosure, PC board (see Note 2), hardware, IC 

sockets 

A top view of the KISS TNC. 

converts them into standard 1200-baud Bell 202 modem tones that 

can be fed directly to the radio. It also converts the received tones 

into TTL-level signals for interpretation by the PIC. 

Operating Instructions 

The first time you use the KISS TNC, configure it using a 

computer that can run a terminal program. Attach the DB9 connector 

to any serial port on your computer using a standard serial 

cable. Set the computer’s software to communicate at 1200 baud, 

8 bits, no parity. In the terminal program, turn off hardware and 

software flow control. Install jumper W1 on the TNC’s board (this 

places the TNC in terminal mode). Apply power to the unit. You 

should see a menu that looks like this: 

Configuration Menu 

1 Operating Mode 

2 Set TX Delay 

3 Set Terminal Baud Rate 

4 Set APRS Parameters 

E Erase All Parameters 

Selection: 

The first time you run the KISS TNC, it’s a good idea to choose 

E to erase all parameters. Selecting item 1 allows you to determine 

whether the device will be operating in KISS mode or APRS 

Tracker mode. Menu item 2 allows you to set the TX Delay. Item 

3 allows you to set the terminal data rate. This is the rate at which 

the TNC communicates with the attached computer both in terminal 

mode and when operating in KISS mode. Remember, KISS 

mode does not support any type of flow control. If you set the 

terminal rate to a level that’s faster than the data can be sent over 

the air and then use the device to transmit large files, the TNC’s 

memory buffer will eventually be exhausted and data lost. Thus, 

it’s probably a good idea to leave this set at the default (1200 baud). 

If you are going to use the TNC in APRS mode, you will also 

need to select item 4 from the menu to set the appropriate parameters 

for APRS. The following menu allows you to set these parameters: 

Current APRS Parameters 

1 Station Call sign: W2FS 

2 First Path Call sign: RELAY 

3 Second Path Call sign: WIDE 

4 Third Path Call sign: WIDE 

Figure 2⎯Using a 

Y adapter with 

the KISS TNC 

allows you to 

connect a GPS 

receiver and 

monitor incoming 

packets. A cheap 

and easy Y 

adapter is shown 

in Figure 3. 

5 Icon Number: 3E 

6 Alt. Icon Table (Y/N): N 

7 Delay Between Xmit (×10 seconds): 00 

8 Quiet Time (in seconds): 00 

9 Message Number: 1 

A Set Beacon Rate: 02 

B Beacon Text: This is a test of my PIC-based KISS TNC 

Select Parameter to Change: 

Item 1 allows you to set your call sign. It also allows you to 

specify the SSID to be used. The SSID should be entered as a single 

digit in hexadecimal format. That is, if you want the call sign W2FS- 

10, you should enter that as W2FS with an SSID value of A. In items 

2 through 4 you can set a path that is up to three call signs long. The 

next two items (5 and 6) allow you to select the icon that is displayed 

when your station appears on APRS maps. Item 7 allows you 

to specify the length of the period between position beacons. If you 

set this value to zero, the unit will never beacon; it will simply 

monitor the frequency and display received packets. If you don’t 

have a GPS receiver connected, set this value to zero. When the 

TNC is preparing to transmit a position report, it waits until it receives 

data from the GPS receiver. If no GPS receiver is connected, 

make sure that the TNC never tries to beacon, because it would wait 

forever to receive data from a nonexistent GPS receiver. 


Table 1 

KISS TNC DB9 Connector Pin-Out 

Pin Number Function 

1 Transmit Audio 

4 Receive Audio 

2 Ground 

5 Not Connected 

3 PTT 

The unit will not transmit an APRS position until the radio 

channel is clear. If you decide to delay transmission for a greater 

period after the channel is clear, you can set the quiet-time parameter 

to some value other than zero. Quiet time specifies the number 

of additional seconds that the unit delays transmitting. 

Item 9 on the parameter menu specifies the message number 

(or “position comment” in Kenwood D700 terminology). You may 

select any one of the following: 

0 Off Duty 

1 Enroute 

2 In Service 

3 Returning 

4 Committed 

5 Special 

6 Priority 

7 Emergency 

Menu item A specifies how frequently the unit should transmit 

the beacon text. Specifying 02, for example, indicates that the beacon 

text should be sent every second transmission. When values are 

specified as two digits in the menu, two digits must be entered. Thus, 

enter 02, not 2. Item B specifies what the beacon text will be. 

When you are satisfied that you have specified all of the parameters 

correctly, remove jumper W1 and cycle the power off and on 

to force the unit to reboot in the proper mode. 

If you want to use the unit in KISS mode, simply connect a standard 

serial data cable to the unit’s DB9 connector (J2) and a radio 

connector to the DIN socket, J1. The DIN socket pin-outs are identical 

to those used on PacComm and MFJ TNCs, so that any existing 

cable of this type will work with this TNC as well. The pin-outs (in 

the order they appear on the connector) are shown in Table 1. 

Usually the KISS program asks you to specify which TNC type 

you are using. This is the case with WinAPRS, for example. This 

information is required because the software needs to know which 

command to send to the TNC to place it in KISS mode. When using 

the KISS TNC, this setting is irrelevant because the unit is always 

in KISS mode. As a result, it doesn’t matter which type of TNC 

you specify. There have been reports of some types of TNCs accidentally 

falling out of KISS mode. This should never be a problem 

with this TNC because KISS is its primary operating mode. 

If you want to use the device to monitor UI frames, but don’t 

intend to connect a GPS receiver, you can use the same hardware 

configuration that you used for KISS mode. Just remember to set 

the mode to APRS and to set the delay between transmissions to 

zero. If you want to connect your GPS unit to the KISS TNC, but 

don’t care to connect a terminal to monitor incoming packets, you 

will need to connect the GPS unit to the TNC’s serial port through 

a null-modem adapter. If you want to connect the GPS unit and 

also monitor incoming packets, you’ll need to construct a simple 

Y adapter as shown in Figures 2 and 3. The adapter routes the GPS 

transmit-data line to the TNC’s receive-data line and the TNC’s 

transmit-data line to the computer’s serial port receive-data line. 

Construction Tips 

I’ve built several of these units on pieces of RadioShack 

perfboard using point-to-point wiring, but this construction approach 

is rather difficult because there are quite a few wires interconnecting 

the PIC with the static RAM chip. Consequently, a 


Figure 3—This simple Y adapter consists of one female DB9 

socket interconnected with two DB9 male jacks, all held 

together with noncorrosive sealing compound. 

substantial potential for wiring errors exists. A PC board is available 

for this project, as is a kit of parts (see Note 2). The PC board 

requires the installation of several wire jumpers. To ensure that 

the board works properly, install all of the parts, including the IC 

sockets, but do not install any ICs. Then, carefully observing 

proper polarity, apply power and ensure that approximately 5 V is 

present between the following pin pairs: 

U1 socket pins 11 and 12 (pin 12 is ground) 





When you’re sure there are no cold solder joints or solder 

bridges, install the four ICs and apply power. Total TNC current 

consumption is less than 20 mA; most of that is consumed by the 

LEDs. You can reduce the current consumption by increasing the 

value of the current-limiting resistors (R10-R12), or you can omit 

the LEDs altogether. In this case, it should be possible to run the 

unit for several days on a 9-V battery. 

Summary 

PIC microcontrollers have rapidly become a staple of Amateur 

Radio construction projects. This project demonstrates one of the 

reasons that this has occurred. PICs are extremely flexible devices 

that can perform the functions of ICs that are considerably more 

expensive and consume much more power. We are just beginning 

to explore the range of amateur applications for these inexpensive, 

powerful devices. 

Notes 

1 

The APRS Mic-Encoder format compresses the APRS position report and 

message bits into the destination address and information fields of a 

standard AX.25 UI frame. For more information, see http://www. 

tapr.org/tapr/html/mic-e.html. 

2 

A complete kit of parts including the PC Board, a programmed PIC16F877 

and all other parts (except an enclosure) are available for $65 from John 

Hansen, W2FS, 49 Maple Ave, Fredonia, NY 14063. A programmed 

PIC16F877 only is available for $35. A wired and tested board is also 

available for $90. PC boards for this project are available from FAR Circuits, 

18N640 Field Ct, Dundee, IL 60118-9269; tel 847-836-9148 (voice 

and fax). Price: $8 plus $1.50 shipping for up to four boards. Visa and 

MasterCard accepted with a $3 service charge. You can download th es 

ource code (KISSTNC.ZIP) for this project at http://www.arrl.org/files/ 

qst-binaries/. 

49 Maple Avenue 

Fredonia, NY 14063 

john@hansen.net

LogWindows 3.07.30 

Although LogWindows is primarily a logging program, it 

combines this function with transceiver and rotator control, 

PacketCluster monitoring, award tracking and QSL management 

into an integrated system. Additionally, the program is frequently updated 

to accommodate new hardware and add new features. 

The first step in getting acquainted with LogWindows is to crack 

open the very thorough 170-page manual. It reminds me of an adage 

in public speaking: In order to get your point across, you have to 

tell your audience what you will be telling them, then tell it to them 

and finally tell them what it was you just told them. In other words, 

repetition is one of the best ways to commit something to memory. 

SHORT TAKES 

Easy Navigation 

The program’s main window is well organized. Data to be 

entered appears in the top portion, the bottom portion can be either 

a “terminal” (PacketCluster display) or a “browser” for contacts 

logged, and in between there is a row of boxes and a bar of buttons. 

The buttons perform special functions and the row of boxes 

indicates the direction and distance to the displayed contact as 

well as showing your progress toward earning particular awards. 

When the “terminal” is selected, there is also a row of buttons at 

the bottom of the terminal portion that are user-defined (typically 

used for PacketCluster command shortcuts). At the very bottom 

of the main window is a Status Bar showing some current program 

settings and messages to the user. 

As expected, the data entry section includes fields for Call, 

Date, Time, Mode, Freq., RST Sent and Received, plus Power. 

Optional fields are available to enter Name, City, State, QTH, 

Grid and Remarks, plus QSL status and awards. The Remarks 

box is for brief comments; for more detailed comments there is a 

255-character Operator Notes window that is opened and closed 

as needed (the notes are tied to the call sign, so the same notes 

appear for a particular call). 

Buttons, More Buttons 

The button bar is a row of icon type buttons that are used for 

the most common operations. The default buttons are: Clear, Save, 

Find, Go to First Record, Go to Previous Record, Go to Next 

Record, Go to Last Record, Delete Record, Open Notes Window, 

Print Label, Spot DX, Grab DX Spot, List Spots, Rotor Control, 

Pop-Up Database Browser, Capture TNC Data, Query Callbook 

and Query QSL Manager. Some of these items require appropriate 

hardware and/or software. For example, if you don’t have a TNC, 

the DX Spot and Capture TNC Data functions will not be active. 

For those who prefer keyboard operations, there are also “hotkey” 

equivalents for each button. 

Naturally, the Clear button empties all the entry fields so you 

can log a new contact. (The Date and Time fields are filled in for 

you and the Mode and Freq fields remain at their last settings. The 

RST and Power fields also receive default values.)The Save button 

preserves the data shown and the contact is not logged until the 

record is saved (so you can make as many changes as you need to 

before saving). To use Find, you clear the entry fields, type in a 

callsign or a partial call (with an “*” wildcard character) and click 

the magnifying glass. The data entry fields will display the first 

matching record and the browser (if selected) will show all matches. 

Other fields you can search by are Date, Prefix, State, QTH, Grid, 

CQ Zone and Continent. Band and Mode are ignored so you can’t 

search for all your CW contacts on 40-meters, but there is another 

way to do that (more on this in a minute). You can sort search results 

by Band, Call, Zone, Date, Mode, Prefix and State. 

The record navigation buttons are very straightforward and they 

use arrow symbols similar to those on a VCR. The Delete button (a 

trashcan icon) removes the current record from the saved log. However, 

if you saved a record with a mistake in it, you don’t have to 

delete it and reenter from scratch; instead you use Find to locate 

the record, fix the mistake and use Save to update the entry. The 

Open Notes window button (notepad with a pencil symbol) pops 

open a small window showing the operator notes. The print labels 

button (the icon is old style pin-feed address labels) prints labels 

for all the contacts you have marked for QSLing. 

LogWindow’s Spot, Grab and DX Spots (list) buttons gives 

folks with a TNC and access to PacketCluster node easy ways to 

log and “spot” DX stations. The Capture TNC Data (a camera 

icon) button allows you to save data from the TNC to a file. Lacking 

a rotator controller interface, I wasn’t able to test the direction 

control (represented by a Yagi icon button). 

Database Browser 

The Database Browser window (a pair of eyes is the button 

for this) opens another window similar to the main window browse 

area, but with some additional search capabilities. In this window, 

you define a “query” (database lingo for search parameters). 

A query can be any combination of Date, Prefix, Zone, State, 

Band, Mode, and QSL status, with an additional box that lets you 

exclude up to 100 prefixes from the results. 

The Callbook lookup button lets you query a callsign CD-ROM 

(all the ones I know of are supported) for address information 

and the Query QSL Manager button (a QSL card) will search an 

external QSL manager database for QSL route info. If you don’t 

have a separate QSL manager, you can use the LWQSLMgr that 

is included with LogWindows. 

Although the number of features included may seem overwhelming, 

the organization and screen presentation makes using this program 

a snap. LogWindows brings order to your station chaos, and it 

is a breeze to use! 

Manufacturer: SCO, Inc (Les Scofield, W4SCO) with sales, support 

and development by Creative Services Software, 503 West State 

St, Suite 4, Muscle Shoals, AL 35661; tel 256-381-6100; fax 256- 

381-6121; sales@logwindows.com; http://www.logwindows. 

com/. $69.95. 

Next Short Take 

Michael Tracy, KC1SX ARRL Laboratory Engineer 


RITTY 4.0 

Several years ago, Brian Beezley, K6STI, developed one of 

the first high-performance RTTY programs for sound-card 

equipped PCs. Brian’s RITTY software became extremely popular 

in the amateur digital community overnight. Actually, it was a 

little too popular. Before long, software pirates had copied RITTY 

and posted it on various Internet sites. That was the end of further 

RITTY developments—or so we thought. 

We’re happy to report that RITTY is back, and with 

improvements that make it well worth the wait. 

SHORT TAKES 

What is RITTY 

For the uninitiated, RITTY is software that allows you to send 

and receive amateur radioteletype (RTTY) with a 486 DX or 

faster PC equipped with a 16-bit SoundBlaster-compatible 

sound card. RITTY is DOS software, but it can run in a “DOS 

window” in Windows on most Pentium-class PCs. 

Instead of relying on an external interface to convert receive 

audio to data, and transmit data to audio, RITTY uses the sound 

card to perform the same tasks. This means you can send and 

receive RTTY with nothing more than your computer (even a 

laptop) and an SSB transceiver. Hardware connections for 

receiving involve an audio cable between your radio’s line-level 

audio output (or external speaker) and the MIC or LINE inputs of 

your sound card. To transmit you need another audio cable 

between your sound card LINE or SPEAKER outputs and the 

auxiliary or microphone input of your radio. In addition, you’ll 

need a keying interface (either a simple single-transistor 

homebrew circuit, or something more sophisticated such as a 

RIGBlaster interface) connected to your computer’s COM port. 

Alternatively, you can allow the transceiver’s VOX to do the 

keying. (RITTY also supports FSK keying if you can homebrew a 

dual-transistor interface for the COM port.) 

Turbo DSP 

At the heart of RITTY are its high-performance digital signal 

processing algorithms. It’s obvious that Brian has spent a great 

deal of time devising solutions for the peculiar problems of HF 

digital communication. Copying 1s and 0s while dealing with 

polar flutter, multipath, interference and noise isn’t easy. Although 

RITTY doesn’t claim to have conquered all of these gremlins 

completely, Brian has incorporated a number of effective DSP 

tools designed for troublesome conditions. 

Take polar flutter, for example. Polar flutter amplitudemodulates 

a signal, generating incidental sidebands beyond the 

standard- or narrow-detector passbands. Depending on the severity, 

this can make decoding almost impossible. RITTY provides a 

special detector for polar flutter that uses wider channel filters to 

recover spread power. Like RITTY’s matched filters, its polar filters 

inherently have zero intersymbol interference. This property allows 

recovery of bits that flutter right down to the noise floor. 

RITTY On the Air 

Despite its technical sophistication, RITTY is simple to use on 

the air. The left-hand graph shows one of two spectral tuning 

indicators. If you opt for the line display, you see a horizontal line 

RITTY 4.0 on the air using the 3-D waterfall tuning display 

that seems to quiver slightly with the incoming noise. As you tune 

across a RTTY signal, the mark and space tones appear as twin 

spikes. The higher the spikes, the stronger the signals. RITTY locks 

onto the signals immediately and text begins marching across the 

black screen. Option two is a three-dimensional “waterfall” display 

in which RTTY signals look like ocean waves or mountain peaks 

moving from the bottom to the top. 

The right hand graph displays one of three waveforms. The 

character waveform shows the demodulated mark-minus-space 

signal for one character length. The red tic marks locate samples 

for the start pulse, the five data bits, and the stop pulse. 

When you begin typing, your text appears in the transmit buffer 

window, but will not be transmitted until you actually press the 

PAUSE button on your keyboard. As the characters are transmitted, 

they change from white to blue. You also have up to 12 macro 

keys that can be programmed with “canned” messages. 

My performance tests were purely subjective, but the results were 

impressive just the same. I used RITTY during the SARTG RTTY 

Contest last August. In terms of coping with QRM on 20 meters, 

RITTY was the clear winner when I put it up against an external 

multimode data processor. RITTY also outperformed two other 

sound-card based RTTY programs that I had available at the time. 

I had an opportunity to try RITTY’s polar flutter decoder when 

I attempted to copy BY1DX on 15 meters in the late evening. His 

signals were extremely weak and unreadable with either the 

external multimode unit or my various sound-card programs. 

When I switched to RITTY and activated the polar flutter detector, 

the difference was astonishing. I could copy about 75% of 

BY1DX’s transmissions, more than enough to make a contest 

exchange. Unfortunately, BY1DX couldn’t hear me, but that has 

nothing to do with RITTY! 

Manufacturer: Brian Beezley, K6STI, 3532 Linda Vista Dr, San 

Marcos, CA 92069; k6sti@n2.net. $100 with delivery via e-mail, 

$5 additional for postal delivery. Check or money order only. 

Steve Ford, WB8IMY QST Managing Editor 


By Rod Peterson, K4QG 

Another 

Look At 

Tower Work 

Say what You don’t have half-a-lifetime to accumulate tower-climbing experience 

Fear not, future climber—K4QG is letting you in on all of his hard-won tips and tricks! 

I’ve 

been climbing towers for more than 20 years—my 

own installations and more than 70 other projects. 

During all of those trips up and down the tower, I 

picked up a few tips to help you with your upcoming 

projects. Some are common sense. Some are related to personal 

safety. Some are handy timesavers. And some are things you 

probably wouldn’t think of on your own! 

Without further ado, let’s get started. 

Fall-Arresting Gear 

I’ve seen people climbing towers without a belt or harness. My 

only comment on that subject is don’t. Life is too short and safety 

equipment is too affordable to engage in a task with zero margin 

for error. And don’t settle for grandpa’s old lineman’s belt that’s 

been slowly rotting in the barn for the past 40 years. If you’re 

spending hundreds of dollars on a tower, hundreds more on 

antennas and perhaps thousands on equipment, skimping on safety 

gear is penny wise and pound foolish. 

And when using a belt or body harness, don’t make the mistake 

of simply wrapping a lanyard around the tower and declaring 

yourself safe. If you slip, you’ll still slide down the tower fast 

enough to cause injury or death. Instead, hook the lanyard line 

onto the tower, climb, re-hook, and climb again. This is a much 

slower climbing process, but hooking the line securely to the tower 

is your best insurance for safety. 

Teamwork 

If you’re lucky, someone in your area will have tower-climbing 

experience. Get to know that person and ask a lot of questions. 

Perhaps you can volunteer for ground crew duty. That experience 

will stand you in good stead later on. If you can get permission, 

perhaps you can climb a tower or two as an assistant, gaining 

valuable on-the-job training. 

New Technology 

Several years ago I read about climbing towers while using 

carabiners and slings—standard rock-climbing hardware. 

Carabiners are rugged, oval-shaped alloy rings with spring-loaded 

gates. Slings are pieces of webbing sewn in loops of varying 

lengths. Tapping my slush fund, I made a couple of trips to a 

mountaineering supply store and stocked up on eight carabiners 

and ten slings. You can’t have too many of these versatile items. 

They’re incredibly handy for attaching tool pails to towers, hauling 

antennas, temporary ties, bracing, carriers, etc. In addition, they 

can be used as safety attachments, which is their original purpose. 

The ’biners are made of lightweight alloy, so half-a-dozen will 

barely add two pounds to the weight of your belt. 

Tool Tip No. 1 

You should learn early on to organize your tools and equipment 

before climbing the tower. Climbing down (and back up again) to 

fetch a forgotten tool gets old in a hurry. Of course, your ground 

crew can help with that. Most tools and many antenna system parts 

can be quickly sent up the tower by merely untwisting a section of 

rope, sticking the object between the strands, and releasing. The 

tension in the strands will grip a tool or part firmly for the trip up 

the tower. Larger items may require a trip in the bucket. 

Tool Tip No. 2 

To avoid the pitfalls of trial and error, I’ve assembled a standard 

kit of tools that is always in the tool pouch of my climbing belt. It 

consists of: 

•A 3 /8-inch ratchet 

• 7 /16, 1 /2 and 9 /16-inch deep sockets 

• 7 /16, 1 /2 and 9 /16-inch combination wrenches 

•A 5 /16-inch nut driver (fits hose clamps. Sears has some nice 

stubby ones.) 

• An alignment tool (it looks like a tapered drift punch) 

• A small hammer 

• A folding knife 

• An adjustable wrench 

•A 3 /16-inch flat screwdriver 

• A roll of plastic tape (Scotch 88 is a good choice) 

• An all-purpose Leatherman tool 

These tools handle 98% of my tower work. A friend uses a 

ratcheting box wrench instead of a combination wrench, but I use 

the latter for the odd times that I need the open end wrench. 

Compatibility 

In today’s international marketplace, your shiny new ham 

antenna may have metric bolts and hardware. Be sure to select 

your tools accordingly. When building BX-type or 45G towers 

(anything besides Rohn 20/25), use the appropriate tools as 

necessary. It’s a good practice to note wrench sizes for antennas, 


The ONV fullbody 

climbing 

harness. 

Available from 

ONV Safety Belt, 

PO Box 404, 

Ramsey, NJ 

07446; 

tel 800-345-5634. 

thrust bearings, weatherproof boxes, side-mount hardware, torque 

arm assemblies, etc. Document all necessary hardware so you’ll 

remember to take the appropriate tools up with you the next time 

you work on that particular antenna system. You’ll be amazed at 

what you’ll forget over the years... 

Specialty Tools 

I bought a chain-grip—a chain plier/Vise-Grip combo—to 

work on a 40-meter beam that tended to rotate about the boom 

when I didn’t want it to. I tried locking the boom with a strap 

wrench, which proved unsuitable for a variety of reasons. With the 

chain-grip in place, however, things stayed put and I could easily 

rotate the antenna in either direction. 

Chain grips are also useful when it’s time to orient an antenna 

array. Simply loosen the rotator clamp, turn the mast with the 

chain-grip and re-clamp. These strange-looking tools are worth 

their weight in gold when muscling big, heavy antennas. 

Safety Talk 

To paraphrase Norm Abram of The New Yankee Workshop, 

let’s take a moment to talk more about personal tower safety. I’ve 

been wearing a hard hat on the tower for years. I rarely see others 

doing so, and people often joke about “tools not falling up.” But 

my life has been saved twice because I was wearing a hard hat. 

An ONV safety 

belt with seat 

harness. 

They’re cheap and comfortable, and if you take your climbing 

seriously enough to invest in a belt, harness and the proper tools, 

get a hard hat—no exceptions! 

Hot flash: When doing tower work in hot, humid weather, stop 

working every now and then and take your hat off to allow heat to 

escape from around your head. 

Don’t cramp your style: If your fingers or forearms start to 

cramp as you’re working, your body is producing lactic acid and 

you are at a critical energy juncture. Translation: You’ve done 

enough! Tidy up and climb down ASAP—and that doesn’t mean 

finishing whatever you were doing. Simply secure things that 

could fall or break and start down. And make sure you’re attached 

to the tower at all times on the way down. If you’re already 

cramping you can no longer depend on your grip. Once you’re 

safely on the ground, have an electrolyte-rich sports drink or a 

banana or two to replace lost potassium. 

Liquid refreshments: In addition to providing refreshments for 

your ground team—an accepted part of the “cost” of such a team— 

take a bottle of water up the tower with you. There’s nothing worse 

than “tower-top cotton mouth.” You generally won’t have to worry 

about “disposing” of the water, either. While working hard on a 

hot summer day you’ll have little inclination to visit the powder 

room. Of course, it goes without saying that “adult beverages” are 

strictly off limits. 

Razors on the Tower 

To avoid nasty gashes and keep your hands free from crud, 

always wear leather gloves while climbing towers (up and down). 

Did you ever take a close look at a galvanized tower section When 

the manufacturer dips the section in molten zinc, some of the zinc 

flows off, cooling before it’s completely detached. Some of these 

“zinc drips” are extremely sharp and can deliver some nasty cuts 

if you slide your hand along the edge. Also, your unprotected hands 

will get pretty grimy from the zinc residue, making them slippery. 

Tower work with slippery hands is a recipe for disaster! 

Footwear is the Foundation of your Sole 

Rugged work boots with steel shanks are worth their weight in 

gold. Your feet and back will thank you. A trip up a tower in flimsy 

shoes (or running shoes) will make that clear in a hurry! 

Who’s Running this Operation 

The person who generally has the best overall view of things— 

and the one who is taking the greatest risk—is the person who is 

on top of the tower. He (or she) is the boss. If he says, “stop,” don’t 

question or argue, just stop. If he says, “look out,” don’t look up— 

move! That doesn’t close the door to suggestions from members 

of the ground crew, but there’s only one boss on a tower project, 

and if you’re not on the tower, you’re not it. 

Last Word 

Tower work isn’t for everyone. It can be hard, dangerous and 

unforgiving. It requires concentration and attention to detail (such 

as attaching safety straps before leaning back). If you aren’t at 

least a little uneasy when you’re up on a tower, you aren’t normal. 

If your uneasiness gets in the way of working upstairs, however, 

the job may not be for you. If you respect the danger and unease 

you can work alongside it. If you fear the danger and unease, get 

someone else to do your aerial work. There’s certainly no shame 

in that. Chances are good that there are several hams in your area 

who can handle the high stuff on your behalf. 

Stay safe! 

2781 Taft Street 

#109 

Hollywood FL 33020 


By H. Ward Silver, N0AX 

Test Your Knowledge! 

Are you an Amateur Radio bookworm 

The ARRL Handbook is one of the hobby’s great success stories, 

and one of the longest running technical publications in history. 

But how much do we know about this book and other Amateur 

Radio “bibles” 

1. When was The ARRL Handbook first published 

a. 1915 

b. 1926 

c. 1935 

d. 1946 

2. The Handbook begins with what 

a. FCC Rules 

b. A quote from Hiram Percy Maxim 

c. The Amateur’s Code 

d. A photo of the Wouff Hong 

3. Antennas, a leading text on antenna theory and design, was 

written by… 

a. Kraus 

b. Yagi 

c. Lawson 

d. McCoy 

4. Don Lancaster is the author of a popular series of design guides 

with what word in their title 

a. About 

b. Cookbook 

c. Handbook 

d. Applications 

5. What is the call sign of Bill Orr, author of a series of antenna 

design manuals 

a. K2GL 

b. W0DX 

c. W6SAI 

d. W1BB 

6. Bob Locher, W9KNI, is the author of The Complete… 

a. Contester 

b. Ragchewer 

c. QRPer 

d. DXer 

7. What type of DXing is covered in ON4UN’s latest book 

a. VHF 

b. 10 meter 

c. Low band 

d. Long path 

8. Who was the original creator of The Second Op DX reference 

aid 

a. W9IOP 

b. W6AM 

c. W4BPD 

d. W4KFC 

9. Who is the author of The Op-Amp Cookbook 

a. Carl Stallings 

b. Stephen King 

c. Doug DeMaw 

d. Walter Jung 

10. An early competitor to The ARRL Handbook was… 

a. The Radio Handbook 

b. CQ World 

c. IEE Compendium 

d. Radio Experimenter 

Total Your Score! 

Count one point for each correct answer. 

8-10 A literary genius! 

4-7 A little dusty between the covers, but okay. 

1-3 A visit to the library is in order. 

22916 107th Ave SW 

Vashon, WA 98070 

7. c—John’s first book was 80-Meter DXing and he sits atop the 

80-meter DXCC totals today. 

8. a—The distinctive wheel of Larry LeKashman’s invention was 

an instant hit. 

9. d—Walter’s book has launched a million analog designs. 

10. a—The Radio Handbook was edited by W6SAI in its later 

editions. 

Answers 

1. b 

2. c 

3. a—Dr. John Kraus, W8JK, is also the inventor of the wire 

antenna of the same name. 

4. b—Don’s TTL Cookbook was one of the most popular design 

books ever published. 

5. c 

6. d 


HINTS & KINKS 

STRENGTHEN YOUR CUSHCRAFT 

D40 ROTATABLE DIPOLE 

◊ My Cushcraft D40 has been a very effective antenna in terms of 

performance, but I prefer that it be mechanically stronger than it 

came from the factory. I was concerned about the physical strength 

of the antenna from the time I first purchased it. After I assembled 

the antenna, I measured its sag. The ends of the antenna hung 

2 1 /2 feet below the center! I recommend purchasing a D40, but I 

would reinforce it as described here before installing it. 

In truth, the D40 served well for nine years before I finally 

decided to do something about it. A windstorm bent one side of 

the antenna where the aluminum tubing connects to the center 

mounting plate (see Figure 1). Even more ominous was the extreme 

distortion where the tubing attaches to the mounting plate 

(see Figure 2). Over nine years, the sag had now reached an incredible 

four feet from the center to the ends! Here’s the fix. 

The Elements 

The tubing used in this antenna has a 1 /16-inch-thick wall, and 

it is sold in 1 /8-inch OD increments. This very common tubing 

should be easy to find. (Tubing with 0.058-inch walls is also available. 

It makes for an easier telescopic fit.—Ed.) 

The center element sections must withstand the greatest bending 

moment, so I strengthen them by doubling the thickness of 

the first two sections (from the center out). I used an antioxidant 

paste 1 to lubricate the tubing 

and had no problem sliding 

smaller tubes into the larger 

ones. To do this, you will need 

two pieces of 1 1 /8-inch-OD 

tubing 68 inches long and two 

pieces of 1-inch-OD tubing 

48 inches long. 

The first center section is 

a 1 1 /4-inch-OD tube 72 inches 

long. The second section 

overlaps the first by four 

inches, which leaves 68 

inches open inside the first 

section. I inserted a 1 1 /8 × 

68-inch length of aluminum 

tubing inside the 1 1 /4-inch 

section. 

The second section is 

1 1 /8×48 inches. Since the third 

(1-inch diameter) section overlaps 

the second by four inches, 

I used 1×48-inch reinforcing 

tube that extends four inches 

toward the center from the 

splice made by the two 1 1 /8 OD 

pieces. This ties everything 

together and makes a strong 

joint. When the stainless-steel hose clamps that hold the sections 

together are tightened, the inserts do not move from their assembled 

locations. 

Shortly after I erected my first antenna, the screws that hold 

the aluminum rods forming the X-shaped loading elements 

worked loose and fell off. To save yourself a lot of grief, use jam 

nuts and seal the nuts with glue to prevent them from working 

loose. 

The Center Mounting Plate 

The original center mounting plate is 1 /4×4×10-inch aluminum. 

It has four plastic “clamps” to attach the elements to the plate, 

two on each side. These plastic clamps had become severely distorted. 

I replaced the original mounting plate with a larger one 

measuring 1 /4×4×24 inches and purchased four more clamps, for 

a total of four on each side. 

I discovered that the plastic clamps are manufactured by Stauff 

Company and are used for pipe clamps in industrial applications. 

My local distributor sells them for much less than Cushcraft does. 

They will sell them by mail order and send them out by UPS. 2 

The part number for the plastic clamps is 5320-PA. That is the 

part number for polyamide plastic, profiled inside, with tension 

2 

Carrier-Oehler Company,16965 Vincennes, PO Box 40, South 

Holland, IL 60473-0040; tel 708-339-8200. 

Figure 2—This extreme distortion where the tubing attaches 

to the mounting plate is ominous. 

Figure 1—This bent tubing 

at the center mounting plate 

resulted from a windstorm. 

1 

Ox-Gard by GB Electrical. This 

is available at electrical supply 

houses. Any similar product 

would work as well. 

Figure 3—Broken plastic parts were evident when I took my 

antenna apart. 

Bob Schetgen, KU7G Senior Assistant Technical Editor 


Figure 4—The strengthened antenna mounted on my 

improved mounting assembly. 

clearance, for 1 1 /4-inch OD tubing. The part number for the stainless 

steel cover plates is DP-5/SS. For four clamps, order eight 

5320-PA and four DP-5/SS. Order them without weld plates and 

bolts, because the clamps will be bolted to the mounting plate 

with nuts on the back side of the plate. This application is different 

from the typical fastening method used with this product. You 

will need to purchase stainless steel bolts and nuts separately. 

They should be available in most hardware stores. 

When I took my antenna apart, I discovered that some of the 

plastic pieces were actually broken (see Figure 3). The new clamps 

were of a slightly different height than the originals, but I compensated 

for the difference with stainless-steel washers between 

the clamps and the mounting plate. 

The new mounting plate can be seen in Figure 4. The four 

larger clamps are the new ones. Notice that I also added a 1 /4×20 

screw at the center of the plate, which extends into a matching 

hole, drilled in the wall of the mast. This prevents the antenna 

from turning in the wind. The plate is threaded to accept the screw. 

After tightening, the screw is held in place with a jam nut. 

After my antenna had been up for a number of years, I had a 

problem with the coax connections loosening at the antenna. The 

problem was caused by birds sitting on the coax. My cure is to 

use jam nuts on the antenna terminal and tape a brace from the 

mast to the coax that supports the birds. The birds love to sit on 

my antennas! Before you put your antenna up, make sure that the 

terminal screws you got from Cushcraft are long enough for jam 

nuts. Mine were not and had to be replaced. 

The Finished Product 

When the modifications were complete, the sag at the antenna 

ends was slightly under one foot! This appears to be a very worthwhile 

and cost-effective way to improve the strength of a very 

good antenna. I am very pleased with the results that I’ve gotten 

with my D40 in the last nine years and I would buy another one, 

but I would strengthen it before erecting it.—George Zurbuchen, 

K9CC, 10515 Hillcrest Dr, Palos Park, IL 60464; 

George.Zurbuchen@cognis-us.com 

FEEDBACK 

DOX CONTROL FOR A YAESU FT-847 

◊ I just got my first e-mail from an observant DOX constructor (QST, 

Sep 2000, p 68). He points out that R1 is incorrectly labeled R21 in 

the hint. Another and more grievous error is that the tip and sleeve 

connections on J3 are reversed on the schematic. Pin 1 should be 

the tip and pin 2 the sleeve of J3. (My fault—KU7G.) In my circuit, 

I did not use jacks at all, but cut the RadioShack cable in half, 

stripped the cut ends and soldered them directly to the circuit. (I 

hate using connectors if they are not necessary, especially for lowlevel 

audio.) 

In addition, I want to point out that this interface is also useful 

on rigs that require a separate PTT line. In that case, connect the 

right-hand (+) terminal of C1 to the mic input, omit R3, and connect 

the drain of Q1 to the PTT line.—David Smoler, AD6KI, 19982 

Charters Ct, Saratoga, CA 95070-4458; ad6ki@earthlink.net 

Starting Screws in Tight Places 

◊ My aging eyes introduced a typographic error in Hugh Inness- 

Brown’s call sign (QST, Sep 

2000, p 69). It should read 

W2IB.—Bob Schetgen, KU7G 

AN “ARM HOLSTER” FOR 

YOUR H-T 

Figure 5—W7VEW’s “arm 

holster” for small H-Ts. 

◊ What a treat to see all the 

tiny H-Ts on the market. The 

problem with these little gems 

is where to carry them. While 

they easily fit in a shirt pocket, 

the display is not visible there 

and the antenna is often 

against your body. Because 

they’re so light, it’s possible to 

carry them right on your arm 

in my “arm holster.” 

What’s an arm holster It’s 

the best thing to hold your 

lightweight H-T: a simple elastic 

strap that snugly fits your 

biceps. (See Figure 5.) A friction 

buckle lets one strap adjust 

to fit many arm sizes. With the strap in place, slide the radio 

belt clip over it. The radio is held safely with the display near eye 

level and the antenna at shoulder height. With the antenna so high 

and clear, reception is much better than with the radio on your 

belt or in a pocket. It is so nice to see the display, and be able to 

change frequencies without removing the radio from my belt. 

Some radios—such as the Alinco D series—have no belt clip. 

To accommodate them, sew a two-inch strip of hook-and-loop 

fastener (hook side) onto the strap and install a similar loop-side 

self-stick strip on the radio. 

For larger radios, increase the width of the elastic strap. A twoinch 

wide strap works great for the larger units.—Steve Kimber, 

W7VEW, 180 N 1100 E #12, Washington, UT 84780; ckimber@ 

infowest.com 

Hints and Kinks items have not been tested by QST or the ARRL unless 

otherwise stated. Although we can’t guarantee that a given hint will work 

for your situation, we make every effort to screen out harmful information. 

Send technical questions directly to the hint’s author. 

QST invites you to share your hints with fellow hams. Send them to 

“Attn: Hints and Kinks” at ARRL Headquarters (see page 10), or via e- 

mail to rschetgen@arrl.org. Please include your name, call sign, 

complete mailing address, daytime telephone number and e-mail 

address on all correspondence. Whether praising or criticizing an item, 

please send the author(s) a copy of your comments. 

NEW PRODUCTS 

PHILLIPS ECG LAUNCHES NEW LINE OF CHEMICALS 

◊ Philips ECG, in an alliance with ITW/Chemtronics, has expanded 

their selection of electronic specialty chemicals. 

In addition to the chemicals, swabs, wipes, solders and 

desoldering wicks previously offered, the recently added products 

include new lines of dusters, cleaner/degreasers, contact cleaners, flux 

removers, freeze sprays and conformal coatings. 

For more information on these new offerings or to locate an ECG 

distributor in your area, call 800-526-9354 or visit their Web site at http: 

//www.ecgproducts.com/. Phillips ECG, 1001 Snapps Ferry Rd, 

Greenville, TN 37744; tel 423-636-5688, fax 423-636-5809. 

Next New Product 


PRODUCT REVIEW 

Yaesu MARK-V FT-1000MP HF Transceiver 

Reviewed by Rick Lindquist, N1RL 

Senior News Editor 

When we first spotted the MARK-V 

FT-1000MP at the Yaesu booth at Dayton 

Hamvention 2000, we immediately began 

puzzling over the model nomenclature. We 

initially wondered what had happened to 

the MARK-I, II, III and IV. Had there been 

protypes of these models that never made 

it into production 

The mystery was soon solved. Glossy 

advertising brochures on the MARK-V 

touted five major refinements in the new 

version: higher RF power output (200 W), 

a 75 W Class-A mode, interlocked digital/ 

analog bandwidth tracking, a receive 

preselector and enhanced ergonomics. 

It has been five years since the original 

’MP appeared on the market (see “Product 

Review,” QST Apr 1996). In the intervening 

years, the (MARK-0) FT-1000MP has 

become the reputed gold standard among 

many serious DXers and contesters. A 

proven “competition-grade” performer, the 

FT-1000MP is a veteran of the last two 

World Radiosport Team Championship 

events and countless contests. 

When it comes to new gear, expectations 

always are high and frequently vastly overblown. 

The amateur community’s elite 

corps naturally wants to know what Yaesu 

has brought to the table this time around. 

It’s a lot like software. Is the MARK-V a 

major upgrade or an incremental one 

Or, perhaps more to the point: Did Yaesu 

incorporate all the things I longed for (but 

didn't find) in my original ’MP (or the earlier 

FT-1000) And—the burning question 

of questions in hamdom—how much is my 

’MP (or my FT-1000) worth now if I decide 

to trade up 

Without reiterating what some readers 

already will know, the original FT-1000MP 

is a full-featured competition-grade transceiver. 

It incorporates a main receiver and 

an in-band-only sub-receiver, digital signal 

processing, a vast arsenal of QRM-fighting 

features including crystal and mechanical 

filters, and lots and lots of flexibility. 

The MARK-V is not fundamentally 

different in terms of its overall design architecture. 

If the original ’MP were a threescoop 

ice cream sundae, the MARK-V is 

all that plus whipped cream with a cherry 

on top. In a real china dish, not a plastic 

cup. 

Since we’re looking at an upgrade of an 

existing product model here, this review 


will concentrate on how the MARK-V differs 

from—or stacks up against—the original 

’MP. We would encourage readers to 

consult the original FT-1000MP product 

review for our insights and perspectives on 

the ’MP platform. 

Technology Marches On 

Five years is an eternity in the current 

technological environment. It would not 

be unreasonable to have expected the 

MARK-V to be a complete retooling of the 

FT-1000MP. A lot of very neat transceivers 

with myriad you-just-gotta-have-this features 

have come down the pike in the intervening 

years. We’ve seen significant 

improvements in the area of transceiver 

displays, digital signal processing technology, 

physical and ergonomic design, and 

flexibility through various user-settable 

adjustments. 

When it was the new kid on the block in 

1995, the original ’MP was among similar 

peers—the IC-775DSP and the TS-870— 

and DSP was still golly-gee-whiz stuff. At 

this point, it will be interesting to see how 

this unit stacks up in a marketplace awash 

with products bearing innovations that have 

appeared since the ’MP was a youngster. 

So, where does the MARK-V fit into the 

lengthy technology parade The MARK-V 

is a joy to behold with its slightly bolder 

styling and plethora of front-panel knobs 

and buttons—92 in all. This impressive new 

model has retained and, in some instances, 

significantly enhanced the performance of 

its predecessor while also retaining a few 

of its shortcomings. 

Bottom Line 

With a number of subtle enhancements, 

refined ergonomics and an all-new 200 W 

(Class A-B)/75 W (Class-A) MOSFET final 

amplifier, the MARK-V version of the 

FT-1000MP breathes new life into this 

proven competition-grade transceiver. 

Joe Bottiglieri, AA1GW Assistant Technical Editor 

“I do think the Yaesu engineers tried to 

provide every feature needed for a competitive 

radio,” one reviewer asserted. 

While a few features failed to make the 

transition intact from the original ’MP to 

the MARK-V, the new radio incorporates 

some terrific technological advances. Like 

the original FT-1000, the MARK-V also 

puts 200 W of output power at your fingertips 

(that genetic trait must have skipped a 

generation). As one user said, “Having 200 

W actually made it seem okay to just run 

barefoot.” 

All of this is built upon the solid (classic) 

FT-1000MP foundation that serious 

operators have come to know and appreciate. 

The experiences of newcomers to this 

entry in the ’MP line likely will parallel 

those of the original FT-1000MP review 

team. This MARK-V ’MP is a transceiver 

with a steep learning curve and you still must 

learn to love it. By and large, our reviewers 

warmed to the MARK-V once they began 

to get a handle on it. It’s quite a bit of radio. 

Technological Innovation vs 

Window Dressing 

Okay, so does the MARK-V represent 

real improvement or just so much window 

dressing aimed at getting additional mileage 

out of a proven platform Inquiring 

minds want to know. Actually, it’s a little 

of both. 

We’re sure Yaesu will want users to love 

the MARK-V for its mind, but let’s focus 

on its looks and its ergonomics for a bit. This 

new ’MP at once looks a lot like the original—especially 

in the front panel—and yet 

different. The Euro look of its predecessor 

is still there. The more subtle differences 

become obvious upon closer inspection— 

and comparison with the original ’MP. 

Perhaps the most striking physical feature 

is the obvious addition of the louvered 

heat sink cooling fins that occupy the top 

left-hand rear quadrant of the cabinet.

Table 1 

Yaesu MARK-V FT-1000MP, serial number 0F020049 

Manufacturer’s Claimed Specifications 

Measured in the ARRL Lab 

Frequency coverage: Receive, 0.1-30 MHz; Receive, as specified; transmit, 1.5-2, 3.5-4, 7-7.5, 

transmit, 1.8-2, 3.5-4, 7-7.3, 10.1-10.15, 10-10.5, 14-14.5, 18-18.5, 21-21.5, 24.5-25, 28-30 MHz. 

14-14.35,18.068-18.168, 21-21.45, 

24.89-24.99, 28-29.7 MHz. 

Power requirement: Receive, 2.3 A, 13.8 V dc; transmit, 

As specified. 

14.5 A, 30 V dc and 2.2 A, 13.8 V dc (200 W output). 

Modes of operation: SSB, CW, AM, FM, AFSK. 

As specified. 

Receiver 

Receiver Dynamic Testing 

SSB/CW sensitivity, 2 kHz bandwidth, 

Noise floor (MDS), 500 Hz filter: 

10 dB S/N: 0.5-1.8 MHz,

0 

–10 

–20 

–30 

–40 

–50 

–60 

–70 

Reference Level: 0 dB PEP 

–80 

–10 –8 –6 –4 –2 0 2 4 6 8 10 

Frequency Offset (kHz) 

0 

–10 

–20 

–30 

–40 

–50 

–60 

–70 

–80 

–90 

Reference Level: 0 dB PEP 

–100 

–10 –8 –6 –4 –2 0 2 4 6 8 10 

Frequency Offset (kHz) 

–60 

–70 

–80 

–90 

–100 

–110 

–120 

–130 

Reference Level: - 60 dBc/Hz 

Vertical Scale: dBc/Hz 

–140 

2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 

Frequency Sweep: 2 to 22 kHz from Carrier 

Figure 1—Worst-case spectral display of 

the MARK-V FT-1000MP transmitter 

during two-tone intermodulation distortion 

(IMD) testing. The worst-case thirdorder 

product is approximately 27 dB 

below PEP output, and the worst-case 

fifth-order product is approximately 

48 dB down. The transmitter was being 

operated at 200 W output at 21.250 MHz. 

These, in combination with thermostatically 

controlled internal cooling fans, help 

dissipate the heat generated by the Philips 

BLF147 power MOSFETs that crank out 

the 200 W of RF. Less obvious is that the 

MARK-V is slightly smaller than the original 

’MP, but not by much. We’re talking 

fractions of inches here. And it’s lighter by 

about two pounds—not counting the external 

power supply. More on that in a bit. 

It just might be a subjective observation, 

but the MARK-V seems more hale and 

hearty than its predecessor. 

MARK-V users liked the newly styled, 

slightly larger “rubberized” tuning knobs 

and the updated, larger, easier to grip anodized 

SHUTTLE JOG ring on the MAIN VFO- 

A TUNING KNOB. They also gave Yaesu high 

marks for replacing some of the smaller 

front-panel controls on the original ’MP 

with larger, rubber-grip units with calibrated 

knob aprons on the MARK-V. These 

small changes make a huge difference in 

the “look” of the front panel. The updates 

to the MAIN VFO-A TUNING KNOB and 

SHUTTLE JOG ring make it more pleasant 

to make large frequency excursions and to 

troll the band. The idea is you grasp the JOG 

ring on either side and twist it clockwise 

(to move up in frequency) or counterclockwise 

(to move down in frequency). Using 

the SHUTTLE JOG ring still takes a bit of 

practice to keep it under control. 

A prime reason for the huskier SHUTTLE 

JOG ring on the MARK-V is that it now is 

home to two new control buttons. One button 

enables the new Variable RF Front-End 

Filter (preselector); the other the new Interlocking 

Digital Bandwidth Tracking system—both 

of which we’ll discuss in greater 

detail. “I didn’t like the VRF and IDBT buttons 

on the SHUTTLE JOG ring,” one ergonomics-conscious 

user said. “I kept thinking 

I was going to bump the dial if I tried 


Figure 2—Worst-case spectral display of 

the MARK-V FT-1000MP transmitter 

during two-tone intermodulation distortion 

(IMD) testing in the Class A mode. 

The worst-case third-order product is 

approximately 45 dB below PEP output, 

and the worst-case fifth-order product 

is approximately 64 dB down (see text). 

The transmitter was being operated at 

75 W output at 1.850 MHz. Note that the 

spectrum analyzer was set to a narrower 

scan bandwidth and a greater dynamic 

range (100 dB vs the 80 dB range that is 

normally used). 

Figure 4—CW keying waveform for the 

MARK-V FT-1000MP showing the first 

two dits in full-break-in (QSK) mode. The 

equivalent keying speed is 60 WPM. The 

upper trace is the actual key closure; 

the lower trace is the RF envelope. 

Horizontal divisions are 10 ms. The 

transceiver was being operated at 200 W 

output at 14.2 MHz. 

to use them.” They take some acclimation. 

On the subject of tuning: the direct digital 

synthesizers in the local oscillator are 

all driven from a single temperature-compensated 

master crystal oscillator. The resulting 

high stability, along with 13 userselectable 

tuning steps that can be as fine 

as 0.625 Hz, should make the MARK-V 

popular with digital mode operators. 

The display has undergone some minor 

but needed improvement. In the original 

’MP, we’d noted that the inactive segments 

of the fluorescent discharge units “glowed 

faintly, especially at the high-intensity setting, 

making readability troublesome at 

most viewing angles.” It appears that Yaesu 

has toned down the brightness of the fluorescent 

discharge display modules and used 

a darker lens to better hide the background. 

Figure 3—Worst-case spectral display 

of the MARK-V FT-1000MP transmitter 

during composite-noise testing at 3.520 

MHz. Power output is 200 W. The carrier, 

off the left edge of the plot, is not 

shown. The plot shows composite 

transmitted noise 2 to 22 MHz from the 

carrier. Composite-noise testing in the 

Class-A mode provided similar results. 

As we’d mentioned in the original ’MP review, 

the display is extremely busy—if 

you’re not careful, it’s easy to overlook that 

one function or another is enabled—or not. 

Another change worth mentioning: In the 

’MP, the AF gain controls for the main receiver 

and the sub receiver were concentric 

front-panel controls. In the MARK-V, Yaesu 

put the RF GAIN and AF GAIN controls for the 

main receiver on concentric knobs. The SUB 

AF gain control (which can also be set via a 

menu selection to serve as a main/sub balance 

control) has been relocated to the frontpanel 

apron, where the RF GAIN control resides 

on the ’MP. Once they get the hang of 

where it is, most ops should find the new location 

more convenient (not all hams appreciate 

concentric controls), since the SUB AF 

knob is a control you’ll use a lot in order to 

take maximum advantage of this transceiver. 

We’d grumbled in the ’MP review that 

the proliferation of front-panel controls 

made some smaller controls hard to reach 

next to larger ones. The restyled knobs and 

some front-panel redesign has eliminated 

this issue. Reviewers also had complained 

that while using the concentric DSP and 

noise-reduction controls on the original 

’MP, the RIT and sub-receiver knobs got in 

the way. This problem has gone away with 

the MARK-V, which has reconfigured the 

way you access the DSP functions to eliminate 

the rotary-style control. We’ll discuss 

this further when we talk about how Yaesu 

has updated—and somewhat automated— 

the way DSP works in this newer ’MP. 

Now For Something That’s Really 

Different 

In its advertising, Yaesu has been touting 

several brand-new aspects of the 

MARK-V not the least of which is the 

higher output power. As one user put it, “It’s 

amazing what the feeling of an extra 3 dB

will do to your attitude.” Another biggie is 

the Interlocked Digital Bandwidth Tracking 

System—or IDBT for short—which is 

aimed at simplifying and automating receiver 

DSP filtering. Then there are Yaesu’s 

Variable RF—or VRF—front-end filter and 

the Class-A feature, both new with this 

model. Let’s take a look at what Yaesu has 

added to the ’MP mix with this generation. 

Interlocked Digital Bandwidth Tracking 

System 

There’s really not a whole lot you can 

say about the IDBT system because it pretty 

much does its thing without operator intervention. 

All you have to do is press the IDBT 

button on the SHUTTLE JOG ring. It’s worth 

noting—because the Operating Manual 

does not—that IDBT only works in SSB. 

The idea is that IDBT automatically 

matches up the bandwidth of the MARK-V’s 

DSP passband with that of the IF filter passband. 

In practical terms, this means the DSP 

tracks the settings of the already very effective 

SHIFT and WIDTH knobs on the 

MARK-V. Yaesu says the idea is to eliminate 

having to make separate analog and 

DSP filter adjustments. In fact, Yaesu 

dropped the “bandpass” DSP filter selection 

on the MARK-V because IDBT makes 

it unnecessary. 

The net effect is that with IDBT enabled, 

the MARK-V harnesses both digital and 

analog IF filtering for optimal impact on 

QRM. As one operator confronted with 

fools to the left and jokers to the right on a 

very busy 40-meter band described it: “I 

was able to work around loud signals about 

1.8 kHz on either side just by using the 

SHIFT and WIDTH controls without IDBT, 

but switching in the IDBT cleaned up the 

annoying remnants.” 

Yaesu says the IDBT only works in SSB 

because that’s where the greatest likelihood 

of a collision between wider and narrower 

bandwidths exists. On CW, Yaesu’s philosophy 

is that the IF filters will do the job of 

rejecting QRM—assuming you’ve made the 

right selection and/or have the most effective 

filters installed—and you can resort to 

the narrow DSP CW Peaking Filter to bring 

very weak signals up out of the noise. 

Enhanced Digital Signal Processing 

Enhancements 

The number of EDSP “contours” in the 

MARK-V has been reduced from four to 

three, the “bandpass” setting largely obviated 

by the IDBT. Yaesu says the three available 

contours are “preset for different audio 

emphasis, using mathematical algorithms 

developed after thousands of hours of onthe-air 

testing.” Pushing the contour buttons 

yields a visual cue: green for low-cut, orange 

for mid-cut and red for high-cut. 

“The contour function was a good idea,” 

one user proclaimed. “It’s cool to listen to 

a pileup of stations and punch through the 

various contour options. You really hear stations 

come and go depending on where they 

are in the passband.” 

The EDSP APF (audio peaking filter) is 

great for weak-signal CW or data work. In 

CW, you can select from among 240, 120 or 

60 Hz bandwidths. Somewhat like the CON- 

TOUR settings for bandwidth, the NR (noise 

reduction) system permits the operator to 

pick one of four NR settings. One of these 

typically was more effective than the others 

in cutting back noise—even atmospherics. 

Some users still may wish for the sort of 

continuous adjustment available on other 

radios or on outboard DSP boxes, but these 

presets make for more snappy operating. 

The EDSP functions, such as autonotching, 

remain outside the AGC loop in 

the MARK-V. But in the case of notching, 

there’s more than immediately meets the 

eye. 

In addition to its DSP auto-notching 

capability, the MARK-V also lets you select 

a manual IF notch filter through the 

menu, and the DSP and IF notch filters can 

be cascaded. The manual IF notch is very 

effective and allows additional flexibility 

by letting you perform some filter shaping 

“on the fly.” It can take a strong carrier out 

of the AGC loop, and the cascaded DSP 

auto-notch will eliminate any residual carrier 

audio bleeding through. The combination 

is quite formidable. 

The EDSP still employs the 16-bit digital 

signal processing of the earlier ’MP, 

which runs at a 33-MHz clock speed. 

EDSP is available in transmit as well, 

and the effects on your audio can be significant 

and even startling. It’s possible to 

fashion everything from “contest” audio to 

“broadcast quality” by using the various 

EDSP menu settings in conjunction with 

tweaking the carrier frequency—also a 

menu option—to parameters that best suit 

your particular voice characteristics. 

“The DSP feature was a plus,” raved one 

reviewer. “I also had several unsolicited 

comments about the quality of the audio.” 

Variable RF Front-End Filter 

This is a neat innovation that is another 

Yaesu exclusive, introduced with this 

model. Basically, VRF inserts a 

“preselector”—a tunable bandpass filter 

stage between the antenna and the fixed 

bandpass filters with their switching diodes—that’s 

designed to offer additional 

protection from nearby strong signals in the 

bands from 160 through 20 meters. Yaesu 

says VRF is “ideal for multioperator contest 

environments.” Although we did not 

have the opportunity to try it in one, we did 

find the VRF could be very effective—on 

the order of a few S units—in reducing 

“noise” from a very strong signal—even 

one in the same band. To get the maximum 

effect you might need to detune the VRF a 

bit away from peak sensitivity for the desired 

frequency. This will attenuate the signal, 

but the enhanced readability is worth 

the tradeoff. In the same regard, the VRF 

could be effective in cutting back “splatter” 

from a loud in-band signal too, although 

in most cases the other QRM weapons 

on board the MARK-V should do the 

trick as well or better. 

Class-A SSB Operation 

We’ve been particularly fussy over the 

years about how well transmitters are able 

to contain their higher-order intermodulation 

products on SSB. This aspect 

of performance can spell the difference between 

a transmitter that splatters and one 

that is kind to its neighbors. Yaesu’s new 

Class-A function, available at the touch of 

a button, puts the RF output amplifier stage 

into IMD-friendly Class A mode. The idea 

here is that if you’re driving a linear using 

a signal that exhibits superior IMD characteristics, 

you won’t be making things unnecessarily 

worse when you crank up the 

amp. Class A mode on the MARK-V limits 

the output power to 75 W PEP. 

The original ’MP did pretty well in the 

IMD department, with worst-case third order 

products down about 27 dB and fifth 

order products down about 43 dB (this was 

on 24.95 MHz). The MARK-V in Class A 

mode was considerably better, dropping the 

worst-case fifth-order products (observed 

this time on the 160-meter band) to –64 dB 

at 75 W PEP. On the other bands, fifth-order 

IMD was 74 dB down on 40 meters and 

a very impressive 85 dB down on 17 meters! 

Either way, with 200 W in Class A-B or 

75 W in Class A, you’ll have plenty of 

power to drive an amplifier. “The 200 W is 

great!” one user enthused. “But the 75 W 

Class-A mode actually worked perfectly for 

me since my Alpha really only needs 80 W 

to get to full output.” 

Powering Up 

To deliver the 30 V dc needed for the 

RF MOSFETs in Class A, Yaesu has paired 

the MARK-V up with a compact, external 

switching power supply. The lightweight 

model FP-29 dual-voltage unit comes with 

its own power switch and cooling fan. 

Given the supply’s trim profile, it begs 

the question why Yaesu didn’t just incorporate 

the unit into the MARK-V and save 

the nuisance of having to route yet another 

cable in the shack. After all, the FT-1000 

has a built-in supply, and one was an option 

on the original ’MP. 

While one may reasonably assume that 

the engineers at Yaesu were concerned 

about heat dissipation and/or switching 

noise, the Operating Manual mentions a 

third consideration, stating that the power 

supply was kept separate “for safe trans- 


portation” of the MARK-V during shipping 

or on a DXpedition. “The reduced weight 

inside the transceiver case provides a 

greater safety margin during the shipment 

of your MARK-V.” 

MARK-V Menuing 

The strength of the MARK-V menu system 

is that the 80+ options allow tremendous 

flexibility in configuring the radio 

“your way.” Its weakness is that in the years 

since the original ’MP (and a lot of other 

otherwise excellent transceivers) was designed, 

the menu system the MARK-V 

employs has not changed a whole lot from 

the original model. It’s certainly utilitarian, 

but compared to what’s out there in the 

market today, it’s neither very elegant nor 

intuitive, and it no longer can be considered 

state-of-the-art. It’s a bit like going 

back to DOS after years of working with 

Windows. By the same token, a lot of contesters 

continue to use DOS-based logging 

software, so maybe they won’t really care. 

As one reviewer remarked, “There are a 

lot of configurable options. It’s too bad the 

user interface isn’t more friendly.” He suggested 

that Yaesu market a Windows software 

package that would allow the user to 

set all the necessary parameters via a PC. 

“Now that would be cool!” he concluded. 

In the years since the original ’MP hit 

the market, some manufacturers have come 

out with user interfaces that feature plain 

English menu descriptions on an LCD 

graphical display. With the MARK-V, 

there’s still no single “menu” button—you 

press FAST plus ENT to get into the menus— 

and you’d better keep the Operating 

Manual—or at least the thoughtful Quick 

Code Sheet—handy to “master the menu 

possibilities,” to borrow a phrase. 

As a result, fully customizing the 

MARK-V can take some time, and may try 

your patience. There is a veritable surfeit 

(that means “beaucoup”) of user-settable 

items, from CW weighting to defining 

memory groups and setting the AGC for the 

sub-receiver. (Yes, the MARK-V offers 99 

memory channels and scanning capabilities 

too.) 

One reviewer began to acclimate to the 

MARK-V after a day or so of trying to bend 

the radio to his will. “I liked the radio better 

and began to see the potential,” he conceded. 

Filter Flexibility 

The MARK-V boasts a whole new way 

to select filters. It was not a hit with everyone. 

As mentioned, the ’MP filter matrix 

has been supplanted by the EDSP APF, NR, 

and CONTOUR button panel. Filter selection 

has been reduced to three BANDWIDTH buttons 

to the right of the display: NOR, NAR1 

and NAR2. These three buttons determine 

filter selections for the 8.215 MHz second 

IF and the 455 kHz third IF. 


Discerning readers likely already have 

done the math and figured out that you 

don’t get quite as much flexibility in filter 

selection with three buttons and up to five 

optional filters on board. The original 

’MP’s filter matrix let you pick one from 

column A and one from column B—mixn-match 

style. It was a feature many users 

appreciated. With the MARK-V, you predefine 

the filters you want assigned to each 

button via menus, which can be a bit baffling. 

Be careful: if you don’t get it right, 

you might hear nothing at all when you 

press one of those BANDWIDTH buttons. 

In the MARK-V filter selection scheme, 

you would, for instance, be able to define 

2.4 and 6 kHz filters for the NOR selection, 

a pair of 2.4 kHz filters or a 2.4 and an optional 

2.0 kHz filter for the NAR1 position, 

and a pair of optional 2.0 kHz filters for the 

NAR2 position on SSB. In CW, you might 

have a combination of 2.4 or 2.0 kHz and 

500 or 250 Hz units in ascending degrees of 

selectivity. Some operators may find this 

limiting compared to the original ’MP, while 

others may find it more efficient. 

Yaesu concedes that there is slightly less 

flexibility in filter selection in the MARK-V, 

in that you don’t have on-the-fly ability to 

set a 250-Hz bandwidth by selecting, for 

example 500 and 250 Hz or 250 and 250 

Hz filters in the 8.2 MHz and 455 kHz IFs. 

“You need to predefine the selections 

you are most likely to want to make, and 

these then become the NOR, NAR1 and 

NAR2 selections,” Yaesu told us. “The thinking 

was to free up that matrix slot on the 

left hand side of the main tuning knob and 

to make the radio easier to use at 4 in the 

morning at the same time.” 

The MARK-V offers stock 500 Hz crystal 

CW and 2.4 kHz SSB filters in the 8.215 

MHz IF and a new 10-pole 2.4 kHz Collins 

mechanical SSB filter in the 455 kHz IF 

(the original ’MP used an 8-pole Collins 

SSB filter). 

“With the filtering available, it was 

much easier to carve a hole in a very 

crowded 20-meter band,” said one reviewer, 

relating his contesting experience with the 

radio. “I was also able to squeeze into a 

small opening on the upper end of 40 and 

actually have a decent run.” 

Held Over 

Several really handy features survive in 

this ’MP incarnation. The MARK-V still 

offers the choice of two antennas via the 

ANT A/B front-panel button plus availability 

of a separate receive antenna. “It’s nice 

to have two antenna inputs and a Beverage 

input,” one well-known contester opined. 

“It worked just the way it should.” 

The MARK-V’s flexible CLARifier 

(RIT) permits excursions of up to 9.9 kHz. 

There are separate TX, RX and CLEAR buttons, 

making the RIT available for quick 

split-frequency operation, such as working 

DX that’s listening “up 2.” 

We’ve already received questions from 

members about whether Yaesu made any 

changes with respect to full-break-in (QSK) 

CW operation. The answer is no, nor did 

Yaesu include the capability to key the radio 

from an external source, such as a PC, while 

still providing access to the radio’s internal 

memory keyer. The “bug” option has mysteriously 

disappeared from the keyer menu as 

well. A search is under way for the critter. 

Speaking of the internal memory keyer, 

the MARK-V does not provide front-panel 

access to program this integrated accessory 

that offers six message memories and includes 

contest-style incremental numbering 

(even “cut numbers” if you want them). As 

with the earlier ’MP, accessing or programming 

the memory keyer functions requires the 

outboard accessory FH-1 Remote Control 

Keypad (or a homebrew keypad) that connects 

via a cable to the rear-panel REMOTE 

jack. 

On a related note, the MARK-V also 

does not incorporate any sort of “tune” button 

(neither did the ’MP), but one is available 

via the FH-1 keypad. A digital voice 

recorder also remains an accessory. The 

optional DVS-2 Digital Voice Recorder has 

two 8-second or four 4-second messages. 

You also can record up to 16 seconds of 

incoming receiver audio for later playback. 

The MARK-V’s super off-the-air monitor 

works in all modes, including CW! The 

MONI button and level control are on the 

lower front-panel apron. The radio picks off 

the signal as it leaves the driver stage using 

the sub-receiver as a monitor. This is 

especially convenient to have when tailoring 

your audio using the MARK-V’s manifold 

DSP capabilities. 

The MARK-V’s double-stacking register 

BAND keypad gives quick access to the 

last two frequencies (and mode and filter 

settings) you visited on a given band. It also 

permits direct keypad entry of a frequency. 

Pressing the SUB button then a BAND key 

lets you change bands or set frequencies 

and modes on the sub-receiver. 

We’d complained in our earlier review 

about another front-panel characteristic that 

the original ’MP had carried over from the 

FT-1000—the row of smallish knobs and buttons 

along the lower apron. The MARK-V 

continues this tradition, but Yaesu swapped 

one control location and replaced another 

with the CLASS-A button. 

Control legends for this lower tier of 

front-panel controls still tend to be a bit 

difficult to read, however, and the knobs 

still are the same shade as the front panel. 

The “trap door” trimpot controls in 

the top of the radio still are there in the 

MARK-V. These still include the TUN-M 

control that you’re not supposed to adjust 

(misadjustment could necessitate a factory

ealignment). These require using a small 

Phillips’ head screwdriver. Controls include 

such functions as audio levels to the headphone 

jacks; FM mike gain; VOX gain, delay 

and anti-vox; and the tuning meter adjustments 

for CW, packet and RTTY. One 

user wondered aloud why the CW VOX 

delay was set via the menu while the SSB 

VOX delay was set via a trimpot. “Why are 

they so hard to get to,” he asked. He said 

he’d rather see the two delay adjustments 

on the front-panel apron instead of the two 

squelch controls that he deemed much less 

likely to be needed. 

The MARK-V still offers a menusettable 

choice of flat or tuned preamps. 

There are three preamps in all—one a general-purpose 

“flat” amplifier and dual tuned 

units, one optimized for 1.8 to 7 MHz and 

the other for 24 to 30 MHz. (Yaesu says 

that on 14 MHz, the tuned and flat preamps 

have approximately the same gain, so 

there’s not much difference between them.) 

To turn off the preamp, you turn on the IPO 

(intercept point optimization). While this 

may seem like backwards logic, Yaesu is 

not the only manufacturer use this kind of 

nomenclature. 

Gone But Not Necessarily Forgotten 

Some up-front items on the ’MP have 

been consigned all or in part to the menu. 

For example, the USER button has disappeared 

from the front panel and now lives 

in the menu. This function lets the operator 

set up a “custom environment” for a 

given user or type of operation. In the 

MARK-V, pressing and holding the PKT 

button accesses this menu to configure custom 

settings. 

The NB1 and NB2 noise blanker buttons 

on the ’MP have been replaced by a single 

NB button on the MARK-V. You now go to 

the menu to select the type of noise blanker 

you prefer—depending upon the noise— 

and the desired blanking level. There’s a 

menu shortcut to make changes on the fly— 

press and hold FAST and press NB. 

The SPLIT button also is no more on the 

MARK-V. You go into split-frequency mode 

by pressing the appropriate red and green TX 

and RX LEDs near the main and sub-receiver 

tuning knobs. Not everyone was wild about 

the departure of the SPLIT button. Some operators 

thought it made operating the 

MARK-V more confusing and could lead to 

transmitting on the wrong VFO during the 

wee hours of a contest. The “SPLt-SEt” menu 

offers three split operating modes that vary 

largely in the degree of automation applied. 

The A=B mode, for example, applies a preset 

frequency offset to the sub VFO B when 

that VFO is enabled for transmit. 

Performance Perspectives 

How does the ’MP stack up where the 

rubber meets the road—on the air Well, if 

there were any doubts that the new MARK-V 

offers some performance enhancements over 

the original ’MP, a look at the most critical 

lab testing numbers will quickly dispel them. 

Some quick comparison highlights: 

• Two-tone, third-order IMD dynamic range 

in the MARK-V was about 4 dB better on 

the amateur bands, topping out at 101 dB 

on 14 MHz (preamp off). This is, like, totally 

excellent performance, dudes. Dynamic 

range defines the receiver’s ability 

to distinguish and reflect the difference between 

weak and strong signals. 

• The MARK-V’s third-order intercept numbers 

were in the vicinity of +25 dBm 

(based on S5 reference), the highest we’ve 

seen for any receiver; the original ’MP’s 

numbers were in the range of +14 dBm on 

the ham bands (preamp off in both cases). 

• The second-order intercept numbers, 

around +68 dBm with the preamp on or 

off, although very respectable, were not 

as high as those we measured on the 

original ’MP. With the VRF feature activated 

however, the MARK-V managed to 

achieve another new high-water mark— 

+112 dBm with the preamp on and +110 

dBm with the preamp off—the best we’ve 

seen by a wide margin. 

• The typical transmitter high-order IMD 

numbers during Class-A operation are 

significantly better than any transceiver 

we’ve tested. 

• The MARK-V’s SSB/CW receiver sensitivity 

on the ham bands was within 

1 dB of the original ’MP’s. 

• The MARK-V’s blocking dynamic range 

(preamp off) was 11 dB worse, at 3.5 MHz 

and 13 dB worse at 14 MHz but at 

129 dB, these are still excellent numbers. 

• The MARK-V’s AM sensitivity was slightly 

worse (by 1.7 µV) at 1.0 MHz (preamp off) 

and approximately the same everywhere 

else; FM sensitivity (preamp off) was 

slightly better (by 0.18 µV) at 29 MHz. 

• FM adjacent channel rejection and twotone, 

third-order IMD dynamic range 

numbers were 10 dB and 4 dB better on 

the MARK-V respectively (preamp on). 

• The CW keyer range in the MARK-V tested 

out at from 9 to 39 WPM; the range of the 

original ’MP keyer was 6 to 120 WPM. 

Puffs and Pans 

Some user comments and observations, in 

no particular order: 

• “Features seemed very similar to the 

original FT-1000MP, and it was not very 

hard to get used to them.” 

• “The notch filter is deep! But it has some 

menu-driven modes that require some 

practice.” 

• “The internal fan(s) in the MARK-V are 

pretty loud once the radio starts to break 

a sweat. The fan noise is audible even 

while wearing headphones.” 

• “Diversity reception is possible because 

of the flexibility offered via the menu for 

stereo headphone operation. You can listen 

to the main receiver in one ear, the subreceiver 

in the other or to all of one or all 

of the other or even attenuated audio in 

the other ear from the other receiver.” 

• “The AF output jack on the back panel is a 

plus. Its constant level is great for grabbing 

audio for your sound card for digital 

modes or for just recording. You can plug 

in, set the levels, and then forget about it.” 

• “The dual receiver is well-done and very 

cool!” 

• “The top-cover adjustments are not much 

better than the old FT-1000MP—ie, not 

very good.” 

• “The manual seemed to have more extensive 

explanations.” 

• “A true contester will learn to love this 

radio!” 

Conclusion 

With the introduction of the MARK-V 

FT-1000MP Yaesu has raised the bar, albeit 

incrementally in some cases, in the top-end 

transceiver marketplace. Have no doubt. 

This is a very fine radio that will hold its 

own in a competitive environment, and its 

enhanced DSP features are superb. A lot of 

current ’MP owners may be tempted to upgrade, 

and newcomers who are not intimidated 

by the challenge of a complex, feature-rich 

radio will give serious consideration 

to jumping aboard the FT-1000MP 

bandwagon with the MARK-V. Hams in the 

strong-signal areas of the world (Europe for 

example) should be particularly interested 

in this transceiver’s strong-signal-handling 

capabilities. 

While some may wonder why Yaesu 

didn’t go further in some aspects of the redesign 

of the original ’MP into this 

MARK-V version, the new transceiver 

does offer several significant performance 

enhancements to a proven platform that has 

earned and continues to hold the respect 

of discerning contesters and DXers. 

Thanks go to Randy Thompson, K5ZD; 

Dan Henderson, N1ND; Tom Frenaye, K1KI; 

and Dave Patton, NT1N, for using the radio 

and providing comments for this review. 

Manufacturer: Yaesu USA, 17210 

Edwards Rd, Cerritos, CA 90703; 562-404- 

2700; fax 562-404-1210; http://www. 

yaesu.com. 

Manufacturer’s suggested retail price, 

$4,200. Typical current street price: $3,300. 

List prices of selected optional accessories: 

DVS-2 Digital Voice Recorder, $238; FH-1 

Remote Control Keypad, $88. The YF- 

114SN 2.0 kHz SSB filter, YF-114CN 250 

Hz CW filter, YF-110SN 2.0 kHz SSB filter 

and YF-115C 500 Hz CW filter all list for 

$157. 


The NorCal SMK-1 QRP Transceiver Kit 

Reviewed by Joe Bottiglieri, AA1GW 

Assistant Technical Editor 

Since its inception in 1993, the Northern 

California QRP Club—better known as 

NorCal—has grown to be an extremely well 

known organization of low power Amateur 

Radio enthusiasts. 

A few months ago NorCal announced 

something new: a full-featured 10-meter 

CW QRP transceiver kit that would use 

mostly surface mount components. 

There has been enthusiastic response to 

that news, but several folks expressed a 

desire for a simpler project that would provide 

them an opportunity to gain some surface 

mount construction experience. The 

result was the SMK-1. 

The SMK-1 was quickly developed by 

Dave Fifield, AD6A (of Red Hot Radio), 

and Doug Hendricks, KI6DS, not so much 

as a QRP transceiver kit but as an electronics 

construction project that would expose 

the builder to working with a variety of surface 

mount component packages. Most of 

the 84 parts that make up the kit are surface 

mount, but there’s also a few throughhole 

components. 

Noble Lineage 

The SMK-1 40-meter CW transceiver 

consists of a transmitter section based on 

the late Doug DeMaw’s (W1CER/W1FB) 

now legendary Tuna Tin 2 (see March 2000 

QST for a complete retrospective on this 

QRP classic) integrated with a receiver 

modeled after Steve Bornstein’s (K8IDN) 

MRX-40 direct-conversion receiver (featured 

in the September 1997 issue). Electronic 

transmit/receive switching, JFET receiver 

muting, VXO RIT and XIT circuitry, 

and a few additional modifications cooked 

up by Dave were incorporated, and surfacemount 

equivalents of virtually every component 

were substituted. 

As was the case with W1FB’s and 

K8IDN’s projects, the resulting transceiver 

was never intended to be a high performance 

piece of radio equipment—a primary objective 

shared by all three is circuit simplicity. 

It’s a Small World, After All 

Surface mount parts are available in a 

range of sizes. The components used in this 

kit are considered to be “the big ones.” 

Designated 1206, the equivalents of conventional 

“two lead” parts—resistors, capacitors, 

inductors and diodes—measure 

about 0.12 × 0.06 inches. 

There are also three surface mount 8- 

pin ICs, and a handful of surface mount 

transistors and electrolytic capacitors. 

The tiny 2 1 /2 × 2 1 /4-inch circuit board is 

top quality. It’s double-sided, solder 

masked and silk screened with the part 


numbers and location outlines. All of the 

on-board components are provided in the 

kit. The builder will need to supply an enclosure 

and knobs, and connectors for external 

dc power, key or keyer, ’phones and 

antenna. A separate kit that includes predrilled 

enclosure panels, jacks, knobs and 

rubber feet—courtesy of the New Jersey 

QRP Club—is also available. (See NorCal’s 

Web site for details.) 

Let’s Get It Together 

As you can well imagine, the biggest 

challenge of surface mount construction is 

the handling and positioning of these tiny 

parts. Identifying a particular part can also 

be difficult—some don’t carry any markings 

whatsoever. 

The NorCal gang came up with a great 

solution to the identification problem. The 

parts are packaged in two clear plastic bags 

that are divided by a heat-sealer into a grid 

of 21 compartments, each containing specific 

components. “Grid maps” printed in 

the documentation act as a key. 

I found surface mount part handling 

quickly became easier as assembly progressed. 

I used a large pair of surgical tweezers 

for handling and positioning the parts 

for soldering, and only really needed a 

magnifying lens for inspecting the finished 

solder connections. Your particular methods 

and needs, of course, may vary. 

For some tips and techniques, visit 

NorCal’s Web site, http://www.fix.net/ 

~jparker/norcal.html. Also be sure to 

check out the ARRL Technical Information 

Service’s information on this topic 

at http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/ 

surface.html. (Copies of recent QST articles 

on this subject are posted here.) 

The 8-page Construction Manual consists 

of four 8 1 /2 × 11-inch stapled sheets. 

There’s not a tremendous amount of 

handholding offered in the assembly descriptions—the 

instructions walk you 

through installing the contents of the first 

pocket of “Bag #1” and then instruct you 

to proceed likewise down through the bags. 

The final few assembly steps involve 

winding and mounting a 6-turn bifilar toroid 

and installing the through-hole components. 

Alignment is easy—I used my main 

station transceiver to listen for the transmitted 

signal, to peak the receiver, and to 

“calibrate” the XIT and RIT controls. 

I’ve got to admit, although surface 

mount construction does present a unique 

set of challenges, I found it to be considerably 

easier than I had anticipated. I’m now 

eager to attempt a more sophisticated surface 

mount project. 

Let’s Get it On 

I’ve used the transceiver to make several 

contacts with stations up and down the 

east coast and into the midwest—not bad 

considering it puts out about 350 mW and 

my antenna is an attic dipole! I’ve received 

reasonably good signal reports and noted 

only a very small amount of drift. 

Spot checks of the SMK-1 by the ARRL 

Lab show a transmitter tuning range of approximately 

7.038 to 7.039 MHz and a receiver 

tuning range between 7.035 and 7.040 

MHz. The noise floor—or minimum 

discernable signal—measures –110 dBm at 

3 kHz bandwidth. While this may seem a bit 

low, this is due to the essentially “wide-open” 

front end of the receiver. There’s more than 

enough CW sensitivity available for typical 

40-meter QRP operation. 

The current draw (at 13.8 V) is about 20 

mA on receive and 110 mA on transmit. The 

blocking dynamic range came in at a noiselimited 

74 dB. Spurious signal and harmonic 

suppression was better than 30 dB. 

Unlike the original Tuna Tin 2, this transmitter 

does not require additional filtering 

to meet current FCC spectral requirements 

for a transmitter of this power level. 

Conclusion 

Let’s face it, sooner or later the electronics 

hobbyist will have to accept the fact that 

technology marches on. Surface mount 

components will continue to supplant conventional 

leaded components in both consumer 

electronics products and commercially 

produced Amateur Radio gear. With 

the SMK-1, NorCal is providing us a great 

opportunity to learn the basic techniques 

and further develop the home construction 

methods that we’ll need to work with them. 

Manufacturer: The Northern California 

QRP Club; http://www.fix.net/~jparker/ 

norcal.html. 

The SMK-1 sells for $30 plus $4 shipping 

and handling. To order one, send a 

check or money order for $34 (made out to 

Jim Cates) along with a note indicating that 

you are ordering an SMK-1 to Jim Cates, 

WA6GER, 3241 Eastwood Rd, Sacramento, 

CA 95821. If possible, also follow this with 

an e-mail with “SMK-1” in the subject line 

to Doug Hendricks, KI6DS (ki6ds@ 

dospalos.org), so that he can maintain an 

adequate parts inventory.

HAPPENINGS 

Balloting Under Way in Three ARRL Divisions 

Members in five ARRL divisions have 

nominated candidates for ARRL Director 

and Vice Director, and balloting is under 

way for contested positions in three 

divisions. The ARRL Election Committee 

has declared all candidates to be eligible. 

All unopposed candidates have been 

declared elected. All terms are for three 

years beginning at noon January 1, 2001. 

Balloting for Director will occur in the 

Central and Northwestern divisions; 

balloting for Vice Director in the 

Northwestern and Hudson divisions. 

There’s a three-way race for the 

Director’s seat in the Central Division. 

Running are incumbent Director Edmond 

A. Metzger, W9PRN, and challengers 

Richard David Klatzco Jr, N9TQA, and 

George R. “Dick” Isely, W9GIG. Vice 

Director Howard Huntington, K9KM, is 

unopposed for reelection. 

In the Northwestern Division, 

incumbent Director Greg Milnes, W7OZ, 

will face Mary E. Lewis, W7QGP, a twotime 

former director. Incumbent 

Northwestern Division Vice Director Jim 

Fenstermaker, K9JF, is being challenged 

by Edward W. Bruette, N7NVP. 

In the Hudson Division incumbent Vice 

Director J.P. Kleinhaus, W2XX, faces a 

challenge from former ARRL First Vice 

President and Hudson Division Director 

Steve Mendelsohn, W2ML. Director Frank 

Fallon, N2FF, is running unopposed. 

Also without opposition are New 

England Division Director Tom Frenaye, 

K1KI, and Vice Director Mike Raisbeck, 

K1TWF, and Roanoke Division Director 

Dennis Bodson, W4PWF, and Vice 

Director Les Shattuck, K4NK. 

ARRL full members of record in the 

Central, Hudson and Northwestern 

divisions as of September 10, 2000, were 

to be sent ballots by October 1. The deadline 

to receive completed ballots is noon Friday, 

November 17, when the votes will be 

counted. Any eligible member not receiving 

a ballot should contact ARRL Headquarters. 

PHASE 3D SET FOR HALLOWEEN 

LAUNCH 

The next-generation Phase 3D Amateur 

Radio satellite is set to go into space on 

Halloween! At press time, the launch 

agency Arianespace said that in addition to 

Phase 3D, an Ariane 5 rocket would attempt 

to orbit three commercial satellites on Tuesday, 

October 31. The launch will take place 

at the European Spaceport in Kourou, 

French Guiana, South America. 

Arianespace says the October 31 mission 

will be the first to use the Ariane Structure 

for Auxiliary Payloads platform designed to 

carry mini or microsatellites as secondary 

payloads. The Ariane 507 flight also is to 

be the initial liftoff performed from the second 

Ariane 5 mobile launch table, which 

recently was qualified for service. 

Launch preparations for the Phase 3D 

flight officially got under way September 

18 and were proceeding “on target,” according 

to AMSAT-Germany Executive Vice 

President Peter Gülzow, DB2OS. Gülzow 

has been heading the launch team at the 

European Spaceport in the absence of Phase 

3D Project Leader Karl Meinzer, DJ4ZC, 

who was unable to make the trip. An advance 

P3D launch team arrived in Kourou 

September 9. By late September, the group 

had swelled to more than a dozen. 

AMSAT-NA President Keith Baker, 

KB1SF, said Phase 3D was “doing just fine.” 

As of press time, the satellite’s batteries had 

been recharged, and RF testing of transmitter 

and receiver systems had been successfully 

completed. The team also carried out 

propulsion system pressure tests. 

AMSAT officials were encouraged by 

success of a September 14 Ariane 5 launch 

that they’d been keeping an eye on as a bellwether 

for the next-in-line Phase 3D 

launch. That mission put two communication 

satellites into orbit. 

More information about Phase 3D is on 

the AMSAT-NA Web site, http://www. 

amsat.org/. 

QUIAT NAMED HONORARY VICE 

PRESIDENT; MORTON NAMED VICE 

DIRECTOR 

The ARRL Board of Directors has 

elected Marshall Quiat, 

AG0X, of Denver, 

Colorado, as an Honorary 

Vice President. Quiat, 78, 

stepped down as Rocky 

Mountain Vice Director 

this summer for health 

reasons. The vote of the 

15-member board was 

unanimous. 

ARRL President Jim 

Haynie, W5JBP, called 

Marshall 

Quiat, AG0X 

Quiat August 30 to inform him of his 

election. “There’s no one more deserving 

of this honor than Marshall,” Haynie said. 

“I’m happy for him.” 

ARRL PHOTO 

An attorney and an ARRL Life Member, 

Quiat served as Vice Director from 1981 until 

1987, as Director from 1987 until last year, 

and as Vice Director until August. In 

addition, he served as an ARRL Foundation 

Director from 1994 until 1999. As a director 

and vice director, Quiat logged a long record 

of service. Among other accomplishments, 

he chaired the Legal Strategy Committee 

appointed in 1986 and served as a member 

of the Part 97 Rewrite Committee in 1988. 

He also was instrumental in the success of 

the League’s PRB-1 effort. 

Haynie has named Warren G. “Rev” 

Morton, WS7W, of Casper, Wyoming, to 

complete Quiat’s term of office as vice 

director, which runs 

through next year. 

Morton served two 

terms as Wyoming Section 

Manager, from 1993 until 

1997. While in that office, 

he spearheaded the successful 

effort to enact a 

PRB-1 bill in his state. 

(Morton’s efforts are detailed 

in “Wyoming Hams WS7W 

Warren G. 

Morton, 

Corral City and County 

Antenna Restrictions,” QST, Jul 1998.) 

HAM GEAR DELIVERED TO ISS 

The Amateur Radio on the International 

Space Station initial station equipment was 

delivered to the ISS in September. Shuttle 

Atlantis mission STS-106 also dropped off 

supplies that the ISS Expedition 1 crew will 

need this fall. After opening the station, the 

STS-106 team of astronauts and 

cosmonauts, which included three hams, 

unloaded the cargo—including the ham 

ARRL PHOTO 

Rick Lindquist, N1RL Senior News Editor 


Astronaut Ed Lu, KC5WKJ, checks supplies inside the shuttle prior to his spacewalk. 

gear—from Atlantis and from a docked 

Russian Progress rocket and set the ISS up 

for its first crew. 

The initial station gear now stowed 

aboard the ISS includes amateur VHF and 

UHF hand-held transceivers as well as a 

TNC for packet, a special headset and 

signal adapter module, and power adapters 

and interconnecting cables. 

No Amateur Radio operation will take 

place from the ISS until the Expedition 1 

crew of US astronaut Bill Shepherd, 

KD5GSL, and Russian Cosmonauts Sergei 

Krikalev, U5MIR, and Yuri Gaidzenko 

comes aboard in early November. 

As part of the shuttle Atlantis mission, 

US astronaut Ed Lu, KC5WKJ, and 

Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko 

completed a more than six-hour space walk 

on September 11. Lu and Malenchenko 

attached nine power, data and communication 

cables to the Russian-built Zvezda 

service module Zarya control module. 

Other amateurs aboard Atlantis included 

astronauts Dan Burbank, KC5ZSX, and 

Richard Mastracchio, KC5ZTE. 

The ARISS initial station gear will be 

installed temporarily aboard Zarya and use 

an existing antenna that’s being adapted to 

support FM voice and packet on 2 meters. 

The gear will be re-installed in the Zvezda 

Service Module next year, and it will have 

both 2-meter and 70-cm capabilities. The 

gear has been certified to operate from the 

Russian sector of the ISS, where a Russian 

call sign, RZ3DZR, will be used. German 

call sign DL0ISS has been issued, and US 

call signs for use aboard the ISS are pending. 

For more information visit the ARISS 

Web site, http://ariss.gsfc.nasa.gov/. 

TWO AMATEURS DIE IN WEST 

TIMOR VIOLENCE 

Two of the three United Nations workers 

killed by a mob September 6 in West Timor, 

Indonesia, were Amateur Radio operators. 


NASA 

Pero Simundza, 9A4SP, of Split, Croatia, 

had been in West Timor for nearly one year 

and had been active as 4W/9A4SP and as 

4W6SP. He was 29. Carlos Luis Caceres, 

KD4SYB, a Technician licensee from 

Jacksonville, Florida, was 33. He was an 

ARRL member and a native of Puerto Rico. 

Simundza, Caceres, and Samson 

Aregahegn of Ethiopia died when thousands 

of armed pro-Indonesian militiamen and 

their supporters stormed a UN office in 

Atambua, West Timor. Witnesses say the 

mob beat the three UN workers to death then 

burned their bodies in the street while 

Indonesian security forces stood by and did 

nothing to stop the violence. 

The UN staffers, who all worked for the 

UN High Commissioner for Refugees, had 

been involved in helping refugees from the 

conflict with East Timor, which voted last 

year to break away from Indonesia. 

Prior to his service in West Timor, 

Simundza had been working for the UNHCR 

in his native Croatia and in Bosnia- 

Herzegovina. Simundza managed communications 

for the Atambua UNHCR office. 

In an eerie e-mail message said to have 

been sent by Caceres to UNHCR 

Headquarters the day he was killed, Caceres 

spoke of the UN workers’ being barricaded 

at their stations waiting for “a wave of 

violence” to hit. “The militias are on the 

way,” he wrote, “and I am sure they will do 

their best to demolish this office.” Caceres 

told his colleague that the remaining UN 

staff members were “like bait, unarmed, 

waiting for the wave to hit.” 

Caceres’ sister, Elba M. Caceres, was 

among those wanting to know why no one was 

there to protect the workers who stayed behind. 

Caceres’ father, Gregorio Caceres, 

KA4UXJ, said his son was fluent in several 

languages and held degrees in journalism 

and law. 

Memorial Web sites for the two 

In Brief 

• Question Pool Committee chair steps down: Ray Adams, W4CPA, has resigned as the 

chairman of the National Conference of Volunteer Examiners’ Question Pool Committee. 

“After pondering over the situation for an extended period of time, it is my firm conclusion 

that the best interests of Amateur Radio will be served by my resigning as a member of 

the Question Pool Committee,” said Adams, 64, in an announcement to the nation’s VECs 

and others. NCVEC Chairman Win Guin, W2GLJ, said Adams’ decision came as a surprise. 

“Ray has done an outstanding job, and we will surely miss him in that important role.” 

Guin asked that QPC vice chairman Scotty Neustadter, W4WW, of the Central America 

VEC assume the chairmanship. An ARRL Life Member, Adams had served as a member 

of the QPC since its inception in 1986 and had been chairman since 1989. 

• AO-27 is back on the air! The AO-27 satellite has returned to analog Amateur Radio 

service. AO-27 ground controller Chuck Wyrick, KM4NZ, advises operators to wait 

until they hear the satellite in analog mode—ie, no data being sent—before transmitting 

on the 145.850 MHz uplink frequency. AO-27’s downlink is 436.800 MHz. AO-27’s 

computer crashed July 31, and it took more than one attempt to reload the software and 

get the satellite up and running again. “A lot of work has saved AO-27 for many more 

enjoyable amateur QSOs,” Wyrick said in a posting to the AMSAT bulletin board. 

• New W6 Incoming QSL Bureau manager: ARRL W6 Incoming QSL Bureau Manager 

Archie Willis, W6LPJ, has retired after almost 27 years on the job. Steve Frick, N6QEK, 

is the new manager. The new W6 Incoming QSL Bureau address will be: ARRL Sixth 

District Incoming QSL Bureau, PO Box 900069, San Diego, CA 92190-0069. 

• RAC seeks elimination of 12 WPM Morse requirement: Radio Amateurs of Canada 

has asked Industry Canada—the Canadian equivalent of the FCC—to discontinue that 

country’s 12 WPM Morse code requirement in favor of a 5 WPM test. The RAC Board 

says it’s concluded that a majority of Canadian Amateurs support dropping the 12 WPM 

Morse test—although it acknowledges that many are against the change. “A decision 

by Canada to drop the 12 WPM test would be in harmony with what is happening in 

other parts of the world and would simplify the negotiation and implementation of 

reciprocal operating agreements,” the RAC said. In a letter to Industry Canada, RAC 

President Kenneth Oelke, VE6AFO, recommended full HF operating privileges to amateurs 

passing a 5 WPM Morse test and written exams. At the same time, Oelke requested 

that the IC consider beefing up written tests.—RAC

FCC News 

FCC TURNS DOWN CB DX PETITION 

The FCC in August denied a petition that 

would have amended the FCC’s Part 95 

rules to permit DXing on the 11-meter 

Citizens Band. The petition sought to 

amend §95.413 of the rules that prohibits 

communications or attempts to communicate 

with CB stations more than 250 km 

away and to contact stations in other 

countries. 

Designated RM-9807, the petition was 

filed by Popular Communications 

Contributing Editor Alan Dixon, N3HOE. 

“Dixon’s request is inconsistent with the 

purpose of the CB Radio Service and could 

fundamentally alter the nature of the 

service,” the FCC said in turning town the 

petition. 

The FCC said CB operators generally 

supported the proposal, asserting that the 

present rule was unenforceable. The ARRL 

commented in opposition to the petition. 

“The Amateur Radio Service is the proper 

forum for the desired long-distance 

communications sought by the Dixon 

petition,” the League told the FCC. 

The FCC agreed with the ARRL and said 

it did not intend to create a service 

paralleling the Amateur Service when it 

authorized the Citizens Radio Service. 

The National Association of Broadcasters 

also opposed Dixon’s petition. The 

NAB said consumers must be protected 

from illegal CB transmissions that interfere 

with radio, TV and other consumer 

electronics. 

RF SAFETY RULES NOW IN FORCE 

FOR ALL AMATEURS 

The time has come! September 1 was the 

date for all US amateurs to fully comply 

with the FCC’s RF safety rules. 

The regulations, which went into effect 

January 1, 1998, require US Amateur Radio 

operators to read and understand the 

rules and, where necessary, perform technical 

evaluations to determine that their 

stations are compliant with the new regulations. 

Before September 1, only hams filing 

an Amateur Radio application with the 

FCC had to certify compliance. Under the 

regulations, an amateur station must not 

exceed the maximum permissible exposure 

limits for transmitter operation. MPEs are 

both frequency and power-dependent. 

ARRL Lab Supervisor Ed Hare, W1RFI, 

said the regulations do not impose a major 

burden on amateurs. “Most hams are already 

in compliance with the MPE requirements; 

some hams will need to conduct a 

simple station evaluation,” he said. 

A complete description of the rules and 

station evaluation resources are available on 

the ARRL Web site at http://www.arrl .org 

/news/rfsafety/. 

The topic of RF exposure and safety also 

has been covered extensively in QST (see 

“FCC RF-Exposure Regulations—the Station 

Evaluation” by Ed Hare, W1RFI, QST, 

Jan 1998). Hare also wrote the standard 

Amateur Radio reference on the topic of RF 

exposure, RF Exposure and You ($15; order 

item #6621 from ARRL). The book includes 

step-by-step worksheets to help determine 

if a station complies with the rules—and, if 

not, how to correct the problem. 

Address questions about RF safety to Ed 

Hare, W1RFI, ehare@arrl.org. 

Amateur Enforcement News 

• FCC cancels license of “Captain Truth” 

suspect: The FCC has canceled the license 

of the individual it strongly suspects was 

“Captain Truth.” The Commission notified 

John M. Yount of Newton, North Carolina, 

on September 5 that it was canceling his 

Amateur Extra class ticket, K4QIJ, because 

he failed to appear for re-examination. The 

FCC zeroed in on Yount last spring as a 

prime suspect in its “Captain Truth” 

investigation into unidentified Amateur 

Radio transmissions and malicious 

interference. FCC Special Counsel for 

Amateur Radio Enforcement Riley 

Hollingsworth had written Yount on March 

29, citing FCC and other close-in monitoring 

evidence that indicated Yount’s station was 

the source of “malicious interference and 

jamming” on 20 and 75 meters. “Captain 

Truth” has not been heard on the air since 

the FCC’s initial letter. The FCC says radiodirection 

finding bearings led to Yount’s 

residence and antenna. Part of its monitoring 

evidence resulted from work done by the 

FCC’s High-Frequency Direction Finding 

facility. Yount suggested in his only reply 

to the FCC that there were a lot of vehicles 

and other houses on his property and that 

someone else could have been responsible 

for the transmissions the FCC had monitored 

and tracked. Hollingsworth said he wrote 

Yount again on June 1 to seek clarification 

and additional information in the ongoing 

investigation. “I never heard from him 

again,” Hollingsworth told the ARRL. After 

failing to get a reply, Hollingsworth wrote 

Yount on July 17 requesting that he retake 

his examinations by September 1. “And he 

never showed up,” he said. Hollingsworth 

warned Yount that continued operation of 

radio transmitting equipment after 

September 5 could result in criminal 

prosecution. 

• FCC sets aside VE team leader’s 

renewal: The FCC wrote Amateur Extra 

licensee Julian Sanchez Colon, KP4RA, on 

August 14, setting aside the July 28 renewal 

of his license. The application has reverted 

to pending status. “This action was based 

on allegations of irregularities in an 

Amateur Radio examination that you, as VE 

team leader, administered on March 18, 

2000, in Salinas, Puerto Rico,” wrote FCC 

Special Counsel for Amateur Radio 

Enforcement Riley Hollingsworth. The 

session was held under the auspices of the 

W5YI-VEC. Hollingsworth said the FCC 

would be requesting that Sanchez Colon 

provide specific information and 

documentation needed to investigate the 

allegations and to make a decision on his 

renewal application. The W5YI-VEC last 

April decertified all of its volunteer 

examiners in Puerto Rico and put its 

program there under the administration of 

the Arecibo Observatory Amateur Radio 

Club. 

amateurs killed were established at http:// 

www.qsl.net/kd4syb and http://www 

.qsl.net/9a4sp. 

UK-CANADA CROSSBAND LF QSO 

COMPLETED 

Getting a leg up on the Transatlantic II 

LF tests planned for November, amateurs 

in the UK and in Canada completed a 

crossband LF-HF contact September 10. 

The contact involved well-known “LowFer” 

Dave Bowman, G0MRF, operating on 

135.711 kHz and John Currie, VE1ZJ, on 

Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada, 

operating on 20 meters. 

“Dave had a surprisingly strong signal 

into FN95, Cape Breton Island,” Currie said 

in an e-mail message to André Kesteloot, 

N4ICK, who’s involved with the Amateur 

Radio Research and Development Corporation—AMRAD—LF 

experiment in the US. 

Using Spectrogram software, Currie reported 

observing “weak dashes” from 

G0MRF just after 2205 UTC on September 

9. Currie said he had “solid copy” on 

G0MRF by 2245 UTC, and the crossband 

QSO was completed on September 10 at 

0008 UTC. “I could see every dot and 

dash,” he reported. 

Bowman says he was operating from a 

fifteenth-floor West London flat. The antenna 

was two sloping 250-foot long wires 

about 80 degrees apart. Grounding was via 

the building’s plumbing. Loading involved 

fixed and variable inductors. Bowman estimated 

maximum power into the antenna 

at 700 W, but at one point, he dropped his 

power to about 320 W and VE1ZJ was still 

copying. “Even allowing for the large antenna, 

I believe this shows that many UK/ 

EU stations will be able to make the transatlantic 

path this winter,” Bowman said. 

Canada has not yet authorized Amateur 

Radio operation at 136 kHz, but some stations 

have been given permission to experi- 


ment there. Larry Kayser, VA3LK, and Mitch 

Powell, VE3OT, completed the first two-way 

LF contact in Canada on July 22 on 136 kHz, 

using very slow-speed CW (dubbed “QRSS”) 

in preparation for TransAtlantic II. 

TransAtlantic II will attempt to span the 

Atlantic in both directions on LF. The tests 

are set to occur November 10-27 from 

Newfoundland. Details are available at 

http://www.rac.ca/vlftest.htm. 

AMRAD has been conducting LF beacon 

tests on 136.75 kHz from 12 Northern Virginia 

sites using the experimental call sign 

WA2XTF. Visit the AMRAD Web page for 

more information, http://www.amrad .org/. 

The ARRL is awaiting an FCC decision 

on its petition to the FCC for two lowfrequency 

amateur allocations. 

ARRL AND REACT STEP TOGETHER 

ARRL and REACT—Radio Emergency 

Associated Communications Teams—took 

some first steps together this summer. The 

ARRL Board of Directors in July approved 

a memorandum of understanding between 

the two radio organizations, and League 

officials were on hand for the REACT 2000 

International Convention in Kissimmee, 

Florida, later that same month. 

“REACT folks are dedicated to public 

NOTABLE SILENT KEYS 

GUILLERMO SCHWARZ, KP3S, SK 

service, responding dependably to cover 

emergencies, marathons and other charity 

events,” said ARRL Southern Florida 

Section Manager Phyllisan West, KA4FZI, 

who set up and staffed an ARRL exhibit 

table for REACT’s 25th annual convention. 

“They operate mainly on GMRS and FRS 

to avoid problems of unlicensed CB 

channels, and are excited about working 

more closely with hams.” 

West said REACT conventioneers 

snapped up copies of The ARRL Public 

Service Communications Manual at the 

ARRL table.West said she encouraged those 

not already licensed to get their tickets “to 

enhance their ability to participate in 

emergency communications.” 

While REACT has been associated 

primarily with Citizens Band in the past, 

the organization has broadened its focus to 

embrace amateur and other services. Convention 

chairman Walt Young called 

REACT “just another radio group that is 

doing the same basic job as ham radio 

operators” that provides emergency 

communications when and where needed. 

“The trick is to get various groups to work 

together,” he said. 

REACT International has a Web site at 

http://www.reactintl.org/. 

Former ARRL Puerto Rico Section Manager Guillermo M. 

Schwarz, KP3S, and his wife, Hildelisa, died July 29 after Schwarz’s 

single-engine experimental aircraft crashed while attempting a final 

landing approach at Wayne County Airport near Wooster, Ohio. The 

Federal Aviation Administration is investigating. The couple had 

flown to the mainland on vacation. 

Schwarz, 49, was Puerto Rico’s Section Manager from October 

1994 until September 1998 and had been serving as a Southeastern 

Division Assistant Director since 1996. 

Former ARRL Field Services Manager Rick Palm, K1CE, remembered 

Schwarz as an enthusiastic volunteer who inspired others. 

Puerto Rico SM Victor Madera, KP4PQ, called Guillermo 

Schwarz “an excellent ham, a good friend.” He said that Schwarz, 

who had piloted B-52s in the service, had only completed building the aircraft a few weeks 

earlier. 

In addition to the couple’s four children, survivors include Guillermo Schwarz’ father, 

William Schwarz, KP4EEB. 

ALFREDO LUCIANO, LU6DJX, SK 

World-class DXer Alfredo Luciano, LU6DJX, died August 7. He was 91. QST DX Editor 

Bernie McClenny, W3UR, described Luciano as “the top DXer from South America and the 

leading DXer outside of the USA.” First licensed in 1928, he was on the DXCC Honor Roll with 

384 countries confirmed (mixed). During the 1999 Dayton DX dinner, Luciano was awarded 

a special plaque in honor of his accomplishments.—Mario dos Santos, LW1EWY; Bernie 

McClenny, W3UR 

GEORGE D. “DEWEY” WILSON SR, W7HF, SK 

The ARRL’s most senior member has died. George “Dewey” Wilson, W7HF, of Aberdeen, 

Washington, died July 8. He was 102 and had been a member of the League and an active 

amateur for more than 70 years. “Besides being a tremendous Amateur Radio supporter and 

enthusiast, he was also the last of a local pioneer lumber family of Aberdeen,” said Bob 

Maxfield, W7LEO, president of the Grays Harbor Amateur Radio Club to which Wilson belonged. 

Wilson also was an active QCWA member. Born in 1897, he was first licensed as 7GW 

in 1913—although he admitted to a little bootlegging before that time—making him among the 

nation’s earliest licensed amateurs.—Bob Maxfield, W7LEO 

SECTION MANAGER ELECTION 

NOTICE 

To all ARRL members in the Arizona, 

Arkansas, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, 

Montana, North Texas, Orange, and Wyoming. 

You are hereby solicited for nominating 

petitions pursuant to an election for 

Section Manager (SM). Incumbents are 

listed on page 12 of this issue. 

To be valid, a petition must contain the 

signatures of five or more full ARRL 

members residing in the section concerned. 

Photocopied signatures are not acceptable. 

No petition is valid without at 

least five signatures, and it is advisable 

to have a few more than five signatures 

on each petition. Petition forms (FSD- 

129) are available on request from ARRL 

Headquarters but are not required. We 

suggest the following format: 

(Place and Date) 

Field & Educational Services Manager, 

ARRL 

225 Main St 

Newington, CT 06111 

We, the undersigned full members of 

the ______ ARRL section of the ______ 

division, hereby nominate ______ as candidate 

for Section Manager for this section 

for the next two-year term of office. 

(Signature___ Call Sign___ City__ ZIP___) 

Any candidate for the office of Section 

Manager must be a resident of the 

section, a licensed amateur of Technician 

class or higher and a full member of the 

League for a continuous term of at least 

two years immediately preceding receipt 

of a petition for nomination. Petitions 

must be received at Headquarters by 4 PM 

Eastern Time on December 8, 2000. 

Whenever more than one member is nominated 

in a single section, ballots will be 

mailed from Headquarters on or before 

January 2, 2001, to full members of record 

as of December 8, 2000, which is the closing 

date for nominations. Returns will be 

counted February 20, 2001. Section Managers 

elected as a result of the above procedure 

will take office April 1, 2001. 

If only one valid petition is received 

from a section, that nominee shall be declared 

elected without opposition for a 

two-year term beginning April 1, 2001. If 

no petitions are received from a section 

by the specified closing date, such section 

will be resolicited in the April 2001 

QST. A Section Manager elected through 

the resolicitation will serve a term of 18 

months. Vacancies in any Section 

Manager’s office between elections are 

filled by the Field & Educational Services 

Manager. You are urged to take the initiative 

and file a nomination petition immediately.—Rosalie 

White, K1STO, Field & 

Educational Services Manager 

REPEAT NOMINATING SOLICITATION 

Since no petitions were received for 

the Minnesota and North Dakota Section 

Manager elections by the deadline of June 

9, 2000, nominating petitions are herewith 

resolicited. See the above details on how 

to nominate. 


PUBLIC SERVICE 

National Weather Service/ARRL Special Event 

Mark your calendars! On December 2, 

2000, the National Weather Service (NWS) 

and the ARRL will co-sponsor an on-theair 

special event from 0000 UTC to 2400 

(Friday night through Saturday). 

There are four main objectives for the 

National Weather Service Special Event 

(NWSSE): Most importantly, the special 

event stations will commemorate the 

contributions that Amateur Radio operators 

make during times of threatening weather. 

Second, it would create an opportunity for 

NWS personnel to meet Amateur Radio 

operators, and it would also give Amateur 

Radio operators an opportunity to examine 

NWS operations. Third, it will encourage 

NWS personnel to actually get on the radio 

(under the supervision of a control operator) 

and, hopefully, encourage them to acquire 

an operating license. Fourth, it will be fun! 

The NWSSE Web site has complete 

operating instructions, a list of participating 

NWS stations and QSL information. Log 

onto http://www.nws.noaa.gov/event2000/ 

for complete details. 

Operating Event Guidelines 

The objective is for Amateur Radio 

operators at NWS sites to work as many 

other amateur stations as possible. If 

you would like to set up a special event at 

a National Weather Service office, it will 

be the responsibility of the local Amateur 

Radio club or group to provide equipment 

and configure your operating area with 

appropriate antennas. Please coordinate 

with your local NWS office, and register 

the station with Scott Mentzer, 

KB0WP, at scott.mentzer@noaa.gov by 

November 15. 

The NWS Special Event will take place 

in the General and/or Technician part of the 

bands. VHF operations are encouraged and 

repeater contacts are allowed. Most 

contacts will occur on the bands between 

80 and 10 meters. Entities that utilize 

specific frequencies on a routine basis (eg, 

National Hurricane Center) are encouraged 

to use those frequencies during the event. 

The actual frequency from which a NWSSE 

station operates is left to the local 

operator’s discretion. (The ARRL 160- 

Meter Contest will run during the NWS 

Special Event. Therefore, special event 

stations will not operate on that band.) 

Although phone will be the primary 

operating mode, event stations will be 

encouraged to use the following digital 

modes: CW, PSK-31, APRS and RTTY. 

NWS Special Event operators will append 

“NWS” to the end of their call signs (eg, 

W0A/NWS) when using digital modes. The 

QSO exchange will include call sign, signal 

report, location, and a one or two-word 

description of the weather occurring at your 

site (“sunny,” “partly cloudy,” “windy,” 

etc). 

Certificate with Endorsements 

The National Weather Service Special 

Event will award a certificate with 

endorsements. An endorsement is basically 

a sticker that is placed on the certificate if 

certain goals are reached. To obtain your 

certificate, create a handwritten log of NWS 

stations worked and indicate the endorsements 

you are applying for. You may also 

link to the certificate endorsement log at 

this address: http://www.nws.noaa.gov/ 

event2000/SpecialEvent2000.PDF. 

Enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope, 

and mail both items to: 

National Weather Service Special Event 

920 Armory Rd 

Goodland, KS 67735 

Here’s a list of the endorsements and 

qualifying criteria: 

Blizzard: Work 5 NWS offices in the 

northern plains 

Fire Weather: Work 5 NWS offices with 

fire weather support 

Hurricane Hunter: Work 7 NWS offices 

along the Atlantic or Gulf coast 

Hydrology: Work 7 NWS offices or 

River Forecast Centers 

Lake Effect Snow: Work 5 NWS offices 

near the Great Lakes 

Mighty Mississippi: Work 5 NWS offices 

with Mississippi River responsibility 

Monsoon: Work 3 NWS offices in the 

Southwest 

Noreaster: Work 5 NWS offices in the 

Northeast 

NWS Support: Work 3 National Center 

or Headquarter Offices 

Pacific Rim: Work 3 NWS offices along 

the West Coast, in the Pacific, and/or in 

Alaska 

Rocky Mountain: Work 7 NWS offices 

with mountain weather responsibility 

Tornado Alley: Work 7 NWS offices in 

tornado alley 

Digital: Work any 5 NWS offices using 

a non-phone mode 

What About QSL Cards 

In addition to the event certificate, a 

number of individual stations are offering 

QSL cards. A list of those offices accepting 

QSL cards can be found on the NWSSE 

Web site by clicking “QSL Card Info” on 

the menu. 

NWS contact: Scott Mentzer, KB0WPY, 

scott.mentzer@noaa.gov. Telephone: 785- 

899-2360. ARRL contact: Steve Ewald, 

WV1X, sewald@arrl.org. Telephone: 860- 

594-0200. 

COMMUNICATIONS FOR AN 

ENDURO 

By Ken Wilhoit, W4OCW 

Where did it all begin The request for 

communications for a Union Point, Georgia, 

motorcycle Enduro race began with a visit by 

Sam Shaw to a Kennehoochee Amateur Radio 

Club (KARC) breakfast. Sam’s request was 

special because his son had broken a leg in a 

previous Enduro, and had lain in the woods 45 

minutes before emergency aid could get to 

him. Sam next solicited our services by attending 

our hamfest with his Enduro bike and 

full safety gear. 

The Georgia Crackers Motorcycle Club 

sponsored the Enduro. Their members spent 

1500 hours laying out (using GPS units on bike 

handlebars) and clearing the hilly, forested 

trails on land measuring 2 by 4 miles. The digital 

data was downloaded to a digital USGS map, 

producing a topographic map showing trail location 

and incremental mileage. The result was 

49 miles of trails with a race goal of maintaining 

24 mph throughout the course. 

Rene Campbell, KF4ZYN, Ben Dasher, 

KE4YZX, Ian Gaffner, KG4GWR, Lee 

Gassett, KF4OLO, Charles Golsen, N4TZM, 

Dusty Rhodes, W8LJE, Marj Rhodes, 

N4REW, and Ken Wilhoit, W4OCW, drove 

for hours on a cold Sunday morning to the race 

site. They met with Sam to go over assignments 

and the trail layout. 

The 285 riders ranged in age from 16 to over 

70, and rode in 57 rows, five riders in each. 

They were released at one-minute intervals. 

KARC members leapfrogged along the course 

as the 25-mile long procession of racers progressed. 

The longest spacing between radio 

operators was 5 miles. As riders came to an 

operator they could report injured riders and at 

what mileage marker, so emergency medical 

technicians could go directly to the spot. One 

morning report resulted in rescuers arriving to 

aid a rider in 10 minutes. An afternoon report 

resulted in assistance within 5 minutes. 

The combination of the map and the communications 

expertise of KARC made a highly 

successful operation, and the radio amateurs 

received good training in emergency communications. 

Lots of riders said “thank you,” and 

that made for a pleasant experience. It was 

Rosalie White, K1STO Field & Educational Services Manager 


excellent exposure for Amateur Radio. Just 

another public service You decide, and then 

volunteer for the next event! 

THOUGHTS ON A SUCCESSFUL 

ARES STRIKE TEAM 

By Rob Macedo, KD1CY, ARES SKYWARN 

Coordinator (NWS Taunton) and EC, New 

Bedford, Massachusetts 

I think the key requirement for any 

successful ARES strike team is that they 

should have an agency to serve. SKYWARN 

is very active in Eastern Massachusetts 

because we’ve crossed what I like to call the 

“hidden barrier.” Amateur Radio operators 

are viewed as “a necessity” instead of a “nice 

thing to have.” That, to me, is the hardest 

thing to accomplish. Our local NWS office 

demands more of us because we deliver, and 

that’s the key to getting a served agency to 

work closely with the hams. You must 

demonstrate that the benefit of ham 

involvement is superior to agency’s cost (in 

time and money) to mount an equivalent 

response. Whether it’s emergency 

management, Red Cross, Salvation Army or 

the National Weather Service, you must 

establish a need and get the agency to realize 

Public Service Stats 

Field Organization Reports 

Public Service Honor Roll 

August 2000 

This listing is to recognize amateurs whose public service 

performance during the month indicated qualifies for 70 or 

more total points in the following 8 categories (as reported 

to their Section Managers). Please note the maximum 

points for each category: 1) Checking into a public service 

net, using any mode, 1 point each; maximum 60. 2) 

Performing as Net Control Station (NCS) for a public service 

net, using any mode, 3 points each; maximum 24. 3) 

Performing assigned liaison between public service nets, 3 

points each; maximum 24. 4) Delivering a formal message 

to a third party, 1 point each; no limit. 5) Originating a 

formal message from a third party, 1 point each; no limit. 6) 

Serving as an ARRL field appointee or Section Manager, 10 

points each appointment; maximum 30. 7) Participating in 

a communications network for a public service event, 10 

points each event; no limit. 8) Providing and maintaining 

an automated digital system that handles ARRL radiogramformatted 

messages; 30 points. Stations that qualify for 

PSHR 12 consecutive months, or 18 out of a 24-month 

period, will be awarded a certificate from HQ on written 

notification of qualifying months to the Public Service Branch 

at HQ. 

934 

NM1K 

549 

K9JPS 

448 

N5JZ 

391 

K5NHJ 

318 

W9RCW 

290 

KK5GY 

280 

WA5OUV 

271 

KJ3E 

266 

KB5WEE 

248 

KF4NFP 

246 

KB2RTZ 

231 

KA2ZNZ 

222 

W7TVA 

221 

WD8V 

212 

KC5OZT 

207 

KK3F 

WB5ZED 

K7BDU 

206 

W6DOB 

202 

N2LTC 

198 

KA4FZI 

197 

W4ZJY 

195 

K7VVC 

193 

WA9VND 

186 

KB8ZYY 

KA5KLU 

183 

NN7H 

182 

N2OPJ 

178 

K9FHI 

176 

KC4ZHF 

AA4BN 

172 

K2UL 

171 

W4EAT 

WA3HJC 

N2RPI 

170 

W6IVV 

169 

KA2GJV 

168 

K6YR 

164 

W5ZX 

WB2UVB 

AD4DO 

163 

WB4GM 

N2JBA 

162 

W8YS 

161 

K5IQZ 

160 

W3YVQ 

KB2VRO 


K1JPG 

159 

N8JGS 

158 

KC4TLG 

KB2VVB 

157 

K0IBS 

156 

N5XGI 

155 

WA1JVV 

154 

K2DN 

WN0Y 

152 

K4IWW 

151 

WA4QXT 

N8FPN 

N8IO 

N2YJZ 

150 

W4CAC 

N7YSS 

149 

NY2V 

WA5I 

148 

WA1FNM 

WB5NKC 

147 

W0OYH 

146 

WB2ZCM 

K4SCL 

145 

W2RJL 

144 

K8GA 

KJ4N/2 

143 

KB2KLH 

142 

W5GKH 

KB5W 

KC2AHS 

141 

N8BV 

140 

WA4DOX 

W0LAW 

W7NWP 

KT4PM 

139 

W2MTA 

W7GB 

WO0A 

The Yavapai County, Arizona, Amateur Radio Club, in cooperation with Yavapai 

County ARES/RACES, provided public safety communications for the Prescott 

Frontier Days Parade on July 1, 2000. Net control was conducted from their 

communications van, and the van itself was also an entry in the parade. District 

Emergency Coordinator and Radio Officer Lloyd Halgunseth, WA6ZZJ, is the driver. 

that your group is ideally suited to meet it. 

The steps to success are fourfold: (1) 

Work in parallel with one or two served 

agencies. Work toward using the tools of 

technology (e-mail as well as regular mail), 

and generate interest among local clubs; (2) 

Meld a working relationship between the 

agencies you choose to serve and the hams 

N9BDL 

NR2F 

W7ZIW 

AD4IH 

K4RBR 

138 

N2KPR 

N5OUJ 

W2EAG 

KT6A 

N5IKN 

KD4GR 

137 

KA1GWE 

AF4GF 

136 

WB2GTG 

135 

W0WWR 

AA3SB 

W3VK 

WD4JJ 

KC2DAA 

134 

KC4PZA 

W9YCV 

KC5VLW 

133 

KE4JHJ 

WX8Y 

W3BBQ 

N3WK 

KB2ETO 

N2AKZ 

132 

KC7SRL 

131 

AA3GV 

W9CBE 

130 

WA2YBM 

K9LGU 

AF4PU 

W7BO 

129 

N0SU 

WA0TFC 

WB2FGL 

W7LG 

128 

AF4NS 

K2GTS 

NN2H 

WA2UKX 

WB2QIX 

N5NAV 

K5VV 

NZ1D 

WD8DHC 

KB5TCH 

127 

K7GXZ 

126 

KK1A 

N3ZKP 

W1PEX 

125 

K8KV 

W4NTI 

W1ALE 

WX4H 

124 

WD9FLJ 

123 

AA8SN 

N2WDS 

W5CDX 

KF6OIF 

N1LKJ 

N7AIK 

122 

W3CB 

AF4QZ 

WA8SSI 

W2JHO 

KD1LE 

121 

W2FR 

AA2SV 

KE1AI 

120 

KC2EOT 

KG2D 

K5DPG 

N9TVT 

K4DMH 

KA7AID 

W2PII 

119 

W4UC 

K0PIZ 

KA4UIV 

N9MN 

118 

KI4YV 

NC4ML 

W4CKS 

K4MTX 

AA4AT 

N7DRP 

N3WKE 

KA2DBD 

AD6LW 

KJ9J 

W9ZY 

K9GBR 

KA8WNO 

K7MQF 

116 

KB0DTI 

WB4TVY 

W1JX 

WB2IIV 

AB4XK 

115 

WA8EYQ 

114 

K4YVX 

K5MC 

WD9HII 

K2VX 

W8SZU 

113 

K2PB 

WA4EIC 

112 

AF2K 

WD0GUF 

N8DD 

AG9G 

WB5NKD 

111 

KC6NBI 

W1QU 

W2AKT 

KB4DXN 

K4FQU 

110 

AB4E 

KO4OL 

K4BG 

109 

W4WXA 

K4WKT 

108 

KB2WII 

W2MTO 

107 

K8VFZ 

106 

KF4KSN 

105 

W4DGH 

104 

N5JUU 

103 

N1JBD 

102 

WI2G 

101 

KT4TD 

KE4VBA 

100 

WI8K 

W2LC 

99 

AA4YW 

KR4MU 

KE6MIW 

KC8CON 

W5AYX 

W5MEN 

KJ7SI 

W4AUN 

98 

W4XI 

KA2CQX 

97 

KA2BCE 

KG5GE 

KF5A 

KE4WBI 

96 

KB1DSB 

W2JG 

95 

W1JTH 

KC8HTP 

WA2CUW 

KC8GMT 

KC3Y 

94 

WA2GUP 

KE4GYR 

W5XX 

WB4PAM 

KG4CHW 

93 

W4CC 

N3WAV 

92 

KA4LRM 

91 

AA8PI 

W8IVF 

KE4DNO 

90 

WA4GLS 

W7QM 

WB2LEZ 

KD4HGU 

89 

KA1VEC 

AF4CD 

88 

AD4XV 

N1CPX 

87 

K8ZJU 

W4QHU 

N9KNJ 

KA2ZKM 

86 

WB4ZNB 

KB3AMO 

KE0K 

85 

WA8DHB 

84 

W4PIM 

K1SEC 

83 

W7VSE 

K8LEN 

K9ZVT 

KM5VA 

82 

WB9GIU 

81 

KC7SGM 

80 

WB4UHC 

WA4EYU 

78 

KC7SGL 

WA2YOW 

76 

K3CSX 

W2CC 

N5GG 

75 

WA1QAA 

W2GUT 

74 

K3UWO 

N4JAQ 

73 

KJ5YY 

N1SGB 

72 

KE3FL 

N1IST 

70 

AE4MR 

The following stations qualified for PSHR in previous months, 

but their call signs and scores were not listed in this column: 

(July) K7VVC 252, N2KPR 148, W2FR 109, KE0K 100, 

KB2WII 85. (Jun) K7VVC 202. (May) K7VVC 234. 

that is based on a business/real job model; 

(3) Have an activation structure that will 

activate regardless of whether the main 

coordinators are available and (4) Work 

Public Service events as practice for ARES 

activations. If you do these things over a 

period of time, you can build a program that 

will be solid for years to come. 

Section Traffic Manager Reports 


The following ARRL Section Traffic Managers reported: AL, 

AR, AK, CO, CT, ENY, EPA, EWA, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, 

LA, MDC, MI, MN, NC, NFL, NH, NNJ, NTX, NV, OH, OK, 

OR, SBAR, SC, SD, SDG, SFL, SNJ, STX, TN, VA, VT, 

WCF, WI, WMA, WNY, WPA, WWA, WY. 

Section Emergency Coordinator Reports 


The following ARRL Section Emergency Coordinators 

reported: ENY, EWA, IN, KY, KS, LA, MDC, MI, MN, MO, 

NFL, NLI, OH, SD, SFL, STX, SV (North), TN, VA, WCF, 

WNY, WMA. 

Brass Pounders League 


The BPL is open to all amateurs in the US, Canada and US 

possessions who report to their SMs a total of 500 points or 

a sum of 100 or more origination and delivery points for any 

calendar month. All messages must be handled on amateur 

frequencies within 48 hours of receipt in standard ARRL 

radiogram format. 

Call Orig Rcvd Sent Dlvd Total 

NM1K 775 1001 913 1 2710 

KK3F 19 1200 1160 40 2419 

WB5ZED 11 548 591 28 1178 

WX4H 6 500 510 13 1029 

K9JPS 0 465 43 452 960 

W9IHW 0 444 38 397 879 

W1PEX 0 138 712 12 862 

W5SEG 33 388 418 0 839 

K7VVC 19 376 422 8 825 

N2LTC 0 362 413 24 799 

N5JZ 298 66 308 12 684 

W6DOB 0 298 300 68 666 

N5IKN 0 329 329 0 658 

KA2ZNZ 22 299 239 71 631 

WA9VND 8 371 250 7 626 

K7BDU 33 306 269 6 614 

WA5OUV 0 272 56 276 604 

K5NHJ 242 61 273 21 597 

K6YR 0 283 302 0 585 

KK5GY 0 216 40 216 575 

W9YPY 0 259 293 0 552 

KC5OZT 2 242 200 62 506 

KA1VEC 10 237 245 8 500 

BPL for 100 or more originations plus deliveries: K9GU 

188, WZ7V 164, KJ3E 143, KB5WEE 125. 

PATTI HALGUNSETH

HOW’S DX 

Pero Simundza, 9A4SP, March 18, 1971 – September 6, 2000 

This month’s column is dedicated to the 

Amateur Radio men and women of the 

United Nations and their agencies throughout 

the world, and to the memory of a fallen 

hero: Pero Simundza.—Bernie, W3UR 

As we go to press 

I’ve received the sad 

news of the passing 

of Pero Simundza, 

9A4SP/4W6SP, a 

29-year-old Amateur 

Radio operator 

from Split, Croatia. 

Pero started working in East Timor in April 

2000 for the United Nations High Commissioner 

for Refugees (UNHCR), very close 

to the East Timor/West Timor border. On 

September 6, 2000, Pero was working in 

the UNHCR building in Atambua, West 

Timor, Indonesia when an angry mob attacked 

the building, killing him and two 

other innocent workers. The Associated 

Press reported, “Thousands of pro 

Indonesian militiamen and their supporters 

stormed a UN office in West Timor Wednesday, 

killing an American and two other foreign 

UN staffers and burning their bodies.” 

Amazingly, approximately 30 other 

UNHCR people made it out alive and were 

later evacuated from West Timor. Pero was 

a radio operator and had been working for 

UNHCR since 1992. In 1996 he was working 

in Mostar, Bosnia Herzegovina, and was 

active as T98P. During late 1999 Pero was 

stationed in Tirana, Albania and operated 

as ZA/9A4SP. 

Pero was not the only amateur killed in 

Atambua on that fateful day. An American, 

Carlos Caceres, KD4SYB, was also among 

the staff who died at the UNHCR building. 

Perhaps we should all take this time to 

reflect on the difficult situations that some 

of the DX operators who bring us great joy 

are faced with every day. The next time you 

find yourself sitting in your shack trying to 

work one of those rare or semi-rare countries, 

think about the people on the other 

ends of the pileups. Having been in East 

Timor earlier this year, I can understand 

some of the difficulties the UN personnel 

have to live with. They face long hours, 

sometimes without family, and they don’t 

get paid nearly enough. Amateur Radio and 

the world have surely lost a true humanitarian. 

Rest in peace, Pero Simundza. Our sincere 

condolences to the Simundza family. 

Pero Simundza, 9A4SP, operating as 

4W6SP from East Timor, very close to 

the East/West border. 

9A2AA 

CAPE VERDE ISLANDS—D4 

The Cape Verde Islands are a republic consisting 

of 12 volcanic islands in the Atlantic 

Ocean, most of which are inhabited. Praia is 

the capital city located on Sao Tiago Island, 

which is located at 14° 47' North 23° 35' West, 

just off the west coast of Africa. Ca’da Mosto, 

a Venetian navigator in service of Prince 

Henry of Portugal, discovered the islands in 

1456. Settlement did not take place until 1462 

by the Portuguese, who made it an official 

colony. Over the years both the French and 

English fought over the islands. In 1951, Cape 

Verde became a Portuguese overseas province 

and on July 5, 1975, became independent. 

There are about 350,000 residents on the 

islands, of which only three are Amateur Radio 

operators. Carlos, D44CA, is located in 

Mindela on Sao Vicente Island (AF-086). 

Angelo, D44BS, and his wife Zizi, D44BW, 

live in the capital. Old timers will remember 

working Julio, D44BC, who became a Silent 

Key last year. 

Spanish operators Manuel, EA8BYG and 

Jose, EA8EE/EA5CPU, have announced they 

will be active from the Cape Verde Islands in 

early November. The two will be operating 

The Cape Verde 

Islands are made 

up of 12 islands 

with some 350,000 

inhabitants, of 

which only three 

are Amateur Radio 

operators. 

from the home of Carlos, D44CA, on the Island 

of Sao Vicente from November 1 to 8. 

They plan to be active on all bands, including 

6 meters. Look for them to be QRV on CW, 

SSB, RTTY, PSK31, HELL, MFSK16, MT63, 

SSTV and PACTOR. IC-706 MKIIG and TS- 

440 transceivers will be used along with an 

A4S beam and a vertical antenna. The logs will 

be updated daily on http://www.qsl.net/ 

dxgrancanaria/. QSL cards will be handled 

by EA8URL. 

TUNISIA—3V 

It’s hard to believe, with all the recent activity, 

that Tunisia remains on the 100 Most 

Wanted list. For those who still need this one 

you’ll get another chance this month as a 

mostly German team will activate TS7N from 

Kerkennah Island (AS-NEW). This is good 

news for both IOTA and WPX chasers as this 

will be an all-time new one for both awards. 

DL1BDF 

Mustapha Landoulsi (right), DL1BDF, 

hands a 3V8CB QSL card to Mr. Lzahar 

(left), director of the center for the new 

Boy Scout station in Tunisia. 

Bernie McClenny, W3UR 3025 Hobbs Rd, Glenwood, MD 21738-9728 w3ur@arrl.org 


The team will be QRV from the island starting 

November 14 and ending on the 28. One of 

their goals for this operation is to concentrate on 

W6/W7, JA and VK. The operators include 

Andy, DJ7IK; Mustapha, DL1BDF; Andi, 

DL9USA; Tom, DL1GGT; Gunter, DJ9CB; 

Ruth, IT9ESZ; Britt, DL6BCF; Jun, JH4RHF; 

Ralf, DL3EA; Carsten, DL1EFD; Walter, 

DL6SAQ; Falk, DK7YY; Fernanda, I2RLX and 

Michael, DL2EBX. 

This IOTA DXpedition plans to do something 

a little different. They will display the 

status of their operations live on the Internet. 

The Web page will show the station number, 

frequency they are transmitting on, mode, operator 

call, beam direction, pictures and other 

comments. Check out their home page at 

http://qsy.to/ts7n/. 

While on the island they will participate in 

the CQ World Wide CW DX Contest as a multisingle. 

Before and after the contest they will be 

active on all bands from 6 to 160 meters on CW, 

SSB and the digital modes. QSL via DL6BCF 

either via the DARC Bureau, or direct to Britt 

Koester, Pützstr 9, 45144 Essen, Germany. 

MACQUARIE ISLAND—VK0 

Macquarie Island is an Australian sub-Antarctic 

island located 1,368 kilometers (850 

miles) southeast of Tasmania in the Southern 

Pacific Ocean. For those trying to find it on the 

map, it can be found at 54° 30' South 158° 57' 

East. The island is administered by Tasmanian 

Parks and Wildlife Service and is 34 kilometers 

long by 5 kilometers wide. Captain Frederick 

Hasselborough was credited as the discoverer 

of this remote island while sailing the Perseverance 

on a sealing 

voyage. He was the 

first to record the 

sighting of Macquarie 

Island on July 11, 

1810, and named the 

island after Governor 

Lachlan Macquarie of 

New South Wales, 

Australia. 

The island was 

mostly used for sealing 

until 1919 when 

seal oil production 

ceased. Many scientific 

expeditions have 

taken place on the island throughout the years. 

In 1948 the Australian government established 

the first permanent scientific station. The Australian 

National Antarctic Research Expedition 

(ANARE) designated the island as a state reserve 

in 1972, then renamed it as the Macquarie 

Island Nature Reserve in 1978. This makes it 

impossible for any DXpedition to operate from 

the 11th most wanted country on the ARRL 

DXCC list. 

The only operations from Macquarie Island 

must be those of ANARE employees. Over the 

past twenty or so years, minor operations have 

taken place from Robyn, VK0AE; Alan, 

VK0AN; Graeme, VK0GC; Graeme, VK0NE; 

Tom, VK0TS; and Warren, VK0WH. Typically 

the operators are usually the radio technicians on 

the island and stay for a 12-month stint. 

The latest operator is Alan A. Cheshire, 

VK0MM, who is the island’s Co-coordinating 

Communications Technical Officer. He arrived 

on Macquarie Island in November 1999 

and took to the airwaves as VK0LD. To celebrate 

the new millennium he changed calls to 

VK0MM on January 1, 2000. Alan was active 

for 24 hours as AX0LD in late January. He is 

probably one of the more interesting operators 


we have seen on the air in recent years. All of 

his scheduled operations have been listed on 

his Web site at http://www.geocities.com/ 

vk0ld/. 

Alan expects to leave the island on November 

12 when the 

ANARE 2000 team departs 

and the ANARE 

2001 crew takes over. 

He has made more 

QSOs from Macquarie 

Island than all of the 

previous operators 

combined, although he 

would not say how 

many contacts he has 

made. QSL information 

will not be available 

until closer to the 

end of his assignment. 

If you still need this 

one, you’d better hurry. 

Alan says that there 

will not be an Amateur 

Radio operator among 

the 2001 crew. On top 

Alan A. Cheshire, 

VK0MM, has also 

operated as 

VK6CQ, VK8AC, 

A4XYF, VP8PT, 

G4EEL, VS5AC/ 

V85AC and 

P29AC. 

of that Alan says, “It is now ANARE policy to 

discourage amateur operations from the Australian 

Antarctic stations (Mawson, Davis, 

Casey & Macquarie Island).” In the weeks that 

remain, look for Alan to be only on 30 meters 

CW and 20 meters CW and SSB. For those 

who were fortunate to work Alan as AX0LD 

on January 25 or 26, you may QSL to the Sao 

Paulo CW Group (CWSP), PO Box 1807, Sao 

Paulo SP 01059–970, Brazil. 

MAURITIUS ISLAND—3B8 

Sigi, DL7DF, and Tom, DL7BO, just can’t 

get enough of the DXpedition scene. In 

October they wrapped up their 5V7 and 

XT2OW operations. This month they will operate 

from the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius. 

No call was mentioned at press time, but more 

than likely they will sign 3B8/home calls. They 

plan to be active on 6 through 160 meters on 

CW, SSB and RTTY. Sigi and his operators are 

topnotch and they always put in a great effort 

on the low bands. Suggested frequencies are as 

follows: SSB—1847, 3777, 7077, 14177, 

18137, 21277, 24937, 28477 and 50123; CW— 

1824, 3511, 7011, 10111, 14011, 18087, 21011, 

24907 and 28011; RTTY—14087, 21087 and 

28087. A Web site has been set up at http:// 

www.qsl.net/dl7df/. QSL to DL7DF via the 

DARC QSL bureau, or direct to Sigi Presch, 

Wilhelmsmuehlenweg 123, D-12621 Berlin, 

Germany. 

VIETNAM—3W 

Hans Glista, WA1LWS, says he is planning 

another trip to Vietnam this month. If all 

goes well, he will be on the air as 3W2LSW 

from November 9 to November 26 and plans to 

participate in the CQ World Wide CW DX 

Contest. As before, Hans will operate exclusively 

CW and make as many QSOs as band 

conditions permit. He is applying for operating 

privileges on 10, 15, 20, 40 and 80 meters. 

However, authorization for 80 and 40 may not 

be granted. We will have to wait and see. 

VATICAN—HV 

ARRL Contest Manger Dan Henderson, 

N1ND, will be attending the Pescara DX Convention 

in Italy on November 25 and 26. Before 

the convention he plans to spend a few days 

operating from the Vatican. He’ll be using 

HV0A, a special Jubilee 2000 call sign, around 

November 22 to 24. Look for him mostly on 

SSB with some CW on all the bands, but mostly 

10, 15 and 20 meters. QSL via IK0FVC. 

ALSO THIS MONTH… 

November 4 and 5 Amateur Radio operators 

from South Korea will be attending the HL DX 

Convention in Cheonan (130 km south of Seoul). 

One of the topics will be a talk of a future operation 

with their DX brothers and sisters in 

Pyongyang. They anticipate some 150 DXers 

from HL. DXCC Field checking will be done 

also. For more information contact Lee, 

DS1BHE, by e-mail at centaurs@hitel.net. This 

year’s SEANET Convention will be held on 

November 17 through 19 in Pattaya, Thailand. 

Those interested may contact Ray Gerrard, HS0/ 

G3NOM by e-mail at g3nom@ibm.net, or by 

writing to PO Box 1300, Bangkok 10112, Thailand. 

The CQ World Wide CW DX Contest will 

be held on November 25 and 26. Keep an ear on 

the bands starting around November 19 for contest 

DXpeditions to start testing their equipment 

and antennas. This is one of the best contests for 

working DX, and so is the week prior! Watch 

your favorite DX bulletin for more contest 

DXpeditions. 

W5 QSL BUREAU ON THE INTERNET 

Remember hearing people on the air saying 

the Internet would be the end of Amateur Radio. 

Boy, were they wrong! In fact, it’s actually enhanced 

the hobby. One of those enhancements is 

the W5 QSL Bureau on-line. Yep, the members 

of the Magnolia DX Association (MDXA) have 

thrown out the gauntlet at http://www.mdxa 

.org/buro.html. If you’re a W5 and on the 

Internet, this is not new news to you, but those of 

us not in W5 land should see what these guys 

have done. Just like most of the other US QSL 

bureaus, the W5 QSL bureau has 26 sorters, one 

for each letter, and all with e-mail. 20 of the sorters 

have databases that are available on-line, listing 

the calls of the stations they are responsible 

for, the cards they are holding, the envelopes on 

file, the last mailing, and additional information. 

The site has all the information needed to claim 

cards, QSL bureau tips, monthly statistics and 

even a complaint department. Hats off to the guys 

and gals in the MDXA. 

ARRL OUTGOING QSL SERVICE 

Just a reminder that all QSL cards going to 

the ARRL Outgoing QSL Service must be 

sorted in alphabetical order by country prefix 

& the correct fee enclosed. Full details can be 

obtained at http://www.arrl.org/qsl/qslout 

.html, or in the September 2000 issue of QST 

page 67, or by writing the ARRL. 

DXCC MILLENNIUM AWARD 

This is just a reminder concerning the DXCC 

2000 Millennium Award, which is available to 

anyone working 100 DXCC entities on the 

ARRL DXCC List this year. No cards are 

needed for this separate and distinct award. For 

complete details check out the December 1999 

issue of QST, page 47. Applications can be obtained 

on-line at http://www.arrl.org/awards/ 

dxcc, or by writing the ARRL. 

WRAP UP 

This month’s column could not have 

been possible without the help of D44BS, 

DJ7UC, DL1BDF, DL7DF, EA8EE, G3NOM, 

N1ND, N5FG, T93Y, The Daily DX, VK0MM, 

WA1LWS and WC7N. Please keep sending 

those newsletters, pictures and DX information. 

Until next month, see you in the pileups!— 

Bernie, W3UR

VHF in China 

THE WORLD ABOVE 50 MHZ 

China is an immense country halfway 

around the globe, with an area greater than 

the 48 United States and a population of 

more than 1.2 billion. Amateur Radio in 

China has a long history, stretching back 

more than sixty years, but during the past 

decade, activity has increased noticeably on 

all bands, including VHF. 

Like many other areas of Chinese life, 

Amateur Radio was transformed during the 

reforms of the early 1990s. One significant 

change has been the licensing of private 

home stations for the first time in many 

years. By the end of 1999, there were 850 

individual stations and as many licensed 

operators in China, along with 140 club stations 

(BY prefixes). With prior authorization, 

foreign Radio Amateurs may operate 

club stations only, and several Americans 

have done so in recent years. It is now common 

enough to hear Chinese calls on all the 

HF bands, and there is growing interest in 

VHF as well. 

Chinese amateurs in each of three license 

classes (BA, BD and BG prefixes) 

have access to the 6- and 2-meter, 70- and 

23-cm bands. (See Table 1 for details.) Sixmeter 

operation is generally permitted only 

in the southernmost province, Guangdong 

(with its population of 60 million), largely 

due to the continued presence of television 

broadcasting near 49.750 MHz elsewhere 

in the country. 

About 10 stations have been active on 

6-meter SSB/CW from Guangdong in recent 

years, with a few others reported occasionally 

from other provinces. 

Guangdong call signs include the number 

“7” with suffixes beginning with the letters 

I through P, such as BA7JG, BD7IB 

and BG7LP. Any other 6-meter operations 

presumably have special permission. BI4X 

and similar calls with the BI prefix are reserved 

for special island expeditions, some 

of which have included 6-meter stations. 

The most active 6-meter operator in all 

of China is probably Mars Liu, BG7OH, of 

Shenzhen. Liu operates primarily on SSB 

using a JRC JST-245 and a 4-element 

6-meter Yagi perched on the roof of his 

seven-story apartment building. In little 

more than two years of operating, Liu has 

already accumulated 40 DXCC entities, 

including such rare catches as 9N6CT, 

A45ZN, EY8CQ and S21YJ. He can also 

be found on 28.330 MHz using a 3-element 

Yagi, but Liu’s license does not allow him 

Mars Liu, BG7OH, welcomed W3EP, the first overseas foreign Radio Amateur ever 

to visit his station in Shenzhen, on July 1. Liu has been the most active of the 

dozen or so 6-meter operators in China. Several enthusiastic 6-meter operators 

from Hong Kong kindly accompanied me on this visit. From left to right are VR2IL, 

BG7OH, VR2XMT, W3EP, VR2XRW and VR2PM. For more photos, set your browser to 

http://www.qsl.net/vr2dxa/w3ep.htm. 

to operate on 28.885, the 6-meter liaison 

frequency. 

Two-meter activity is just getting started 

in China. Apparently, there are no FM repeaters, 

although Chinese Radio Amateurs 

sometimes show up on the Hong Kong 

machines. BY4BJA has been reported on 

AO10, and further interest in satellites may 

provide an avenue to expand SSB/CW activities 

on the higher VHF bands. During 

spring 1998, the club station BY1QH (with 

the aid of SM0KAK) made quite a number 

of 2-meter moonbounce contacts, and this 

activity may have inspired some continuing 

interest in EME. 

Hong Kong 

Hong Kong and the New Territories, 

with a population of about seven million, 

have constituted a Special Administrative 

This Month 

November 17-18 

November 19 

November 18-19 

Leonids meteor 

shower peaks 

Very good EME 

conditions 

ARRL EME Contest 

(second weekend) 

Region of China since 1997. Hong Kong 

has about 1500 licensed radio amateurs and 

a well-established tradition of VHF activity. 

The Hong Kong Amateur Radio DX 

Association (HARDXA) provides the primary 

focus for organized VHF activity. See 

the HARDXA Web site at http://www 

.qsl.net/vr2dxa/. 

At least two dozen operators are active 

on 6-meter SSB and CW, including VR2IL, 

VR2PM, VR2LC, VR2EQ, VR2XMT, 

VR2XMQ, VR2XRW and VR2ZYJ. Typical 

stations run 150 W and 5-element Yagis, 

although VHF operating conditions are often 

hampered by crowded conditions, hilly 

local topography, many tall buildings and 

urban RFI problems. Six-meter operators 

follow the Japanese DX Packet Cluster 

spots, but they sometimes feel lost in the 

huge pileups of Japanese stations during 

openings to East Asia. Nevertheless, they 

are eager DXers, and most of them are still 

looking forward to their first contacts with 

Europe and North America. The VR2SIX 

beacon runs 10 W to a 1 /2λ vertical on 

50.075 MHz. 

Local activity on 2 meters is even more 

popular, aided by four FM repeaters and 

two packet digipeaters. There is even some 

VR2IL PHOTO 

Emil Pocock, W3EP Box 100, Lebanon, CT 06249 (Voice 860-642-4347, fax 860-594-0259) w3ep@arrl.org 


2-meter FM DXing. Taiwanese 2-meter FM 

operators sometimes make the 700 km 

stretch to Hong Kong repeaters via tropospheric 

paths across the South China Sea. 

These contacts provide Hong Kong operators 

with some DX excitement and 

propagation news, especially concerning 

conditions to Japan. 

Two-meter SSB and CW activity has 

been modest, primarily due to Hong Kong’s 

relative isolation and challenging operating 

conditions. HARDXA members have 

set up a VHF Field Day-style station on the 

relative isolation of Tate’s Cairn, just north 

of Kowloon. From there, they participate 

in the annual Two Meter SSB Whole Country 

Migration Communication and the Pan- 

Asian 2-Meter SSB Propagation Test. 

VHFers in Japan, Russia, Korea, China, 

Taiwan, Australia, the Philippines, as well 

as Hong Kong, participate in these events. 

In the 26th running of the Whole Country 

Migration Communication this past 

July, for example, the HARDXA station 

VR2K heard nothing beyond Hong Kong 

on 2 meters, but Taiwanese stations made a 

flurry of 2-meter sporadic-E contacts into 

Japan. VR2K had to settle for 150 QSOs 

via 6-meter E-skip to Japan and Korea. For 

more information and photos of the activities 

from Hong Kong perspective, browse 

the HARDXA Web site. 

Several operators, including Charlie Ho, 

VR2XMT, and Steve Beesley, VR2XMQ, 

have 2 meter and 70 cm SSB/CW equipment 

set up at home primarily for satellite 

work, but they are willing to use their stations 

for terrestrial contacts and even EME. 

One additional problem is that 2-meter 

weak-signal activity in both Hong Kong 

and China has been frustrated by interference 

from pagers in the low end of the band. 

Despite the difficulties, both Charlie and 

Steve are keen to expand their VHF horizons. 

What big gun will give them their first 

EME contacts 

Taiwan 

There is also significant VHF activity 

from Taiwan, the island nation of 22 million 

population and 68,000 licensed radio 

amateurs 150 km from the Chinese mainland. 

Several Taiwanese stations, including 

BX2AB, BO2YA, BX4AG and BM6ADL 

have been active on 6 meters during the past 

several years. The Taiwanese maintain a 

number of 2-meter repeaters, and many 

operators have FM equipment. BV3CE and 

BV1AL have also been active on the satellites, 

especially AO10, but there is only a 

modest amount SSB/CW activity on the 

band. 

Sporadic-E has provided the greatest DX 

opportunities for Taiwan 2-meter operators. 

In addition to successes during the 26th 

Whole Country Migration Communication, 


Table 1 

VHF/UHF Allocations in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan 

Band China Hong Kong Taiwan 

6 m 50.000—50.100* 50.050—51.500 50.000—50.012.5 

50.100—54.000 52.025—52.110 50.110—50.122.5 

2 m 144.000—144.100* 144.000—146.000 144.000—146.000 

144.100—148.000 

70 cm 430.000—430.100* 430.000—431.000 430.000—432.000 

430.100—440.000 435.000—436.000 

437.000—437.200 

23 cm 1260.000—1300.000 None 1260.000—1265.000 

*CW only. China has exclusive subbands for satellite and television in the 2m, 70 cm, 

and 23 cm bands. Hong Kong also has allocations at 5 cm (5.725—5.850 GHz), 12 

mm (22.00—24.25 GHz), 6 mm (47.0—47.2 GHz), 4 mm (75.5—76.0 and 76.0—81.0 

GHz), and 2 mm (142.0—144.0 GHz). Taiwan also has an allocation at 13 cm (2.440— 

2.450 GHz). 

BW0VHF made 21 QSOs with Japan during 

an E-skip opening on June 3, according 

to Hatsuo Yoshida, JA1VOK. Hatsuo’s 

2-meter contact with BW0VHF during that 

opening was his first with Taiwan, completed 

over an respectable 2100-km path. 

Macau 

There are relatively few active stations 

in Macau, a Special Administrative Region 

of China since 1999, located 60 km west 

of Hong Kong. Aside from local 2-meter 

FM activity, there have been few sustained 

VHF operations from this enclave of not 

quite half a million. XX9TSS, XX9TRR 

and XX9TVP have made 6-meter contacts 

recently, but Hong Kong VHFers are under 

the impression that much of the 6 meter 

activity over the past dozen years has been 

by foreign visitors. 

Prospects 

Long-term prospects for VHF and UHF 

in China are good, especially as the number 

of radio amateurs in China is bound to 

increase. Current band allocations through 

23 cm are sufficient to support many different 

activities, including FM and FM repeaters, 

television, digital modes, satellite, 

EME and weak-signal DX. Stations capable 

of making worldwide SSB/CW contacts 

through Earth satellites hold special promise, 

as they can also be used to take advantage 

of favorable terrestrial propagation and 

even to complete EME contacts. 

The highest incidence of sporadic-E 

propagation anywhere in the world occurs 

over Southeast Asia, ideally situated for stations 

in China and surrounding countries. 

There are good indications that tropospheric 

ducting is common across the South 

China Sea, perhaps supporting contacts into 

the 3000-km range from China as far as the 

Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore and even 

Indonesia. The possibilities of VHF ducting 

across the Pacific to Guam (over 

3000 km) and even farther may be 

comparable to the California–Hawaii path. 

Perhaps in the near future we will be 

reading about extraordinary VHF and UHF 

activity from China, with its huge population, 

vast area and a nearly ideal geographic 

location to take advantage of a variety of 

DX propagation modes. Many thanks to 

BG7OH, VR2XMT, VR2XMQ, VR2IL and 

JA1VOK for their generous help in answering 

questions and providing information for 

this article. 

ON THE BANDS 

August is normally a transitional month 

for VHF propagation modes, especially during 

solar-cycle peaks. Sporadic-E declines 

from its long summer season just as tropospheric 

ducting becomes more widespread. 

There is a greater chance for aurora, auroral- 

E and transequatorial propagation as the 

autumnal equinox approaches. The reliable 

Perseids meteor shower completes the August 

menu. This August, there was a good deal of 

each kind of propagation to keep VHFers 

busy. Indeed, on August 12, large areas of the 

country experienced aurora, auroral E, tropospheric 

ducting and meteor scatter simultaneously. 

In addition to calls mentioned in the summaries, 

many thanks to WA2EZG, WB2AMU, 

WV2V, K3IB, KU4WW, N5TIF, W7GJ, 

W8RU, KB7WW and XE2EED for their valuable 

reports. Dates and times are all UTC. 

Six Meter DX 

A mixture of late-season sporadic-E to 

Europe and a number of surprisingly earlyseason 

north-south F-layer contacts provided 

DX thrills for August. At the same time, 

Europeans were already making great runs 

into Africa, the adjacent Indian Ocean and 

even to South America. Activity in the 

western Pacific also picked up as August progressed. 

All this occurred about a month earlier 

than in previous peak-sunspot years. 

Stations as widely scattered as KQ1V 

(FN43), N8II (FM19) and W9/VE2CDP 

(EM48) made a few sporadic-E contacts with 

Spain and Portugal on August 4, between 2000 

and 2120. This was undoubtedly the last opening 

of a most productive transatlantic E-skip 

season. 

On August 29 around 2230, Mick 

McManus, W1JJM (FN31), WB8XX (EM79) 

and N8KOL (EN80) hooked up with ZD8KW 

on Ascension Island in the South Atlantic. The

propagation mode was not clear, but it was 

probably a sporadic-E link to a dense F-layer 

region off the West African coast. Europeans 

were also working ZD8KW and South Africa 

about the same time. On August 30 at 1640, 

N5KME posted a contact with 3C5I (Equatorial 

Guinea) on the DX Packetcluster. 

Activity from the Pacific got an early start. 

On August 3 around 0140, VK3HK made a 

lone contact with W8JI/4 (EM73) and was 

heard by W3CMP (FN11). After 2345 on both 

August 3 and 4, VP6PAC (Pitcairn Island), 

worked K5XX (EM21), K5SW (EM25), 

N8KOL (EN80) and others in Ohio, Maryland 

and Virginia, at least. XE2EED, N6XQ and 

W6BYA worked ZL3TIC, ZL3FOX, ZL4WA 

and ZL3GS on August 20 between 2250 and 

2310. 

The biggest flurry of contacts came from 

South America, the usual source of early-season 

F-layer DX. Jose Carbini, LU6DRV, and 

other Argentines made widely scattered contacts 

across the US on the late afternoons of 

August 3 (New Mexico), 4 (Texas), 20 (Idaho, 

California and Arizona), 21 (Georgia) and 31 

(New England). 

Other South Americans made it into the 

US during the month. K5SW and K5IX 

(EL29) were among the lucky few to find 

CE3SAD on August 3 and 4. K5CM (EM25) 

reported HC8GR/b on August 28, but no live 

stations. YV4DDK heard KB4TEQ and other 

W4s on August 30, but no contacts resulted. 

PX2XB worked W3JO (FM29), W1RA 

(FN41), W3BO (FN20), N4MM (FM17) and 

several others on August 31 after 2300. This 

was all just a teaser for what undoubtedly has 

already been an exciting September and 

October. 

Sporadic E 

Six-meter operators enjoyed E-skip openings 

on August 4, 5, 15-18 and 22 somewhere 

across the US and Canada. The openings of 

the 4th and 5th were notable for double-hop 

conditions, especially between the W1 and 

W7 call areas. Several stations scattered 

through the Pacific Northwest reported C6, 

CO, XE and ZF stations on August 4 after 

0200. 

Two-meter operators also had opportunities 

to make E-skip contacts during rare openings 

on August 4 and 5. Shuler Ringley, 

KB4DFK (EM86), in southwestern Virginia, 

made three such contacts into southeastern 

Texas after 0100 on the fourth. Other reported 

paths that evening were Kansas to Florida, and 

Iowa and Nebraska to New York and New 

England states. 

Two meters opened again for sporadic E 

the next evening for more than two hours beginning 

around 0030. In general, activity 

seemed to move northward over the eastern 

half of the country during this period. Ken 

Reecy, AC4TO (EM70), in the Florida panhandle, 

ran 13 QSOs into Texas, Oklahoma, 

Kansas, Arkansas and Missouri after 0035. By 

0100, stations in South Dakota, Minnesota, 

Iowa and Nebraska were making a flurry of 

contacts into all of the New England states, 

New York and New Jersey, including W0ZQ 

(EN34), who made 14 contacts with the Northeast. 

Dave Johnston, KQ1V (FN43), gave 

Maine to three happy Iowa and Nebraska stations. 

WB0LUX (EN04, South Dakota) provided 

a new state to W3EP (FN31) with a 

2200 km QSO, perhaps the longest of the 

opening. 

Aurora and Auroral E 

August 10 through 12 provided some of 

the most intense and widespread aurora and 

auroral-E activity since—well, since July 15- 

16. These events were spaced just about 27 

days apart, or one solar rotation, suggesting 

that the same active region of the sun was responsible. 

It is too early to tell as this was 

being written whether there was a third great 

aurora around September 8-9, just before the 

September VHF Contest. 

The August 10-11 aurora began late in the 

evening. The K index hit five at 2100 on 

August 10 and rose to seven by 0600 before 

falling throughout the morning. Russ 

Holshouser, K4QI (FM06), heard a few raspy 

2-meter stations peaking due north after 2330, 

but activity was low. W3EP made 10 auroral 

QSOs on 2 meters between 0035 and 0245, 

but none farther south than New Jersey. 

The main excitement that morning was the 

strong auroral-E opening on 6 meters, which 

became evident by 0200 and persisted through 

0630. Soon after 0200, Arliss Thompson, 

W7XU/0 (EN13), copied the OX3VHF 

(HP15), VE8BY (FP53), VE4/KG0VL 

(EO26) and VE8WD (DP22) beacons, as did 

many stations from New England across the 

Midwest. Big things were expected, and stations 

across Alaska, Canada and the northern 

third of the US did not have long to wait. 

Within the hour, VE9AA (FN65), VO1GO 

(FN95), VO1TJM (GN08) and other Maritime 

Canadians were running stations all the way 

to the West Coast. VO2/DL2KG (FO93), who 

had brought an FT-100 and a 2-element Yagi 

while on temporary assignment in Goose Bay, 

provided added excitement. His best DX of 

the morning was with VE7SL (CN88) at about 

4235 km. 

Simultaneously, KL7RG (CO35), KL7NO 

(BP54), KL7FH (BP51), NL7Z (BP51) and 

perhaps other Alaskans were working into the 

lower 48 states as far eastward as New England. 

Some long contacts included NL7Z to VE9AA 

(5335 km) and KL7NO to W3EP (5250 km). 

Aurora returned with even greater intensity 

the next evening. The K index was five at 

0000 August 12, seven at 0300, and then nine 

(the highest on the scale) at 0600. It remained 

at seven during the next three reporting intervals 

before declining to five at 1800. All this 

made for an intense geomagnetic storm, but 

unfortunately, auroral signals were not evident 

until 0430. Most operators had probably 

called it quits for the evening or were napping 

in anticipation of running meteor scatter in 

the early morning. 

What a surprise greeted those hearty 

VHFers who got on the air after 0500! Twometer 

aurora signals were strong as far south 

as a line from southern Utah, through Arkansas, 

to central Georgia. K4QI (FM06) was 

among those who got up intending to work 

meteor scatter, but ended up instead making 

75 aurora contacts on 144 and 222 MHz. His 

longest 2-meter QSO was with N0KQY 

(DM98), 1980 km distant. 

K7ICW (DM37) was delighted to work 

K0QMS (EN31) in Iowa at 0843, also over a 

1900-km path. “I was astonished,” Al wrote. 

“This was my first aurora QSO from my vacation 

get-away near Duck Creek Village, Utah 

. . . I can’t ever remember hearing aurora out 

here in the West in August! Dick’s signals 

were 55A and he gave me 53A.” Ironically, 

the pair duplicated the contact via meteor scatter 

within an hour. 

Others had equally good success on 2 

meters. VE2PIJ (FN35), who was making contacts 

as early as 0435, worked west to EN40 

and south to FM19. Herb Krumich, WA2FGK 

(FN21), made 50 QSOs west to EN10 and south 

to EM44. Dave Calvert, KB0BE (EM48), made 

19 contacts from central Missouri, most of them 

to more northerly stations. Likewise, nearly all 

of N0LL’s contacts from EM09 were stations 

at higher latitudes as far eastward as FN02, 

1700 km away. N0KQY (DM98, in western 

Kansas) found numerous contacts from Washington 

to Virginia. VE3AX (FN02) had a string 

of notable 222 MHz contacts with N0LL, 

KM0T (EN13), K5UR (EM35), W5RCI 

(EM44) and K4QI. 

The subsequent auroral-E propagation, 

which became evident for most 6-meter operators 

after 0745, was not nearly as strong or 

as extensive as the previous morning. Northeastern 

stations heard the OX3VHF and 

VE8WD beacons and made a few contacts into 

the Pacific Northwest, but Alaskans were limited 

to single-hop contacts to the West and 

upper Midwest. 

Perseids Meteor Shower 

Experienced meteor-scatter operators 

were not inspired by the 2000 Perseids. “Meteor 

scatter scheduling and random activity on 

SSB/CW seemed down from recent years,” 

according to W0AH’s comments on the 

Stanford VHF e-mail reflector. K7ICW wrote 

that “this shower was not one of the better 

Perseids that I have worked from Utah or 

Nevada.” Others attached similar comments 

to their reports. “The shower turned out to be 

a real dud,” according to N0LL. K0MQS 

concluded that “the Perseids was a disappointment 

again this year.” 

There may have been a reason for the 

noticeable decline in activity. As W8WN 

commented, everyone was working the strong 

aurora on the morning of the 12th and not 

paying attention to random meteor scatter. It 

was even possible that the aurora diminished 

the effects of meteor scatter, as meteors 

typically leave their ionized trails in the same 

region of the E-layer where aurora has its 

greatest effects on VHF radio propagation. 

Even so, persistent operators did made 

contacts on 144 and 222 MHz. K0GU, for 

example, completed four of eight schedules 

on 222 MHz on the morning of the 12th and 

found conditions best between 0730 and 0930. 

Shelby Ennis, W8WN, identified several flurries 

of activity to the northeast on August 12 

between 1415 and 1515, while Europeans reported 

good success during the predicted peak 

times around 0530 and 1000. 

The most interesting results may have come 

from the growing crowd using high-speed CW 

(HSCW) techniques. Computer-assisted highspeed 

CW makes it easier to use shorter pings 

and perhaps weaker signals, thus often cutting 

down the time necessary to complete a contact. 

It may also be easier to complete contacts near 

the theoretical limit of about 2350 km for meteor-scatter 

paths. Indeed, NJ0M and K9KNW 

completed a notable 2-meter contact over a 

2360 km path during this year’s Perseids using 

HSCW techniques. This may be the longest 

such contact yet reported. 

At least 22 stations also participated in the 

such contact yet reported. At least 22 stations 

also participated in the North American 

HSMS Contest, run just prior to predicted 

Perseids peak. N0KQY, N7STU and K0GU 


completed the first-ever 222 HSCW meteor 

contacts during the contest, according to 

K0XP. Complete results of the North American 

HSMS Contest, sponsored by the Western 

States Weak Signal Society, can be found at 

http://www.qsl.net/k0xp/. 

Tropospheric Ducting 

Tropospheric conditions were quite good 

across the Mississippi Valley through much of 

August, as the central part of the country stagnated 

under a blocking high-pressure system and 

generally hot, dry conditions. Typical 144 

through 1296 MHz contacts were in the 1000- to 

1500-km range from South Dakota, Minnesota, 

Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas to western New 

York, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama. 

N0KQY made some of the longest reported 

contacts from his western Kansas location. 

For several hours after 0000 on August 19, 

Gary found many strong 144, 222, 432 and 

1296 MHz signals eastward as far as Ohio. He 

made 144 and 222 contacts with K8TQK 

(EM89) at about 1580 km and with AA4H 

(EM86) at nearly 1700 km. 

Favorable tropospheric ducting conditions 

continued right to the end of August, when 

K2AXX (FN12) worked 1600 km west to EN13 

on 2 meters. Randy Ebers, WA0I (EM47), who 

just got on 2 meter SSB/CW earlier in the 

month, worked all the way to western New York 

and Canada. Randy has accumulated 82 grids 

on the band in just one month of operating. 

NOTES FROM ALL OVER 

New 10 GHz DX Record 

Congratulations to DJ4AM and DJ3KM, 

who made a record-breaking 2079 km contact 

on 10 GHz this past June 15. According to the 

July/August issue of Israel Ham News, Dieter 

Doerfler, DJ4AM, set up his station on one 

of the upper floors of the Residence Hotel 

in Netanya, Israel (KM72kh). Adalbert 

Kaufmann, DJ3KM, operated from the Italian 

island of Lampedusa (JM65hm) off the North 

African coast. The pair was able to maintain 

their trans-Mediterranean QSO for about an 

hour. 

The Mediterranean Sea, site of the July 

1983 10 GHz record contact of 1666 km (which 

stood for 11 years), is well known for its strong, 

stable ducts. The pair chose their operating 

locations carefully and made lengthy calculations 

in order to orient their 60-cm dishes with 

the 1° tolerance required. Both used identical 

5 W transverters built and designed by DL1RQ. 

This contact broke the existing 1912 km 

record established in Australia during 

December 1994. It is likely a longer 10 GHz 

mark will be set before another six years passes, 

perhaps across the twice-proven Mediterranean 

once again, or from Hawaii to California. 

VHF/UHF/MICROWAVE NEWS 

Awards 

The ARRL Board of Directors selected Al 

Ward, W5LUA, as the recipient of the ARRL 

Microwave Development Award at its July 21 

meeting. Al has made notable contributions 

over the years in microwave circuit design, 

especially of receiver preamplifiers. 

At its July meeting in Winnipeg, the 

Central States VHF Society presented Steve 

Kostro, N2CEI, with its annual Wilson Award 

and named Kent Britain, WA5VJB, as recipient 

of the annual John T. Chambers Award for 

technical achievement. 

The Northeast VHF Conference honored 

Ron Whitsel, W3RJW (ex-WA3AXV) as recipient 

of its annual Tom Kirby Award at its 

annual August meeting in Enfield, Connecticut. 

Congratulations to all those honored for 

their dedication to the world above 50 MHz. 

FEEDBACK 

The most notable 6-meter transatlantic 

contact for the month of June was left out of 

Table 2 in the September column. On June 24 

at 1631, VE9AA made a contact with 9J2BO 

over an 11,530 km path. Similarly odd contacts 

from eastern North America to Tanzania 

and Malawi have been reported in previous 

years. 

NEW BOOKS 

A PHONE OF OUR OWN: THE DEAF 

INSURRECTION AGAINST MA BELL 

By Harry G. Lang 

Published by Gallaudet University Press, 800 

Florida Ave NE, Washington, DC 20002-3695; 

tel 800-621-2736; TTY 888-630-9347; http:// 

gupress.gallaudet.edu. Hardcover, 6 × 9 inches, 

256 pages. ISBN 1-56368-090-4. $29.95. 

Reviewed by Steve Ford, WB8IMY 

QST Managing Editor 

◊ If you’re compiling a list of technological 

achievements pioneered by Amateur 

Radio operators, don’t forget to include 

teletype (TTY) terminals for the deaf—the 

forerunners of modern TDDs (Telecommunications 

Devices for the Deaf). As 

chronicled by Harry G. Lang in A Phone of 

Our Own: The Deaf Insurrection Against Ma 

Bell, the creation of versatile communication 

devices for the deaf was hardly a straightforward 

process. It’s a story of innovation and 

frustration that spans two decades. 

The late Robert Weitbrecht, W6NRM, was 

a major player in the early days of Amateur 

Radio radioteletype, or RTTY. He was 

instrumental in getting the FCC to expand ham 

RTTY privileges after World War II. 

Weitbrecht was born deaf, so he was 

well aware of the difficulties deaf individuals 

faced when attempting to use non-visual 

communication devices, such as telephones. In 

addition to his fascination with sending teletype 

over radio, he experimented with sending 

teletype signals over ordinary telephone lines. 

By the early 1960s, Weitbrecht had developed 

a dual-tone audio modem and an acoustic 

coupler to translate signals between his 


telephone line and his teletype machinery. 

Weitbrecht’s accomplishment soon came to 

the attention of Dr James Marsters, a deaf 

orthodontist who had also been exploring the 

idea of developing a better telephone 

communication tool for the deaf community. 

At the time, AT&T offered crude devices that 

relied on flashing lights or vibrations to 

communicate just three pieces of information: 

“no,” “yes” and “please repeat.” (AT&T also 

provided their TWX data service, but the cost 

was well beyond the reach of the average deaf 

person.) When Marsters saw Weitbrecht’s 

teletype setup, he was astonished—Weitbrecht 

had invented an affordable device that allowed 

printed text to be sent from one telephone to 

another. Recognizing the huge 

potential benefit to the deaf, Marsters 

and Weitbrecht formed a business 

partnership with wealthy deaf 

businessman Andrew Saks. 

The tale that unfolds in A Phone 

of Our Own: The Deaf Insurrection 

Against Ma Bell has all of the 

elements of a Greek tragedy, 

complete with a doomed hero. 

Initially the trio worked at converting 

cast-off teletype terminals 

for use by the deaf, but these were 

difficult to acquire because AT&T made it a 

practice to destroy old TTYs as a method of 

“competition control.” To make matters 

worse, AT&T claimed the right to terminate 

service to anyone who connected a non-AT&T 

device to their telephone line. It took a lawsuit 

brought by another company to finally remove 

this obstacle in the late ‘60s. 

Weitbrecht, Marsters and Saks attempted to 

convince AT&T to adopt their telephone 

teletype design for deaf customers, but the 

corporation steadfastly refused. So, they 

continued their conversion business and, under 

the engineering guidance of Weitbrecht, 

developed more sophisticated (and much 

smaller) solid-state terminal units. 

Their company, known as APCOM, 

enjoyed considerable success through the 

mid-70s, but it wasn’t to last. Other deaf 

entrepreneurs invented even more compact 

devices. Larger companies were focusing 

their attentions on the market as well. By the 

end of the ‘70s, APCOM folded. 

Harry Lang spins a story that is unflinching 

in its honesty. Although he praises Weitbrecht 

for his accomplishments, Lang stops short of 

elevating him to sainthood. Weitbrecht was as 

neurotic as he was brilliant, and his personality 

quirks often got in the way of 

business. Extremely awkward in 

social settings, Weitbrecht preferred 

to communicate with his partners and 

others through a constant barrage of 

written notes. These notes became 

increasingly bitter and paranoid as the 

years wore on. According to A Phone 

of Our Own: The Deaf Insurrection 

Against Ma Bell, Weitbrecht’s 

behavior was largely responsible for 

the ultimate demise of APCOM and 

the dissolution of the partnership. 

Weitbrecht’s prospects seemed to improve in 

the APCOM aftermath, but his life came to a 

violent end when he was struck and killed by a 

car in 1983. 

This book is compelling technological 

history, with a heavy “ham emphasis” throughout. 

You don’t have to be deaf to be intrigued 

by A Phone of Our Own: The Deaf Insurrection 

Against Ma Bell. On the contrary, you’ll 

come away with a deeper appreciation of 

this little-known struggle for equal 

communication access.

DIGITAL DIMENSION 

The Leonids Meteor Shower Packet Experiment Q&A 

According to the folks who predict such 

things, November 17-18 will be the peak of 

the biggest meteor-shower event of the year. 

As in past showers in past years, ham radio 

operators will try to bounce signals off the 

ionized trails that follow each shooting star. 

SSB and high speed CW are usually the 

weapons of choice when gunning for meteor-shower 

contacts, but over the years, 

there has been a growing number of hams 

who use FM packet radio to ping the falling 

space debris. One of the most active 

groups of packet pingers is PropNET, a coordinated 

network of hams using their computers 

hand-in-hand with their TNCs and 

radios to track the signals propagated by 

meteors. PropNET will be active during 

Leonids and if you are interested in joining 

them in their quest for space communications, 

read the following Q&A dialog 

written by their faithful leader, Ev Tupis, 

W2EV. 

Conventional wisdom dictates that FM 

packet is not suitable for meteor scatter 

work. Why bother 

The state of the art continues to evolve. 

Conventional wisdom once dictated that 

flight in “heavier than air” craft was impossible. 

Past successes prove that FM-based 

packet radio may indeed be used for longdistance 

communication via meteor-trail 

refraction at Amateur Radio power levels. 

Was the 1999 Leonids meteor-shower 

packet experiment a success 

Absolutely! Especially if you gauge success 

by learning lessons and using that 

learned knowledge to establish a vision for 

fine-tuning the process for future attempts. 

Dozens of participants announced the receipt 

of at least one DX packet attributable 

to meteor-trail refraction. 

I participated, but didn’t see any icons on 

my screen, yet my neighbor just 20 miles 

away received two DX stations. What gives 

Welcome to the world of meteor-scatter 

communications. The geometry of RF propagation 

by meteor-trail refraction is such that 

what you describe is actually quite typical, 

especially as operating frequency increases. 

That is to say, you will experience this phenomenon 

more on 2 meters (147.585 MHz) 

than on 6 meters (53.53 MHz). 

Of everyone that I know who participated, 

no one had a screen full of icons like what 

I saw in QST. Who were the lucky people 

with those screens 

No one person had the “screen full of 

icons” that you saw in QST. As noted in the 

November 1999 QST article, those maps 

were composites of all reported successes, 

that is, a pictorial representation of all reported 

successes. 

The frequency was clogged in my (urban) 

area. Why 

Urban areas typically have a higher density 

of hams to potentially participate in any 

activity. Couple that with a small, but very 

costly mistake that was made in the instructions 

for participating, and you have a very 

clogged frequency in high-population areas. 

One TNC parameter was inadvertently 

omitted from the directions. TNCs operate 

in a Carrier Sense Multiple Access (CSMA) 

mode, that is, they wait to transmit until 

after they detect that the channel is clear of 

other signals. Invoking the TNC command 

“FULLDUP ON” would have disabled the 

CSMA function and doing so would have 

opened the frequency significantly. 

What was the most common setup error that 

participants encountered 

Most folks that experienced operation 

problems did so because they failed to 

reset their TNC to the factory defaults prior 

to configuring it for meteor-scatter work. 

What kind of power does it take to assure 

success 

With no reported exception, 2-meter participants 

required a minimum 500 W of ef- 

The PropNET Web 

site (http://go.to/ 

PropNET) has full 

instructions on 

how you can 

participate in this 

year’s Leonids 

meteor shower 

packet experiment. 

fective radiated power (ERP); 6-meter stations 

required a minimum 100 W ERP. This 

is the classic example of “more is better.” 

Transmit with as much RF power as you 

can muster. Small beam antennas seem better 

than omnidirectional antennas or large 

beams, as they bathe the sky with a broad 

pattern, while providing a fair amount of 

receive “gain” as well. 

What frequencies will be used for the experiment 

this year 

Almost everyone will be on 53.53 MHz 

and 147.585 MHz just like last year. 

How can I best stay in contact with other 

packet propagation enthusiasts 

Subscribe to an Internet e-mail list that 

caters to packet propagation enthusiasts. 

Visit the TAPR Web site (http://www.tapr 

.org) and subscribe to the PropNET special 

interest group (SIG). Activity peaks around 

meteor showers and during the summer tropospheric-ducting/inversion 

season. This is 

a low-volume e-mail list. Don’t worry about 

your e-mail box filling daily. Just remember, 

PropNETers and BEACONeters are 

pioneering experimenters. Come and learn 

right along with them! 

I cannot find my November 1999 QST. 

Where can I go to get instructions for participating 

in this year’s round of packet 

meteor-scatter experiments 

Instructions are available at http://go.to/ 

PropNET or http://go.to/BEACONet, 

while November 1999 QST is available on 

the ARRL Periodicals CD-ROM 1999 from 

ARRL headquarters (http://www.arrl.org/ 

shop/). 

Stan Horzepa, WA1LOU One Glen Ave, Wolcott, CT 06716-1442 wa1lou@arrl.net, www.tapr.org/~wa1lou 


RADIOS TO GO 

The Good and The Bad 

In my May column, I asked readers to tell 

me about their “Radio Friendly/Unfriendly” 

vehicles. Response has been excellent, and I 

really appreciate everyone who took the time 

to send details (and pictures) of their mobile 

installations and experiences—good or bad. 

This month, I’m going to share a few of 

those responses with you. As you read, keep 

in mind that no attempt is being made to endorse 

or condemn any particular vehicle, radio 

or antenna. Just because someone else 

is/isn’t having RFI problems with a specific 

vehicle doesn’t guarantee you’ll experience 

the same results. As one reader aptly pointed 

out, not all installations are created equal. 

Remember, too, that some vehicles, 

though villainous generators of RFI, can be 

squelched with simple suppression methods. 

Others cannot. Some auto manufacturers 

are willing to assist owners in dealing 

with RFI/EMI problems. Some are not. 

Many don’t address the use of radio transmitting 

equipment, while some consider it 

unacceptable in any case. Bottom line The 

best approach is to thoroughly research the 

RFI/EMI issue before you buy a vehicle. 

After all, it’s your money! 

Tom Hybiske, K3GM 

I recently purchased a 2000 Chevrolet 

Impala, and 3 days following delivery, proceeded 

to “leave my mark” by punching a 

nice 3 /4-inch hole in the trunk and installing 

a Larson NMO mount dual-band antenna. 

I did some investigation before my 

vehicle purchase and found the Impala to 

be very antenna friendly. Open the trunk 

lid, and you will find oval cutouts in the 

ribs at both center and side locations. The 

trunk lid will easily hold three antennas. 

Also, the designers seemed to locate the rib 

cutout so that you can open the trunk without 

having the antenna tip smack the roof 

of the car; it just misses! I installed my 

ICOM IC-207H in the trunk and used the 

umbilical cable to connect to the front 

panel, which is located nicely in the 

Impala’s front console. I connected the radio 

directly to the battery using 8 AWG 

wire. There is a grommet in the firewall 

directly behind the engine. It’s quite low, 

but very accessible. I have had no engine 

computer or broadcast radio problems on 2 

meters or 70 cm at any power level. 

Michael Gollihue, KC8NRG 

I operate mobile from a 1999 Pontiac 

Grand Am GT1 with ABS, power locks and 

windows, power seats, 8 speaker CD/cassette 

radio and an automatic transmission 

with a 3.4L V6. I use an ICOM IC-2800H 

with a Larsen dual-band mag-mount antenna 

placed on the roof. I generally stay 

on 2 meters while mobile, monitoring the 

local repeaters and 146.52 MHz. There are 

no noticeable RFI problems during transmit, 

but I do hear a slight bit of noise on 

receive. I believe that poorly shielded coax 

and its proximity to the vehicle wiring may 

cause this. (A problem I plan to address.) 

The radio is installed under the center console 

in a large space beneath the radio, out 

of the way of heating ducts, in front of the 

shifter. The “head” of the radio is mounted 

above the rear-view mirror. 

I tried grounding a fan motor 

case and burned up the motor! 

It is obviously not meant to be 

grounded! 

Jon Zaimes, AA1K 

I started HF mobile operation with a 

Kenwood TS-180S in my 1991 Jeep Cherokee, 

equipped with 6-cylinder engine. I 

used a roof-mounted Pro-Am antenna for 

20 meters, switching to a steel whip for 10 

meters. The TS-180S was eventually replaced 

with an ICOM IC-706MK2. The 

Jeep was fairly quiet, but there was a definite 

increase in noise floor as soon as I 

would switch on the ignition (even before 

starting the engine). The noise was S2-3 on 

most bands, but on 15 meters it was the 

worst, perhaps S5-6. There was some ignition 

noise, but I was still able to work 100 

countries, mostly on CW. 

I recently purchased a new 2000 

Volkswagen Jetta TDI with a 5-speed transmission, 

ABS, sunroof and air conditioning. 

Since it’s a diesel, there are no spark 

plugs and no ignition noise! Now I have an 

extremely quiet noise floor; the S meter 

doesn’t move. I do observe slight RFI when 

I switch on the headlights. This produces 

some slight interference every few kHz on 

24 and 28 MHz. The car has daytime running 

lights, but the noise is only present 

when the light switch is on, which illuminates 

the panel and taillights. I haven’t 

experienced any incidents with radio transmissions, 

HF or VHF, causing any problems 

with vehicle operation. 

Dave, KD3PC 

I drive a 1997 Mustang, V6 electronic 

fuel injection with all the options—ABS, 

airbags, power seats, upgraded CD player 

(Alpine), power windows, seats and cell 

phone. I run a Kenwood TM-261 at 50 W 

with only one problem: a slight buzz that 

is picked up in the rear amplified speakers 

at high volume with no audio (ie, between 

tracks). No other problems. 

Bob, WD6L 

I have a 1997 Ford F350 diesel truck 

plagued with an S-5 or greater noise level 

on the 160-10 meter bands. After some detective 

work, I determined the noise is from 

the control unit for the fuel injection pump. 

The noise it generates sounds like a 60-Hz 

buzz. I contacted Ford and spoke to a ham 

there who says that Ford is well aware of 

the problem (they had to modify their 

AM-FM radio to make it work in the 

vehicle). 

Joe Shreve, WD5EGK 

I have a ’96 Ford Taurus SE with electric 

windows and door locks and the V6 engine. 

I run the Ten-Tec Scout with a Hamstick vertical 

and the matching coil and mount from 

the Lakeview Company. Normal operation 

is on 40 meters. I have lots of noise from the 

twin radiator cooling fans. I tried grounding 

a fan motor case and burned up the motor! It 

is obviously not meant to be grounded! A 

0.22 µF capacitor across the fan motor leads 

knocked down some of the noise, but it is 

still extremely strong on 20 meters and 

above, making those bands nearly unusable. 

There is also a hash-type noise that I believe 

is from the ignition. I grounded the trunk lid 

and tailpipe to the body using coax braid and 

that seemed to reduce this particular noise 

source by several dB. 

Perry Churgin, KB2MBE 

My 1996 Ford Windstar states in the 

manual: “No transmitters allowed!” 

QRZ 

It isn’t too late to send me your “Radio 

Friendly/Unfriendly Vehicle” info. As before, 

specify vehicle make and model, radios 

used, problems encountered and if/how they 

were solved. 

FAUX PAS… 

In the July column, I incorrectly listed 

the URL for the home page of the Mobile 

Amateur Radio Awards Club. The correct 

link is: http://marac.org/marac/. Thanks 

to Dennis, KK7X, for pointing out the 

error. 


Roger Burch, WF4N Box 100, Island, KY 42350 wf4n@arrl.org

AT THE FOUNDATION 

Victor C. Clark Program Now Offering $1000 Minigrants! 

We’re happy to announce that the 

Victor C. Clark Youth Incentive Program 

(http://www.arrl.org/arrlf/vicyip.html) is 

now able to offer up to $1000 in matching 

funds to Amateur Radio youth groups. This 

successful program has, over the years, 

helped youth clubs acquire station equipment, 

fund community radio displays, purchase 

needed study materials or kits, and a 

wide range of creative Amateur Radio activities 

that have brought other youngsters 

into the hobby. The incentive part of the 

program is that which young people provide 

directly—hands-on, youth-led leadership. 

They learn, teach, and apply what they 

know to make hamming fun for themselves, 

while opening their minds to future possibilities. 

The seeds of productive, enjoyable 

careers are often sown in young carefree 

minds pursuing hobbies they love. 

Reginald Higginbotom, KB0UOJ, tells us 

about one such group: “Our program, the 

Centerville Area Amateur Radio Youth Program, 

was blessed with a $300 minigrant 

that was used for educational materials and 

equipment for our initial group (8 boys from 

the local Boy Scout Troop #32 and the 

Moulton Christian Church). We hope to 

eventually offer classes for both boys and 

girls and participate in Field Day and Bunny 

Hunting activities. The youth are very grateful 

for this grant.” 

(Right) Members of the Centerville Area 

Amateur Radio Youth Program include: 

Front row, l-r: Chaz Welch, Chris Welch. 

Middle row, l-r: Travis Knowler, Kyle 

Kauzlarich, Calvin Welch. Back row, l-r: 

Reg Higginbottom, KB0UOJ, and Randy 

Welch. Not shown: Michael Kauzlarich, 

Marshal Jay, and Chad Spurgeon. 

REG HIGGINBOTOM, KB0UOJ. 

JOSEPH GUTWEIN, WA9RIJ 

The Six Meter Club of Chicago was happy to 

celebrate with this year’s Six Meter Club 

scholarship winner, Alan Schwab, KB9REU. 

On hand for the festivities were: Ray Stair, 

W9CEJ, President of the Club; Ed Metzger, 

W9PRN, ARRL Foundation President; Larry 

Schwab, KB9REV, Alan’s Dad; Alan; Jim 

Novak, WA9FIH, Vice President of Six Meter 

Club; and ARRL Vice Director Howard 

Huntington, K9KM. 

Contributor’s Corner 

We wish to thank the following for their generous contributions to: 

The Victor C. Clark Youth Incentive 

Program 

Jackson County ARC (Mississippi), 

in fond memory of 

Hazel Orman, KC5RIB 

Rich Greenwald, N7GHE, 


Len E. Graf, WA7JID 

Patricia M. Maier, in loving memory of 

Tom Maier, W1EQG 

Larry J. Shima, W0PAN* 

Dottie Shima*, in fond memory of 

Riley Dunn, W0CEL 

Charles J. Valek, Jr, KA6RRZ, 

in loving memory of 

Geneva A. Valek, KB6CRP 

Robert L. Happel, N4LGX, 


William F. Norris, Jr, W4IPR 

Charles A. Higgins, N3NQX 


Charles Cleveland, W2DII 

The Jesse Bieberman Meritorious 

Membership Fund 

Steel City ARC, Inc, in fond memory of 

Joseph E. Lawrence, N3VDL, and 

George M. Gaydos, Jr, KS3I. 

Kenneth D. Hopper, KD7KH** 

Barbara O. Hopper** 

** in fond memory of 

Samuel N. Barbara, W2KFI, 

Carl A. Felt, Jr, N2XJ, 

Ernest D. Kolb, N2EFR, and 

Harry C. Snyder, W7HC 

Claude Parker, KE6DXJ, 


Howard L. Schreck, N6MFL 

PHD ARA Scholarship Fund 

PHD ARA (Missouri), in fond memory of 

Lile Corval, N0BBJ 

Edmond A. Metzger Scholarship Fund 

Richard D. Cox & Company for 

Paul H. Davis 

John L. Swartz 

The Tom and Judith Comstock 

Scholarship Fund 

Tom and Judith Comstock, N5TC and 

K5JRC 

The Paul and Helen L. Grauer 

Scholarship Fund 

Northwest Missouri Winter Hamfest 

(Missouri) 

The General Fund 

Emmett F. Freitas, AE6Z, in fond memory 

of Walter A. Mitchell, WB6ODL 

Ava R. Barnes, in fond memory of 

Robert W. Kelly, N4OBQ 

David R. Pennes, MD, WA3LKN, 


John B. Beck, KA0LGN 

Lee D. Kjelland, KD6KQR, 


George H. Griffin, WB6JNB 

Vance E. Rutter, W3HG, 


Fred L. Fetherolf, W8YFK 

West Jackson County ARC, Inc 

(Mississippi), in fond memory of 

Hazel W. Orman, KC5RIB 

Harry A. Mills, Jr, in loving memory of 

Harry A. Mills, II, W4FD 

Anne J. Rogers, in loving memory of 

Clark L. Rogers, K4BGN 

James R. Hillier, N3VUW, 

in loving memory of 

Royal D. Hillier, W8NOF 

Rowan ARC (North Carolina), 


Marvin Clark, WA4IAU 

Bob Benwitz, N9JAX, in fond memory of 

Allan H. Utter, N9SOK 

Max T. Douglas, W4VJV, 


Hardy T. Keller, WB5UBK 

Emerald ARS (Oregon), 


Byron Rainwater, KT7T, and 

Fred Guiol, WD4AER. 

Theresa Elmendorf, KA2CQZ 

Eugene Cummings, W9CMO 

John D. Baer, W6SL 

John V. Boehme, K4PRK 

Santiam Canyon ARE (Oregon) 


Cal Culbertson, W7SAN 

Frank Czaza, W9XZ, in fond memory of 

Roy Hawkins, WA9KEC 

David R. Anderson, WA3WZX 

Janice R. Scheuerman, KJ4N, 


Carl A. Felt, Jr, N2XJ 

Eric Shuler, in fond memory of 

Frederick Crum, W2NIA 

Mary R. Cantrell, in loving memory of 

Hazel B. Russell, WD5GLG 

Ruth Smith, in loving memory of 

Frank O. Smith, III, N4UVA 

Greg Harris, WB9MII, in fond memory of 

E.E. Slim Ellsworth, W9JMG 

John G. Troster, W6ISQ 

Friends of Al Duncan, W4BHF 

Dade Radio Club of Miami, Inc (Florida) 


Daniel Carlin, KE4YNC 

As received and acknowledged during 

the months of May, June, July and 

August. 

Mary E. Lau, N7IAL Secretary, ARRL Foundation, Inc 


The Hallicrafters S-1 

OLD RADIO 

One of the best known and respected 

names in ham radio is Hallicrafters. 

Founded in 1932 by William J. Halligan, 

the company name was chosen as a composite 

of the two words: “Halligan” and 

“handcrafted.” “Handcraft Makes Perfect” 

was the first logo of his enterprise. 

In 1933 Halligan acquired the use of the 

bankrupt Silver-Marshall company’s name, 

factory, and most important, the use of their 

RCA license. With the help of Kendall 

Clough, former engineer from Silver- 

Marshall, they designed the first of a new 

line of ham radio receivers. First announced 

in the April 1934 issue of Radio News, the 

“S-1 Skyrider” sold for $39.95, about the 

same price as popular kit radios. A few were 

built in small production runs of 50 or 100 

sets. Each one was handcrafted and signed 

by the assembler. 

To become a successful manufacturer in 

the Depression, cost had to be kept to a 

minimum. The 4-tube circuit was a tried 

and well-tested design. It had one stage of 

tuned RF (using a 6D6), a regenerative detector 

(another 6D6) and two stages of resistive-coupled 

audio (a 6C6 followed by a 

42 in the output). The set was built in a 

small cabinet complete with a speaker and 

a built-in ac power supply using an 80 tube. 

The S-1 introduced several innovations 

into ham radio receivers. Most receivers up 

until then had plug-in coils. Alternatively, 

the S-1 offered band switching. Four positions 

covered from 1.6 to 22 MHz. 

Micro-vernier, anti-backlash tuning was 

introduced with a reduction ratio of 18:1. 

Tuning was accomplished by turning the 

lower left horizontal tuning knob with your 

left thumb, the rest of your hand wrapped 

around the left side of the cabinet. It is a 

comfortable tuning position for a righthanded 

person. This allowed the other hand 

to be used for adjusting the dual controls 

for RF sensitivity and audio gain. 

The antenna input circuitry was designed 

for use with standard antennas, or 

to utilize the advantages of “doublet” antennas. 

An additional ground wire was provided 

for easy attachment. 

Because so few S-1s were built, not many 

survive today. I’m happy to tell you that my 

Old Radio Museum will have the 

S-1 on display starting late this fall. For more 

information, you can read a radio magazine 

engineering report on the S-1, see additional 

photos and some early Hallicrafters S-1 

advertising on my Web site: http:// 

www.eht.com/oldradio/arrl/index.html. 

The S-1 model was quickly followed by 

the S-2, which added a bandspread control 

and a send-receive switch to the front panel. 

The S-1 through S-6, made in small quantities, 

took Hallicrafters into 1935. By late 

1935, they started producing communica- 

tions receivers with the name “Hallicrafters” 

in their new factory. The 1935-36 SX-9 

“Super Skyrider” was the first model to 

be produced in significant quantities. By 

1938, Hallicrafters had produced 23 different 

models. 

My thanks to Chuck Dachis, author of 

Radios by Hallicrafters, for his personal 

help with the history of this radio and the 

Hallicrafters company.—K2TQN 

Old Radio Auction 

Every so often, you hear about radio 

auctions. This is a short report on 

one. 

I just returned from the annual Antique 

Wireless Association meet near 

Rochester, New York. It is held every 

year around Labor Day. You will always 

find a large 3-day flea market, 

interesting radio presentations, an old 

equipment contest, seminars and two 

auctions there. 

The first auction is the Communication 

Equipment Auction for ham radios and boatanchors only. AWA Museum Curator “Col” 

Ed Gable, K2MP, is the Auctioneer. 

Radios and their selling prices in the accompanying, are from left: an RCA ACR-136 went 

for $70; the National NC-57 with the slant base and meter went for $22 and the Howard 663 

went for $47. That’s Ed taking the bids in the accompanying photo. 

The second auction is the main auction, held in three parts. First, there is a vacuum 

tube auction, then a paper collectables auction, and last, the general auction. Here you 

will find rare and expensive items, as well as early ham radio gear. 

If you are interested in the results, check my Web page. 

John Dilks, K2TQN 125 Warf Road, Egg Harbor Township, NJ 08234-8501 k2tqn@arrl.org 


AMATEUR RADIO WORLD 

IARU Region 3 Conference Calls for Morse Testing 

Phaseout 

The 11th International Amateur Radio 

Union Region 3 Conference in Darwin, 

Australia, ended September 1 by resolving 

to seek the ultimate removal of Morse code 

proficiency as an International Telecommunication 

Union licensing requirement for 

HF operation. As “an interim measure,” the 

conference agreed to support the reduction 

of all Morse code testing speeds to 5 WPM. 

“IARU Region 3 strongly supports 

Morse code as an effective and efficient 

mode of communication,” the resolution 

said in its preamble. “However, it believes 

that the position of Morse as a qualifying 

criterion for an HF amateur license is not 

relevant to the healthy future of Amateur 

Radio.” 

The resolution urged IARU Region 3 

member societies to seek an interim 

5-WPM Morse code testing requirement 

while looking toward eventually eliminating 

the Morse requirement altogether. 

“We recommend that, setting aside any 

previous relevant decisions of earlier 

Conferences, a policy of the removal of 

Morse code testing as an ITU requirement 

for an amateur license to operate on 

frequencies below 30 MHz be adopted by 

IARU Region 3,” the Conference resolution 

declared. 

Voting in accordance with ARRL Board 

policy, International Affairs Vice President 

Rod Stafford, W6ROD, cast the lone dissenting 

vote on the League’s behalf, 

although he voted in favor of an earlier motion 

to support 5 WPM as the top code 

speed for testing. The Hong Kong Amateur 

Radio Transmitting Society abstained. The 

Asian and Pacific region’s 11 other member 

societies who were present at the 

Conference favored the resolution. 

The Region 3 Conference recommended 

that the IARU Administrative Council 

adopt its position as IARU policy. Meeting 

September 3-4 in Darwin, the Administrative 

Council declined to act on the policy 

recommendation, however, until after the 

Region 2 conference next October in 

Guatemala. 

Conference delegates addressed another 

concern related to ITU Radio Regulation 

S25, which requires that applicants demonstrate 

Morse proficiency to operate below 

30 MHz. Some delegates worried over 

wording in a preliminary draft recommendation 

that includes reference to “radio 

telegraphy” among amateur license oper- 

Left to right: David Sumner, K1ZZ, Rod 

Stafford, W6ROD, and Paul Rinaldo, 

W4RI, at the IARU Region 3 Conference. 

ating skills. Delegates were told that the 

ITU defines “radio telegraphy” to mean 

RTTY and facsimile as well as Morse. In a 

motion proposed by the Radio Society of 

Great Britain and seconded by the ARRL, 

the conference requested that the IARU Region 

3 representatives to the IARU Administrative 

Council propose replacing the term 

“operating skills” with “methods of communication.” 

The Conference also reaffirmed the 

IARU’s determination to obtain an exclusive 

worldwide allocation of no less than 

300 kHz in the vicinity of 7 MHz. The conference 

instructed the Region 3 IARU 

directors to “treat achievement of this objective 

as a matter of the highest priority,” 

and Region 3 member societies were encouraged 

to do all they can to support the 

IARU goal at 40 meters. 

In other business, the Conference 

elected Peter Naish, VK2BPN, and K.C. 

“Selva” Selvadurai, 9V1UV, as new IARU 

Region 3 directors and re-elected Fred 

Johnson, ZL2AMJ, who was appointed 

chairman, Yong S. Park, HL1IFM, and 

Yoshiji Sekido, JJ1OEY—all for three-year 

terms. 

In addition to Stafford, those on hand 

from the US included IARU President 

Larry Price, W4RA, ARRL Executive Vice 

President and IARU Secretary David 

Sumner, K1ZZ, and ARRL Technical Relations 

Manager Paul Rinaldo, W4RI. 

The next IARU Region 3 Conference 

will be held in Taipei, Taiwan, in September 

2003. 

IARU ADMINISTRATIVE COUNCIL 

ALSO MEETS IN DARWIN 

The Administrative Council of the International 

Amateur Radio Union met on 3-4 

September 2000 in Darwin following the 

IARU Region 3 conference. The principal 

business at the meeting was to begin preparations 

for WRC-2003, which has several items 

of importance to the amateur services on its 

agenda. 

At its Darwin meeting the Administrative 

Council: 

1.…thanked the IARU WRC-2000 delegation 

for its diligent work on behalf of Amateur 

Radio at WRC-2000 in Istanbul. 

2.…identified and reviewed the WRC- 

2003 agenda items of relevance to the amateur 

and amateur-satellite services. 

3.…appointed a five-member core delegation 

for WRC-2003 that was given responsibility 

for preparation for WRC-2003 agenda 

items relating to 7 MHz. 

4.…identified the ITU meetings at which 

IARU representation will be required for the 

coming year; accepted the recommendations 

of the President and International Secretariat 

with regard to representatives to attend these 

meetings. 

5.…noted the update on the progress towards 

its policy of transferring into an ITU-R 

Recommendation the operational and technical 

qualifications for an amateur license and 

acknowledged the input of Region 1 membersocieties 

and the Region 3 Conference on the 

subject. This input will be taken into account 

in the formulation of further IARU input on 

the subject to ITU Working Party 8A. 

6.…reviewed, updated, and approved the 

present and anticipated future requirements 

for radio spectrum allocations to the Amateur 

and Amateur-Satellite Services, with special 

emphasis on the frequencies in the upper part 

of the spectrum. 

7.…reviewed and approved an updated 

Action Plan for the development of support 

for Amateur Radio in Africa. The Plan includes 

several courses in Amateur Radio Administration 

to be taught under the joint sponsorship 

of the ITU and the IARU. 

8.…adopted a budget for 2001-2003, as 

submitted by the International Secretariat. 

9.…asked the International Secretariat to 

prepare a document highlighting the need for 

radio amateurs to support the IARU through 

membership in their member society in order 

to protect the amateur spectrum and to maintain 

the vitality of the Amateur Services. 

10.…received and noted the report of the 

Committee on IARU Structure and comment 

from the Region 3 Conference. The topic of 

possible constitutional changes to the IARU 

structure remains open for further consideration. 

11.…expressed its thanks to the IARU 

Monitoring System International Coordinator, 

Bob Knowles, ZL1BAD, and his colleagues 

for their continued excellent service 

to the amateur community. 

12.…selected “Providing Disaster Communications: 

Amateur Radio in the 21st Century” 

as the theme for World Amateur Radio 

Day, April 18, 2001. 


QRP POWER 

The NorCal 40A—an Instant Classic 

The current plethora of QRP kit radios 

owes their existence to one rig: the NorCal 

40, a monoband, 40-meter transceiver, first 

presented as kit by the Northern California 

QRP Club in 1994. The success of this kit 

was a surprise to the NorCal folks and the 

rig’s designer, Wayne Burdick, N6KR 

(designer of the Sierra, SST, K1 and K2 

transceiver kits). It was such a success that 

Wayne and Bob “QRP Bob” Dyer, 

KD6VIO, formed Wilderness Radio to 

commercially market a redesigned (and 

greatly improved) version, the NC-40A. 

What makes this kit so unique First is 

the price versus performance factor. The kit 

still sells for $129.00 (plus shipping and 

handling), which is the price it sold for from 

the very beginning. This includes case, knobs, 

printed circuit board and all parts. You have 

a completely finished high performance, 

portable QRP transceiver for $129. Second, 

all the parts, controls, jacks and connectors 

are board mounted with no off-board wiring 

required. This greatly simplifies construction 

and reduces errors in building. 

The NC-40A’s Performance 

Set the Standard 

Performance is outstanding, considering 

the simplicity of the design. June 1996 QST 

features an overview of the Wilderness NC- 

40A along with several other QRP kit 

transceivers. 1 The receiver sensitivity and the 

dynamic range are terrific for such a simple 

design using minimal parts. The QRP 

fraternity received the NC-40A with open 

arms. QRP Bob tells me that Wilderness 

Radio has sold over 1000 NC-40A kits to 

date. The rig has become a standard at Cal 

Tech’s Electrical Engineering Department as 

a project for undergrad engineering 

students. 2 I obtained a copy of Dr. Rutledge’s 

book, The Electronics of Radio, and found a 

fascinating (but somewhat math intensive) 

text that details the inner workings of the 

NC-40A. If you want to really understand 

how this rig works, spend the money and buy 

Dr. Rutledge’s book. 

Speaking of receiver performance, this 

is the one area that has been a big stumbling 

block in past efforts to produce a QRP 

transceiver kit for the masses. By providing 

enough amplification at the receiver 

front end, extremely good Minimum 

Discernible Signal (MDS) characteristics 

are achiev-able. However, it is what happens 

to the signal after the RF front end that 

dictates overall receiver performance. 

Unless your mixer and IF stages can reject 

unwanted signals while amplifying the 

desired signal with minimal distortion, you 

can have the most sensitive receiver front 

in the world, but it won’t do you much good. 

Two key parameters in assessing receiver 

performance, in addition to MDS, are 

Blocking Dynamic Range and Two-Tone 

Dynamic Range. 3 Looking at the ARRL lab 

results of the Wilderness NC-40A, the MDS 

is –137 dBm (which is very good) while the 

BDR is 108 dB and the T-TDR calculates out 

at 89 dB, also quite good. Obviously these 

specs are not as good as the better commercially 

manufactured receivers available today. 

But when is the last time you saw any of these 

radios available in kit form for under $130 

A True Battery Miser 

Another area where the NC-40A really 

shines is power consumption. When Wayne 

Burdick initially designed this kit, one of his 

primary concerns was to make the rig battery 

friendly in order to provide a compact backpacking 

transceiver for those who wanted to 

take their ham radio hobby on the trail. 

Therefore, Wayne paid particular attention 

to insure the rig’s overall current drain was 

small. My unmodified NC-40A (s/n 1000) 

has a receive idle current of only 18 mA at 

full volume with no signal input! Now that 

is battery friendly. 

Of all the rigs reviewed in June 1996 QST, 

the Wilderness Radio NC-40A (a highly 

modified version, I might add) offers the best 

receiver idle current 28 mA (max volume, 

no signal at 13.8 Vdc). Transmit current for 

3 W output was measured at 300 mA (key 

down, 50-Ω load, at 13.8 V dc. While a 

number of the other transceivers were 

capable of higher RF outputs (some up to 

7 W!) their transmit current drain was also 

considerably higher. Again, Wayne’s design 

philosophy was such that what could be 

accomplished at 5 W (the QRP “legal limit”) 

could also be done at the 2-3 W level. 

Varactor Tuning 

Tuning in the NC-40A is accomplished 

via a varactor diode. The main tuning 

control is a 10-kΩ potentiometer that varies 

the reverse bias of the MVAM108 varactor 

diode in the oscillator circuit. While this is 

crude by some standards, resulting in a 

limited tuning range of about 45-60 kHz, it 

is simple and quite easy to use. Modifications 

exist to greatly expand this tuning, 

but dial accuracy then becomes critical. 

Some QRPers have substituted a precision 

10-turn, 10-kΩ pot in place of the standard 

10-kΩ pot with good results. 

Born to be Modified 

The NC-40A was made to be “played 

with” and modified. After all, what’s the fun 

of building a homebrew rig if you can’t 

experiment a bit The inside of the rig offers 

a lot of room for add-ons. Anyone for digital 

readout Wilderness Radio sells their KC-1 

memory keyer/audio digital readout 

specifically for the NC-40A. Small Wonder 

Labs 4 also sells their FreqMite audio digital 

frequency readout on a small PC board that 

can be easily installed. In addition, 

Embedderd Research 5 and K1EL 6 offer PIC 

memory keyers on tiny PC boards that will 

easily fit inside the NC-40A case. Add a small 

two-port RF power bridge and miniature 

meter for measuring forward and reverse 

power 7 and you have a very respectable 

homebrew rig that will go anywhere. 

Notes 

1 

Rick Lindquist, KX4V (now N1RL), “Low Cost 

Transceiver Kits You Can Build,” QST, June 

1996, p. 45. 

2 

Dr. David Rutledge, The Electronics of Radio 

ISBN: 0-521-64645-6. Available from Cambridge 

University Press, 110 Midland Ave, 

Port Chester, NY 10573-4930; tel 914-937- 

9600. 

3 

ARRL Web site: http://www.arrl.org/tis/ 

info/rigbuy.htm and http://www.arrl.org/ 

members-only/prodrev/testproc.pdf. 

4 

Small Wonder Labs, 80 East Robbins Ave, 

Newington, CT 06111; http://smallwonderlabs 

.com. 

5 

Embedded Research, PO Box 92492, 

Rochester, NY 14692; http://www.frontier 

.net/~embres/. 

6 

K1EL, Steve T. Elliot, 43 Meadowcrest Dr, 

Bedford, NH 03110; http://members.aol 

.com/k1el/. 

7 

Zack Lau, W1VT, 2000 ARRL Handbook, “A 

30/40 Watt 20-M Transceiver.” 


Rich Arland, K7SZ 25 Amherst Ave, Wilkes Barre, PA 18702 k7sz@arrl.org

It is with deep regret that we record 

the passing of these amateurs. 

KA1CR, James H. Bonney, Stratford, CT 

W1ISH, Michael J. Gallo, Blue Hill, ME 

KA1LYG, Wendell M. McLaughlin, Whiting, ME 

K1NPA, Frank W. Wells, Gardner, MA 

WA1QDO, Dorothy A. Dunn, Port Orange, FL 

W1QXX, John C. Wilson, Arlington, MA 

K1UOV, Salvatore N. Feola, Trumbull, CT 

W2BPU, John E. Triesner, Teaneck, NJ 

WA2EAQ, Raymond G. Frowd, La Grangeville, 

NY 

*N2EFR, Ernest D. Kolb, New Providence, NJ 

N2EUA, Joseph S. Banach, Jamesburg, NJ 

N2GMB, Giles T. Blossom, Glenford, NY 

W2HIY, Paul F. Bragger, Watertown, NY 

W2HSA, Charles M. Snyder, Oak Ridge, NJ 

N2IMS, James L. Miller, Henrietta, NY 

N2KEN, K.E. North, Chesapeake, VA 

*WA2KLZ, Thomas G. Kelley, Williamstown, NJ 

N2MQU, Arthur Gordon, Forest Hills, NY 

W2MRB, Frank F. Pollino, Eggertsville, NY 

W2NIA, Frederick C. Crum, Bogota, NJ 

WA2RQO, Gordon A. Atwater, New Rochelle, NY 

W2ZNR, John T. Rice, Ocean View, NJ 

W3AAB, Russell L. Parker, Annapolis, MD 

W3AHF, Paul F. Naftzinger, Reading, PA 

W3CW, R. Hirsch, New Hope, PA 

W3DYB, John W. Hartman, Edgewater, MD 

K3FTE, Harry Schoene, Labelle, FL 

N3GZE, Chester A. Gardner, Ellicott City, MD 

WA3IVJ, Michael Puchir, Spring Lake, NJ 

WB3JJL, John B. Twist, Baltimore, MD 

WB3KSY, Wilmer F. Bennett, Evansville, IN 

W3MIB, Roy W. Bryson, Cockeysville, MD 

WA3NPB, Margaret Steininger, Bethlehem, PA 

AA3O, Gregg A. Houck, Bellefonte, PA 

N3QDA, Michael S. Lubline, Dresher, PA 

KA3UIJ, John T. Miller, Harrisburg, PA 

KF4AAO, William H. Jones, Woodbridge, VA 

KD4CHE, Trenton R. McCall, Sumter, SC 

WD4DXE, Charles D. Edwards, Cartersville, GA 

WW4F, Wilbur C. Dempsey, Plant City, FL 

N4IXY, Getson Roberts, Manchester, KY 

KA4JAW, William A. Weems, Millport, AL 

KC4LYP, Dempsey L. Poole, Gray Court, SC 

WA4PSJ, Jerry C. Mills, Macon, GA 

WD4PVH, Bobbie K. Webb, Walling, TN 

WA4QKC, Edward W. Crawford, Albertville, AL 

KF4SIW, Joseph P. Pocius, Safety Harbor, FL 

WB4UDK, Clarence A. Hinds, Florence, SC 

W4UIQ, Paul M. Jenkins, Melbourne, FL 

KE4YNC, Daniel L. Carlin, Miami, FL 

SILENT KEYS 

KB4ZNR, Cecil W. Bruton, Charlotte, NC 

W4ZXK, Lois A. Spencer, Inverness, FL 

W5DCK, Charles W. Caccamise, Jackson, MS 

W5DHF, Ansley H. Colvin, Jonesboro, LA 

N5GVU, Lowell E. Davis, Mcallen, TX 

WV5K, Charles E. Hamm, Magnolia, TX 

W5KWU, Edwin N. Lowe, Albuquerque, NM 

KB5LAD, Covin L. Chaffin, Hamilton, MS 

W5NCB, Walker J. Coffey, Oxford, MS 

*WA5NYG, Richard W. Thimmesch, Belle 

Chasse, LA 

K5OCN, Charles R. Rummel, Clifton, TX 

*W5ODF, John M. Gavin, Little Rock, AR 

KA5REC, Ray Kindred, Shreveport, LA 

W5VRJ, John J. Kaiser, Chester, CA 

KA5VYX, Bernard D. Getto, Seabrook, TX 

KC5YZ, W. R. Estep, Fort Worth, TX 

W6BVR, Russell C. Lunn, Westlake Village, CA 

W6CTD, James L. Syrett, Placentia, CA 

*N6EA, Robert C. Schmidt, Sonora, CA 

*W6EFB, James S. Evans, Ridgecrest, CA 

*WD6GEV, Charles A. Torbit, Jr., Fountain, CO 

WB6JOT, Carl F. Alger, Redding, CA 

W6JUU, Carl L. Perry, La Mirada, CA 

W6KSI, Sidney A. Burnett, Imperial Beach, CA 

*W6LOE, Charles B. Eder, Citrus Heights, CA 

N6MCW, Donald F. Scott, Santa Maria, CA 

KC6MKA, James F. Rogers, Fresno, CA 

AE6T, William E. Ziegler, Reseda, CA 

W6YBI, Hugh B. Davis, Orange, CA 

WA6YTB, Harold W. Bingham, Camino, CA 

*K6YZR, David B. Anderson, Atascadero, CA 

K6ZTK, Roger Brackney, Long Beach, CA 

N7CEY, Edgar A. Smith, Vancouver, WA 

KL7CMQ, Charles T. Coleman, Anchorage, AK 

W7DXI, Julian C. Whaley, Seattle, WA 

KB7GBM, Fred A. Rupp, Capitola, CA 

W7GTJ, Sig L. Elaeson, Electric City, WA 

W7GZN, Ezra J. Adams, Yakima, WA 

W7HC, Harry C. Snyder, Carefree, AZ 

W7HF, George D. Wilson, Aberdeen, WA 

WA7HGS, Francis J. Torney, Salt Lake City, UT 

W7KIU, Walter Lochmiller, Talent, OR 

W7PJO, Lester W. Redman, King City, OR 

W7QLG, Merle D. Handy, Puyallup, WA 

*K7RM, Donald R. Kelly, Scappoose, OR 

NA7U, Jerry L. Chavers, Boise, ID 

W7WRT, Paul J. Beringer, Spokane, WA 

WB8BUF, Raymond H. Clark, Cincinnati, OH 

N8CVK, William J. Butler, Findlay, OH 

W8DRW, Francis J. Antinone, Steubenville, OH 

W8ESQ, Robert D. Hough, Elkins, WV 

K8ISM, Stephen C. Iacono, Columbus, OH 

KG8KM, Hal R. Heisler, Clinton Township, MI 

W8LRE, Richard R. Sando, Greenville, OH 

W8MOB, John C. Sutherland, Livonia, MI 

WD8MTP, James C. Gardner, Wheeling, WV 

W8PQZ, Edgar O. Fisher, Dayton, OH 

WA8THG, Lowell A. Behner, Grafton, OH 

WB8UOR, Robert G. Fisher, Springfield, OH 

W8VSL, Eileen M. Stuber, Munroe Falls, OH 

NN8Y, Louis F. Heline, Rockford, MI 

K8YYR, Paul L. Magnuson, Lancaster, OH 

W9ASC, Philip P. Porter, Kokomo, IN 

WA9BSK, Robert J. Scott, Indianapolis, IN 

W9CRC, Russell B. Rennaker, Kokomo, IN 

K9CRS, Edwin J. Ward, Carmel, IN 

KC9KM, Leo D. Mueller, Sandwich, IL 

KA9LYR, Richard Kaitchuck, Des Plaines, IL 

N9MEK, August Blissmer, Lowell, IN 

K9MMQ, John W. Holden, Warsaw, IN 

NT9T, Ronald J. LaMothe, Michigan City, IN 

N9VBB, Carol A. Aughey, Creve Coeur, MO 

NQ9X, Edward L. Van Sickle, Whitehall, WI 

N0BBJ, Corval Lile, Kansas City, MO 

KC0GLT, Todd D. Humphrey, Fort Calhoun, NE 

NX0K, John S. Lynch, Grand Forks, ND 

W0OZO, Max A. Albee, Cedar Rapids, IA 

W0PJ, Glenn D. Johnson, Knoxville, IA 

K0PSZ, Val L. Wilson, Sunrise Beach, MO 

N0PTA, Frank J. Stelter, Hastings, MN 

W0UYS, Arthur D. Sinning, Edina, MN 

F9YZ, Jacques Cartier, Merignac, France 

G3LWY, Frances E. Woolley, Surrey, Great Britain 

G4OO, Dennis Hoult, Lincolnshire, Great Britain 

*VE3CRU, Hans D. Peters, Cobourg, ON, Canada 

*Life Member, ARRL 

‡Call sign has been re-issued through the 

vanity call sign program. 

Note: Silent Key reports must confirm the death 

by one of the following means: a letter or note 

from a family member, a copy of a newspaper 

obituary notice, a copy of the death certificate, 

or a letter from the family lawyer or the executor. 

Please be sure to include the amateur’s 

name, address and call sign. Allow several 

months for the listing to appear in this column. 

Many hams remember a Silent Key with a memorial 

contribution to the ARRL Foundation. If you 

wish to make a contribution in a friend or relative’s 

memory, you can designate it for an existing youth 

scholarship, the Jesse A. Bieberman Meritorious 

Membership Fund, the Victor C. Clark Youth Incentive 

Program Fund, or the General Fund. Contributions 

to the Foundation are tax-deductible to 

the extent permitted under current tax law. Our 

address is: The ARRL Foundation Inc, 225 Main 

St, Newington, CT 06111. 

Kathy Capodicasa, N1GZO Silent Key Administrator 

NEW PRODUCTS 

SMA TO BNC ADAPTERS 

BY KC2BHO 

◊ Stephen G. Gulyas, KC2BHO, has introduced 

a series of SMA-to-BNC Rubber 

Covered Antenna Adapters for handheld 

transceivers. 

The new adapters allow the use of male 

BNC-terminated antennas and cables on 

handheld transceivers that employ SMAtype 

connectors. The manufacturer states 

that the adapters will “…prevent expensive, 

difficult-to-repair damage to radios 

that use an SMA-style antenna connection 

that can occur over time as the result of repeatedly 

changing antennas, such as when 

alternating between portable, mobile and 

base operation. The adapter takes all the 

wear and tear, instead of the radio’s SMA 

connector.” 

The low profile adapters are said to fit all 

BNC antennas and connectors. The adapters 

feature gold-plated contacts and teflon 

insulators and are rubber covered for a factory 

antenna look. Once screwed on, the 

rubber cover makes contact with the top of 

the radio. No additional spacers are required 

for moisture and dirt protection, and the 

design provides additional mechanical support 

for the antenna or coax connector. 

Different versions are available for use 

with most of the current SMA-equipped 

transceivers. These include Yaesu’s VX-5, 

VX-1, VX-10 and FT-50R; ICOM’s IC- 

Q7A, IC-T8A, IC-T81A and IC-R2; 

Kenwood’s TH-D7A and TH-G71; 

Alinco’s DJ-V5; Standard’s C508A and 

C510A; and RadioShack’s HTX-200, 

HTX-400 and HTX-245 handhelds. 

The SMA-to-BNC adapters are $11.95 

each plus $1.50 shipping and handling. 

(Check or money order only. Please specify 

your radio’s brand and model number when 

ordering.) For more information contact 

Stephen G. Gulyas, KC2BHO, 706 Lalor 

St, Trenton, NJ 08610; tel 609-393-6476; 

gulyas@netzero.net. 

Next New Product 



◊ The cover illustration 

by Clyde Darr, 8ZZ, 

shows a young ham 

demonstrating the 

magic of radio to an 

older man, who is listening 

to the receiver with 

earphones. Under the 

heading “Do You Tell 

the Truth,” the editorial 

advises amateurs to give 

accurate signal reports, 

while “Make a Brass 

Pounder” urges hams to 

work toward bringing 

broadcast listeners into the ham radio fold. 

John Clayton urges hams to use “Crystal Control 

for Amateur Transmitters,” citing the proven 

success of NKF of the Naval Research Laboratory. 

“KFUH,” by Ralph Heintz, describes the 

radio equipment used on the yacht Kaimiloa, 

which will be used for scientific research in the 

South Seas; P. J. Townsend tells about “KFUH’s 

Receiver.” “The One-Stage R. F. Amplifier,” by 

P. L. Pendleton, discusses experimental work on 

receiver R. F. amplifier circuits. “Schnell Returns” 

reports the return of the US Battle Fleet 

from its Australian cruise, and the fine performance 

of ARRL Traffic Manager Schnell, who 

was in charge of short-wave communications 

from NRRL on the flagship USS Seattle. 

“The Making of a Radio Receiver,” by Virgil 

Graham, describes how receivers are produced at 

the Stromberg, Carlson Telephone Mfg. Co. plant. 

Assistant Traffic Manager A. L. Budlong in 

“Keeping a Log,” stresses the importance of keeping 

accurate station records. “Navy Developments 

in Crystal-Controlled Transmitters” details the 

pioneering work of the Naval Research Laboratory 

in that field. 

W1AW Schedule 


75, 50 AND 25 YEARS AGO 

Al Brogdon, W1AB 

W1AW Schedule 

PACIFIC MTN CENT EAST MON TUE WED THU FRI 

6 AM 7 AM 8 AM 9 AM FAST SLOW FAST SLOW 

CODE CODE CODE CODE 

7 AM- 8 AM- 9 AM- 10 AM- VISITING OPERATOR TIME 

1 PM 2 PM 3 PM 4 PM (12 PM - 1 PM CLOSED FOR LUNCH) 

1 PM 2 PM 3 PM 4 PM FAST SLOW FAST SLOW FAST 

CODE CODE CODE CODE CODE 

2 PM 3 PM 4 PM 5 PM CODE BULLETIN 

3 PM 4 PM 5 PM 6 PM TELEPRINTER BULLETIN 

4 PM 5 PM 6 PM 7 PM SLOW FAST SLOW FAST SLOW 



6 PM 7 PM 8 PM 9 PM TELEPRINTER BULLETIN 

6 45 PM 7 45 PM 8 45 PM 9 45 PM VOICE BULLETIN 

7 PM 8 PM 9 PM 10 PM FAST SLOW FAST SLOW FAST 



W1AW’s schedule is at the same local time throughout the year. The schedule according 

to your local time will change if your local time does not have seasonal adjustments that 

are made at the same time as North American time changes between standard time and 

daylight time. From the first Sunday in April to the last Sunday in October, UTC = Eastern 

Time + 4 hours. For the rest of the year, UTC = Eastern Time + 5 hours. 

Contributing Editor 


◊ The cover photo 

shows the mobile installation 

of W1LOP, with a 

homebrew bandswitching 

converter (described 

in this issue) and a companion 

bandswitching 

transmitter. The editorial 

provides a look at 

the National Security 

Resources Board’s new 

report, United States 

Civil Defense, pointing 

out that when a Civil 

Defense plan is developed and implemented 

sometime in the near future, hams are sure to be 

called on for emergency communications support. 

F. E. Edmunds, W1JEO/9, describes “A Crystal-Filter 

S.S.B. Exciter” to help hams get started 

on this new mode of ham communication. Don 

Mix, W1TS, and Julius Galin, W1LOP, tell about 

“A Bandswitching Mobile Converter,” which is 

shown in the cover photo. Two looks at transmitter 

speech processing are presented in 

“Premodulation Clipping and Filtering,” by 

Stephen Stuntz, W1RXX, and “Cut-Off Frequencies 

and Audio Quality,” by J. P. Neil, VE3PN. 

“Technical Topics” continues that area of discussion 

with “Frequency Response and Intelligibility.” 

The column “Military Amateur Radio 

System” describes the newly installed MARS station 

at the Pentagon. That station will sign WAR 

and AIR on military frequencies, and K4USA and 

K4AIR on the ham bands. Continuing the ARRL 

series of articles on amateur operating, John 

Huntoon, W1LVQ, discusses “General Operating.” 

G. Franklin Montgomery, W3FQB, tells 

about “‘Corkey—A Tubeless Automatic Keyer” 

that uses only a battery, two diodes, one fixed 

resistor, three fixed capacitors, three variable resistors, 

and two relays! Rex Hess, W7NJ, reports 

on ARRL Emergency Corps participation in “The 

Seattle A-Bomb Test,” a simulated attack on the 

city with two nuclear bombs. Because the military 

surplus T-23/ARC-5 v.h.f. transmitter is so 

popular with hams, O. W. H. Jonson, W2ZYX, 

describes his techniques for “TVI-Proofing the 

ARC-5 V.H.F. Transmitter.” 


◊ The moody cover 

photo shows a tent and 

an HF beam and tower 

silhouetted against 

the setting sun, as 

W9UMU/9 rounds up 

Field Day contacts. The 

editorial beats the publicity 

drum again—it 

seems that hams never 

have (and possible never 

will) get the publicity for 

Amateur Radio that only 

they can provide. 

Ed Tilton, W1HDQ, presents his “Ideas on 

2-Meter FM Mobile & Portable Antennas.” Jerry 

Sevick, W2FMI, describes “A Resistive Antenna 

Bridge…Simplified.” Hardy Landskov, W7KAR, 

discusses “Pattern Factors for Elevated Horizontal 

Antennas over Real Earth.” Jay Rusgrove, 

WA1LNQ, tells about “The Trombone Trimmer,” 

describing how to build your own variable capacitors. 

“Linear Tuning—What Price” by Donn 

Shankland, W8WVS, discusses making variable 

capacitors with an offset rotor shaft for nearly 

linear frequency-versus-rotation tuning. Interestingly, 

this concept was announced in QST’s 

pages almost exactly 50 years earlier, when a 

commercial manufacturer started making such 

capacitors. 

Morse code transmissions: 

Frequencies are 1.818, 3.5815, 7.0475, 14.0475, 18.0975, 21.0675, 28.0675 and 

147.555 MHz. 

Slow Code = practice sent at 5, 7 1 / 2 , 10, 13 and 15 wpm. 

Fast Code = practice sent at 35, 30, 25, 20, 15, 13 and 10 wpm. 

Code practice text is from the pages of QST. The source is given at the beginning of 

each practice session and alternate speeds within each session. For example, “Text 

is from July 1992 QST, pages 9 and 81,” indicates that the plain text is from the article 

on page 9 and mixed number/letter groups are from page 81. 

Code bulletins are sent at 18 wpm. 

W1AW qualifying runs are sent on the same frequencies as the Morse code transmissions. 

West Coast qualifying runs are transmitted on approximately 3.590 MHz by 

K6YR. At the beginning of each code practice session, the schedule for the next 

qualifying run is presented. Underline one minute of the highest speed you 

copied, certify that your copy was made without aid, and send it to ARRL for grading. 

Please include your name, call sign (if any) and complete mailing address. Send a 

9×12-inch SASE for a certificate, or a business-size SASE for an endorsement. 

Teleprinter transmissions: 

Frequencies are 3.625, 7.095, 14.095, 18.1025, 21.095, 28.095 and 147.555 MHz. 

Bulletins are sent at 45.45-baud Baudot and 100-baud AMTOR, FEC Mode B. 110- 

baud ASCII will be sent only as time allows. 

On Tuesdays and Fridays at 6:30 PM Eastern Time, Keplerian elements for many 

amateur satellites are sent on the regular teleprinter frequencies. 

Voice transmissions: 

Frequencies are 1.855, 3.99, 7.29, 14.29, 18.16, 21.39, 28.59 and 147.555 MHz. 

Miscellanea: 

On Fridays, UTC, a DX bulletin replaces the regular bulletins. 

W1AW is open to visitors from 10 AM until noon and from 1 PM until 3:45 PM on 

Monday through Friday. FCC licensed amateurs may operate the station during that 

time. Be sure to bring your current FCC amateur license or a photocopy. 

In a communication emergency, monitor W1AW for special bulletins as follows: 

voice on the hour, teleprinter at 15 minutes past the hour, and CW on the half hour. 

Headquarters and W1AW are closed on New Year’s Day, President’s Day, Good 

Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and the following 

Friday, and Christmas Day.

COMING CONVENTIONS 

INDIANA STATE CONVENTION 

November 18-19, Fort Wayne 

The Indiana State Convention (28th Annual Fort 

Wayne Hamfest and Computer Expo), sponsored 

by the Allen County AR Technical Society, will 

be held at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum 

and Expo Center, 4000 Parnell Ave; at the 

corner of Indiana 930 (Coliseum Blvd) and Parnell 

Ave. Doors are open for setup on Friday evening 

and Saturday morning; public Saturday 9 AM to 

4 PM, Sunday 9 AM to 3 PM. Features include 

over 1100 commercial and flea market tables; new 

and used radio, computer, and general electronics 

items; vendors; international ham equipment 

manufacturers; forums and meetings; VE sessions 

(Saturday); parking ($2). Talk-in on 146.88. Admission 

is $5, under 12 free with adult (good both 

days). Tables: 8-ft $20 for flea market, $40 for 

premium, $27.50 for electricity (219-483-8163). 

Send SASE to AC-ARTS/Fort Wayne Hamfest, 

Box 10342, Fort Wayne, IN 46851; or contact 

James Boyer, KB9IH, 219-489-6700 or 219-484- 

1314, jboyer@aol.com; http://www.acarts.com. 

WEST CENTRAL FLORIDA SECTION 

CONVENTION 

December 2-3, Palmetto/Bradenton 

The West Central Florida Section Convention (25th 

Annual Tampa Bay Hamfest), sponsored by the 

Florida Gulf Coast AR Council, will be held at the 

Manatee County Convention and Civic Center, 1 

October 20-22 

Pacific Division, Concord, CA* 

October 27-29 

AMSAT-NA Space Symposium and Annual 

Meeting* 

* See October QST for details. 

Haben Blvd, US 301/US 41 and Haben Blvd; 3 

miles W of I-75 from Exit 43. Doors are open Saturday 

9 AM to 5 PM, Sunday 9 AM to 3 PM. Features 

include commerical exhibitors (Bob Laus, 

K4RJL, 727-539-8627; k4rjl@arrl.net), swap 

tables (Dan Hawthorne, AI4ET, 727-586-0497; 

ai4et@arrl.net), tailgating ($10 per space; Sam 

Everts, KE4BXF, ke4bxf@tampabay.rr.com), forums 

and programs (ARRL, Skywarn, contesting, 

digital topics), VE sessions (9:30 AM both days, 

on a walk-in basis, no preregistration), special 

guests Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH (FCC Special 

Council for AR Enforcement) and Jim Haynie, 

W5JBP (ARRL President), limited number of onsite 

camping spaces (100% self-contained, no hookups 

or facilities; Frank Morton, AC4MK, 

ac4mk@arrl.net), free parking, refreshments. 

Talk-in on 146.73 (146.82 backup), info loop 

147.555 MHz. Admission is $5 in advance, $7 at 

the door (good both days). Tables are $25 each for 

the entire weekend (electricity is available for $32). 

Make checks payable to FGCARC Tampa Bay 

Hamfest, Box 48725, St Petersburg, FL 33743. 

Contact Fred Hendershot, N3BUL, 813-671-9556, 

n3bul@arrl.net; http://www.fgcarc.org. 

Attention Hamfest and Convention Sponsors: 

ARRL HQ maintains a date register of scheduled 

events that may assist you in picking a 

suitable date for your event. You’re encouraged 

to register your event with HQ as far in advance 

as your planning permits. Hamfest and convention 

approval procedures for ARRL sanction 

are separate and distinct from the date 

register. Registering dates with ARRL HQ 

doesn’t constitute League sanction, nor does it 

guarantee there will not be a conflict with another 

established event in the same area. 

We at ARRL HQ are not able to approve 

dates for sanctioned hamfests and conventions. 

For hamfests, this must be done by your 

division director. For conventions, approval 

must be made by your director and by the executive 

committee. Application forms can be 

obtained by writing to or calling the ARRL convention 

program manager, tel 860-594-0262. 

Note: Sponsors of large gatherings should 

check with League HQ for an advisory on possible 

date conflicts before contracting for meeting 

space. Dates may be recorded at ARRL HQ 

for up to two years in advance. 

Gail Iannone Convention Program Manager 

HAMFEST CALENDAR 

Attention: The deadline for receipt of items for 

this column is the 1st of the second month 

preceding publication date. For example, your 

information must arrive at HQ by November 1 

to be listed in the January issue. Hamfest information 

is accurate as of our deadline; contact 

sponsor for possible late changes. For those 

who send in items for Hamfest Calendar and 

Coming Conventions: Postal regulations prohibit 

mention in QST of prizes or any kind of games 

of chance such as raffles or bingo. 

(Abbreviations: Spr = Sponsor, TI = Talk-in frequency, 

Adm = Admission.) 

Alabama (Montgomery)—Nov 11. Phil Salley, 

K4OZN, 334-272-7980. 

† 

Colorado (Golden)—Nov 11, 8 AM to 2 PM. 

Spr: Rocky Mountain Radio League. Jefferson 

County Fairgrounds, 15200 W 6th Ave; Indiana 

Exit from 6th Ave. ARRL forum, VE sessions, refreshments. 

TI: 145.22. Adm: $4. Tables: $10. Ron 

Rose, N0MQJ, 13481 W Alaska Pl, Lakewood, CO 

80228, 303-985-8692, n0mqj@arrl.net; http:// 

rmrl.hamradios.com. 

Florida (Coral Gables)—Nov 18. Bill Moore, 

WA4TEJ, 305-264-4465. 

Florida (Palmetto/Bradenton)—Dec 2-3, West 

Central Florida Section Convention. See “Coming 

Conventions.” 

† 

Florida (Port St Lucie)—Nov 11, 8 AM to 2 PM. 

Spr: Port St Lucie ARA. St Andrew Lutheran 

Church, 295 N Prima Vista Blvd; Exit 63C off 

I-95, then E 3.1 miles. Tailgating ($2), refreshments. 

TI: 146.955, 146.52. Adm: $2. Roy Cox, 

KT4PA, 412 NW Cornell Ave, Port St Lucie, FL 

† 

ARRL Hamfest 

34983, 561-340-4319, roycox@ecqual.net; http: 

//www.qsl.net/pslara. 

† 

Georgia (Claxton)—Dec 2; set up Friday 1-6 PM; 

public Saturday 8 AM to 4 PM. Spr: Claxton ARES. 

Veterans Community Center, W of downtown 

Claxton on Hwy 280 W; intersection of Hwys 301 

and 280, travel W on Hwy 280 for 2 miles, building 

on S side. VE sessions, forums (ARES, MARS, 

ARRL). TI: 147.075. Adm: advance $4, door $5. 

Tables: $5 each (with electricity). Mr. Ellie Waters, 

W4CJB, Box 231, Pembroke, GA 31321, 912-653- 

4939; w4cjb@g-net.net. 

Hawaii (Honolulu/Oahu)—Nov 11. Walt 

Niemczura, AH6OZ, 808-263-3872. 

† 

Indiana (Evansville)—Nov 25; set up Friday 

5-9 PM, Saturday 6-8 AM; public 8 AM to 2 PM. 

Spr: EARS. Vanderburgh County 4-H Center, Fairgrounds 

Auditorium, 202 W Boonville-New Harmony 

Rd; US Hwy 41 at Boonville-New Harmony 

Rd, 5 miles S of I-64, 2 miles N of Evansville Airport. 

Indoor flea market, new and used equipment, 

free tailgating (weather permitting), commercial 

dealers, vendors, free parking, refreshments. TI: 

145.15, 146.925, 443.925, 145.11 (107.2 Hz on 

all frequencies listed). Adm: $5. Tables: advance 

$8 (flea market), $10 (wall space); after Nov 15 

$10 (flea market), $12 (wall space). Neil Rapp, 

WB9VPG, 1506 S Parker Dr, Evansville, IN 

47714, 812-479-5741, ears@w9ear.org; http:// 

w9ear.org/hamfest.htm. 

Indiana (Fort Wayne)—Nov 18-19, Indiana State 

Convention. See “Coming Conventions.” 

† 

Louisiana (Monroe)—Nov 17-18; set up Friday 

2-5 PM; public Friday 5-7 PM (social cookout on 

site), Saturday 8 AM to 3 PM. Spr: Twin City Ham 

Club. Barak Shrine Temple, 6620 Frontage Rd; 

from I-20 take Exit 120 (Garrett Rd), go S on 

Garrett Rd, turn left at first traffic light (Frontage 

Rd), Shrine Temple is about 1 mile on the right. 

Vendors, limited number of RV hookups available 

($16 per night), VE sessions (Saturday, 9 AM), 

card checking for DXCC and VUCC awards, forums 

(ARRL, AMSAT, PSK31), refreshments. TI: 

146.85. Adm: $5. Tables: $10 (electricity $10 additional). 

Jim Ragsdale, W5LA, 111 Eagle Lake 

Dr, W Monroe, LA 71291, 318-396-9529, hamfest 

@tchams.org; http://www.tchams.org/users/ 

hamfest. 

† 

Massachusetts (Newtonville)—Nov 18; sellers 

9:30 AM; public 11 AM to 4 PM. Sprs: Waltham 

ARA and 1200 RC. Newton Masonic Hall, 460 

Newtonville Ave; at the corner of Walnut St and 

Newtonville Ave, near the Star Market which 

straddles the Mass Pike. Amateur Radio and Electronics 

Auction. TI: 146.64. Adm: $2. Eliot Mayer, 

W1MJ, 24 Hamilton Rd, Belmont, MA 02478, 

617-484-1089, w1mj@amsat.org; http://www 

.wara64.org/wara/auction.htm. 

† Michigan (Mt Clemens)—Dec 3, 8 AM to 2 PM. 

Spr: L’Anse Creuse ARC. L’Anse Creuse High 

School, 38495 L’Anse Creuse Rd, Harrison Twp; 

I-94 to Exit 236 (Metro Beach Pkwy), E to Crocker, 

N to Reimold, E to L’Anse Creuse Rd. Hamfest/ 

Computer Show, tailgating (weather permitting), 

vendors, seminars, forums, VE sessions, free parking, 

refreshments. TI: 147.08. 146.52. Adm: advance 

$1, door $5. Tables: $10. Donna Luh, KA8QBD, 

732 Brookwood Ln E, Rochester Hills, MI 48309, 

248-651-7387, jrluh@aol.com; http://www 

.ameritech.net/users/lc_arc/index.html. 

† Mississippi (Ocean Springs)—Nov 17-18; set up 

Friday 1 PM; public Friday 5-9 PM, Saturday 

8 AM to 2 PM. Spr: West Jackson County ARC. 

St Martin Community Center; take Exit 50, S from 

Gail Iannone Convention Program Manager 


I-10, follow Hwy 609 S to second light, turn right 

onto Lemoyne Blvd, Center is 1 1 /2 miles on right. 

Hamfest/Swapfest, VE sessions (Saturday, 11 AM; 

bring photo ID, original and photo copy of license, 

$6.65 test fee), self-contained overnight RV parking 

(no hookups), free paved parking. TI: 145.11. 

Adm: $2. Tables: $5. Phil Hunsberger, W9NZ, 

1207 Lancelot Ln, Ocean Springs, MS 39564, 

228-872-1499, w9nzl@juno.com; or Ernie 

Orman, W5OXA, 228-392-2816, w5oxa@ 

datasync.com. 

New Hampshire (Londonderry)—Nov 4. Paul 

Gifford, K1LL, 603-883-3308. 

New Jersey (Lawrenceville)—Nov 4. W2ZQ, 

609-882-2240. 

† 

North Carolina (Benson)—Nov 19, 6 AM to 

4 PM. Spr: Johnston ARS. American Legion Complex, 

US Hwy 301 N, near the intersection of I-95 

and I-40. Indoor flea market, vendors, dealers, tailgating, 

VE sessions. TI: 147.27. Adm: advance $4, 

door $5. Bill Lambert, AK4H, 8917 NC Hwy 50 

N, Benson, NC 27504, 919-894-3352 or 919-894- 

3100 (7-10 PM), blambert@interpath.com; 

http://www.jars.net. 

† 

Ohio (Georgetown)—Nov 18, 8 AM to 3 PM. 

Spr: Grant ARC. Adams and Brown Community 

Action Building, 200 S Green St; I-275 to Rte 125, 

E on Rte 125 to Georgetown; or Rte 68 to Rte 125, 

W on Rte 125 to Georgetown. Flea market, onstage 

auction for charity, refreshments. TI: 146.73. 

Adm: $2. Tables: $3 each (plus admission). Dorothy 

Silman, KB8TQU, 502 Waynoka Dr, 

Sardinia, OH 45171, 937-446-2234, huggee@ 

bright.net; http://www.qsl.net/~n1djs. 

Oklahoma (Enid)—Nov 4. Tom Worth, N5LWT, 

580-233-8473. 

Pennsylvania (Linglestown)—Nov 5. Harold 

Baer, KE3TM, 717-566-8895. 

† 

Texas (Azle)—Nov 11. Spr: Tri-County ARC of 

NTX. Heritage RV Park, 501 Beaver Creek; FM 

730, 5 miles S of Hwy 199 in Azle or 9 miles N of 

Weatherford. Flea market, vendors, APRS presentation, 

emergency communications displays, 

AMSAT, VE sessions. TI: 147.16 (110.9 Hz). Adm: 

$2. Tables: $10 (indoor), $5 (outdoor). Jerry 

Buxton, N0JY, 129 PR 3803, Springtown, TX 

76082, 817-523-4426, n0jy@arrl.net; http:// 

www.qsl.net/tcarc-ntx/nctech.html. 

Texas (Houston)—Nov 25. Bill Krampe, 

KC5GYD, 281-579-7232. 

† 

Washington (Ferndale)—Nov 4, 9 AM to 2 PM. 

Spr: Mount Baker ARC. Ferndale Band Boosters 

Bingo Hall, 5330 Labounty Dr; Exit 262 off I-5, 

westbound to second light, left at light onto 

Labounty Dr, hall about 1 /2 mile. Dealers, country 

store, overnight RV parking, free parking. TI: 

146.74. Adm: $3. Tables: advance $15, door $20. 

Al Norton, K7IEY, 1008 Liberty St, Lynden, WA 

98264, 360-354-4622, k7iey@netscape.net. 

Attention All Hamfest Committees! 

Get official ARRL sanction for your event 

and receive special benefits such as free 

prizes, handouts, and other support. 

It’s easy to become sanctioned. Contact 

the Convention and Hamfest Branch at 

ARRL Headquarters, 225 Main St, 

Newington, CT 06111. Or send e-mail to 

giannone@arrl.org. 

SPECIAL EVENTS 

James Bay, QC: Zone 2 Contest Group, VB2R, 

0000Z Oct 21 to 0000Z Nov 4, celebrating the 100th 

birthday of Canadian radio pioneer E.S. Rogers. 

28.450 21.250 14.170 7.065. QSL. Carl Styan, 

VE3BY, RR#1, Glencairn, ON, L0M 1K0, Canada. 

Rock Springs, WY: Sweetwater Amateur Radio 

Club, WY7U, 1500 to 2000Z Nov 4, celebrating 

UPRR steam engine 3985, one of two surviving. 

14.240 21.325 28.350 7.250. Certificate. Dave 

Gregory, 1000 South Dakota, Green River, WY 

82935. 

Greenville, SC: Experimenters Group ARC, 

N4ISS, 1500Z Nov 4 to 2000Z Nov 5, operating 

from the Super Flying Fortress CAF B-29 “FIFI.” 

7.290 14.290 28.429 AO-27. Certificate. Al Lark, 

301 Shannon Dr, Greenville, SC 29615. 

Huntington, WV: Tri-State Amateur Radio Association, 

WV8MRT, 1700Z Nov 4 to 1700Z Nov 5, 

as the Museum of Radio & Technology honors 100 

years of radio. 7.240 14.240 21.340 28.340. Certificate. 

Tri-State ARA, PO Box 4120, Huntington, 

WV 25729. 

Georgetown, DE: Sussex Amateur Radio Assoc., 

N3N, 1200 to 2200Z Nov 9, for the Sussex County 

Returns Day celebration. 14.260 28.400 3.900. 

Certificate. Tom McDougall, N3JRB, 18572 

Whaleys Corner Rd, Georgetown, DE 19947. 

Arlington Heights, IL: Armored Force Amateur 

Radio Net, KA9NLX, 1500Z Nov 10 to 2000Z 

Nov 12, as AFAR member stations remember all 

military veterans. 7.030 7.283 14.325 21.375. Certificate. 

John Paskevicz, 1423 North Ridge 

Ave, Arlington Heights, IL 60004-4606. 

Whitefish Point, MI: Stu Rockafellow Amateur 

Radio Society, N8F, 1300Z Nov 10 to 1700Z Nov 

12, on the 25th anniversary of the Edmund 

Fitzgerald tragedy—operating from the Great 

Lakes Shipwreck Museum. 7.270 14.270 21.370 

28.370. Certificate. Dave Langston, KB8RAP, 

Maritz, 1000 Town Center, Suite 1200, Southfield, 

MI 48075. 

Reisterstown, MD: Baltimore Amateur Radio 

Club, W3FT, 1700-2359Z Nov 11 and Nov 12, to 

celebrate the first anniversary of moving into our 

meeting and training facility. 7.230 14.260 52.150 

146.67. Certificate. BARC, c/o Awards Manager, 

PO Box 120, Reisterstown, MD 21136. 

Hackensack, NJ: 10-70 Repeater Assn & NJ Naval 

Museum/USS Ling, NX2ND, 1400 to 2130Z 

Nov 11, to commemorate the resurrection of the 

Ling Navy call: NX2ND. 7.260 7.039 14.260 

14.039. Certificate. William Stagg, KC2BLN, 38 

Rutgers Dr, Oakland, NJ 07436. 

Nutley, NJ: Robert D. Grant United Labor Amateur 

Radio Association, N2UL, 1200 to 2400Z 

Nov 11, during “CQ Veterans Day,” honoring the 

veterans of our great country. 18.120 21.375 

28.420. Certificate. RDULARA, PO Box 716, 

Nutley, NJ 07110-0716. 

Guthrie, OK: Edmond Amateur Radio Society, 

N5OK, 1400 to 2200Z Nov 18, recognizing Oklahoma 

Statehood Day. 7.289 14.289 21.289 28.389. 

QSL. EARS, PO Box 48, Edmond, OK 73083. 

Plymouth, MA: Whitman Amateur Radio Club, 

Inc, WA1NPO, 1400Z Nov 25 to 2100Z Nov 26, 

to commemorate our forefather’s first successful 

settlement in America. 3.970 7.270 14.270 24.970. 

Certificate. Whitman ARC, PO Box 48, Whitman, 

MA 02382. 

Certificates and QSL cards: To obtain a certificate 

from any of the special-event stations offering 

them, send your QSO information along with a 9×12 

inch self-addressed, stamped envelope with two 

units of First Class postage to the address listed in 

the announcement. To receive a special event QSL 

card (when offered), be sure to include a self-addressed, 

stamped business envelope along with 

your QSL card and QSO information. 

Special Events Announcements: For items to be 

listed in this column, you must be an Amateur 

Radio club, and use the ARRL Special Events Listing 

Form. Copies of this form are available via 

Internet (info@arrl.org), or for a SASE (send to 

Special Requests, ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, 

CT 06111) and write “Special Requests Form” in 

the lower left-hand corner. You can also submit your 

special event information on-line at http://www.arrl 

.org/contests/spevform.html. Submissions must 

be received by ARRL HQ no later than the 1st of 

the second month preceding the publication date; 

ie, a special event listing for Jan QST would have 

to be received by Nov 1. Submissions may be mailed 

to George Fremin III, K5TR, at the address shown 

on this page; faxed to ARRL HQ at 860-594-0259; 

or e-mailed to events@arrl.org. 

George Fremin III, K5TR 624 Lost Oak Trail, Johnson City, TX 78636 k5tr@arrl.org 

STRAYS 

LOOKING FOR QSL COLLECTORS 

◊ I would like to hear from any hams interested 

in participating in an Internet trading club dedicated 

to collecting pre-1939 vintage QSL cards. 

Please e-mail Tony Ricicki, W2VRK, at 

tpllrs@eclipse.net. 

WANTED: HF SKEDS 

◊ The Starved Rock Radio Club is offering a 

Technician class at our local LaSalle Illinois Veterans’ 

Home this fall. We would like to set up 


evening HF skeds with other Veteran facilities 

to help introduce our students to Amateur Radio. 

Please e-mail Joe Tokarz, KB9EZZ, at 

kb9ezz@arrl.net. 

OPERATION CQ 

◊ The Amateur Vanity Call Sign Headquarters 

Web site at http://www.carroll-usa.com/vanity 

has inaugurated a program known as “Operation 

CQ.” This project will enable hams across the 

US to document their formerly held call signs 

and license information. The intent is to build a 

searchable, historical database and make it available, 

online, with no fees, in 2001. Operation CQ 

provides instructions and an 11-step online form 

which hams can use to supply details concerning 

their former call signs. Call sign registration 

will continue into next year. 

LOOKING FOR ACP-131 

◊ While I was a cryptologist in the US Navy 

(1980-86), I often used a publication that I very 

much wish to find again. This publication had 

a complete listing of all Q & Z abbreviations 

used in Morse code. It was titled ACP-131. If 

anyone has a copy, or knows where I can find 

one, please e-mail Mark Linafelter, NL7AS, 

at mjlinafe@visi.com. 

Next Stray

CONTEST CORRAL 

Feedback 

In the 1999 ARRL Ten-Meter Contest, 

G0MRH should be shown with 14,080 points, 80 

QSOs and 44 multipliers in the Single-Op, CW- 

Only, Low-Power, Category. N0FW should be 

listed in the ND section, making him the section 

winner in the Mixed-Mode, High-Band category. A 

resolved file problem changes the score of W6SD to 

127,410 points on 410 QSOs with 105 multipliers. 

The San Fernando Valley ARC should be shown in 

the Local Club Category with a score of 335,866. 

K0DAT should appear in the Missouri section instead 

of the Michigan section. The operators for the 

K6HAI entry in the San Diego section should be 

KD7BC, WB6BDY, WA6EOO, AB6EZ, W6JXA, 

WB6LLO, KC6QHQ, KA6UCD, N6UN, KQ6XJ, 

KK6XY and W6ZBE. 

In the 2000 ARRL RTTY Round-Up, N8LRG 

should be listed as the Seventh Place finisher in the 

W/VE Multioperator Low-Power category. The 

call sign of KF8KW is incorrectly shown as 

KF8MK in the KY section. 

In the 1999 November Sweepstakes, after reverifying 

the entry category, the Single-Operator, 

Low-Power Phone Canadian winner should be 

listed as VE4GV. 

In the 2000 ARRL International DX CW 

Contest, W3CP is a Single-Band 10-Meter entry 

in the MDC section. 

W1AW Qualifying Runs are 9 AM EST, Thursday, 

November 2, and 7 PM EST Friday, November 

17. The K6YR West Coast Qualifying Run 

will be at 9 PM PST on Wednesday, November 1. 

Check the W1AW schedule for details. 

4-6 

ARRL November Sweepstakes, CW. See 

October QST, page 102. 

Seventh Annual North American Collegiate 

ARC Championship, CW, 2100Z Nov 4 to 0300Z 

Nov 6 (phone is 2100Z Nov 18 to 0300Z Nov 20). 

Both sections run concurrently with the ARRL November 

Sweepstakes contest. Participation limited 

to clubs at institutions of higher learning beyond 

the high school level. Colleges may enter Sweepstakes 

in any of the valid Sweepstakes entry categories 

and abide by all of the ARRL Sweepstakes 

rules. In an effort to encourage club station improvements 

all contacts must be made from the established 

club radio station located on a college 

campus, if one exists. (No “portable” operation 

from a nearby contest “super station.”) A club may 

operate from a member’s station provided that a 

club station does not exist on campus. Official results 

will be based on those published in QST, so all 

contestants must submit a valid log to the ARRL. 

The combined champion is based on a points system 

whereby each CW and phone score is divided 

by the highest scoring collegiate score for that 

mode and multiplied by 1000. The overall combined 

score is the sum of the CW and phone points. 

Separate champions will be determined for CW, 

phone and combined scores. Contestants must also 

submit a score summary (the contest summary 

sheet, not a complete log) to: Collegiate Championship, 

c/o Ken Harker, WM5R, 927 E 46th St, 

Apt 102, Austin, TX 78751; wm5r@arrl.net. Provisional 

scores and winners will be available on 

the Collegiate Championship home page at http: 

//www.collegiatechampionship.org/. 

IPA Contest, Phone and CW, sponsored by The 

International Police Association Radio Club, CW 

Nov 4, 0600Z-1000Z and 1400Z-1800Z; Phone 

Nov 5 0600Z-1000Z and 1400Z-1800Z; 80 40 20 

15 10 meters. Single op, Multi-single, Multi-multi 

and SWL. Exchange RST and serial number. 

IPARC members give their membership number. 

Count 1 point per QSO; 5 points for every QSO 

with an IPARC member. Multipliers are DXCC 

entities and US states per band. Final score is QSO 

points × total multipliers per band. Add band totals 

together to get final score. Send logs by Dec 31 to: 

Uwe Greggersen, DL8KCG, Hurststr. 9, D-51645 

Gummersbach, Germany; dl8kcg@talknet.de; 

http://www.iparc.com/Contests/contests.html. 

10-12 

Worked All Europe Contest, RTTY, from 0000Z 

Nov 10 to 2400Z Nov 11. 80 40 20 15 10 meters. 

Single-op all band, multiop, single transmitter and 

SWL. DX cluster assistance allowed for all classes. 

Single ops must take 12 hours of “off” time (consisting 

of periods lasting no more than three hours) 

during the contest. Exchange RST and QSO serial 

number. Work stations once per band. Count 1 

point for each QSO and 1 point for each QTC. A 

QTC is a report of confirmed QSOs that took place 

earlier in the contest that is sent back to a station. 

A QTC contains the time, call sign and QSO number 

of the station being reported (eg, 1307/ 

DL1AA/346). A QSO may only be reported once, 

and not back to the originating station. A maximum 

of 10 QTCs can be sent to the same station, 

the same station can be worked several times to 

complete this quota. Count 1 point for each QTC 

reported to any station not on your own continent. 

Each station may both send and receive QTCs, but 

the sum of QTCs exchanged between two stations 

(sent plus received) must not exceed 10. A uniform 

list of QTCs sent must be kept. QTC 3/7 indicates 

that this is the 3rd series and 7 QTCs are now being 

sent. Record all received QTCs on a separate sheet 

with a clear indication of the sender. Multipliers 

are DXCC/WAE countries per band. Each multiplier 

counts as follows: 80 meters × 4; 40 meters × 

3; 20 15 10 meters × 2. Score is total number of 

QSOs + QTCs × total number of multipliers. 

Awards. Send logs by December 15, to WAEDC 

Contest Committee, Durerring 7, PO Box 1126, D- 

74370, Sersheim, Germany; waedc@darc.de; 

http://server.darc.de/referate/dx/xedcwr.htm. 

Japan International DX Contest, phone. sponsored 

by Five-Nine Magazine, from 2300Z Nov 10 

until 2300Z Nov 12. Work JAs only. 80 40 20 15 

10 meters. Operate no more than 30 hours (JAs 

operate full 48). Single operator multi/single band, 

high (>100 W) or low (

General Rules for All ARRL Contests 

1. Precedence of Rules: 

1.1. Rules for individual contests or events, including Field Day, 

take precedence over all General Rules. 

1.2. General Rules for HF and VHF contests take precedence over 

General Rules for all contests. 

2. Conditions of Entry: Entrants agree to be bound by: 

2.1. The provisions and intent of ARRL contest rules; 

2.2. The regulations of the national licensing authority; 

2.3. The decisions of the ARRL Awards Committee. 

3. General Rules: 

3.1. All operators must observe the limitations of their operator 

licenses and station licenses at all times. 

3.2. All signs and exchange information must be sent, received, 

acknowledged and logged correctly by each station for a complete QSO. 

3.3. One operator may not use more than one call sign from any 

given location during the contest period. 

3.4. The same station may be worked only once per band for 

contest credit. 

3.5. A transmitter used to contact one or more stations may not be 

subsequently used under any other call during the contest period, except 

for family stations where more than one call has been issued, and then 

only if the second call sign is used by a different operator. (The intent 

of this rule is to accommodate family members who must share a rig, 

and to prohibit manufactured or artificial contacts.) 

3.6. For the purposes of ARRL contests, maritime mobile is defined 

as shipboard operation on the high seas, outside of the territorial waters 

of the country (defined for these purposes only as 12 miles). 

3.7. All transmitters and receivers must be located within a 500- 

meter diameter circle, excluding antennas. 

3.7.1. This prohibits the use of remote receiving installations. 

3.7.2. Exceptions: 

3.7.2.1. Stations remotely controlled by radio link may use 

necessary equipment at the control point. This does not include using 

the control point as another receiving location. 

3.7.2.2. Multioperator and Single Operator Assisted stations may 

use spotting nets. 

3.8. Cross-band contacts are not permitted. 

3.9. Contacts made through repeaters, digipeaters, or gateways are 

not permitted. 

3.9.1. This applies to all forms of active relays or repeaters. 

3.9.2. Satellite contacts, where allowed, are not subject to this 

rule. 

3.10. The use of non-Amateur Radio means of communication (for 

example, Internet or telephone) to solicit a contact (or contacts) during 

the contest period is not permitted. 

3.11. Entrants who qualify for unsponsored plaques may purchase 

them from the ARRL Contest Branch. 

3.12. General contest queries should be directed to the Contest 

Branch Manager via e-mail at n1nd@arrl.org or by telephone at 860- 

594-0232. 

3.13. All logs (electronic or paper) submitted to the ARRL for 

any contest must be in chronological order, in a single log (file). 

Separate band-by-band files or logs are subject to being classified 

as checklogs and ineligible for competition. 

3.14. In contests where packet or spotting nets are allowed, 

spotting your own station or requesting another station to spot you 

is not permitted. 

4. ARRL Standard File Format for Electronic Submission of 

Entries. 

4.1 The official ARRL File Format for electronic submissions 

is the Cabrillo format (effective November 1, 2000). 

4.2. All electronic files must be standard ASCII text. 

4.3. Cabrillo format specifications are available: 

4.3.1. On the ARRL Contest homepage at: http:// 

www.arrl.org/contests. 

4.3.2. On the Internet at http://www.kkn.net/~trey/cabrillo/. 

4.3.3. By sending an SASE with two units of postage and $1 

to: Cabrillo File Specs, Contest Branch, ARRL, 225 Main St, 

Newington, CT 06111. 

4.4. Electronic files may be submitted either via the Internet 

as e-mail or on diskette. 

4.4.1. Files sent via e-mail must be sent as attachments, not 

as the text of the e-mail, and sent to the appropriate e-mail address 

from the following list: 


4.4.1.1. 10GHZ@arrl.org 

10Meter@arrl.org 

160Meter@arrl.org 

AugustUHF@arrl.org 

DXCW@arrl.org 

DXPhone@arrl.org 

EMEContest@arrl.org 

FieldDay@arrl.org 

IARUHF@iaru.org 

JanuaryVHF@arrl.org 

JuneVHF@arrl.org 

RTTYRU@arrl.org 

SeptemberVHF@arrl.org 

SSCW@arrl.org 

SSPhone@arrl.org 

StraightKey@arrl.org 

4.4.2. E-mails must include the participant’s call sign, contest 

name and year in the Subject line of the e-mail. Electronic files 

must be names with the operator’s call sign and the file extension 

.log. Files that are sent using a filename other than the operator’s 

call sign are subject to being classified checklogs. 

4.5. Electronic logs are assumed to be signed when submitted. 

4.6. Any log that is computer generated must submit the 

electronic file of the log in ARRL file format. Failure to submit the 

required electronic file can result in the entry being designated a 

checklog, and thereby ineligible for competition. A paper printout 

of the log file is not an acceptable substitute. 

4.7. Only one entry may be included in each submission 

(e-mail or diskette). CW and Phone weekends of the November 

Sweepstakes and International DX Contest are considered separate 

contests and must be submitted separately. 

4.8. All diskettes submitted become property of the ARRL and 

are not returnable. 

4.9. Multioperator Two Transmitter category entries must 

indicate which transmitter makes each QSO in the log file. 

4.10. In contests that require rest periods, the “ON” and 

“OFF” times must be listed in the Soapbox (comments) section of 

the Cabrillo Summary sheet. Do not list them in the main body of 

the Cabrillo log file itself. 

4.11. Any electronic file that does not include complete entry 

information (category, power, etc) will have the missing data 

recorded at a default value. 

4.12. Diskettes sent via postal service should be mailed to: ARRL, 

225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111 with the contest name clearly 

marked on the envelope/mailer. 

5. Paper Logs: 

5.1. Entrants must use official Contest Forms or acceptable 

facsimile. 

5.2. The most current forms should be used, as scoring rules, 

ARRL sections, etc, do change periodically. 

5.3. Handwritten logs files, showing required QSO information, 

are accepted for all ARRL contests. 

5.4. Handwritten logs that have been transcribed after the 

contest to a word processor, database, or contest-logging program 

are considered electronic logs and must meet Cabrillo file format 

and submission requirements. 

5.5. Paper entries with more than 500 QSOs must include band 

by band dupe sheets. 

5.6. Paper entries should be submitted to: ARRL, 225 Main St, 

Newington, CT 06111 with the contest name clearly marked on the 

envelope. 

5.7. Only one contest entry may be included in each envelope 

mailed to ARRL. 

6. Reporting: 

6.1. Entries must be sent to the ARRL within 30 days after the 

end of the contest. For electronic submissions, this is determined by 

the date the e-mail is sent. For regular mail, this is determined from the 

postmark. 

6.2. Logs not submitted by the contest deadline will be classified 

as checklogs: no extensions, no exceptions. 

6.3. Entries received at the ARRL more than 30 days after the 

contest submission deadline may not be included in QST listings. 

6.4. Only one entry per e-mail / envelope is allowed. 

6.5. All entries must include complete summary information.

7. Disqualification and Penalties: 

7.1. If the claimed score of a participant is reduced by 2% or more, 

the entry may be disqualified. Score reduction does not include 

correction of arithmetic errors. 

7.2. Score reduction may be made for taking credit for unconfirmed 

QSOs or multipliers, duplicate contacts or other scoring discrepancies. 

7.3. An entry with more than two-percent duplicate contacts left 

in the log or an entry in which more than 2% “rubber clocking” (altering 

the actual time to increase the operating time so that it is greater than 

the allowable limit) is detected will be automatically disqualified. 

7.4. Participants that are disqualified will be barred from 

submitting an entry in the next annual running of that specific contest; 

for example, disqualification from the 2000 phone SS prohibits 

submission of an entry for the 2001 phone SS, but 2001 CW SS 

participation is allowable. 

7.5. Call signs of all disqualified partici-pants will be listed in the 

QST contest report. 

7.6. Any participant on the borderline of disqualification, but not 

actually disqualified may receive a warning letter. 

7.7. In a paper log, for each duplicate contact that is claimed for 

credit, each miscopied call sign or each busted exchange that is removed 

from the log by HQ, three additional contacts will be deleted as a 

penalty. In electronic logs, for each duplicate contact that is claimed 

for credit, each miscopied call sign or each busted exchange that is 

removed from the log by HQ, one additional contact will be deleted as 

a penalty. The penalty will not be considered part of the 2% 

disqualification criteria. 

7.8. In all cases, the decisions of the ARRL Awards Committee 

are final. 

8. Club Competition: 

8.1. Six ARRL-sponsored contests include an ARRL affiliated club 

competition: 

8.1.1. January VHF Sweepstakes 

8.1.2. (February and March) International DX Contest 

8.1.3. September VHF QSO Party 

8.1.4. November Sweepstakes 

8.1.5. (December) 160-Meter Contest 

8.1.6. (December) 10-Meter Contest 

8.2. Only clubs actively affiliated with the ARRL may participate 

in the club competition. This means the club: 

8.2.1. Is affiliated with the ARRL, and 

8.2.2. Has filed an annual report with the Field Services 

Department of ARRL HQ within the last two years. 

8.3. For a club to be listed, the following conditions must be met: 

8.3.1. Entries from three different members of the club must be 

submitted. 

8.3.2. The entry must clearly indicate the club name on the 

summary sheet. 

8.3.3. The club secretary must send a list of all club members 

eligible to compete for the club (not a club roster) and which level 

(unlimited, medium, local) they wish to enter for each competition 

within 30 days after the contest. 

8.3.4. A member’s score must be shown in the contest results to 

be counted for a club. Only that score shown in the results (or in 

subsequent corrections) will count for the club competition. 

8.4. There are three categories of club competition: 

8.4.1. Unlimited 

8.4.1.1. Club submits 51 or more entries. 

8.4.1.2. One station can submit two entries—one on CW and 

one on phone in the November Sweepstakes and the DX Contest. 

8.4.1.3. All stations and all operators must reside within 175 

miles (282 km) of the club’s center. 

8.4.1.4. All members must attend at least 2 club meetings per 

year to be eligible to submit an entry. (However, if the person has not 

been a member for a year’s time, they must have attended one meeting 

as a member prior to the contest.) 

8.4.1.5. Those club members who are disabled to the extent that 

they are unable to travel are exempt from the two meetings per year 

rule. However, they must be regularly active in club affairs. 

8.4.1.6. To be considered bona fide, a member must be active in 

club affairs. 

8.4.1.7. Members living outside 175 miles and members that 

operate stations outside 175 miles may not compete in the club 

competition. (See rule 8.6.) 

8.4.2. Medium 

8.4.2.1. Club submits 50 or fewer entries and does not qualify 

under the local club criteria. 

8.4.2.2. One station can submit two entries—one on CW and one 

on phone in the November Sweepstakes and the DX Contest. 

8.4.2.3. The same mileage and attendance requirements apply 

as the unlimited class club. 

8.4.2.4. Members living outside 175 miles and members that 

operate stations outside 175 miles may not compete in the club 

competition. (See rule 8.6.) 

8.4.3. Local 

8.4.3.1. Club submits 10 or fewer entries. 

8.4.3.2. (One station can submit two entries—one on CW and 

one on phone in the November Sweepstakes and the DX Contest.) 

8.4.3.3. All members must reside and operate within 35 miles of 

the club’s center. 

8.4.3.4. There is no attendance require-ment. 

8.5. Single Operator and Multioperator station scores may be 

counted: 

8.5.1. At a guest-operated single-operator station, both the guest 

operator and the station licensee must be members of the same club in 

order to count the score for that club. 

8.5.2. At multioperator stations, at least 66% of the operators must 

be members of the same club for the score to count for that club. 

8.5.3. A multioperator entry may (optional) utilize non-member 

operators licensed one year or less without including such operators in 

the above 66% calculation. (The intent here is to encourage clubs to 

recruit contesters from newer amateurs without adversely affecting the 

club aggregate score.) 

8.6.For the ARRL International DX Contest, DXpedition 

(operating outside the United States and Canada) scores may be counted 

for either single operator or multioperator stations even though the 

operation is outside the club’s area. 

8.6.1. For single guest operators at a DX station, only the operator 

must be a club member and meet all other criteria. 

8.6.2. For multioperator stations, the score counts for only one 

club and at least 66% of the operators must be members of that club 

and meet all other criteria. 

8.7. In conjunction with the two meetings per year rule, the club 

must hold at least four in-person meetings per year. 

8.8. A club’s entry classification may be changed if, in the opinion 

of the ARRL Awards Committee, the club has manipulated its number 

of entries to allow the club to enter a lower classification. (For example, 

if a club with 100 members submits only the 10 highest scores, even if 

more than 10 of its members wish to compete.) 

8.9. It is not within the intent of these rules that a club should vote 

out a member or that a member resign and then be voted back into the 

club later so the member-attendance rule can be met. 

8.10. The highest scoring active affiliated club entry in each 

category (unlimited, medium, local) will be awarded a gavel. 

General Rules for ARRL Contests on bands below 30 MHz (HF) 


1.1. See General Rules for All ARRL Contests. 

1.2. Cross-mode contacts are not permitted. 

2. Entry Categories: The following categories are defined for 

ARRL contests on bands below 30 MHz. See the rules for each contest 

to determine which categories apply, and whether additional 

categories exist for that contest. 

2.1. Single Operator: One person performs all transmitting, 

receiving, spotting, and logging functions as well as equipment and 

antenna adjustments. 

2.1.1. Use of spotting assistance or nets (operating 

arrangements involving other individuals, DX-alerting nets, packet, 

Internet, etc) is not permitted. 

2.1.2. Single-Operator stations are allowed only one 

transmitted signal at any given time. 

2.1.3. Single Operators may be divided into subcategories 

based on power output: 

2.1.3.1. QRP: 5-W PEP output or less. 


2.1.3.2. Low Power: 150-W PEP output or less. 

2.1.3.3. High Power: More than 150-W PEP output. 

2.2. Single Operator Assisted: One person performs all 

transmitting, receiving, and logging functions as well as equipment 

and antenna adjustments. 

2.2.1. Use of spotting assistance or nets (operating arrangements 

involving other individuals, DX-alerting nets, packet, etc) not physically 

located at the station is permitted. 

2.2.2. Single Operator Assisted stations are allowed only one 

transmitted signal at any given time, not including transmissions on 

a spotting net. 

2.3. Multioperator: More than one person performs 

transmitting, receiving and logging functions, etc. Multioperator 

stations are divided into subcategories: 

2.3.1. Multioperator, Single Transmitter: Stations are 

allowed only one transmitted signal at any given time. 

2.3.1.1. In those contests that do not have Single Operator 

Assisted class, this category includes those single operators that use 

any form of spotting assistance such as from nets or packet. 

2.3.1.2. Includes those that receive assistance with logging or 

relief operators, etc. 

2.3.1.3. Limited to 6 band changes (maximum) in any clock 

hour. 

2.3.1.3.1. The clock hour is from zero through 59 minutes. 

2.3.1.3.2. Band changes are defined so that, for example, a 

change from 20 meters to 40 meters and then back to 20 meters 

constitutes two band changes. 

2.3.1.4. Violation of the 6 band changes rule or improper 

logging will result in an entry reclassification to the Multi-operator 

Multitransmitter class. 

2.3.2. Multioperator, Two Transmitter: 

2.3.2.1. A maximum of two trans-mitted signals at any given 

time, on different bands. 

2.3.2.2. Each transmitter is limited to 6 band changes 

(maximum) in any clock hour. 

2.3.2.2.1. The clock hour is from zero through 59 minutes. 

2.3.2.2.2. Band changes are defined so that, for example, a 

change from 20 meters to 40 meters and then back to 20 meters 

constitutes two band changes. 

2.3.2.2.3. Violation of the 6 band changes rule or improper 

logging will result in an entry reclassification to the Multi-operator 

Multitransmitter class. 

2.3.2.3. Both transmitters may work any and all stations; the 

second transmitter is not limited to working new multipliers only. 

However, a station may only be worked once per band regardless of 

which transmitter is used. 

2.3.2.4. Each of the two transmitters must keep a separate, 

chronological log for the entire contest period. 

2.3.2.5. The Cabrillo log must indicate which transmitter 

made each QSO in this category. 

2.3.3. Multioperator, Multitransmitter: 

2.3.3.1. A maximum of one transmitted signal per band at 

any given time. 

2.3.3.2. Multioperator, Multitransmitter stations must keep 

a separate, chrono-logical log for each band for the entire contest 

period. 

General Rules for ARRL Contests on bands above 50 MHz 


1.1. See General Rules for All ARRL Contests. 

1.2. Individuals and stations are limited to one entry per contest. 

1.3. A transmitter, receiver, or antenna used to contact one or 

more stations may not subsequently be used under any other call 

during the contest period, except as provided for in General Rules 

for All ARRL Contests number 3.5. 

1.4. Stations may be worked for credit only once per band from 

any given grid square, regardless of mode. This does not prohibit 

working a station from more than one grid square with the same call 

sign (such as a Rover). 

1.5. Crossband QSOs do not count. 

1.6. Aeronautical mobile contacts do not count. 

1.7. Retransmitting either or both stations, or use of repeater 

frequencies, is not permitted. 

1.7.1. This prohibits use of all repeater frequencies. 

1.7.2. Contest entrants may not transmit on repeaters or 

repeater frequencies for the purpose of soliciting contacts. 

1.8. Use of the national simplex frequency, 146.52 MHz, or 

immediately adjacent guard frequencies, is prohibited. 

1.8.1. Contest entrants may not transmit on 146.52 for the 

purpose of making or soliciting QSOs. 

1.8.2. The intent of this rule is to protect the national simplex 

frequency from contest monopolization. 

1.8.3. There are no restrictions on the use of 223.50 MHz. 

1.9. Only recognized FM simplex frequencies may be used, such 

as 144.90 to 145.00; 146.49, .55 and .58, and 147.42, .45, .48, .51, 

.54 and .57 MHz on the 2-meter band. 

1.9.1. Local-option simplex channels and frequencies adjacent 

to the above that do not violate the intent of the above rules, or the 

spirit and intent of the band plans as recommended in the ARRL 

Repeater Directory, may be used for contest purposes. 

1.10. While no minimum distance is specified for contacts, 

equipment should be capable of communications at a range of at least 

1 km. 

1.11. A station located precisely on a dividing line between grid 

squares must select only one as the location for exchange purposes. A 

different grid-square multiplier cannot be given without moving the 

complete station (including antennas) at least 100 meters. 

1.12. Above 300 GHz, contacts are permitted for contest credit 

only between licensed amateurs using coherent radiation on 

transmission (for example, laser) and employing at least one stage of 

electronic detection on receive. 


1.13. Marine Mobile (and Maritime) entries will be listed 

separately as “Marine Mobile” in the listings and compete separately 

for awards. 

1.14. Participants are reminded that the segment 50.100-50.125 

MHz should be used for intercontinental QSOs only, using 50.125 

MHz as a calling frequency, then QSY after contact is established. 

2. Entry Categories: The following categories are defined for 

ARRL contests on bands above 50 MHz. See the rules for each contest 

to determine which categories apply, and whether additional 

categories exist for that contest. 

2.1. Single Operator: One person performs all transmitting, 

receiving, spotting, and logging functions as well as equipment and 

antenna adjustments. 

2.1.1. Single Operator Low Power: 

2.1.1.1 Power limits on any band may not exceed the 

following: 

2.1.1.1.1. 50 MHz and 144 MHz—200 W PEP. 

2.1.1.1.2. 222 MHz and 432 MHz—100 W PEP. 

2.1.1.1.3. 902 MHz and above—10 W PEP. 

2.1.2. Single Operator High Power: Power limits on any band 

exceeds the limits for the Single Operator Low power. 

2.1.3. Use of spotting assistance or nets (operating 

arrangements involving other individuals, DX-alerting nets, packet, 

etc) is not permitted. 

2.1.4. Single Operator stations are allowed only one transmitted 

signal at any given time. 

2.1.5. Both categories of Single Operator stations compete for 

all-band and single-band awards. 

2.1.6. Overall and single-band winners are recognized both in 

QST score listings and in awards offered. 

2.2. Single Operator Portable: (formerly QRP Portable) 

2.2. 10 W PEP output or less. 

2.2.1. Portable power source. 

2.2.2. Portable equipment and antennas. 

2.2.3. Single Operator Portable stations must operate from 

a location other than a permanent station location. 

2.2.4. Single Operator Portable stations may not change 

locations during the contest period outside of the original 500 

meter diameter permitted circle. 

2.3. Rover: One or two operators of a single station that moves 

among two or more grid squares during the course of a contest. 

2.3.1. A rover vehicle may transport only one station using a 

single call sign.

2.3.2. A rover may not operate with more than one call sign. 

2.3.3. Rover vehicles must transport all the equipment, power 

supplies, and antennas used at each operating site. 

2.3.4. Rovers sign “rover” on phone and /R on CW after their 

call sign. 

2.3.5. All Rovers are encouraged to adopt operating practices 

that allow as many stations as possible to contact them. 

2.3.6. Rover operators may submit separate logs for single 

operator (fixed station) in addition to their rover entries. Rovers 

submitting a score for inclusion in a club competition must also 

include a secondary summary sheet indicating the portion of the score 

which counts for the club score if any of the QSOs submitted take 

place outside of their club’s territory. 

2.4. Multioperator: More than one person performs 

transmitting, receiving and logging functions, etc. Stations must locate 

all equipment (including antennas) within a circle whose diameter 

does not exceed 300 meters (1,000 feet). Multioperator stations may 

be divided into subcategories: 

2.4.1. Multioperator (Unlimited): Stations submit logs with 

more than four bands used. 

2.4.2. Limited Multioperator: Stations submit logs with a 

maximum of four bands used. (Logs from additional bands used, if 

any, should be included as checklogs.) 

2000 ARRL 10-Meter Contest Rules 

1. Object: For Amateurs worldwide to exchange QSO information 

with as many stations as possible on the 10-meter band. 

2. Date and Contest Period: Second full weekend of December. 

Starts 0000 UTC Saturday; ends 2400 UTC Sunday (December 9– 

10, 2000). 

2.1. All stations operate no more than 36 hours out of the 48- 

hour period. 

2.2. Listening time counts as operating time. 

3. Entry Categories: 

3.1. Single Operator: (9 categories) 

3.1.1. QRP. 

3.1.1.1. Mixed Mode (Phone and CW). 

3.1.1.2. Phone only. 

3.1.1.3. CW only. 

3.1.2. Low Power. 



3.1.2.3. CW only. 

3.1.3. High Power. 



3.1.3.3. CW only. 

3.2. Multioperator, Single Transmitter, mixed mode (only). 

3.2.1. Includes single operators using packet or spotting 

assistance. 

4. Contest Exchange: 

4.1. W/VE stations (including Hawaii and Alaska) send signal 

report and state or province (District of Columbia stations send signal 

report and DC). 

4.1.1. KH6 and KL7 participate as W/VE, not DXCC entities 

in this contest. 

4.2.1. Novice and Technician stations sign /N or /T on CW. If 

used, you must indicate /N or /T on your summary sheet. 

4.2. DX stations (including KH2, KP4, etc, but not including 

KH6 or KL7) transmit signal report and sequential serial number 

starting with 001. 

4.3. Maritime mobile stations send signal report and ITU Region 

(1, 2 or 3). 

5. Scoring: 

5.1. QSO points: 

5.1.1. Count two points for each complete two-way phone 

QSO. 

5.1.2. Count four points for each two-way CW QSO. 

5.1.3. Count eight points for CW QSOs with US Novice or 

Technician stations signing /N or /T (28.1 to 28.3 MHz only). 

5.2. Multipliers: (per mode, phone and CW). 

5.2.1. The fifty US states (plus District of Columbia). 

5.2.2. Canada NB (VE1, 9), NS (VE1), QC (VE2), ON (VE3), 

MB (VE4), SK (VE5), AB (VE6), BC (VE7), NT (VE8), NF (VO1), 

LB (VO2), YT (VY1), PE (VY2), and NU (VY0). 

5.2.3. DXCC entities (except the mainland US, Canada, 

Alaska and Hawaii). 

5.2.4. ITU regions (maritime mobiles only). 

5.3. Final Score: Multiply QSO points by total multipliers (the 

sum of states/VE provinces/DXCC entities/ITU regions per mode). 

Example: KA1RWY works 2245 stations including 1305 phone QSOs, 

930 non-Novice CW QSOs, 10 Novice CW QSOs, for a total of 6410 

QSO points. She works 49 states, 10 Canadian provinces, 23 DXCC 

entities and a maritime mobile station in Region 2 on phone and 30 

states, 8 Canadian provinces, and 19 DXCC entities on CW for a total 

multiplier of 140. Final score = 6410 (QSO points) × 140 (multiplier) 

= 897,400 points. 

6. Miscellaneous: 

6.1. Single operator mixed-mode and multioperator stations may 

work stations once on CW and once on SSB. 

6.2. If participating as DX, your call sign must indicate your 

DXCC entity (N6TR in Oregon does not send N6TR/7, but K6GSS 

in Puerto Rico must send K6GSS/KP4). 

6.3. All entrants may transmit only one signal on the air at any 

given time. 

6.4. All CW contacts must take place below 28.3 MHz. 

7. Awards: Certificates will be awarded to: 

7.1. The highest-scoring single-operator station (in each 

category) from each ARRL/RAC Section and DXCC country. 

7.2. Top scoring Novice/Technician station (each category) in 

ARRL Sections. 

7.3. Top multioperator entries in each ARRL Division, Canada 

and each continent. 

7.4. Additional certificates will be awarded as participation 

warrants. 


8.1. All electronic logs (computer generated) must submit 

an ASCII text file of the log information in Cabrillo file format. 

Paper printouts of the electronic file are not acceptable 

substitutes. 

8.2 Handwritten paper logs are acceptable submissions. 

8.3. All entries must be e-mailed or postmarked by January 

10, 2001. 

8.4. E-mail entries only to: 10meter@arrl.org. Submissions 

require Cabrillo log file with all required information (including 

exchange sent, category entered, power, and ARRL/RAC section— 

see General Rules for specific file format). 

8.5. Electronic files not in Cabrillo file format may be 

designated as checklogs. 

8.6. Paper entries should be mailed to 10 Meter Contest, ARRL, 

225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111. 

8.7. Paper entries must be submitted on current ARRL entry 

forms or an acceptable facsimile. 

8.7.1. Forms are available for downloading at the Contest 

Branch Web page at http://www.arrl.org/contests/forms/. 

8.7.2. Forms are available for an SASE sent to the Contest 

Branch. 

8.7.3. Forms may be received by sending the following 

message to info@arrl.org. 

HELP 

SEND 10M.RLS 

SEND 10M.FRM 

8.8. See “General Rules for All ARRL Contests” and “General 

Rules for ARRL Contests on bands below 30 MHz (HF)” in this issue 

of QST. 

8.9. General queries should be directed to the Contest Branch 

at N1ND@arrl.org or by calling 860-594-0232. 


2000 ARRL 160-Meter Contest Rules 

1. Object: For Amateurs worldwide to exchange information with 

W/VE amateurs on the 160-meter band CW only. DX-to-DX QSOs 

do not count for contest credit. 

2. Date and Contest Period: First full weekend of December. 

Starts 2200 UTC Friday, ends 1600 UTC Sunday (December 1-3, 

2000). This is a forty-two hour period with no time limitation. 

3. Entry Categories: 

3.1. Single Operator: 

3.1.1. QRP. 

3.1.2. Low Power. 

3.1.3. High Power. 

3.2. Multi-operator, Single Transmitter (only). 

3.2.1. This includes single operators using packet or spotting 

assistance. 

4. Contest Exchange: 

4.1. W/VE: Signal report and ARRL/RAC Section. 

4.2. DX: Signal report. Country name is obvious from the 

callsign. Send ITU Region if maritime mobile. 

5. Scoring: 

5.1. QSO Points: 

5.1.1. Two points for QSOs with amateurs in an ARRL/RAC 

Section. 

5.1.2. W/VE stations count five points for DX QSOs. 

5.2. Multipliers: ARRL/RAC Sections (maximum of 80) and 

DXCC countries (W/VE participants only). 

5.2.1. Northwest Territory multi-plier includes the Yukon 

(VY1) and Nunavut (VY0). 

5.3. Final Score: Multiply QSO points by multiplier. Example: 

KA1TRF works 357 stations, including 13 DX stations, and has a 

multiplier of 67. His score would be 753 QSO points [(344 × 2) + (13 

× 5)] multiplied by 67 for 50,451 points. 


6.1. Participants are reminded that the segment 1.830 to 1.835 

should be used for intercontinental QSOs only, in compliance with 

the ARRL band plan. 

7. Awards: Certificates will be awarded to the top-scoring QRP, 

low-power and high-power single-operator stations in each 

ARRL/RAC Section and DXCC country, and to the top-scoring 

multioperator stations in each ARRL Division and continent. 


8.1 All logs that are generated using a computer must submit 

an ASCII text file of the log information in approved ARRL file format 

(Cabrillo). Paper logs in lieu of the electronic file are not acceptable 

substitutes. Handwritten paper logs are still acceptable. 

8.2. All entries for this contest must be emailed or 

postmarked by January 3, 2001. 

8.3. E-mail entries only to: 160meter@arrl.org. Electronic 

submissions require a Cabrillo format summary file (combined 

summary and log). (See “General Rules” for specific file format.) 

8.4. Electronic files not in Cabrillo format may be designated 

as checklogs not eligible for awards. 

8.5. Handwritten paper entries should be mailed to 160 Meter 

Contest, ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111. 

8.6. Paper entries must be submitted on current ARRL entry 

forms or on an acceptable facsimile. 

8.6.1. Forms are available for downloading at the Contest 

Branch Web page at http://www.arrl.org/contests/forms/. 

8.6.2. Forms are available for an SASE sent to the Contest 

Branch. 

8.6.3. Forms may be received by sending the following 

message to info@arrl.org. 

HELP 

SEND 160M.RLS 

SEND 160M.FRM 

QUIT 

8.7. See “General Rules for All ARRL Contests” and “General 

Rules for ARRL Contests on bands below 30 MHz (HF)” in this issue 

of QST. 

8.8. General queries should be directed to the Contest Branch 

at N1ND@arrl.org, or by calling 860-594-0232. 

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STRAYS 

QST Congratulates… 

◊…Dan Ringer, K8WV, who was presented 

with the American Bar Association’s “Sole 

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The annual award recognizes the meritorious 

achievement or accomplishment of a 

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an ARRL Volunteer Counsel and an ARRL 

Volunteer Examiner.

2000 ARRL International 

DX Contest Phone Results 

By Dan Henderson, N1ND 

Contest Branch Manager 

T 

uning across the bands during any 

contest weekend could probably be 

compared to visiting a world-class 

art museum on any busy tourist 

weekend. Picture yourself hurrying through 

gallery after gallery (band after band), 

trying to take in (work) masterpiece after 

masterpiece (QSO after QSO). Throw in a 

wonderful piece of symphonic music, say 

Mussorgsky’s “Pictures in an Exhibition” (to 

simulate the sound involved) and you might 

have the visual, aural and mental experience 

that comes with a world-class contest. 

It would take one of the grand masters 

of the arts to fully capture the excitement 

that was the 2000 ARRL International DX 

Phone Contest, which was run March 4-5. 

A total of 2172 competitive entries were 

received. With the inclusion of 102 check 

logs, we received a record number of entries 

for the combined ARRL 2000 International 

DX Contest—a total of almost 

4700 logs processed between the two contest 

weekends. As you might expect, record 

breaking participation brought about record 

breaking efforts from the US and Canada 

and near-record performances from the rest 

of the globe. 

It has become apparent that operating 

from HC8 provides a tremendous advantage 

for a DX station. With George, K5TR, serving 

as the “guest artist,” the DX Single Op 

High Power category was won from HC8N. 

George survived a stiff challenge from 

WP3R, with Jim, KB3AFT, serving as the 

operator. Top honors from Oceania go to 

Mike, KH6ND, operating from KH7R, 

while Pekka, EA8AH, took top honors 

among African entries. M6T with Andy, 

G4PIQ, wielding the “brush” took top honors 

in Europe while Igor, UA0ZBK, finished 

as “best in show” from Asia. 

The DX Single Op Low Power winner 

was Bob, KQ3V, who “painted the airways” 

operating as VP5A, who handily defeated 

second place and South American continental 

winner Ed, OA4SS. Kazuo, JL1ARF, 

took top honors from Asia, while Janez, 

S57J, led the way in Europe. Jaro, SU9ZZ, 

took top honor for Africa while Craig, 

3D2TC, won Oceania. 

In the DX Single Op QRP category 

Peter, HA2A, emerged as the victor while 

Girts, YL2KL, operated YL8M to top honors 

in the DX Single Op Assisted category. 

DX Single Band winners were KV4FZ 

(160), YV3AZC (80), ZF2JB with KK9A 

as op (40), IQ3A with IV3TAN as op (20), 

TG0AA with IK2NCJ op (15) and ZF2AH 

(10). While great efforts were put forth, no 

overall DX scoring records were established 

during the contest weekend. 

Zbyszek, 9K2/SQ5DAK, managed to make 

several ops happy with a great multiplier 

in his limited operating time. 

Craig, 3D2TC, made quite an impact from 

Fiji, completing a WAS on 10 meters and 

only missing Wyoming on 15 meters. 

W/VE 

Single Operator 

QRP 

KR2Q 1,110,600 

N0KE 641,556 

(at WB0GAZ) 

WA8RCN 442,035 

KB3TS 435,024 

N7VY 430,992 

W6QU 378,144 

(W8QZA, op) 

WA0JYC 375,959 

N0UR 313,992 

W6CN 312,360 

N0HJZ 277,656 

W/VE 


Assisted 

KI1G 5,790,720 

K3WW 5,080,320 

W2RE 4,722,771 

N2TX 4,667,646 

KS1L 4,344,480 

K2XA 3,922,425 

K3MM 3,753,468 

N3AD 3,665,382 

K2BU 3,562,299 

N2NT 3,382,950 

(W2GD,op) 

DX 


QRP 

HA2A 320,991 

F5BEG 226,044 

JR4DAH 184,710 

JH1HRJ 163,674 

JA2JSF 163,350 

JA1YNE 140,301 

(JP1OGL, op) 

JA6GCE 124,830 

LU1VK 88,200 

UA0KCL 85,284 

G3FNM 63,516 

DX 


Assisted 

YL8M 2,352,987 

(YL2KL, op) 

JH4UYB 1,095,219 

OK1DG 668,682 

JQ1BVI 642,546 

IZ5AXA 581,976 

7L4IOU 560,628 

JR2DOL 495,900 

RV3BR 474,306 

JH4NMT 438,840 

PA3EWP 366,366 

The DX Multioperator categories saw 

both exciting competition and a run-away 

winner. Riding an outstanding 4K QSO total 

on a wide-open 10-meter band, the “artists 

known as VP5B” were able to compensate 

for being out-QSOed on three other bands to 

win the Multi-Single category over P40V. 

Also using a superior rate on 10 meters, the 

crew at KL7RA held off the RW2F ops to win 

the DX Multioperator Unlimited category. 

W/VE Single Band Top 10 

160 Meters 

WW2Y 10,206 

K1ZM 9,198 

AA1BU 4,002 

W2VO 912 

W8WEJ 855 

(W8BAR, op) 

80 Meters 

KE1Y 58,140 

K3SV 13,965 

VA3POS 6,498 

AG4W 4,998 

AA9IV 576 

40 Meters 

K4XS 245,127 

K7EM 210,105 

K5MR 207,834 

W4MR 149,592 

(AA4NC, op) 

N5DO 77,964 

W5FO 30,030 

W4JKC 29,388 

N2WK 26,226 

W9GXR 24,840 

KZ2I 23,664 

20 Meters 

WA2QNW 391,524 

W5WMU 324,060 

VA3MG 320,358 

DX Single Band Top 10 

160 Meters 

KV4FZ 28,098 

V26P 21,480 

(W5AJ, op) 

S54E 1,680 

EA1DVY 48 

80 Meters 

YV3AZC 127,716 

CO8ZZ 85,800 

OT0T 58,926 

(ON4UN, op) 

I4AVG 34,194 

S57O 18,135 

EF1CFD 18,135 

DL3LAB 15,480 

4N1K 15,066 

(YU1XA, op) 

OM7M 10,800 

(OM5ZW, op) 

YT0T 7,488 

(YU1FJK, op) 

40 Meters 

ZF2JB 269,748 

(KK9A, op) 

4M5E 133,209 

(YV5NWG, op) 

SP7VC 118,674 

(at SP7GIQ) 

S53M 109,725 

(S55OO, op) 

PY5EG 107,358 

LY3BS 74,850 

JA8NFV 72,663 

F5RZJ 49,446 

YT7A 47,400 

9A4X 36,270 

20 Meters 

IQ3A 538,842 

(IV3TAN, op) 

DJ7AA 513,132 

N9HCA 102,240 

W2AY 100,440 

WA1MKS 71,799 

W0TM 55,440 

N8LIQ 50,172 

K7NAV 41,958 

KB3AGZ 38,391 

15 Meters 

K8DX 1,239,540 

W7WA 987,228 

VA7RR 935,280 

VE6JY 863,232 

W7EJ 806,577 

VE3KZ 749,439 

K4VUD 592,455 

W7EB 419,580 

ND8DX 358,020 

W7FP 275,880 

10 Meters 

W4ZV 981,837 

K5RX 890,760 

K0CL 882,279 

K4WI 721,806 

VA3UZ 699,696 

NA5B 648,000 

(W5AO, op) 

KG9X 645,840 

NY1E 634,056 

K5AM 623,025 

N7DF 596,403 

3E1AA 437,721 

SP2PIK 408,273 

(SP2WKB, op) 

YU1JW 381,189 

YT1BB 378,993 

ZX5J 308,700 

(PP5JR, op) 

YZ9A 303,378 

LY2BM 252,900 

RM4W 245,700 

(RW4WR, op) 

15 Meters 

TG0AA 549,585 

(IK2NCJ, op) 

ZW5B 392,055 

(PY2KC, op) 

S57AW 381,555 

PY0FF 370,992 

SP7GIQ 360,540 

5N0W 331,740 

(OK1RK, op) 

PQ5W 328,686 

OE8SKQ 304,263 

IR2W 296,322 

(I2EOW, op) 

IK2DUU 279,540 

10 Meters 

ZF2AH 495,030 

OK2RZ 483,669 

DF9ZP 471,060 

7J2YAF 465,687 

(JA1KSO,op) 

CT1DVV 456,402 

ON4UN 448,899 

(ON4MA, op) 

LU4FM 447,987 

9AY2K 438,480 

(9A9A, op) 

GM7R 437,190 

(GM0NAI, op) 

S50K 434,700 


Yoshi, JF2FIU, is putting together a good 

station and has become a familiar JA 

QSO in many logs. 

In the DX Multioperator Two-Transmitter 

class, the ops at 6D2X showed why they 

are a major force in contesting. Using their 

location advantage on the low bands and 

great conditions on the high bands, they 

outdistanced KL7Y, though they did fall 

short of setting a new category record. 

In the W/VE “gallery,” similar to the DX 

CW contest, record-breaking efforts were 

“on display” to be admired. Leading the 

way was Bob, KQ2M, in the W/VE Single 

Op High Power category. Bob used his radio 

“palette” to become the first to break 

the 6-million-point barrier, mirroring his 

record setting DX CW performance, also 

set this year. Also breaking the old mark 

was second place finisher John,VE3EJ. 

In the W/VE Single Op QRP and Single 

Op Assisted categories, we also found two 

more artists pulling off a record-setting 

“doublet.” Doug, KR2Q, added the Single 

Op QRP record to his growing contest vitae, 

as he easily outdistanced Philip, N0KE, 

operating from WB0GAZ’s station. While 

four stations broke the existing Single Op 

Assisted mark, it was Rick, KI1G, edging 

out Chas, K3WW, as he did in the CW contest 

to set the new standard for the category. 

Congratulations also go to Ray, W2RE, and 

Mike, N2TX, who also bettered the old 

standard. 

Bill, AC0W, led the way in the W/VE 

Single Op Low Power category, as he edged 

out 3 challengers—Henry, N4VHK (operating 

W4WS), Tom, WD5K, and Fred, 

W2TZ—by less than 83,000 points. Though 

no record was set in the category, it provided 

the best overall competitive finish. 

W/VE Single Band scoring records were 

set by K4XS (40), K8DX (15), and W4ZV 

(10). Of special note is the performance of 

W2WA and VA7RR on 15 meters and 

K5RX and K0CL on 10 meters, who all 

managed to break old category records 

while finishing as runner-ups in the catego- 


W/VE Single Op Low Power 

Score 160 80 40 20 15 10 

AC0W 1,491,963 12/9 25/16 60/39 248/75 331/85 883/95 

W4WS (N4VHK, op) 1,456,389 2/2 26/20 88/48 468/80 332/75 635/88 

WD5K 1,434,510 0/0 31/20 58/26 369/89 312/87 715/100 

W2TZ 1,409,676 4/3 29/24 109/52 214/71 342/77 789/89 

K1SD 1,347,192 2/2 40/31 112/47 306/75 442/79 556/74 

KS1J 1,296,759 5/5 21/19 45/42 250/69 393/85 667/93 

K6RO 1,292,760 8/4 39/18 79/38 291/84 286/82 627/98 

K1NU1,175,070 0/0 14/14 45/37 197/71 313/84 741/93 

WS1A 1,138,977 0/0 13/11 83/52 224/70 295/78 638/92 

VE3XN 1,117,665 2/2 9/7 23/21 339/69 390/73 698/83 

W/VE Single Op High Power 

Score 160 80 40 20 15 10 

KQ2M 6,400,260 10/11 69/36 127/58 1178/119 1546/123 1658/118 

VE3EJ 5,513,712 21/15 71/50 148/70 807/117 1359/124 1322/117 

W9RE 4,949,697 18/14 53/35 131/60 1098/99 848/106 1771/107 

K4ZW 4,621,194 8/8 84/39 142/61 1123/105 1168/106 1169/98 

WB9Z 4,178,310 21/17 81/44 113/61 566/81 969/114 1489/113 

K4AB 3,288,480 19/14 58/40 121/55 680/91 647/102 1195/101 

N2LT 3,439,146 12/9 66/32 75/45 356/79 945/106 1547/111 

K3ZO 2,926,458 5/6 33/24 93/48 585/82 928/104 1014/103 

N4RV 2,828,601 23/17 59/41 102/54 499/92 412/102 1134/117 

W7GG 2,709,720 19/14 60/21 315/50 484/81 565/93 1066/101 

W/VE Multioperator Single Transmitter 

Score 160 80 40 20 15 10 

K5ZD 6,730,380 26/21 172/58 253/83 1145/124 1180/127 1394/125 

W3BGN 6,285,270 30/23 149/59 171/72 1287/116 1014/133 1302/127 

KV1W 6,199,875 22/17 87/51 227/75 1067/114 1167/123 1555/121 

K8AZ 5,961,684 19/17 57/51 114/72 1213/129 927/128 1448/129 

W0GU (at N2IC) 4,924,920 15/11 53/35 284/65 681/106 930/114 1645/124 

W/VE Multioperator Two Transmitters 

Score 160 80 40 20 15 10 

K1AR (at K1EA) 11,435,802 18/16 159/57 417/86 1709/134 2167/145 2171/136 

N3RS 9,557,757 22/18 89/50 398/81 1457/136 1545/137 2168/139 

N2RM 5,958,596 13/13 94/46 135/63 1277/116 999/127 1534/126 

KB1H 5,742,492 12/11 101/49 170/72 993/119 1145/127 1415/121 

K9XD 5,499,711 5/4 31/23 171/65 847/109 1504/119 1599/121 

W/VE Multioperator Unlimited Transmitters 

Score 160 80 40 20 15 10 

KC1XX 19,610,580 45/29 406/85 632/103 2700/164 2777/159 2900/151 

W3LPL 18,015,732 58/34 344/80 698/104 2542/161 2596/162 2516/145 

K3LR 17,744,616 37/23 237/72 631/108 2746/165 2581/162 2492/148 

K9NS 14,225,484 37/24 137/63 395/87 1568/155 2406/160 2901/148 

W1GQ 12,589,776 18/18 163/60 637/104 2399/148 1893/140 1838/134 

DX Single Op Low Power 

Score 160 80 40 20 15 10 

VP5A (KQ3V, op) 4,257,162 120/30 231/46 482/52 664/56 903/57 2346/58 

OA4SS 2,620,026 0/0 33/21 265/50 849/56 1121/57 1326/59 

VP6BR 1,503,000 0/0 1/1 304/49 143/40 478/53 1579/57 

V73CW (AC4G, op) 1,410,750 2/2 18/14 315/49 351/50 580/53 824/57 

JL1ARF 1,214,022 0/0 34/12 161/41 222/52 366/52 1108/57 

JA1CG 1,141,920 0/0 0/0 41/19 380/53 421/55 1238/56 

ZX2B (PY2MNL, op) 1,093,176 0/0 0/0 0/0 386/54 644/56 1139/58 

CO2II 995,565 0/0 0/0 0/0 497/52 708/52 936/51 

JM1LPN 780,084 0/0 5/3 79/27 248/44 495/56 571/56 

S57J 735,435 0/0 24/11 19/13 187/38 483/58 672/57 

DX Single Op High Power 

Score 160 80 40 20 15 10 

HC8N (K5TR, op) 7,645,056 189/49 337/56 548/59 889/60 1489/60 3956/60 

WP3R (KB3AFT, op) 7,254,090 164/42 458/59 518/57 1686/59 1444/59 2948/59 

KH7R (KH6ND, op) 6,676,188 167/47 359/53 551/56 1155/56 1240/60 3231/60 

ZF2NT (N6NT, op) 6,435,558 220/49 464/56 327/51 1391/60 1566/58 2474/59 

V31JP 5,815,071 30/18 344/55 718/56 1100/60 1464/60 2617/60 

HU1A (YT1AD, op) 5,686,092 107/47 446/58 561/57 697/60 731/60 3000/60 

ZF2DR (K5RQ, op) 5,238,477 98/35 229/48 204/49 1378/58 1328/60 2414/59 

V47KP 5,090,715 115/32 337/54 513/52 1259/59 1439/59 1724/59 

EA8AH 4,916,430 6/6 267/50 330/46 1712/59 1414/58 2166/59 

P40B (P43P, op) 4,766,400 138/43 316/55 439/53 713/59 936/61 2258/60 

DX Multioperator Single Transmitter 

Score 160 80 40 20 15 10 

VP5B 8,498,052 171/47 377/57 651/57 1651/59 1452/59 4054/60 

P40V 7,419,015 228/48 542/58 611/57 1268/57 1762/60 2884/59 

8P9Z 6,627,060 145/38 599/57 611/54 1609/59 1097/61 2633/61 

PJ4G 6,059,724 104/33 393/57 485/52 1197/59 1474/59 2679/59 

TM1C 4,907,646 8/7 419/42 526/54 1106/59 1573/60 2169/69 

DX Multioperator Two Transmitters 

Score 160 80 40 20 15 10 

6D2X 11,223,927 324/53 703/58 1229/59 2205/60 2995/61 3203/60 

KL7Y 7,062,198 46/15 248/38 970/56 1463/59 2780/59 2724/59 

WP2Z 6,871,005 105/34 404/52 545/56 1451/59 1898/60 2732/60 

IR4T 6,189,336 41/13 185/30 636/57 2010/61 1913/61 2531/60 

RU1A 4,476,150 0/0 22/10 498/57 2032/59 1781/60 1757/59 

DX Multioperator Unlimited Transmitters 

Score 160 80 40 20 15 10 

KL7RA 5,989,440 15/7 244/31 621/56 1369/59 2179/59 2912/60 

RW2F 5,148,729 3/3 176/26 739/60 1845/61 1772/61 1798/60 

T48RAC 4,471,602 130/35 649/58 512/56 920/57 1743/60 748/51 

9A7A 4,093,164 14/8 163/26 518/51 1562/61 1256/61 1578/61 

JH7PKU3,195,801 0/0 154/30 414/53 778/58 1150/60 1617/58

W/VE Region Leaders 

Boxes list call sign, score, and power (A = QRP, B = Low Power, C = High Power). 

Northeast Region 

(New England, Hudson and 

Atlantic Divisions; 

Maritime and Quebec 

Sections) 

KR2Q 1,110,600 A 

KB3TS 435,024 A 

N1TM 97,512 A 

W2JEK 10,626 A 

W1XV 1,872 A 

W2TZ 1,409,676 B 

K1SD 1,347,192 B 

KS1J 1,296,759 B 

K1NU 1,175,070 B 

WS1A 1,138,977 B 

KQ2M 6,400,260 C 

N2LT 3,439,146 C 

K3ZO 2,926,458 C 

K2PLF 2,285,490 C 

K2WK 2,284,200 C 

Southeast Region 

(Delta, Roanoke and 

Southeastern Divisions) 

W3MGL 23,598 A 

AD4TJ 13,776 A 

W4WS 1,456,389 B 

N4IG 946,950 B 

WA4IMC 892,440 B 

K4BEV 563,562 B 

WA1EHL 561,792 B 

K4ZW 4,621,194 C 

K4AB 3,288,480 C 

N4RV 2,828,601 C 

K4DLJ 1,668,009 C 

K2UOP 1,326,645 C 

Central Region 

(Central and Great Lakes 

Divisions; Ontario Section) 

WA8RCN 442,035 A 

N8XA 223,200 A 

AF9J 7,626 A 

VE3XN 1,117,665 B 

N4TZ 1,041,768 B 

VE3WIB 782,100 B 

KI8CS 681,429 B 

KF8K 681,138 B 

W9RE 4,949,697 C 

WB9Z 4,178,310 C 

K9BGL 1,827,660 C 

KE8GG 1,371,249 C 

WQ7B 1,343,991 C 

Midwest Region 

(Dakota, Midwest, Rocky 

Mountain and West Gulf 

Divisions; Manitoba and 

Saskatchewan Sections) 

N0KE 641,556 A 

(at WB0GAZ) 

WA0JYC 375,114 A 

N0UR 313,992 A 

N0HJZ 277,656 A 

WA0VBW 179,772 A 

AC0W 1,491,963 B 

WD5K 1,434,510 B 

VE5SF 786,255 B 

KW4T 494,730 B 

WA5IYX 478,470 B 

NR0X 1,834,668 C 

N6ZZ 1,401,456 C 

N5JR 1,279,608 C 

K5OT 1,171,200 C 

K5ZO 1,142,856 C 

West Coast Region 

(Pacific, Northwestern and 

Southwestern Divisions; 

Alberta, British Columbia 

and NWT/Yukon Sections) 

N7VY 430,992 A 

W6QU 378,144 A 

(W8QZA, op) 

W6CN 312,360 A 

NQ7X 80,154 A 

N6WR 30,996 A 

K6RO 1,292,760 B 

W7YAQ 950,880 B 

WN6K 681,750 B 

AE6Y 537,732 B 

WN7J 514,800 B 

W7GG 2,709,720 C 

WC6H 2,511,495 C 

(NU6S, op) 

N6ED 2,195,559 C 

N7TT 1,620,402 C 

AK6R 1,084,455 C 

Plaque Winners 

Category Winner Sponsor 

W/VE All Band Phone KQ2M Frankford Radio Club 

W/VE 1.8 MHz Phone WW2Y Butch Greve, 

W9EWC Memorial 

W/VE 14 MHz Phone WA2QNW William F. Beyer Jr., N2WB 

W/VE Low Power Phone AC0W Dauberville DX Association 

W/VE Single Operator Assisted KI1G Pete Carter, K3VW Memorial 

W/VE Multi-Single K5ZD Steve Adams K4RF 

W/VE Multi-Unlimited Phone KC1XX Western New York 

DX Association 

World Single Operator Phone HC8N (K5TR, op) North Jersey DX Association 

Asia Single Operator Phone UA0ZBK Tim Coad, NU6S 

Europe Single Operator Phone M6T (G4PIQ, op) Jerry Griffin, K6MD 

Oceania Single Operator Phone KH7R (KH6ND, op) W7EW in honor of W7IYW 

World 1.8 MHz Phone KV4FZ In Memory of ZL2BT 

World 3.5 Mhz Phone YV3AZC K1ZM Communications, Inc 

World 14 MHz Phone IQ3A (IV3TAN, op) Central California DX Club 

World 21 MHz Phone TG0AA (IK2NCJ, op) Long Island DX Association 

World 28 MHz Phone ZF2AH North Shenandoah 

DX Association NS4DX 

Category Winner Sponsor 

World QRP Phone HA2A Southern Arizona 

DX Association 

World Single Operator Assisted YL8M Willamette Valley DX Club 

(YL2KL, op) 

World Multi-Single Phone VP5B Carl Cook, AI6V/P49V 

Asia Multi-Operator Single JA7YAA Yankee Clipper Contest Club 

North America Multi-Single Phone 8P9Z * Nick Lash, K9KLR 

World Multi-Two Phone 6D2X W6NL and K6BL 

World Multi-Multi Phone KL7RA Stanley Cohen, W8QDQ 

Europe Multi-Multi Phone RW2F Operators at K1TTT 

Oceania Multi-Multi Phone AH0P David Brandenburg, K5RQ 

South America Multi-Two Phone PY3MHZ Operators at K1TTT 

Great Lakes Div. Single Operator KE8GG Livonia (MI) Amateur Radio 

Club 

Japan All Band Phone JA1ELY Communication Ham Club 

Japan Low Power All Band Phone JL1ARF Western Washington DX Club 

Seventh Call Area All Band Phone W7GG Willamette Valley DX Club 

*Asterisk indicates plaque is awarded to runner-up when winner has been awarded 

an overall plaque. 

ries. The remaining W/VE Single Band 

winners were WW2Y (160), KE1Y (80), 

and WA2QNW (20). 

Perhaps this year’s phone contest will be 

remembered as the “Year of the Multioperator 

Station.” Every W/VE multioperator 

record was broken during the contest. The 

first five finishers in the Multioperator Single 

Transmitter category each broke the old 

Affiliated Club Competition 

Unlimited Category Score Entries 

Yankee Clipper Contest Club 394,997,526 253 

Frankford Radio Club 322,686,531 164 

Potomac Valley Radio Club 173,331,348 119 

Medium Category 

Society of Midwest Contesters 73,709,229 42 

Northern California Contest Club 63,166,662 43 

North Coast Contesters 54,085,131 13 

Mad River Radio Club 36,717,858 20 

North Texas Contest Club 34,653,282 29 

Southern California Contest Club 34,355,163 34 

Central Texas DX and Contest Club 32, 023,164 8 

Minnesota Wireless Assn 28,993,308 27 

South East Contest Club 27,797,874 16 

Tennessee Contest Group 26,286,204 33 

Florida Contest Group 25,265,535 27 

Mother Lode DX/Contest Club 14,571,768 15 

Western Washington DX Club 13,982,358 27 

Order of Boiled Owls of New York 11,782,317 10 

Rochester (NY) DX Assn 10,343,655 20 

Western New York DX Assn 5,942,889 16 

Southwest Ohio DX Assn 5,920,266 3 

Central Arizona DX Assn 5,565,087 12 

Willamette Valley DX Club 4,736,517 7 

Oklahoma DX Assn 4,537,266 5 

Eastern Iowa DX Assn 3,985,536 4 

Mile High DX Assn 3,975,699 3 

Cajun Contest Club 3,861,324 3 

Carolina DX Assn 3,547,737 10 

Grand Mesa Contesters 2,910,171 9 

Kansas City DX Club 2,851,200 9 

Ozark Contest Club 2,761,779 5 

Texas DX Society 2,517,357 8 

Magnolia DX Assn 2,265,636 4 

record. Congratulations to the ops at K5ZD 

for leading the charge on the record book. 

In the W/VE Multi-Two category the 

team of K1AR, operating at K1EA’s station, 

broke the existing category record substantially 

(by almost two megs) and painted a 

victory over second place N3RS on their 

canvas. In the W/VE Multi-Unlimited 

category, the familiar calls of KC1XX, 

Score Entries 

Southern California DX Club 1,939,329 5 

Salt City DX Assn 1,898,760 9 

Worldradio Staff ARC 1,695,351 10 

Mississippi Valley DX/Contest Club 1,592,658 4 

West Park Radiops 1,388,358 11 

Twin City Ham Club 1,265,037 5 

Bay Area Wireless Assn 1,198,836 3 

Northern Arizona DX Assn 1,181,211 7 

California Central Coast DX Club 1,177,752 3 

Northrop Grumman Radio Club 1,130,175 7 

Poughkeepsie ARC 901,473 3 

Northern California DX Club 626,238 3 

Wabasha Area RC 440,790 3 

Ozaukee Radio Club 410,250 4 

Green River Valley ARS 324,063 3 

Kentucky Contest Group 315,933 3 

Woodbridge Wireless 225,162 3 

South Jersey Radio Assn 109,476 6 

Local Category 

Hudson Valley Contesters and DXers 17,514,624 8 

River City Contesters 5,233,869 3 

Great Falls Area ARC 2,483,880 5 

American Red Cross Emergency 1,729,245 7 

Midwest Contest Club 1,481,067 3 

Western Illinois ARC 1,036,485 3 

Heartland DX Association 868,803 7 

Metro DX Club 550,320 3 

Northern New York Contest Club 369,603 4 

Sturdy Memorial Hospital ARC 253,008 3 

CT RI Contest Group 114,540 3 

W3LPL, K3LR and K9NS are found leading 

the way. Using towers and antenna 

arrays worthy to be called sculptures, the 

quartet of stations all broke the existing 

category record. In the end, the crew 

at KC1XX emerged as the category 

winner. 

The Affiliated Club Competition saw 

each category emerge with a definitive winner. 

At times, quantity definitely has an impact. 

But don’t overlook the quality of the 

entries. The Unlimited competition saw the 

Yankee Clipper Contest Club emerge as 

champion over the Frankford Radio club. 

FRC’s average log size was over 1.9 million 

points—compared to YCCC’s 1.5 million. 

However, YCCC members submitted 

90 more logs than FRC to tip the balance 

in their favor. 

In the Medium Club competition, the 

Society of Midwest Contesters staged a 

heated battle with the Northern California 

Contest Club. The number of submissions 

was almost identical (42 to 43) but SMC’s 

points per log average of 1.75 million was 

around 280 thousand points more per log 

than NCCC, and gave them a decisive victory. 

In the Local Club category, top honors 

go to the Hudson Valley Contesters and 

DXers, who used their East Coast advantage 

to outdistance runner-up River City 

Contesters. 


All artists look for ways to expand their 

talents. Some play in new mediums – canvas 

or sculpture or clay for example. Now 

is the time for contesters, to also try new 

skills and talents. Maybe adding a new band 

to your collection will help you create a new 

personal best score. Changing the “canvas” 

(a new radio or antenna perhaps) might help 

you increase your potential. Start thinking 

about new skills and strategies for this contest. 

Remember that Cabrillo will be the 

only official ARRL electronic file format 

by the time this contest rolls around in 

2001. Whether the “picture” you paint to 

exhibit your talent next year is just for personal 

pleasure, or becomes an award winning 

“masterpiece,” we are certain that the 

many “brushstrokes” across the bands will 

paint an overall picture worthy to be admired 

by all. 

Soapbox 

First time over a meg in ARRL DX and first time for 

DXCC on 2 bands. Conditions on 10 and 15 were 

unbelievable and 40 was open to everywhere in the 

hour before sunrise on Sunday. WOW! (AA1QD)… 

We are always full of fight! (AH0P)…First time for 

SO2R What a thrill to hear Ghana in one ear and the 

Ivory Coast in the other! (AK6R)…The contest was 

Revised ARRL International DX CW Contest Scores 

After the October issue of QST went to press, an error was discovered in the log 

checking software for the 2000 ARRL International DX CW Contest results. The error 

caused multiplier totals for all electronically submitted logs (DX and W/VE) to be 

undercounted. The problem has been corrected and the revised scores will be used to 

determine all awards and certificates. Since all electronic logs were affected by the same 

order, you should notice very little change in the final standings in the contest. The 

complete revised article will be posted on the ARRL Contest Branch Web Page at: http:/ 

/www.arrl.org/contests in Adobe PDF format and may be downloaded from that site. 

For those without Internet access, a printout of the revised article is available upon 

request to: ARRL Contest Branch, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111. An SASE with 2 

units of postage would be appreciated. 

On behalf of the log checking volunteers and Contest Branch employees, I apologize 

for the error and any inconvenience it may cause.—Dan Henderson, N1ND, ARRL Contest 

Branch Manager. 

fun. A big thank you to N5KO for letting me play 

radio. (K5TR at HC8N)…Wow!! What great conditions. 

Wish there were more hours in a day 

(K1MV)…Heard stations up to 28.950 (K3NCO)… 

My first ARRL DX Contest in 40+ years. Great! 

(K5EJL)…DXCC on 10 and I only operated Sunday—hello 

sunspots! (K7BG)…My first 200 hour 

contest! (K8DX)…Worked all continents very soon 

after starting contest! (KC0FUD)…Most contacts 

ever including 20 new ones for me! (KC7WUE)… 

Being able to put out the DC multiplier was great 

fun, but the best moments were being called a “rare” 

one by T32B and finally working Suriname! 

(KE3VV)…Thanks to VY1JA for going to a lot of 

extra effort in giving us YT on all six bands. Jay, 

you’re a real gentleman! (KH7R)…Conditions were 

almost too good. Low band activity suffered. USA 

operators were pointed at population centers, not at 

the South Pacific. The 10 meters runs were terrific, 

though, with 277 the first hour (T32B)…80 and 160 

were terrible with static over the pain barrier! Ten 

was as good as it gets! Fantastic! The contest was 

great fun and it demonstrates for those of us at the 

ends of the earth what it must be like to be close to 

the big population centers of the US and Europe. 

(VK5GN) 

Scores 

Scores are listed by DXCC Entity and ARRL\RAC Sections. Within each Country or Section, scores are listed in descending order, Single Op by power 

categories, then Single Band entries. All Single Assisted and Multioperator entries then follow. Line scores list call sign, score, QSOs, multipliers, power 

(A = QRP, B = Low Power, C = High Power, D = Multioperator), and band. 

W/VE 


1 

Connecticut 

N1TM 97,512 239 136 A 

W1CTN 1,024,830 1158 295 B 

K1RO 534,264 788 226 B 

KA1JVR 204,282 351 194 B 

W1AZT 127,872 288 148 B 

KA1RWY 79,629 209 127 B 

KE1AU 15,405 79 65 B 

W1XF 8,694 69 42 B 

KQ2M 6,400,260 4588 465 C 

W1NG 2,130,096 1592 446 C 

K1VDF 1,140,795 1515 251 C 

KE1IH 967,308 1082 298 C 

NT1N 910,296 1128 269 C 

N4XR 601,398 602 333 C 

W1AW (N1ND, op) 

344,112 536 214 C 

W1QK 271,029 473 191 C 

W1CRS (W1RPG, op) 

136,710 310 147 C 

KA1DSQ 100,980 306 110 C 

K1IM 64,974 238 91 C 

W1TS 40,158 138 97 C 

KA1VMG 38,391 191 67 C 

K8CH 17,160 88 65 C 

W1AMF 221,805 795 93 B 10 

Eastern Massachusetts 

K1NU 1,175,070 1310 299 B 

K1HT 734,046 893 274 B 

KA1DZV 681,651 851 267 B 

W1VIV 420,552 649 216 B 

N3KCJ 387,855 585 221 B 

N1DS 264,438 498 177 B 

K1TEX 252,495 465 181 B 

K1WCC 198,897 397 167 B 

N1ZZN 187,110 378 165 B 

N1EDM 136,851 319 143 B 

WT1O 98,298 258 127 B 

K1VUT 82,800 240 115 B 

WG1Z 73,080 290 84 B 

K1IX 66,738 227 98 B 

W1EWN 37,728 131 96 B 

WA1WFH 36,864 128 96 B 

KC1WD 24,948 108 77 B 

N1CX 2,084,850 1695 410 C 

K5MA 1,719,360 1592 360 C 

NZ1Q 1,223,928 1146 356 C 

W1RY 773,424 984 262 C 

W1KRS 653,310 854 255 C 

KA1UQ 442,656 696 212 C 

K1TWF 351,876 497 236 C 

W1OHM 256,056 454 188 C 

W1AZ 229,890 395 194 C 

K1GU 205,320 472 145 C 

W1TE 179,400 325 184 C 

W1DO 63,075 145 145 C 

W1CC 13,158 86 51 C 

K1ZM 9,198 73 42 C 160 

AA1BU 4,002 46 29 C 160 

KE1Y 58,140 285 68 C 80 

W1ZZ 89,964 357 84 B 10 

KY1B 26,304 137 64 B 10 

Maine 

KA1IS 598,302 773 258 B 

N1AO 219,474 411 178 B 

K1MY 951,345 1215 261 C 

W1CEK 224,472 398 188 C 

K1MV 56,661 187 101 C 

NY1E 634,056 1822 116 C 10 

KA1PRD 88,695 365 81 A 10 

KA1RLI 74,646 319 78 B 10 

KA1AIF 19,470 118 55 C 10 

New Hampshire 

W1XV 1,872 26 24 A 

WS1A 1,138,977 1253 303 B 

KG1V 294,120 516 190 B 

WB1EDI 277,905 485 191 B 

WA1ZYX 98,829 237 139 B 

K1HI 1,514,412 1426 354 C 

N1SP 657,804 764 287 C 

K1BD 520,446 683 254 C 

WQ1H 396,717 593 223 C 

WE1USA 346,185 1099 105 B 10 

K1BV 67,275 325 69 B 10 

Rhode Island 

K1SD 1,347,192 1458 308 B 

KS1J 1,296,759 1381 313 B 

K1VSJ 567,162 778 243 B 

KB1LN 73,530 215 114 B 

W1OP 560,070 762 245 C 

W1WFZ 314,766 402 261 C 

WA1MKS 71,799 263 91 C 20 

W1RFQ 54,000 225 80 C 10 

N1YKH 4,836 52 31 B 10 

Vermont 

W1ECH 246,279 439 187 B 

AA1SU 200,700 446 150 B 

K1KD 163,485 315 173 B 

W1WS 68,688 212 108 B 

W1ZS 68,688 212 108 B 

K2MME 20,460 110 62 B 

KA1LDS 11,760 70 56 B 

W1ZK 927,447 1007 307 C 

WB1GQR (W1SJ, op) 

527,055 857 205 C 

KK1L 169,440 353 160 C 

N1PEA 167,904 352 159 C 

Western Massachusetts 

W1KT 729,261 813 299 B 

KX1X 465,570 739 210 B 

AE1B 393,720 680 193 B 

W1TO 59,388 202 98 B 

W1RZF 1,418,055 1411 335 C 

KK1DX 944,520 926 340 C 

KD1KI 599,949 749 267 C 

W1SRG 454,176 608 249 C 

N1FUS 74,100 325 76 B 10 

N1HHQ 10,824 88 41 B 10 

2 

Eastern New York 

W2ENY 304,500 500 203 B 

WT2JG 236,991 401 197 B 

K2SIG 212,925 425 167 B 

WF2B 133,245 329 135 B 

N2MTG 66,744 206 108 B 

W2PS 869,934 1174 247 C 

K2XF 842,499 933 301 C 

N1JP 719,862 839 286 C 

W2YK 718,815 865 277 C 

K2EP 645,606 806 267 C 

W2ZU 361,152 576 209 C 

NA2M 348,090 566 205 C 

N2LH 27,612 156 59 C 20 

WX2N 36,783 183 67 B 15 

K2ANT 40,068 212 63 B 10 

N2VZA 37,572 202 62 B 10 

KC2CRO 15,228 94 54 B 10 

W2WHO 5,301 57 31 B 10 

NYC-Long Island 

K2DO 765,765 1155 221 B 

WB2AYQ 421,104 566 248 B 

KG2FH 204,180 410 166 B 

N2LEB 203,625 375 181 B 

K2TV 180,180 429 140 B 

N2LDV 43,488 151 96 B 

K2DL 5,733 49 39 B 

W2YG 160,962 386 139 C 

N2GC 3,960 40 33 C 

WB2AMU 14,688 96 51 B 40 

NS2W 22,743 133 57 B 20 

K2MFY 219,024 676 108 B 10 

N2UN 165,870 582 95 C 10 

W3EH 34,944 182 64 B 10 

Northern New Jersey 

KR2Q 1,110,600 1234 300 A 

W2JEK 10,626 77 46 A 

K2WA 335,400 559 200 B 

W2QU 139,524 302 154 B 

N2NYR 22,365 105 71 B 

N2LT 3,439,146 3001 382 C 

K2WK 2,284,200 2350 324 C 

N7UN 1,661,352 1624 341 C 

W2EN 1,380,030 1465 314 C 

N2TTT 212,148 332 213 C 

W2UDT 211,041 393 179 C 

W2YR 202,404 404 167 C 

N2MH 188,475 359 175 C 

W2AZK 134,064 294 152 C 

N2ST 99,960 238 140 C 

WA2QNW 391,524 1106 118 C 20 

AE2JL 24,864 148 56 B 15 

WA2BKN 34,368 179 64 C 10 

K2YSY 25,560 142 60 C 10 

N2OPJ 7,881 71 37 C 10 

Northern New York 

NG2C 36,855 189 65 B 10 

N2JNZ 25,110 155 54 A 10 

Southern New Jersey 

K1JT 192,780 378 170 B 

N1IBM 123,930 270 153 B 

KA2YKN 67,098 211 106 B 

W2FGY 24,000 100 80 B 

KC2DPV 9,522 69 46 B 

K2JF 2,610 30 29 B 

N2MR 601,020 795 252 C 

WW2Y 10,206 81 42 C 160 

K2BQW 103,761 427 81 B 10 

Western New York 

W2TZ 1,409,676 1487 316 B 

K2CS 435,960 692 210 B 

WB2ABD 272,244 463 196 B 

N2LQQ 147,030 338 145 B 

KM2L 117,612 297 132 B 

W2FUI 111,930 287 130 B 

K2QO 47,526 178 89 B 

W2IV 17,487 87 67 B 

W2LU 1,125,072 1202 312 C 

NA2A 474,240 608 260 C 

WR2V 296,814 518 191 C 

K2FR 292,617 533 183 C 

AA2MU 280,125 375 249 C 

WF2Y 182,712 331 184 C 

KW2J 160,866 331 162 C 

WE2T 75,582 247 102 C 

W2VO 912 19 16 C 160 

N2WK 26,226 141 62 C 40 

N2CU 15,600 100 52 B 15 

K2ZJ 354,456 1094 108 C 10 

NA2X 85,860 318 90 C 10 

N2USB 35,685 183 65 B 10 

KB2QCW 19,398 122 53 B 10 

N2OPW 13,671 93 49 B 10 

KC2DGC 4,107 37 37 B 10 

KB2SG 2,178 33 22 B 10 

K2CY 1,440 24 20 A 10 

3 

Delaware 

N9GG 31,188 113 92 B 

KC3AJ 178,893 417 143 C 

Eastern Pennsylvania 

KB3TS 435,024 636 228 A 

W3NTD 139,062 301 154 B 

KQ3F 2,170,800 2160 335 C 

N3DL 1,399,032 1143 408 C 

WT3W 1,234,548 1278 322 C 

K3ZA 750,741 997 251 C 

K3KFD 607,431 869 233 C 

N3KR 508,152 683 248 C 

N3RJ 436,800 700 208 C 

W3BYX 313,548 493 212 C 

K4JLD 225,498 413 182 C 

WB3JIS 186,000 400 155 C 

AD3Z 179,172 316 189 C 

NN3Q 174,420 306 190 C 

W3KV 172,368 378 152 C 

W3BEN 153,057 313 163 C 

W3JRY 128,652 302 142 C 

KC3TL 98,640 411 80 C 

K3SV 13,965 95 49 C 80 

KB3AGZ 38,391 191 67 B 20 

K1DS 12,150 81 50 B 10 

Maryland-DC 

W3UJ 675,552 908 248 B 

KE3VV 506,112 659 256 B 

N3UR 212,226 434 163 B 

N3UMA 210,330 342 205 B 

K1EFI 159,858 321 166 B 

N3FX 103,983 253 137 B 

N3EYB 94,878 251 126 B 

W3DF 88,773 233 127 B 

W3EE 54,693 177 103 B 

N3SEO 19,998 101 66 B 

NN3SI (WA4FXX, op) 

14,076 92 51 B 

K3ZO 2,926,458 2658 367 C 

K2PLF 2,285,490 2059 370 C 

N3AM 1,735,650 1450 399 C 

K3SA 768,600 840 305 C 

AJ3M 618,744 812 254 C 

KF3BE 576,975 785 245 C 

W3YD 323,748 529 204 C 

W3AZ 321,048 546 196 C 

W3UL 311,178 478 217 C 

N3HXQ 282,240 480 196 C 

K3UG 214,968 424 169 C 

N3GBP 186,507 391 159 C 

W3CP 50,292 254 66 B 10 

K3NCO 45,360 216 70 B 10 

W3INK 41,856 218 64 C 10 

W2BZR/3 28,608 149 64 C 10 

WA3EEE 26,550 150 59 B 10 

WA3SWA 5,508 51 36 B 10 

Western Pennsylvania 

WA3SES 128,736 288 149 B 

WA3GPP 60,375 175 115 B 

WA3EQJ 10,098 66 51 B 

AB4XS 407,694 571 238 C 

WN3VAW 219,441 379 193 C 

W3IQ 123,009 313 131 C 

K3RON 89,250 250 119 C 

WB3EPE 74,061 211 117 C 

WB0IWG 66,576 304 73 A 10 

N3WAV 23,433 107 73 C 10 

4 

Alabama 

W4AUB 57,942 222 87 B 

K4AB 3,288,480 2720 403 C 

W4NTI 394,680 598 220 C 

AG4W 4,998 49 34 C 80 

K4WI 721,806 2039 118 C 10 

Georgia 

KU4OH 461,538 666 231 B 

KT4ZB 249,039 413 201 B 

K4OGG 34,020 140 81 B 

KB4BBC 28,548 122 78 B 

WA4TII 1,128,750 1075 350 C 

K4BAI 236,052 474 166 C 

W4CEB 66,171 161 137 C 

K4GSX 4,608 48 32 A 20 

K6EID 142,506 522 91 B 10 

WF9B 24,420 148 55 B 10 

Kentucky 

W4LC 76,692 308 83 B 

N4HT 890,400 1120 265 C 

K4IU 214,668 402 178 C 

N4XM 828 23 12 C 

KG4BIG 34,200 200 57 B 10 

KD4CSW 18,360 120 51 B 10 


North Carolina 

W4WS (N4VHK, op) 

1,456,389 1551 313 B 

WA1EHL 561,792 836 224 B 

W2CS 188,502 353 178 B 

KF4OAD 127,395 285 149 B 

KE4WZY 122,688 288 142 B 

AA0KO 116,724 274 142 B 

K4WES 106,920 264 135 B 

KF4VMT 101,844 276 123 B 

KV4CN 69,030 195 118 B 

AE4EC 35,904 136 88 B 

NC4NC 551,001 649 283 C 

N4UH 447,675 635 235 C 

N4CW 403,176 628 214 C 

N4AA 300,696 536 187 C 

NW6S 297,228 527 188 C 

N4TL 126,900 282 150 C 

W4WNT 117,963 257 153 C 

KA8FSM 107,004 241 148 C 

KV4N 71,955 205 117 C 

W4YDY 62,916 196 107 C 

NC4MI 61,380 186 110 C 

K4MGN 54,516 154 118 C 

W4MR (AA4NC, op) 

149,592 542 92 C 40 

KZ2I 23,664 136 58 C 40 

W2AY 100,440 372 90 C 20 

W4ZV 981,837 2577 127 C 10 

N5FPW 45,792 212 72 B 10 

WA4DWC 16,218 106 51 B 10 

KG4CCX 4,704 49 32 B 10 

K5LZT 741 19 13 B 10 

Northern Florida 

WA4IMC 892,440 1110 268 B 

AD4RE 242,694 417 194 B 

N4IPH 38,916 138 94 B 

W9WGN 30,240 120 84 B 

WA8NAZ 260,253 459 189 C 

W7QF 140,448 304 154 C 

N4EK 20,193 127 53 C 20 

KX2J 19,764 108 61 B 20 

KC4JE 5,565 53 35 B 20 

K4VUD 592,455 1555 127 C 15 

KC4LJD 38,025 195 65 A 10 

South Carolina 

W4HGW 139,500 300 155 B 

KR4PB 33,150 130 85 B 

W1WEF/4 2,916 36 27 B 

K4DLJ 1,668,009 1621 343 C 

W3VT 555,891 721 257 C 

AA4V 506,325 785 215 C 

K0COP 79,500 250 106 C 

W4JKC 29,388 158 62 C 40 

WB4NRI 20,904 104 67 C 20 

K4TSU 33,750 150 75 B 10 

N2FY 23,940 140 57 C 10 

Southern Florida 

WA2CPP 127,890 290 147 B 

KB1HC 425,019 547 259 C 

N4BG 38,352 188 68 C 10 

Tennessee 

K4BEV 563,562 786 239 B 

W4GMM 548,775 813 225 B 

N5TWV 147,423 313 157 B 

N2BR 145,290 290 167 B 

WD4OHD 135,864 306 148 B 

W4NI 32,994 141 78 B 

N4JN 8,190 70 39 B 

K4LTA 618,540 793 260 C 

KE4OAR 30,825 137 75 C 

W4OGG 25,272 117 72 C 

KF4ZR 1,242 23 18 B 15 

WD4K 426,624 1408 101 C 10 

K4WX 372,402 1217 102 B 10 

WD4PTJ 45,120 235 64 B 10 

KG4CKX 24,696 147 56 B 10 

Virginia 

W3MGL 23,598 114 69 A 

AD4TJ 13,776 82 56 A 

K4UVT 229,146 422 181 B 

K4EP 131,355 315 139 B 

N3ZYU 85,050 225 126 B 

N3TG 70,272 192 122 B 

K1SO 64,233 183 117 B 

KS4JB 41,118 154 89 B 

WB4DNL 31,740 115 92 B 

W4PWF 22,113 91 81 B 

KV4DJ 18,360 90 68 B 

K4ZW 4,621,194 3694 417 C 

N4RV 2,828,601 2229 423 C 

N4MM 889,878 1067 278 C 

W4JVN 701,475 995 235 C 

N4GU 358,794 643 186 C 

W2YE 270,237 431 209 C 

W0YR 181,902 427 142 C 

K4VV 178,398 374 159 C 

W4NYY 151,392 332 152 C 

N6MW 117,585 201 195 C 

W4YE 110,922 278 133 C 

W4IF 96,750 258 125 C 

K5VG 72,192 188 128 C 

N8CH 27,720 120 77 C 

WA4MA 27,594 146 63 B 20 

N4BJB 3,150 42 25 B 15 

KD4HZG 1,500 25 20 B 15 

N4EUK 2,508 38 22 A 10 

W4IM 1,173 23 17 A 10 

West Central Florida 

N4IG 946,950 1070 295 B 

WC4E 527,085 795 221 C 

K4XS 245,127 809 101 C 40 

K4LQ 17,649 111 53 C 40 

KF4KSN 17,712 123 48 B 10 

5 

Arkansas 

KF5PN 111,000 250 148 B 

KG5RM 30,879 141 73 B 

WD5CNC 10,080 80 42 B 

W5RZ 149,760 312 160 C 

N5QYC 33,456 164 68 C 20 

KD5GDA 12,726 101 42 B 10 

KB5EKX 5,880 56 35 B 10 

Louisiana 

KM5QG 292,803 511 191 B 

W5WZ 270,864 513 176 B 

W5LA 149,952 352 142 B 

KZ5D 1,055,814 1181 298 C 

WM9M 11,214 89 42 C 40 

W5WMU 324,060 982 110 C 20 

W5CTV 8,190 70 39 C 10 

N8OO 487,179 1463 111 B 10 

Mississippi 

N5PA 129,183 289 149 B 

KB5FET 104,544 288 121 B 

WA5SWX 33,930 130 87 B 

W5EHM 516,177 691 249 C 

K2FF 1,650 50 11 C 10 

KE6JGJ 429 13 11 B 10 

New Mexico 

W5GZ 263,088 464 189 B 

KM5WP 29,970 135 74 B 

N6ZZ 1,401,456 1552 301 C 

W5JRP 37,386 186 67 B 20 

K5AM 623,025 1775 117 C 10 

N7DF 596,403 1791 111 C 10 

KC5LFV 16,377 103 53 A 10 

K5OI 4,230 47 30 A 10 

North Texas 

WD5K 1,434,510 1485 322 B 

K5RA 255,816 408 209 B 

NF5W 255,558 446 191 B 

NN5T 125,955 311 135 B 

WK5K 38,610 130 99 B 

N5JR 1,279,608 1628 262 C 

K5OT 1,171,200 1280 305 C 

K5ZO 1,142,856 1221 312 C 

N5TY 362,889 661 183 C 

W5GN 299,292 509 196 C 

N1QXV 25,935 133 65 C 

K5MR 207,834 737 94 C 40 

W5FO 30,030 154 65 C 40 

KN5L 47,328 232 68 B 15 

W5RNF 45,696 224 68 B 15 

K5RX 890,760 2284 130 C 10 

W5KQJ 65,100 310 70 C 10 

KM5LO 14,208 128 37 B 10 

K6AZA 2,772 44 21 C 10 

Oklahoma 

K0CIE 375,132 727 172 B 

N5RXF 327,600 525 208 B 

WD0GTY 36,579 137 89 B 

W0PAN 24,816 94 88 B 

NA5B (W5AO, op) 

648,000 1728 125 C 10 

South Texas 

KA5PVB 77,172 218 118 A 

WA5IYX 478,470 778 205 B 

KE5LQ 407,043 637 213 B 

N5DD 330,837 499 221 B 

W9DX 237,357 447 177 B 

WA5SAJ 142,065 287 165 B 

W5QCL 122,256 283 144 B 

N5RLQ 104,148 263 132 B 

AJ4F 42,333 137 103 B 

K5EJL 37,392 152 82 B 

KD5EDO 24,720 103 80 B 

W5GCX 513,765 735 233 C 

KM5TY 87,912 264 111 C 

KB2RRV 19,251 93 69 C 

N5KC (W5ASP, op) 

57,000 250 76 C 15 

N5AW 209,475 665 105 B 10 

West Texas 

KE5OG 45,264 164 92 B 

N5DO 77,964 356 73 C 40 

NZ5M 1,404 26 18 B 20 

6 

East Bay 

K6XV 107,061 281 127 B 

KF6BIR 54,120 220 82 B 

KF6PKG 50,676 206 82 B 

KE6QR 16,497 141 39 B 

KE6ZSN 208,953 639 109 C 

N6NG 126,948 298 142 C 

KG6HM 9,240 88 35 B 10 

Los Angeles 

K6RO 1,292,760 1330 324 B 

WB6NFO 180,000 400 150 B 

K6ASK 152,736 344 148 B 

KQ6MU 93,720 284 110 B 

KN6DQ 80,649 261 103 B 

W6FFH 62,418 206 101 B 

W6RCL 35,280 147 80 B 

N6ED 2,195,559 2097 349 C 

N6AA 500,556 707 236 C 

W7RF 182,628 356 171 C 

N6OPR 175,422 346 169 C 

N6IC 136,710 310 147 C 

KB6FB 122,484 346 118 C 

K6SE 61,275 215 95 C 

K6TV 54,378 171 106 C 

N6UB 7,638 67 38 C 

KU6T 28,416 148 64 B 20 

W6AFA 321,930 1022 105 C 10 

KF6YAN 5,760 64 30 C 10 

K6CEO 1,728 32 18 B 10 

KD6LME 36 4 3 B 10 

Orange 

W6SA 201,465 407 165 B 

KQ6VQ 129,744 318 136 B 

W6ZQ 38,628 174 74 B 

AC6TK 19,008 99 64 B 

AA6PW 455,532 748 203 C 

WW6O 402,936 652 206 C 

K6ACZ 374,247 501 249 C 

WA6BFW 147,960 360 137 C 

K6HRT 77,559 251 103 C 

AC6WD 83,664 336 83 B 15 

Santa Barbara 

WA6FGV 217,503 429 169 B 

KW6PE 23,220 180 43 B 

W6TK 1,060,080 1262 280 C 

WA5VGI 625,464 876 238 C 

NN6DX 46,182 179 86 C 

N6HK 19,488 116 56 C 20 

W7CB 171,000 600 95 C 10 

W6HYK 44,019 219 67 B 10 

NV6I 14,985 111 45 B 10 

KD6PQF 13,734 109 42 B 10 

Santa Clara Valley 

AE6Y 537,732 766 234 B 

N6NF 448,140 770 194 B 

W6PLJ 305,520 536 190 B 

N6IJ (NI6FW, op) 

63,765 195 109 B 

K6ITL 40,977 157 87 B 

N6IV 1,587 23 23 B 

N2ALE 780 20 13 B 

NN6XX 638,316 894 238 C 

K6GT 457,074 758 201 C 

AJ6V 347,328 576 201 C 

W6ISO 289,737 511 189 C 

K6XX 228,000 608 125 C 

K6III 194,922 357 182 C 

W6ISQ 99,750 266 125 C 

K6HNZ 325,152 1129 96 C 10 

San Diego 

W6QU (W8QZA, op) 

378,144 624 202 A 

W6CN 312,360 548 190 A 

WN6K 681,750 1010 225 B 

W6JVA 104,394 274 127 B 

AA6EE 16,929 99 57 B 

AK6R 1,084,455 1385 261 C 

San Francisco 

K6UM 260,058 487 178 B 

AD6G 64,020 220 97 B 

W6ESJ 29,760 155 64 B 15 

San Joaquin Valley 

AD6JK 85,800 260 110 B 

K6CSL 62,379 239 87 B 

WC6H (NU6S, op) 

2,511,495 2499 335 C 

N6TNX 47,436 134 118 C 

WB6QVI 31,758 158 67 C 

N6TNW 13,104 78 56 C 

KA6BIM 511,302 1397 122 C 10 

Sacramento Valley 

N6WR 30,996 164 63 A 

N6JM 450,870 665 226 B 

WF6O 123,984 328 126 B 

W6EO 9,417 73 43 B 

W6QEU 467,625 725 215 C 

W6IXP 344,568 586 196 C 

KO6IS 174,654 313 186 C 

K6DB 106,038 258 137 C 

K6BEW 88,179 247 119 C 

K6RN 56,772 249 76 C 15 

W6RKC 29,412 172 57 C 15 

K6KAY 142,881 491 97 B 10 

KF6OBS 14,472 134 36 C 10 

7 

Arizona 

N7VY 430,992 656 219 A 

NQ7X 80,154 219 122 A 

WN7J 514,800 780 220 B 

KX7J 62,496 217 96 B 

K2DI 4,680 40 39 B 

K7TR 309,288 526 196 C 

NF7E 287,832 536 179 C 

N7JXS 100,224 288 116 C 

K7ON 99,735 305 109 C 

KN5H 85,542 269 106 C 

KC7V 77,400 258 100 C 

K6TIM 17,787 77 77 C 

W7UPF 98,208 372 88 C 15 

AA7A 469,368 1272 123 C 10 

W7ZMD 129,600 450 96 C 10 

W7AYY 81,000 360 75 C 10 

W7YS 47,436 236 67 C 10 

KE4GDQ 27,258 154 59 B 10 

W7/VA3FP 7,866 69 38 B 10 

Eastern Washington 

WS7V 448,560 712 210 B 

KC7WUE 41,580 210 66 B 

KI7AO/M 34,560 144 80 B 

KD7CPO 32,922 186 59 C 

W7LGG 44,712 207 72 C 10 

Idaho 

KW7N 158,685 355 149 B 

KJ7TH 676,044 844 267 C 

K0TO 195,978 367 178 C 

W7II 190,920 344 185 C 

Montana 

KE7NO 213,942 394 181 B 

KK7QJ 71,100 237 100 B 

KS7T 283,140 660 143 C 

KC7UP 252,753 487 173 C 

KK7VC 98,532 276 119 C 

K7BG 160,800 536 100 C 10 

K7ABV 84,315 385 73 C 10 

KC7NX 28,014 161 58 B 10 

Nevada 

KC7DB 281,220 545 172 B 

N7ZT 588,708 828 237 C 

W7EB 419,580 1295 108 C 15 

Oregon 

W7YAQ 950,880 1120 283 B 

W7YVK 122,223 311 131 B 

N7EMC 67,830 238 95 B 

KR7X 67,200 224 100 B 

K7AIA 33,864 166 68 B 

W7GG 2,709,720 2509 360 C 

K0JJ 368,280 558 220 C 

W7PXL 36,480 152 80 C 

KK7CG 8,514 66 43 C 

K7EM 210,105 805 87 C 40 

W7EJ 806,577 2117 127 C 15 

W7FP 275,880 836 110 C 15 

KA7FEF 8,640 96 30 B 10 

Utah 

W0DET 89,232 286 104 B 

NT7Y 74,256 221 112 B 

KJ7CU 517,104 798 216 C 

K8EI 115,710 290 133 C 

W8EQA 65,520 280 78 C 15 

Western Washington 

W7/JR1NKN 9,912 118 28 A 

AA7PM 306,432 532 192 B 

N7FL 274,890 539 170 B 

KB7PKC 158,760 378 140 B 

W7GTO 74,052 242 102 B 

AB7RW 47,214 183 86 B 

NA7R 34,875 155 75 B 

N6TPT 28,320 118 80 B 

KC7WDL 21,384 162 44 B 

N7TT 1,620,402 1882 287 C 

W7QN 273,525 521 175 C 

WA2OCG 63,504 216 98 C 

K7NAV 41,958 222 63 C 20 

W7WA 987,228 2493 132 C 15 

KV7X 47,925 225 71 A 15 

W7CL 41,790 199 70 A 10 

AD7U 26,796 203 44 B 10 

W7SAW 15,525 115 45 B 10 

Wyoming 

NQ7Q 39,690 147 90 A 

KD7RX 38,280 145 88 B 

N7JT 35,784 142 84 C 

8 

Michigan 

N8CN 618,894 942 219 B 

K8CV 225,720 456 165 B 

KE8FO 144,096 316 152 B 

KT8X 105,444 348 101 B 

WA8OLD 57,600 192 100 B 

N8NX 53,298 189 94 B 

AA8U 39,564 157 84 B 

N8WTH 19,890 102 65 B 

KE8GG 1,371,249 1539 297 C 

WQ7B 1,343,991 1529 293 C 

NE8I 905,472 1048 288 C 

AA8PA 595,560 709 280 C 

W8TWA 205,590 385 178 C 

N8LIQ 50,172 226 74 B 20 

W8UD 345,555 1097 105 C 10 

K8IR 93,480 380 82 B 10 

KC8LTL 14,628 106 46 B 10 

Ohio 

WA8RCN 442,035 705 209 A 

N8XA 223,200 372 200 A 

KI8CS 681,429 877 259 B 

KF8K 681,138 958 237 B 

W8UPH 380,289 637 199 B 

W8TTS 192,348 411 156 B 

W8DD 167,739 391 143 B 

K8MR 164,565 345 159 B 

W8IDM 162,855 329 165 B 

KC8HWV 149,205 343 145 B 

AF8C 139,830 395 118 B 

N8SSE 123,624 303 136 B 

N8WEL 98,952 248 133 B 

WT8P 88,854 251 118 B 

KA8PTT 88,452 234 126 B 

N8TXI 75,327 211 119 B 

N8FWA 75,285 239 105 B 

K8VUS 63,936 192 111 B 

AA8BV 44,550 165 90 B 

KG8DH 30,000 125 80 B 

W8JGU 743,166 1007 246 C 

KF8JW 185,310 355 174 C 

K8KH 167,772 341 164 C 

K8LN 128,877 323 133 C 

N2DPF 61,425 225 91 C 

W8MHB 50,787 171 99 C 

KB8BTA 21,168 112 63 C 

WB8ZWY 546 14 13 C 

K8DX 1,239,540 2830 146 C 15 

ND8DX 358,020 1020 117 C 15 

KU8E 435,456 1344 108 C 10 

KA8NRC 53,460 220 81 A 10 

WA8RJF 45,582 214 71 A 10 

AA8IV 31,842 174 61 B 10 

WA8NVW 9,240 77 40 C 10 

KC8CSD 9,048 58 52 B 10 

KI8FB 3,354 43 26 B 10 

West Virginia 

W8OP 194,544 386 168 B 

K2UOP 1,326,645 1395 317 C 

K3JT 1,255,248 1516 276 C 

KB3AUG 1,028,775 1075 319 C 

W8WEJ (W8BAR, op) 

855 19 15 C 160 

N4SEA 171,456 608 94 C 10 

9 

Illinois 

K9JE 349,632 607 192 B 

K9YA 296,769 529 187 B 

W9FGH 216,300 412 175 B 

N9BBM 197,802 407 162 B 

AA9QT 169,248 344 164 B 

N9NW 99,060 254 130 B 

KG9JP 63,648 156 136 B 

K9OWC 58,032 156 124 B 

W9LYN 49,050 150 109 B 

W9HL 42,471 143 99 B 

KB9CYL 37,800 175 72 B 

KB9HGI 31,185 135 77 B 

WD9FEN 27,900 124 75 B 

KE9EX 26,334 114 77 B 

K9NA 25,086 113 74 B 

W9DY 16,821 89 63 B 

W9GB 16,770 86 65 B 

WB9Z 4,178,310 3239 430 C 

K9BGL 1,827,660 1835 332 C 

WA9TPQ 517,806 774 223 C 

K9DN 480,816 742 216 C 

K9UQN 365,370 641 190 C 

W9GIG 198,648 372 178 C 

N9WKW 189,024 358 176 C 

K0RL 163,215 351 155 C 

N9NT 147,840 320 154 C 

W9OA 128,232 312 137 C 

AA9DM 95,940 260 123 C 

WA9CCQ 67,035 205 109 C 

AA9IV 576 16 12 C 80 

N9HCA 102,240 426 80 C 20 

W9BNR 29,700 165 60 C 20 

W9CY 26,412 142 62 C 20 

W9OF 79,980 310 86 C 15 

KG9X 645,840 1794 120 C 10 

N9JF 331,200 1104 100 B 10 

K9ZO 306,612 1002 102 C 10 

N9LCR 177,612 722 82 C 10 

K9QVB 158,886 582 91 B 10 

NN9K 143,598 526 91 B 10 

KB9PPT 59,736 262 76 B 10 

N9MBK 46,575 225 69 C 10 

KB9JIZ 22,185 145 51 B 10 

Indiana 

N4TZ 1,041,768 1113 312 B 

K9SH 463,887 621 249 B 

N9DR 161,370 326 165 B 

K9LVK 104,784 296 118 B 

K9TSM 73,179 519 47 B 

W9RE 4,949,697 3919 421 C 

W9BS 788,085 1055 249 C 

WB9LRK 49,536 172 96 C 

KC9TV 7,038 51 46 C 

KB5EAM 44,064 216 68 B 10 

WA9PYH 3,360 40 28 B 10 

Wisconsin 

AF9J 7,626 62 41 A 

K9OP 214,863 383 187 B 

AA9TB 140,580 330 142 B 

WI9M 106,896 262 136 B 

WQ9N 23,010 118 65 B 

K9QH 1,500 25 20 B 

W9OP 749,844 954 262 C 

KB9BUM 630,168 868 242 C 

KB9KEG 262,269 483 181 C 

W9GXR 24,840 138 60 C 40 

KF9VJ 29,829 163 61 B 15 

K9CAN 154,656 537 96 C 10 

KB9NIV 38,391 191 67 B 10 

0 

Colorado 

N0KE (at WB0GAZ) 

641,556 852 251 A 

WA0JYC 375,114 619 202 A 

WB0HZL 169,218 357 158 A 

W0HEP 91,806 214 143 A 

KI0II 47,736 156 102 A 

W0ETT 354,564 588 201 B 

N0NR 80,196 164 163 B 

K0GAS 453,456 752 201 C 

W0OSK 287,424 499 192 C 

AB0IO 69,597 209 111 C 

W0ZP 37,386 201 62 C 

K0DE 2,592 32 27 C 

K0RI 7,524 76 33 B 40 

W0TM 55,440 240 77 C 20 

KG0ZI 274,815 985 93 C 15 

K0CL 882,279 2391 123 C 10 

N0IBT 36,714 211 58 B 10 

Iowa 

N0RKX 341,532 537 212 B 

WN0G 228,657 451 169 B 

AA0AI 89,271 273 109 B 

KB2FSK 66,792 184 121 B 

NR0X 1,834,668 1804 339 C 

W0PPF 159,408 369 144 C 

W0NFL 93,534 238 131 C 

W0ETC 408,888 1262 108 C 10 

NE0P 15,141 103 49 C 10 

AB0HF 14,508 124 39 B 10 

Kansas 

KB0WPY 122,544 296 138 B 

K1LR 414,480 628 220 C 

KA0EIC 27,492 116 79 C 

N0UU 63,600 265 80 C 15 

KB0MZG 156,729 587 89 B 10 

K0LLS 6,360 53 40 B 10 

N0NB 5,355 51 35 C 10 

WA5BOW 4,332 38 38 B 10 

Minnesota 

N0UR 313,992 588 178 A 

N0HJZ 277,656 503 184 A 

WA0VBW 179,772 422 142 A 

AC0W 1,491,963 1559 319 B 

KW4T 494,730 690 239 B 

WB0GGM 220,836 478 154 B 

KC0CN 202,860 420 161 B 

KT0R 864,300 1075 268 C 

N5IN 769,014 909 282 C 

W0MRD 321,480 564 190 C 

WA0MHJ 221,943 443 167 C 

K0AD 26,880 112 80 C 

K0IHG 5,040 56 30 B 15 

K0CAT (K9WIE, op) 

357,237 1179 101 C 10 

KF0GX 16,224 104 52 A 10 

Missouri 

KI0MB 299,505 487 205 B 

KI7WO 185,808 392 158 B 

K2HT/0 164,160 320 171 B 

KI9A 1,041,150 1262 275 C 

K0DAN 434,079 699 207 C 

W0TT 174,432 316 184 C 

K0DAT 150,249 319 157 C 

North Dakota 

WI9H 132,714 303 146 C 

Nebraska 

NF0N 275,049 501 183 B 

K0SZ 198,534 406 163 B 

NU0C 102,000 250 136 B 

KC0FUD 91,770 230 133 B 

KB0WHY 14,691 83 59 B 

WA6POZ 188,877 377 167 C 

N0LGU 40,044 188 71 B 10 

N0OFR 28,731 157 61 B 10 

South Dakota 

KD0EE 341,940 556 205 C 

WD0BMR 33,858 114 99 C 

WB0ULX 40,110 191 70 B 10 

KA0VME 22,194 137 54 B 10 

N0VEK 5,292 42 42 B 10 

Maritime-Newfoundland 

VE1JS 655,557 1007 217 B 

New Brunswick 

VE9WH 89,253 211 141 B 

VE9MY 404,670 658 205 C 

Nova Scotia 

VE1RX 37,440 240 52 C 15 

Newfoundland-Labrador 

VO1BC 474,912 776 204 B 

VO1WET 1,578,720 2080 253 C 

Quebec 

VE2AWR 584,766 819 238 B 

VE2GWL 170,307 381 149 B 

VE2LHP 14,151 89 53 B 

VE2EM 12,750 85 50 B 

VE2AYU 1,703,130 1985 286 C 

VA2FB 378,624 986 128 C 10 

VE2PIJ 24,966 146 57 B 10 

VE2XL 19,305 143 45 B 10 

Ontario 

VE3XN 1,117,665 1461 255 B 


VE3WIB 782,100 1100 237 B 

VE3BUC 496,587 749 221 B 

VA3SWG 334,560 680 164 B 

VE3STT 320,370 590 181 B 

VE3GD 146,010 310 157 B 

VE3SKX 110,802 313 118 B 

VA3IX 40,890 235 58 B 

VA3TEE 31,356 134 78 B 

VE3YQY 13,440 70 64 B 

VA3TE 12,012 77 52 B 

VE3XDT 8,319 59 47 B 

VE3EJ 5,513,712 3728 493 C 

VE3KPU 522,291 833 209 C 

VA3POS 6,498 57 38 C 80 

VA3MG 320,358 998 107 C 20 

VE3KZ 749,439 2031 123 C 15 

VE3MQW 93,138 361 86 B 15 

VE3HG 27,081 153 59 C 15 

VA3UZ 699,696 1808 129 C 10 

VE3RM 475,956 1469 108 C 10 

VA3DX 240,759 723 111 B 10 

VE3PPN 6,771 61 37 B 10 

Manitoba 

VE4RA 110,418 239 154 B 

VE4IM 588,240 817 240 C 

VC4X (VE4VV, op) 

294,210 934 105 B 10 

Saskatchewan 

VE5SF 786,255 989 265 B 

VE5CPU 612,591 941 217 C 

VE5AAD 6,222 61 34 B 15 

Alberta 

VE6BF 17,472 91 64 A 

VE5UA/6 748,272 1048 238 C 

VE6EPK 94,920 280 113 C 

VE6EX 31,464 184 57 B 20 

VE6JY 863,232 2248 128 C 15 

British Columbia 

VE7ZBK 258,960 520 166 B 

VE7VR 124,440 305 136 B 

VE7NA 101,016 276 122 B 

VE7IN 47,724 194 82 B 

VE7HA 2,040 34 20 B 

VE7QO 284,820 505 188 C 

VE7XO 221,712 496 149 C 

VA7CC 8,775 75 39 C 40 

VA7RR 935,280 2598 120 C 15 

VE7VF 77,976 342 76 B 10 

VE7NS 74,640 311 80 B 10 

VA7DX 67,275 299 75 B 10 

VA7TK 56,826 287 66 B 10 

Northwest Territories 

VY1JA 193,284 364 177 C 

Single Operator Assisted 

1 

KI1G 5,790,720 3770 512 C 

KS1L 4,344,480 3360 431 C 

AA1QD 1,972,116 1889 348 C 

N1DG 1,708,488 1464 389 C 

K5MA 1,678,896 1572 356 C 

K1JN 1,438,815 1351 355 C 

AA1V 1,313,280 1216 360 C 

N1DD 1,279,386 1258 339 C 

N8RA 1,089,012 1202 302 C 

K1JE 997,857 1011 329 C 

N1NQD 991,230 893 370 C 

W1LLU 914,544 1044 292 C 

KE1KD 869,022 847 342 C 

K1ST 722,085 805 299 C 

K1OA 661,887 879 251 B 

W1HR (W1JCC, op) 

647,856 818 264 C 

NR1DX 633,759 721 293 C 

WO1N 519,480 585 296 B 

K1TS 429,312 688 208 B 

W1BIH 426,888 539 264 C 

W6FC 411,546 607 226 B 

K1RV 306,999 443 231 C 

KV1J 279,300 475 196 C 

K1TW 271,872 472 192 B 

K1TH 249,600 416 200 C 

K1AE 245,964 398 206 C 

NC1N 199,287 363 183 B 

K1SF 73,776 212 116 C 

K1KU 61,236 189 108 C 

K1VV 17,472 91 64 C 

2 

W2RE 4,722,771 3371 467 C 

N2TX 4,667,646 3118 499 C 

K2XA 3,922,425 2925 447 C 

K2BU 3,562,299 2587 459 C 

N2NT 3,382,950 2374 475 C 

W1GD 3,111,552 2336 444 C 

K2TR 2,123,970 1706 415 C 

N2ED 1,671,588 1574 354 C 

N1EU 1,599,156 1326 402 C 

KD2KS 1,469,412 1372 357 C 

W2TV 1,373,886 1202 381 C 

K2ONP 1,320,384 1196 368 C 

N2MG 1,224,468 1204 339 C 

W2GDJ 1,158,522 1318 293 C 

K2BX 1,029,447 1069 321 C 

KF2O 843,741 723 389 C 

AA2WN 819,918 902 303 C 

K2WB 809,190 810 333 C 

N2WKS 730,800 725 336 C 

WB2WPM 701,190 795 294 C 

WT4Q 668,997 861 259 C 

N2ATX 631,584 774 272 C 

K5KG 607,560 610 332 C 

N2VW 602,556 674 298 C 

W2LE 511,161 707 241 C 

K2QMF 322,728 476 226 C 

NA2U 226,872 274 276 C 

WA3RHW 112,230 290 129 C 

KG2MY 89,700 230 130 C 

KD2P 71,595 185 129 C 

KF2VX 68,817 203 113 B 

N2BIM 24,219 117 69 C 

K2FL 22,776 104 73 C 

3 

K3WW 5,080,320 3360 504 C 

K3MM 3,753,468 2543 492 C 

N3AD 3,665,382 2758 443 C 

K3PP 3,217,044 2362 454 C 

AA3B 2,938,614 2257 434 C 

K3NZ 2,676,636 1996 447 C 

W3FV 2,046,780 1644 415 C 


K3NW 1,927,116 1614 398 C 

W3MF 1,915,176 1604 398 C 

KE3VN 1,587,627 1389 381 C 

N3ZA 1,380,540 1211 380 C 

W3IZ 1,298,187 1269 341 C 

K3ND 1,246,332 1132 367 C 

W3MM 1,065,300 1060 335 C 

K3CP 1,041,078 1039 334 C 

W3EKT 1,016,232 1052 322 C 

WB3CIW 909,450 1075 282 C 

AA3RC 720,792 846 284 C 

W3CC 674,583 637 353 C 

K3BSA 518,580 645 268 C 

W3OU 481,185 629 255 C 

K3TG 219,300 425 172 C 

W8FJ 139,440 280 166 C 

K3IXD 50,958 149 114 C 

4 

K3KO 409,224 578 236 C 

N4JED 252,948 428 197 B 

KB7UV 215,172 417 172 B 

KO4MR 68,052 214 106 C 

KR4QI 22,050 105 70 C 

5 

K5NA 2,612,814 1966 443 C 

KR5V 1,405,773 1433 327 C 

N5ER 1,000,980 1005 332 C 

K5NZ 414,036 636 217 C 

K1DW 13,020 70 62 B 

6 

N6ER 452,880 740 204 C 

KI6T 340,032 506 224 C 

K6FO 192,168 314 204 C 

K6JAT 161,370 326 165 C 

NF6R 70,329 197 119 C 

NK6A 23,427 137 57 B 

7 

W7OM 1,008,045 1179 285 C 

K7ZO 559,062 918 203 C 

N7RO 350,532 642 182 B 

W7CT 229,770 414 185 C 

W7HS 136,800 285 160 B 

8 

N8TR 2,975,700 2275 436 C 

NC8V 380,562 697 182 C 

N8PCN 355,914 507 234 B 

KI8IZ 158,100 310 170 B 

K8DJC 41,400 184 75 C 

9 

K9NR 1,079,121 1019 353 C 

WO9S 567,675 841 225 C 

N9PQU 294,336 438 224 C 

KF9ZZ 246,078 434 189 B 

0 

N0AT 1,576,368 1424 369 C 

K0OB 777,480 1045 248 C 

K0IL 367,164 564 217 B 

KB0VVT 61,740 196 105 B 

KG0US 53,856 187 96 B 

KK0DX 14,430 74 65 B 

VE 

VE5CMA 73,872 216 114 B 

VE3SYB 14,760 82 60 B 

Multioperator Single 

Transmitter 

1 

K5ZD (+W2SC,K1XM) 

6,730,380 4170 538 C 

KV1W (+W1CSM,N6RFM, 

K1MBO,W1NR) 

6,199,875 4125 501 C 

AA1ON (+W1RH,AA1IZ,KC1YR) 

4,045,743 2977 453 C 

K1VR (+AA1AA,K1EP) 

2,276,703 1769 429 C 

KA1ZD (+K1ZZ) 

1,636,635 1417 385 C 

K1GW (+K1KA,W6PH,KB1T) 

1,371,942 1353 338 C 

AA1JD (+AA1LH,NC1M,K1GWB) 

1,294,650 1370 315 C 

NC1I (+N1SR) 

838,500 1075 260 C 

N1AU (+K1GU) 

814,500 905 300 C 

W1YK (W1NT,N2YHK, ops) 

507,654 714 237 C 

WB1GEX (+KB1DFG) 

225,144 424 177 C 

2 

KY2J (+NA2N,WA2JQK) 

4,293,999 3231 443 C 

K2KV (+WM2V,N2GA,KS2G,N2QW, 

KA2D) 2,676,048 2264 394 C 

W2RD (+W2XT,KB5U,N2VM) 

2,583,315 2065 417 C 

K2KQ (+W2WB) 

2,128,950 1710 415 C 

W2MU (at W2XL) (W2XL,N2SA,N2MFZ, 

KD2NE,WB2AQU, ops) 

1,677,312 1456 384 C 

AB2DE (N2KPB,N2ZR,KC2AVE,N2ZAS, 

KB2IZB, ops) 

1,187,472 1144 346 C 

N2LBR (+WA1KKM) 

832,464 984 282 C 

WB2KHO (+KB2NOW) 

662,640 880 251 C 

N1XL (+K3GH,KC2DKD) 

466,293 697 223 B 

AA2UP (+N2XBD) 

284,073 529 179 C 

N2CK (+N2UIO) 

215,712 428 168 B 

WB2ELW (W2IV,KD2QV,KD2KK, 

KC2DGC,K2CF, ops) 

36,192 208 58 C 

WB2JSM (+KC2CBA) 

26,460 126 70 C 

3 

W3BGN (+K2TW) 

6,285,270 3953 530 C 

NE3F (+KS3F,NT3V,K3ATO) 

2,993,076 2342 426 C 

N1WR (+N3WZR) 

1,424,136 1372 346 C 

N3PUR (+K3MD) 

834,000 1000 278 C 

WX3B (+N3SB,KA3BGZ) 

779,688 1092 238 C 

4 

K4RF (+K4EA,K4SZ) 

2,912,055 2339 415 C 

NT4D (+KS4XG,N3QYE) 

2,204,235 2013 365 C 

KU4FP (+KG4EWV) 

265,800 443 200 B 

5 

AA5NT (+N5NJ,WD5FLK,W5WW,N5EE) 

3,258,072 2446 444 C 

N5YA (+WXOB,N5KB,K5WO,N5KR, 

N5UM,KM5UB,KK7JS, OH7WV) 

3,198,624 2563 416 C 

N5CQ (+KM5FA,AB5K) 

3,186,549 2523 421 C 

N1LN (+WD0BCE,K7LEX,KM5LA, 

WA5MLT) 

1,775,928 1736 341 C 

W5JE (+W5NF,WB5OFN,K5JUC, 

K5JMB,KC5TMU) 

303,774 514 197 C 

6 

W6YX (W6KNS,W6LD,N7MH, ops) 

1,546,452 1591 324 C 

K6ZM (K6WG,RA0FC,RWOFC, ops) 

1,530,372 1747 292 C 

KR6RF (+ops) 

1,320,123 1699 259 C 

W6OVO (+N4DLA/6) 

222,906 383 194 C 

W6TDM (N7FF,KA6AUR,KA6KGI, 

W6SKI, ops) 

102,480 305 112 C 

W6YRA (AC6YV,KU6T, ops) 

5,976 83 24 C 

7 

K7RI (+ops) 

1,476,468 1764 279 C 

K7MZ (+NY4I) 

49,644 197 84 C 

W7FIO (KA5IMS,W7EYL,KD7GKB, 

KB7SKA,KC7LVS,W7ACC, ops) 

44,988 163 92 C 

8 

K8AZ (+K8NZ,ND8L,NW7Q,W8GN, 

W8KIC,WB8K,WT8C) 

5,961,684 3778 526 C 

K8CC (+KE8OC,W8MJ,WD8S) 

4,211,736 3106 452 C 

N8NR (+N8NR,N8BJQ,N8TPS) 

3,847,140 3190 402 C 

W8LBZ (WA8VOE,WA1FXT,N8MQB, 

KI8BV,KC8BOM, ops) 

29,682 194 51 B 

9 

WN9O (+W9IU) 

2,685,312 2072 432 C 

KD9ST (+KA9SQR,KA9SQS,KB9EXE) 

1,900,080 1680 377 C 

0 

W0GU (N2IC,K0KR, ops) 

4,924,920 3608 455 C 

KF0FN (+WD0T) 

1,821,204 1971 308 C 

N0FW (+KE0A,KC0BUD,KE0T) 

1,707,264 1976 288 C 

KF0GV (+N0LIW) 

1,179,261 1389 283 C 

K0OU (+KB0RTH) 

456,912 668 228 C 

K0BJ (+KC0HBR) 

322,224 548 196 C 

VE 

VE6AO (VE6JO,VE6KC,VE6TC, 

VE6WSI, ops) 

1,629,360 1860 292 C 

Multioperator Two Transmitters 

K1AR (at K1EA) 

(+K1DG,W1MD,W1JCC) 

11,435,802 6641 574 C 

N3RS (+N3RD,N3ED,N2SR,NZ3O) 

9,557,757 5679 561 C 

N2RM (+WM2H) 

5,968,596 4052 491 C 

KB1H (+KB1DFB,NB1U,AA1CE, 

N1XS,N1BU,N1LYA,W3TB,K1EBY) 

5,742,492 3836 499 C 

K9XD (+N9VVV,JK3GAD) 

5,499,711 4157 441 C 

N2MM (+K2UT,KD2P,KG2MY,N2SC, 

WA2VUY,K2PS) 

5,368,950 3690 485 C 

K2RD (+W1CU) 

4,782,585 3287 485 C 

N1RR (+WM1K,KM1P,K2CIW,KU4BP) 

4,603,704 3272 469 C 

W6XR (+ops) 

4,556,748 3191 476 C 

W3GNQ (+N3OC,W2ZZ,WR3Z,WI2T, 

W3RFC,W3GNQ) 

4,480,428 3268 457 C 

N5TW (+NA4M,W5TD,KE9IT,WQ5G, 

K5TM,WS4G,N5XD,N5IW, 

K5EWS,K5PI) 

4,270,779 3303 431 C 

K2DM (+K3ZM) 

4,052,511 2943 459 C 

W8ZA (+K3DNE,K3UG,K8OQL,N8II) 

3,454,491 2623 439 C 

W6EEN (+PA5AT,N6RT,W6SR,W6ORD) 

3,242,160 2736 395 C 

W2CG (+W2NO,K2WJ) 

3,142,512 2512 417 C 

W4CAT (KG4ENY, N4JN, K4OOO, 

W4NI, K3CQ, KE4OAR, W9WI, W4PA, 

K4RO, K1KY, KQ6I, ops) 

3,004,680 2555 392 C 

N0MJ (+N0MAJ,W0PRJ,N0CMJ, 

KC0GHQ,KC0HGK,W0GJ,KL7YL, 

N0WBS) 

2,711,700 2300 393 C 

K1ZO (+ops) 

2,098,497 1789 391 C 

VE1JF (+VE1AMJ,VE1MOO,VE1MR, 

VE1HS) 1,648,017 1813 303 C 

K6NO (+K6SG,K6RC) 

1,388,577 1433 323 C 

VE5RI (VE5FN,VE5WI,VE6EZ,VE6FW, 

ops) 1,167,480 1410 276 C 

VE3MIS (VE3XAP,VE3IMG,VE3HEE, 

VE3TKI,VE3JMY,VA3UA, ops) 

763,830 1035 246 B 

K4WPM (+AK5E,AD4QB,K4QFF, 

KS4CG) 719,082 878 273 B 

WR4F (+W4UDX) 

508,326 637 266 C 

K8DAC (KB8QO,KC8JMX,KC8LBH, ops) 

480,240 696 230 C 

WR3L (+N3NT,AA3SC) 

132,912 426 104 C 

KZ1O (+KB8BAL) 

56,160 160 117 B 

Multioperator Unlimited 

Transmitters 

KC1XX (+K1GQ,W1FV,KC1F,AD1C, 

KB1AWE,KM3T) 

19,610,580 9460 691 C 

W3LPL (+K1HTV,K1RA,K1RZ,W2GG, 

ND3F,K3MQH,KE3Q,K3RA,W3UR, 

KD4D,N4QQ,N5OKR) 

18,015,732 8754 686 C 

K3LR (+N3GJ,K8GL,K9VV,N9RV, 

W2RQ,K3UA,N3RA,N2NT,N2NC) 

17,744,616 8724 678 C 

K9NS (K9DX,K9GS,K9HMB,K9PW, 

K9RO,K9RS,KS9W,N9FH,W9RM,ops) 

14,225,484 7444 637 C 

W1GQ (+KB1SO,KW1DX,N1SNB, 

K2TE,K1ZR) 

12,589,776 6948 604 C 

K1RX (+KR1G,KF1V,WA1S,K1EPJ, 

WC1M,AA1SI) 

10,974,651 6169 593 C 

K1TTT (+W1TO,K1MK,NJ1F,NT2X, 

N9KAU,JJ4HNN,K2SIG) 

10,927,683 6357 573 C 

W4MYA (+K4MA,K4WMA,KF4QQY, 

N4DEN,N4ZJ,W4DR,W5HJ,W4HZ, 

W4NM,WB4GVZ,WK4Y) 

10,745,880 6010 596 C 

W3PP (+AA1K,N3KW,KD3UC,W2GJ, 

N3HUV,W3OR,KW3Z,K3FT) 

9,792,372 5924 551 C 

W1FJ (+ops) 

8,756,748 5103 572 C 

N6RO (+K3EST,N6BV,K6AW,KM6F, 

KG6B,K6EP,N6BZA) 

7,993,566 5194 513 C 

W3EEE (+N3BNA) 

5,010,780 3631 460 C 

W0AIH (+WR0DK,AC0X,NE9U, 

KB9TTO,AA0ZZ,KB0VRV,AE9D, 

N9ISN,KB9UIC,K0TG) 

4,964,478 3398 487 C 

K3ANS (+WF3H,K3YD,W3ZL,KC3WX, 

K3ZTJ) 4,862,430 3335 486 C 

W3CF (+N3MKZ) 

4,699,695 3443 455 C 

K3II (+K3CT,K3NG) 

2,293,680 2012 380 C 

AD4TR (+WB2QLP,KE4FGH,KF4WZH) 

1,006,848 1216 276 C 

K6IDX (+KH8A,W6OAT) 

780,498 786 331 C 

NM3K (+AA2D) 

759,600 844 300 C 

KB5TX (W5XW,KM5SY,KD5OEG, 

AB5UE,KK5RZ,KD5ILM,KE5GL, ops) 

81,270 258 105 B 

W4MOT (KN4HX,KE4ESU,N3CU, 

KT4XK,KN4HX,KG5CHW, 

WA4CSQ,KN4FA,KD4EXN, ops) 

70,686 187 126 C 

DX 


Africa 

Tanzania 

5H3US (K8MN, op) 

454,260 1130 134 C 

Nigeria 

5N0W (OK1RK, op) 

331,740 1843 60 C 15 

Senegal 

6V6U (K3IPK, op) 

4,035,582 5154 261 C 

Ghana 

9G5ZW (OK2ZW, op) 

307,272 1736 59 C 10 

Zambia 

9J2FR 873,735 1879 155 C 

Morocco 

CN8NK 121,128 721 56 B 15 

Madeira Island 

CT3KY 11,223 87 43 B 

CT3KN 502,647 1279 131 C 

Canary Islands 

EA8AH 4,916,430 5895 278 C 

Egypt 

SU9ZZ 735,423 1417 173 B 

Mali 

TZ6DX (K4RB, op) 

246,183 617 133 C 

Asia 

Israel 

4Z5FW 19,032 122 52 B 

4Z5JQ 8,487 69 41 B 

4Z5FL 4,371 47 31 B 

4Z1GY 33,441 157 71 C 

4X1VF 44,352 308 48 C 10 

Kuwait 

9K2/SQ5DAK 31,464 184 57 C 

West Malaysia 

9M2JI 4,368 52 28 B 

Singapore 

9V1RH 2,952 41 24 C 

Taiwan 

BV2TL 17,496 108 54 B 

BV7FF 3,780 60 21 C 15 

China 

BY4BNS (KT8X, op) 

91,476 308 99 B 

BA4DW 2,394 38 21 B 20 

Armenia 

EK4JJ 18,603 159 39 B 20 

Kyrgyzstan 

EX2T 127,413 429 99 C 

EX2X 50,880 320 53 C 20 

EX0Y 93,240 555 56 B 15 

EX8MIO 44,556 316 47 B 10 

EX8MDA 9,744 116 28 B 10 

Turkmenistan 

EZ8CW 390 13 10 B 

South Korea 

HL5UOG 19,824 112 59 B 

DS5ACV 3,525 47 25 B 10 

Thailand 

HS1CKC 189 9 7 C 20 

Japan 

JR4DAH 184,710 470 131 A 

JH1HRJ 163,674 433 126 A 

JA2JSF 163,350 450 121 A 

JA1YNE (JP1OGL, op) 

140,301 393 119 A 

JA6GCE 124,830 365 114 A 

JL1ARF 1,214,022 1891 214 B 

JA1CG 1,141,920 2080 183 B 

JM1LPN 780,084 1398 186 B 

JA5EO 213,828 692 103 B 

JA2BY 194,292 514 126 B 

JH6OPP 137,352 388 118 B 

JH6FTJ 131,943 427 103 B 

JE7DOT 121,473 409 99 B 

JA1XRH 112,860 342 110 B 

JD1BIA 88,704 336 88 B 

JR1MRG 67,338 261 86 B 

JA1BUI 60,543 217 93 B 

JA1XUY 58,650 230 85 B 

JA0BMS/1 55,902 242 77 B 

JA2BQX 53,784 216 83 B 

JH6TYD 49,164 241 68 B 

JG2REJ 48,843 201 81 B 

JA2OJ 48,672 208 78 B 

JA4KTE 46,413 191 81 B 

JA3ARM 43,575 175 83 B 

JF2SKV 41,625 185 75 B 

JA1AB 40,482 173 78 B 

JP1PZE 33,522 151 74 B 

JJ3TBB 33,453 177 63 B 

JA1OZK 32,640 170 64 B 

JA2GHP 30,615 157 65 B 

JH8KYU/1 30,450 175 58 B 

JA5GSG 30,096 176 57 B 

JP1SPV 27,258 154 59 B 

JA5ATN 26,895 163 55 B 

JH1RDU 26,838 126 71 B 

JA3HPD 24,192 128 63 B 

JH1RMH 15,759 103 51 B 

JA1XPU 13,500 90 50 B 

JG1OWV 11,178 81 46 B 

JA2BEY 10,320 80 43 B 

JH2WHS 10,062 78 43 B 

JH2QZA 8,733 71 41 B 

JA1KK 8,640 72 40 B 

7K2GMJ 6,336 64 33 B 

JL3RDC 4,374 54 27 B 

JI2VLM 3,780 45 28 B 

JF7GDF 3,402 42 27 B 

JJ1GWF 3,192 38 28 B 

JA9EJG 2,625 35 25 B 

JA3WFQ 2,553 37 23 B 

JA1STY 660 22 10 B 

JF7PHE 585 15 13 B 

JM2RUV 168 8 7 B 

JM3HYL 120 8 5 B 

JA1ELY 2,110,275 2825 249 C 

JA8RWU 2,101,344 2968 236 C 

JA0JHA 2,023,932 2972 227 C 

JH7DNO 2,014,053 2809 239 C 

JH7AFR 1,811,700 2684 225 C 

JR3NZC 1,277,151 2161 197 C 

JI2KVW 1,266,912 1992 212 C 

JA2FJP 687,918 1489 154 C 

JA2BNN 662,460 1220 181 C 

JA1CPY 498,960 1080 154 C 

JA2FSM 490,728 1016 161 C 

JA1PCY 490,644 1062 154 C 

JF2FIU 377,400 925 136 C 

JR1LEV 82,368 264 104 C 

JH1HIC 74,676 254 98 C 

JA1KAL 70,587 253 93 C 

JE0EHE 57,420 220 87 C 

7J1ABD (WA6URY, op) 

54,549 209 87 C 

JA8TEZ 31,680 165 64 C 

JR1WYV 18,150 121 50 C 

JA5IP 10,764 78 46 C 

JA1QCQ 9,159 71 43 C 

JT1FBB 1,122 22 17 C 

JM1NKT 720 24 10 B 80 

JA8NFV 72,663 457 53 C 40 

JA3CE 972 27 12 C 40 

7M4BEN 91,206 563 54 C 20 

JF2BDK 47,628 294 54 C 20 

JH0EPI 12,876 116 37 B 20 

JR7OMD/2 7,290 81 30 B 20 

JH1UUT 5,832 72 27 B 20 

JE1GZB 3,933 57 23 B 20 

JH0HON 2,394 42 19 B 20 

JA9PPC 197,334 1154 57 C 15

JR1MQT 178,416 1008 59 C 15 

JH7NPF 129,276 756 57 B 15 

JH9URT 95,370 578 55 B 15 

JH7QXJ 82,152 489 56 C 15 

JI3OPA 76,608 456 56 C 15 

JA5APU 37,728 262 48 C 15 

JL3VUL 23,760 180 44 B 15 

JA1EM 11,124 103 36 B 15 

JA3LEZ 10,404 102 34 B 15 

JI8BUR 7,347 79 31 B 15 

JI8GZS 5,832 72 27 B 15 

JH1JNR 5,664 59 32 C 15 

JJ1JRH 4,698 58 27 C 15 

JF0EBM 3,243 47 23 B 15 

JH2BTM 2,835 45 21 B 15 

JK1BII 2,280 40 19 B 15 

JQ1AHZ 1,683 33 17 B 15 

JA6YAI (JQ6PNK, op) 

1,536 32 16 C 15 

JA9SCB 1,512 28 18 A 15 

7L3DGP 1,218 29 14 B 15 

JG1GCO 507 13 13 B 15 

JE0VFV 405 15 9 B 15 

JA7ADV 351 13 9 B 15 

JF1OZL 273 13 7 A 15 

JR1BSV 264 11 8 B 15 

JE3BMU 252 14 6 C 15 

JF2FKJ 72 6 4 B 15 

7J2YAF (JA1KSO, op) 

465,687 2631 59 C 10 

JH5FXP 328,320 1920 57 C 10 

JA3ZOH (JR4ISF, op) 

280,314 1611 58 C 10 

JF1SQC 179,037 1047 57 B 10 

JR1UJX 176,436 1014 58 C 10 

JF8OGB 158,862 913 58 C 10 

JR8OGB 157,992 908 58 C 10 

JH0BDK 149,655 907 55 B 10 

JF3BFS 141,588 828 57 B 10 

JH8SLS 141,417 827 57 C 10 

JR4PMX/1 132,588 762 58 B 10 

JA7BEW 128,466 793 54 B 10 

JA0QWO 128,184 763 56 C 10 

JA7NVF 127,848 761 56 B 10 

JA3MDG 111,888 666 56 B 10 

JA7ERJ 88,881 559 53 C 10 

JG2TKH 86,295 523 55 B 10 

JQ1UXN 80,136 477 56 B 10 

JA1CQT 57,105 405 47 B 10 

JR4GPA 53,214 362 49 B 10 

JI3ERI/1 36,576 254 48 B 10 

JA1EEG 31,536 219 48 B 10 

JA6UBK 31,455 233 45 C 10 

JH2AVO 25,530 185 46 B 10 

JI1HFJ 23,100 175 44 B 10 

JA7AMK 21,294 169 42 B 10 

JH1CML 20,868 148 47 B 10 

JG3KIV 17,958 146 41 C 10 

JA6EFT 17,280 144 40 B 10 

JR3CVO 17,220 140 41 B 10 

JA1ALX/9 12,096 144 28 B 10 

JG1TVK 10,500 100 35 B 10 

JH1HPH 9,690 95 34 B 10 

JF2AII 9,603 97 33 C 10 

JH3DMQ 9,078 89 34 A 10 

JR2TRC 7,440 80 31 B 10 

JA6IP 7,035 67 35 B 10 

JK7QYZ 6,351 73 29 B 10 

JF1OIJ 5,760 64 30 B 10 

JJ3APB 5,427 67 27 B 10 

JA1DOY 5,292 63 28 B 10 

JA6QDU 4,455 55 27 B 10 

JQ3UDL 4,437 51 29 B 10 

JJ3OOZ 3,450 46 25 B 10 

JH1PXY 3,105 45 23 B 10 

JJ2PUG 2,268 36 21 C 10 

JA3BBG 1,596 28 19 B 10 

JH1TUX 1,440 30 16 B 10 

JF3WNO 1,176 28 14 A 10 

JF2VAX 450 15 10 B 10 

JA1AAT 147 7 7 B 10 

7K2PBB 120 8 5 B 10 

JA9XAT 75 5 5 B 10 

JM4UZM 36 4 3 B 10 

JI7NHE 30 5 2 B 10 

Mongolia 

JT1CS 54,750 250 73 B 

Lebanon 

OD5/OK1MU 74,817 489 51 C 10 

Turkey 

TA3BN 40,200 200 67 B 

TA3J 450 15 10 B 40 

TA3YJ 12 2 2 B 40 

Asiatic Russia 

UA0KCL 85,284 309 92 A 

RZ0SR 272,640 710 128 B 

RZ9OU 219,996 582 126 B 

RA0FN 65,928 268 82 B 

RA9AN 51,543 207 83 B 

UA9CR 5,814 57 34 B 

RU0AT 5,766 62 31 B 

RW9QA 810 18 15 B 

UA0ZBK 2,482,704 3284 252 C 

RK9JWV (RA9JP, op) 

224,790 590 127 C 

RA0AM 192,546 563 114 C 

RV9BB 152,490 442 115 C 

UA9JDP 133,920 465 96 C 

UA0ANW 119,952 392 102 C 

RZ9UA 225,330 1295 58 C 20 

RI9C (UA9CDV, op) 

154,926 906 57 C 20 

RK9KWB 73,428 422 58 C 20 

RA0BA 40,560 260 52 C 20 

UA9LAC 31,443 223 47 C 20 

UA9MAZ 2,214 41 18 B 20 

UA0FDX 169,650 975 58 B 15 

RA0FF 97,128 568 57 C 15 

UA0SJ 10,146 89 38 B 15 

UA0APP 5,670 63 30 B 15 

RV9SV 41,184 312 44 B 10 

UA9OW 41,040 304 45 C 10 

RA0CCV/3 7,728 92 28 A 10 

RW0QJ 4,692 68 23 C 10 

Kazakhstan 

UP6F (UN7FZ, op) 

129,780 420 103 B 

UN9FD 663 17 13 B 

UP4L (UN7LZ, op) 

614,265 1321 155 C 

UP6P (UN6P, op) 

462,462 1001 154 C 

UN7D (UN7DA, op) 

4,071 59 23 B 20 

UN8DG 4,134 53 26 B 15 

UN9GC 55,650 371 50 B 10 

Hong Kong 

VR2BG 44,469 183 81 C 

Europe 

Croatia 

9A1CMS (9A5AHD, op) 

183,000 488 125 B 

9A3CY 43,200 225 64 B 

9A4SS 216,150 550 131 C 

9A2YC 153,816 442 116 C 

9A2VR 5,880 98 20 C 80 

9A5YA 3,456 64 18 C 80 

9A4X 36,270 310 39 C 40 

9A7R 124,758 717 58 C 20 

9A2L (9A2VJ, op) 

140,592 808 58 C 15 

9A4BT 12,765 115 37 B 15 

9AY2K (9A9A, op) 

438,480 2436 60 C 10 

9A5K 287,271 1623 59 C 10 

9A5V 215,055 1215 59 B 10 

9A2RD 138,504 796 58 B 10 

Malta 

9H1DE 107,868 356 101 B 

Portugal 

CT1EAT 604,992 1096 184 B 

CT1DYV 183,396 527 116 B 

CT1AOZ 244,440 1358 60 C 20 

CT1BWW 50,250 335 50 B 15 

CT1ETE 17,160 130 44 B 15 

CT1DVV 456,402 2494 61 C 10 

CT1GFK 297 11 9 B 10 

Fed. Rep. of Germany 

DK7ZH 149,076 404 123 B 

DL8SDC 119,382 394 101 B 

DL3DRN 113,184 288 131 B 

DK6BT 88,596 276 107 B 

DL4WA 82,344 292 94 B 

DL5WS 77,556 281 92 B 

DL7QU 46,842 211 74 B 

DL1DWT 46,209 211 73 B 

DL3ZAI 37,446 158 79 B 

DJ0TP 35,856 166 72 B 

DF5PP 29,502 149 66 B 

DK1YY 16,638 94 59 B 

DL3YEI 9,198 73 42 B 

DL4VAB 7,056 56 42 B 

DL1HSR 2,997 37 27 B 

DL8SDI 2,793 49 19 B 

DL3KDC 1,581 31 17 B 

DL8PC 1,545,600 2300 224 C 

DL2DX 1,257,498 2117 198 C 

DJ3HJ 879,600 1466 200 C 

DL9NDS 632,100 1204 175 C 

DF6QV 404,916 823 164 C 

DL6RDR 313,182 822 127 C 

DL1PT 63,840 266 80 C 

DJ1XT 59,532 242 82 C 

DL6DVU 35,577 177 67 C 

DL6AG 23,364 132 59 C 

DL3LAB 15,480 172 30 C 80 

DJ7AA 513,132 2804 61 C 20 

DF7YU 88,290 545 54 B 20 

DL4JYT 2,142 42 17 B 20 

DK2OY 263,703 1441 61 C 15 

DL7PP 140,007 791 59 C 15 

DL5ME 92,220 530 58 C 15 

DF9ZP 471,060 2617 60 C 10 

DL8UD 384,267 2171 59 C 10 

DL2DBH 268,308 1542 58 C 10 

DK3KD 253,464 1432 59 C 10 

DL7ANR 183,396 1054 58 C 10 

DL6NDN 95,160 610 52 C 10 

DL4FAY 69,984 432 54 B 10 

DL6UNF 59,280 380 52 C 10 

DL2DN 47,664 331 48 C 10 

DL7VXX 22,197 151 49 C 10 

DL9ZWG 20,862 183 38 B 10 

DJ0BX 19,680 164 40 B 10 

DK7AN 7,161 77 31 B 10 

DL6EG 6,048 84 24 B 10 

DL0GDS 5,670 70 27 C 10 

DL1FMG 4,608 64 24 B 10 

DL4JTW 3,744 52 24 B 10 

DL3ME 2,835 45 21 B 10 

DF5RF 6 2 1 A 10 

Spain 

EA4ABW 7,488 64 39 A 

EA3GHZ 332,055 785 141 B 

EA4TX 144,432 472 102 B 

EA3NA 69,192 248 93 B 

EA3OP 67,518 242 93 B 

EA3EVR 39,960 180 74 B 

EA1APS 35,280 210 56 B 

EA5AFH 32,832 152 72 B 

EA3ESJ 23,187 131 59 B 

EA7CWV 17,577 93 63 B 

EC3AHT 10,260 90 38 B 

EA3AAW 8,748 81 36 B 

EA2LB 7,854 77 34 B 

EA3DVJ 6,786 87 26 B 

EA1BVP 4,752 44 36 B 

EA5FWW 504 14 12 B 

EC2BAH 243 9 9 B 

EA5BHK 849,750 1375 206 C 

EA5FID 294,309 617 159 C 

EA1BPO 141,456 421 112 C 

EA3GHQ 104,328 414 84 C 

EA1GL 67,584 256 88 C 

EA3FAJ 50,298 202 83 C 

EA1ZH 36,855 195 63 C 

EA3BTJ 10,440 116 30 C 

EA5CMQ 4,554 46 33 C 

EA1DVY 48 4 4 B 160 

EF1CFD 18,135 195 31 B 80 

EA3BHB 86,625 525 55 C 20 

EA3QP 58,512 368 53 C 20 

EA1AAW 9,408 98 32 C 20 

EA3CT 3,213 51 21 B 20 

EA1AUT 216 9 8 C 20 

EA1DLU 178,425 975 61 C 15 

EA3KT 30,870 210 49 B 15 

EA5TN 2,538 47 18 B 15 

EA4WF 354,960 1972 60 C 10 

EA3AR 241,920 1344 60 C 10 

EA7FTR 153,990 885 58 B 10 

EA4ET 139,896 804 58 C 10 

EA5DWS 119,187 697 57 C 10 

EA5AVD 64,638 399 54 B 10 

EA1ACP 45,900 300 51 B 10 

EA7AKJ 28,980 210 46 B 10 

EA3DUZ 27,048 196 46 C 10 

EA3ATM 19,782 157 42 C 10 

EA4CWN 10,914 107 34 B 10 

EA7GSU 7,290 81 30 C 10 

EA1GA 828 23 12 C 10 

Ireland 

EI4DW 839,232 1488 188 C 

EI/EA3BOX 179,832 508 118 C 

EI8GP 170,145 995 57 B 10 

Moldova 

ER5DX 62,220 244 85 B 

ER1LW 741 19 13 B 40 

Estonia 

ES5RW 275,724 666 138 C 

ES5CX 2,178 33 22 B 15 

ES4RO 26,838 213 42 C 10 

ES6PZ 26,445 215 41 C 10 

Belarus 

EW8DA 12,600 100 42 B 

EU1UN 212,760 788 90 C 

EW2AA 117,315 495 79 C 

EW3EW 1,053 27 13 C 80 

EU6DX 48 4 4 B 80 

EW6AF 13,566 119 38 C 20 

EU1SA 105,300 650 54 C 10 

EW6DF 17,664 184 32 B 10 

EW6DX 17,205 155 37 B 10 

EU6FF 8,280 92 30 B 10 

EU4EU 3,456 48 24 B 10 

EW1AAV 1,836 34 18 C 10 

France 

F5BEG 226,044 546 138 A 

F5TDK 593,607 1229 161 B 

F8BJI 211,689 547 129 B 

F5TVG 87,318 231 126 B 

F5ICC 68,523 251 91 B 

F5TYY 41,004 204 67 B 

F5MFL 30,396 149 68 B 

F5PBL 16,038 99 54 B 

F5MLJ 14,700 100 49 B 

F5JX 4,590 45 34 B 

F5BBD 199,800 555 120 C 

F5NBK 97,002 317 102 C 

F5RZJ 49,446 402 41 C 40 

F5NBX 31,302 282 37 C 40 

F5CCX 8,064 96 28 C 20 

F8CMZ 1,092 26 14 B 20 

F6HMQ 269,100 1495 60 C 15 

F8BPN 212,580 1181 60 C 15 

F6DRP 5,175 75 23 B 15 

F5LBL 238,950 1350 59 C 10 

FB1BON 146,376 856 57 B 10 

F8CNR 23,865 185 43 B 10 

F8PMO 10,656 96 37 B 10 

F5NQL 9,600 100 32 B 10 

F6FTB 6,144 64 32 A 10 

England 

G3FNM 63,516 268 79 A 

G0MTN 319,005 765 139 B 

G3VAO 235,152 568 138 B 

M0CQS (N0KV, op) 

135,930 394 115 B 

G4NXG 97,200 300 108 B 

M0BEX 66,339 273 81 B 

G3NAS 49,392 168 98 B 

M6T (G4PIQ, op) 

3,121,284 3956 263 C 

G3TMA 692,244 1407 164 C 

G4IUF 86,130 290 99 C 

G3UFY 24,570 130 63 C 

G2VJ 5,124 61 28 B 20 

M4T (G0VQR, op) 

3,420 60 19 B 20 

G0EYO 7,176 92 26 B 15 

G4JVG 103,797 607 57 C 10 

G2QT 49,200 328 50 C 10 

G0NWY 39,312 312 42 B 10 

G4AHJ 17,160 130 44 B 10 

Northern Ireland 

GI0KVQ 183,732 502 122 B 

GI0OUM 21,417 121 59 B 

Jersey 

GJ2A (K2WR, op) 

345,693 829 139 C 

Scotland 

MM/W3LEO 72,390 254 95 B 

GM3POI 444,150 1175 126 C 

GM3BCL 215,946 558 129 C 

GM7R (GM0NAI, op) 

437,190 2470 59 C 10 

GM0EGI 34,050 227 50 A 10 

Wales 

GW0AJI 70,716 284 83 B 

Hungary 

HA2A 320,991 781 137 A 

HA6PX 305,460 1697 60 C 10 

HA0NAR 236,826 1338 59 C 10 

HA0IT 51,606 366 47 B 10 

Switzerland 

HB2FAP 1,213,461 1917 211 C 

Italy 

I8OCA 256,212 647 132 B 

IK4QJM 180,375 481 125 B 

IZ2ABN 115,551 347 111 B 

IK2WZQ 102,678 314 109 B 

IO3Z 88,266 313 94 B 

IK5WGK 83,808 291 96 B 

IK1ZOE 78,936 286 92 B 

IK1RQQ 76,995 295 87 B 

IK2SVF 71,724 278 86 B 

IK2WYI 46,200 220 70 B 

IK4RQJ 41,514 187 74 B 

IK7RVY 38,304 304 42 B 

IZ2BHQ 27,864 129 72 B 

IK5YJK 21,375 125 57 B 

IK7YZF 18,471 131 47 B 

IK7WUE 17,496 108 54 B 

II3L (IV3KAS, op) 

11,466 91 42 B 

IU0K (IK0STM, op) 

7,998 62 43 B 

I2WIJ 6,612 58 38 B 

IK4CBM 4,209 61 23 B 

IN3PEE 900 20 15 B 

IZ4COW 987,189 1621 203 C 

IK6GPZ 407,040 848 160 C 

IT9WPO 115,938 339 114 C 

IK2RJZ 98,700 350 94 C 

IK4QIB 70,029 251 93 C 

IZ5BRO 69,960 440 53 C 

IV3EPO 57,519 231 83 C 

IZ6BTN 49,275 225 73 C 

IK2BCP 38,178 202 63 C 

IQ2X 33,984 177 64 C 

IZ1ANZ 15,120 112 45 C 

IZ0BPI 5,100 50 34 C 

I4AVG 34,194 278 41 C 80 

IQ3A (IV3TAN, op) 

538,842 2897 62 C 20 

IT9ICS 81,276 521 52 C 20 

IK8WEJ 52,650 351 50 C 20 

IZ4AQL 3,150 50 21 C 20 

IR2W (I2EOW, op) 

296,322 1703 58 C 15 

IK2DUU 279,540 1553 60 C 15 

IK3STG 20,160 168 40 B 15 

IZ2DAY 3,528 49 24 B 15 

IY4W 374,040 2078 60 C 10 

IR1A (IK1GPG, op) 

359,460 1997 60 C 10 

II2Y 195,078 1066 61 C 10 

IT9ZTX 171,738 987 58 C 10 

IK1HSS 141,417 827 57 C 10 

IT9EQO 140,940 810 58 C 10 

I8UZA 136,116 796 57 C 10 

I1COB 110,385 669 55 C 10 

IU1W (I1WXY, op) 

105,336 627 56 B 10 

II2K (IK2UCK, op) 

66,462 418 53 C 10 

IK2ODD 61,200 400 51 B 10 

IQ0A (IK0XBX, op) 

25,461 207 41 B 10 

IZ7CDB 13,500 125 36 B 10 

IV3KSE 8,712 88 33 B 10 

IK1ZOF 3,645 45 27 B 10 

IK4VFB 3,168 44 24 B 10 

Sardinia 

IS0IGV 123,384 388 106 B 

IS0VBH 37,386 201 62 B 

IS0FBK 2,106 39 18 B 

IS0GSR 169,974 994 57 C 10 

Svalbard 

JW5NM 109,230 662 55 C 15 

Norway 

LA2HFA 20,178 118 57 B 

LA9AU 21,504 112 64 C 

LA5JX 71,766 443 54 B 10 

LA6YEA 63,666 393 54 C 10 

LA2JR 29,172 221 44 B 10 

LA3JT 8,256 86 32 B 10 

Luxembourg 

LX1JH 372,150 827 150 B 

LX0RL 372,141 1253 99 C 

LX2SM 141,417 827 57 C 10 

Lithuania 

LY2LA 543,585 1085 167 B 

LY3CY 48,825 217 75 B 

LY1DS 15,453 101 51 B 

LY3BH 9,108 69 44 C 

LY3BS 74,850 499 50 C 40 

LY2BM 252,900 1405 60 C 20 

LY2BLQ 13,776 112 41 B 15 

LY2ZZ 354,060 1967 60 C 10 

LY2HM 48,384 336 48 B 10 

LY3BY 13,950 155 30 B 10 

Bulgaria 

LZ2AU 65,175 275 79 B 

LZ2JE 21,672 172 42 B 

LZ1AQ 10,455 85 41 B 

LZ2WM 105,060 340 103 C 

LZ1HB 85,956 551 52 B 10 

LZ1PM 33,354 218 51 C 10 

LZ2GS 1,845 41 15 B 10 

Austria 

OE7AJT 20,790 126 55 B 

OE8SKQ 304,263 1719 59 C 15 

OE1EMS 346,320 1924 60 C 10 

Aland Islands 

OH0B 2,291,832 3336 229 C 

Finland 

OH2LYP 124,926 443 94 B 

OH1MM 6,120 60 34 B 

OH8RQ 4,050 45 30 B 

OH5LF (OH1WZ, op) 

3,072,000 4096 250 C 

OH3JR 127,125 375 113 C 

OH9W (OH6EI, op) 

76,500 340 75 C 

OH3GD 210 10 7 B 40 

OH1BOI 1,680 35 16 C 20 

OH6AC (OH6CS, op) 

258,042 1483 58 C 15 

OH6Y (OH6YF, op) 

203,904 1152 59 C 10 

OH9MM 158,205 995 53 C 10 

OH1XT 101,598 574 59 C 10 

OH3RR 95,076 556 57 C 10 

OH1NOA 7,020 90 26 B 10 

OH5PA 6,888 82 28 B 10 

Czech Republic 

OK1BA 175,392 504 116 B 

OK1TC 155,430 471 110 B 

OK1FHI 101,268 348 97 B 

OK2SGY 46,410 238 65 B 

OK2TBC 43,200 200 72 B 

OK2SPS 14,364 114 42 B 

OK2BHE 2,016 32 21 B 

OK2FD 1,714,518 2586 221 C 

OK1DUO 559,872 1152 162 C 

OK1JAX 4,158 77 18 C 80 

OK1FPS 1,440 32 15 C 80 

OK1IE 17,544 172 34 C 40 

OK/K3TW 3,213 51 21 B 20 

OK1CAZ 378 14 9 B 20 

OK1MD 190,800 1060 60 C 15 

OK2HZ 29,892 212 47 B 15 

OK1GW 24,510 190 43 A 15 

OK1DVK 243 9 9 B 15 

OK2RZ 483,669 2643 61 C 10 

OK8ANM (at OK5H,UR4LRQ, op) 

196,968 1132 58 C 10 

OK1KT 114,015 691 55 C 10 

OK2ABU 96,831 609 53 C 10 

OK1AVY 81,648 486 56 C 10 

OK1TD 57,081 359 53 B 10 

OK1XC 52,938 346 51 B 10 

OK1DSZ 51,597 351 49 B 10 

OK1DEK 39,345 305 43 C 10 

OK2BJT 37,224 264 47 C 10 

OK1SI 34,560 256 45 B 10 

OK2ZJ 27,984 212 44 B 10 

OK1FUA 27,600 200 46 A 10 

OK2VP 11,256 134 28 B 10 

OK1AIJ 2,322 43 18 A 10 

Slovakia 

OM5NL 133,227 393 113 B 

OM4DN 126,873 381 111 B 

OM3YK 105,294 322 109 B 

OM3NA 1,753,110 2718 215 C 

OM7M (OM5ZW, op) 

10,800 144 25 C 80 

OM7RC 720 20 12 C 20 

OM4KK 34,524 274 42 B 10 

OM3KWZ (OM7AC, op) 

27,594 219 42 B 10 

OM6AR 5,382 69 26 B 10 

Belgium 

ON6ML 85,728 304 94 B 

ON5UM 55,860 196 95 B 

ON4BG 22,680 126 60 B 

ON5JD 8,712 66 44 B 

OT0T (ON4UN, op) 

58,926 427 46 C 80 

ON4UN (ON4MA, op) 

448,899 2453 61 C 10 

ON7NQ 244,122 1403 58 B 10 

ON4TO 97,440 580 56 B 10 

ON4CAS 88,275 535 55 B 10 

ON4XG 22,698 194 39 B 10 

Denmark 

OZ1ACB 120,870 395 102 B 

OZ7RJ 94,575 325 97 B 

OZ9Y 330,774 1901 58 C 10 

OZ7HVI (OZ1AA, op) 

7,476 89 28 B 10 

OZ1AKN 756 21 12 B 10 

Netherlands 

PA9RZ 17,640 105 56 A 

PA1TT 95,160 305 104 B 

PA0RBS 60,945 239 85 B 

PA2NJN 27,648 144 64 B 

PA3HGF 13,920 80 58 B 

PA0IJM 248,400 600 138 C 

PA1BX 70,125 275 85 C 

PA3CAL 7,776 81 32 B 15 

PI4TUE (PA3EZL, op) 

313,290 1770 59 C 10 

Slovenia 

S57J 735,435 1385 177 B 

S59D 57,780 214 90 B 

S50S 2,688,924 3766 238 C 

S51TA 1,500,948 2892 173 C 

S55A 910,035 1605 189 C 

S53Z 502,080 1046 160 C 

S54E 1,680 40 14 C 160 

S57O 18,135 195 31 C 80 

S53M (S55OO, op) 

109,725 665 55 C 40 

S51CK 142,395 863 55 C 20 

S57AW 381,555 2085 61 C 15 

S57IIO 160,362 906 59 B 15 

S57JUN 6,699 77 29 B 15 

S50K 434,700 2415 60 C 10 

S58D 325,680 1840 59 C 10 

S50Q 303,300 1685 60 C 10 

S51AY 291,042 1702 57 C 10 

S57NWG 150,684 866 58 C 10 

S58WW 129,276 756 57 B 10 

S52GP 107,250 650 55 C 10 

S57NMQ 106,344 633 56 B 10 

Sweden 

SM6B (SM6AGR, op) 

157,563 427 123 B 

SM4AIO 152,490 442 115 B 

SM0FM 21,306 106 67 B 

SM5TSP 18,315 111 55 B 

SM7HSP 9,960 83 40 B 

SM3ARR 9,240 77 40 B 

SM5UFB 2,886 37 26 B 

8S0W (SM0NJO, op) 

2,484 36 23 B 

SK3W (SM5IMO, op) 

2,980,152 4088 243 C 

8S4Z (SM4SET, op) 

447,921 951 157 C 

SM6WQB 359,127 849 141 C 

7S4A (SM4ATJ, op) 

204,216 536 127 C 

SM7BJW 123,120 380 108 C 

SM0J 27,690 142 65 C 

SM7DXQ 26,820 149 60 C 

7S2E (SM2DMU, op) 

34,443 267 43 C 40 

SK0HB (SM0WKA, op) 

16,380 156 35 B 20 

SM0GKF 288 12 8 A 20 

SM2CEW 129,108 742 58 C 15 

SM2T (SM2EZT, op) 

97,104 578 56 C 15 

SM6ADW 33,354 218 51 C 15 

8S7A (SM7CRW, op) 

288,360 1602 60 C 10 

SM3D (SM3WMU, op) 

8,484 101 28 B 10 

SM7FTG 4,002 58 23 B 10 

SM0BWM 84 7 4 B 10 

Poland 

SP1EOI 150,228 428 117 B 

3Z6V (SP6DVP, op) 

72,900 243 100 B 

SP7A (SP7FQI, op) 

49,275 219 75 B 

SQ4CUX 36,924 181 68 B 

SP9HQC 31,482 159 66 B 

SP7LHX 27,300 140 65 B 

SP3XR 23,616 192 41 B 

SP3IMM 15,300 102 50 B 

SP3GHK 14,478 127 38 B 

SQ7BCG 14,076 92 51 B 

SP5BNB 11,466 98 39 B 

SP9MCU 5,796 69 28 B 

SP3BVI 5,220 58 30 B 

SP9ELM 5,184 54 32 B 

SP2FGO 44,526 181 82 C 

SP7FDV 41,208 202 68 C 


SP9VRY 828 23 12 C 

SP7VC (at SP7GIQ) 

118,674 694 57 C 40 

SN6O (SP6IHE, op) 

9,720 120 27 C 40 

SP2PIK (SP2WKB, op) 

408,273 2231 61 C 20 

SP6RGC 2,400 40 20 B 20 

SP4SHD 1,485 33 15 B 20 

SP7GIQ 360,540 2003 60 C 15 

SP9XCN 54,600 325 56 B 15 

SP9RVD 26,226 186 47 B 15 

SP5BB 16,899 131 43 B 15 

SP6IXF 304,200 1690 60 C 10 

SP9LJD 230,100 1300 59 C 10 

SP5LCC 30,624 232 44 B 10 

SQ9IET 12,576 131 32 A 10 

SP5CGN 10,464 109 32 B 10 

SQ8GBN 3,000 50 20 B 10 

SO7VH 378 14 9 B 10 

Greece 

SV2AEL 24,750 150 55 B 

SW1W 17,640 120 49 B 

SV1DPI 84 7 4 B 80 

Bosnia-Herzegovina 

T94MZ 64,680 392 55 C 15 

T94DO 59,517 389 51 C 10 

T92M 15,000 125 40 B 10 

European Russia 

RV3AR 34,506 162 71 A 

RA3WA 297,000 660 150 B 

UA4LU 247,248 606 136 B 

RA3DNC 104,178 358 97 B 

RV4LC 44,688 196 76 B 

RZ6BR 39,237 319 41 B 

RA3AF 36,234 198 61 B 

RA4UAT 22,869 121 63 B 

UA4RF 18,315 111 55 B 

UA1WAL 18,207 119 51 B 

RW4YA 9,180 85 36 B 

RV3YR 2,376 33 24 B 

UA3BL 376,650 775 162 C 

RK6AW 200,880 540 124 C 

RN3RQ 156,366 438 119 C 

RV1CC 107,568 332 108 C 

RK3DH 67,770 251 90 C 

UA3BZ 25,404 146 58 C 

RZ1AZ 11,988 74 54 C 

RA4NF 11,316 82 46 C 

UA6ART 1,404 26 18 C 

UA3UND 12 1 4 C 

RW3DU 60 4 5 B 80 

RM4W (RW4WR, op) 

245,700 1365 60 C 20 

UA3QDX 146,910 830 59 C 20 

RA4LW 120,384 704 57 C 20 

UA4LDP 1,092 26 14 B 20 

RA1AKE 1,050 25 14 B 20 

RN3QY 185,745 1015 61 C 15 

UA4HTT 180,804 988 61 C 15 

UA3ABJ 94,080 560 56 B 15 

RA3RCL 70,896 422 56 B 15 

RV3ACA 45,150 301 50 C 15 

RX1CQ 16,974 138 41 B 15 

UA6LP 2,052 36 19 B 15 

RA3AJ 173,178 1069 54 C 10 

UA6LV 140,418 807 58 C 10 

RK6CZ 100,980 612 55 C 10 

RN3QO 71,850 479 50 B 10 

RA4CC 62,550 417 50 C 10 

UA3LHL 28,782 234 41 B 10 

RU3DVR 20,241 173 39 B 10 

RU3DD 19,656 168 39 B 10 

RU3WR 15,660 145 36 C 10 

RA3OU 15,228 141 36 C 10 

RA3XO 13,320 120 37 B 10 

RV3LO 7,857 97 27 B 10 

RA3DGH 4,968 69 24 B 10 

UA3AD 390 13 10 B 10 

Ukraine 

UT1UA 97,566 322 101 B 

UU4JO 49,896 216 77 B 

UY5TE 2,886 37 26 B 

UT4MW 1,740 29 20 B 

UR3IWA 630,720 1460 144 C 

UT3UA 79,248 254 104 C 

UT5JAP 12,798 79 54 C 

UT4EK 9,417 73 43 C 

UT7MD 4,929 53 31 C 

UR3QCW 936 24 13 C 

UT1T (UR7TZ, op) 

28,500 250 38 B 20 

UR8MA 200,751 1097 61 C 15 

UT0U (UT5UDX, op) 

179,100 995 60 C 15 

UU2JZ 160,362 906 59 C 15 

UR6MX 92,736 552 56 C 15 

EN7M (UX2MM, op) 

89,712 534 56 C 15 

UX7MM 36,000 240 50 B 15 

UT5UGR 15,120 140 36 C 15 

UT0D 225,207 1317 57 C 10 

UU0JX 199,125 1125 59 C 10 

UT7L (UR4QKD, op) 

94,122 581 54 C 10 

UT8IM 75,816 468 54 C 10 

UZ5U (UT4UO, op) 

61,620 395 52 C 10 

UY9VY 29,040 220 44 C 10 

UR5FGN 27,477 213 43 B 10 

UT7QL 26,199 213 41 C 10 

UU4JMG 22,113 189 39 B 10 

US5EAE 2,655 59 15 B 10 

UR5YDX 1,260 30 14 A 10 

UR5XAJ 1,248 26 16 C 10 

UR5FCM 900 20 15 A 10 

UR5YDZ 510 17 10 A 10 

Latvia 

YL2MF 9,768 88 37 A 

YL2KO 1,052,025 2075 169 C 

YL2SM 18,810 165 38 C 10 

YL3BZ 11,232 117 32 B 10 

Romania 

YO3APJ 587,385 1145 171 B 

YO5KTK 201,495 505 133 B 

YO8FR 98,196 334 98 B 

YO7ARY 58,968 252 78 B 

YO9AHX 3,000 40 25 B 

YO6SD 2,886 37 26 B 

YO8DHD 12,600 100 42 C 

YO6BZL 32,226 262 41 B 20 

YO8ROO 6,966 86 27 B 20 

YO8DDP 20,538 163 42 B 15 

YO4AAC 216 9 8 A 15 

YO9GZU 1,386 33 14 A 10 

Yugoslavia 

YU7KWX 667,332 1332 167 B 

YU1OJ 231,813 599 129 B 

YU7AM 45,144 198 76 B 

YZ1SG 1,716 26 22 B 

4N1K (YU1XA, op) 

15,066 162 31 C 80 

YT0T (YU1FJK, op) 

7,488 104 24 C 80 

YT7A 47,400 395 40 C 40 

YU7BW 25,863 233 37 C 40 

YU1JW 381,189 2083 61 C 20 

YT1BB 378,993 2071 61 C 20 

YZ9A 303,378 1714 59 C 20 

YU1BX 1,302 31 14 B 20 

YU7JX 241,782 1366 59 C 15 

YT7KF 200,364 1132 59 C 15 

YU1HFG 43,299 283 51 B 15 

YZ1U (YU1QD, op) 

293,580 1631 60 C 10 

YU7GMN (4N7DW, op) 

208,506 1178 59 C 10 

YU7AL (4N7RGH, op) 

201,840 1160 58 C 10 

YU7KMN (YZ7DM, op) 

200,622 1153 58 B 10 

YT7W (4N7TW, op) 

164,640 980 56 C 10 

YU1NW 128,142 791 54 B 10 

YU1ANT (YU1YV, op) 

97,344 624 52 C 10 

4N1N (4N1LB, op) 

63,492 407 52 B 10 

YU7KM 32,637 253 43 B 10 

YU7SF 14,652 148 33 B 10 

4N1JA 5,751 71 27 C 10 

Macedonia 

Z31JA 1,144,410 2062 185 C 

Z32AF 17,157 133 43 C 20 

Z31GX 175,044 1006 58 C 10 

North America 

Barbados 

8P6EX 420,432 922 152 C 

Cuba 

CO2II 995,565 2141 155 B 

CO8ZZ 85,800 520 55 B 80 

Saint Martin 

FS/K8HTP 174,405 1057 55 C 10 

Panama 

HO3A (HP3XUG, op) 

64,320 268 80 B 

3E1AA 437,721 2473 59 C 20 

Alaska 

WL7CMK 400,932 1036 129 B 

KL7/NO7F 130,626 738 59 C 15 

Virgin Islands 

NP2DJ 37,536 184 68 B 

KV4FZ 28,098 223 42 C 160 

Puerto Rico 

WP3R (KB3AFT, op) 

7,254,090 7218 335 C 

KP4VP 247,296 896 92 C 

St Maarten Saba St Eustatius 

PJ8/W1USN 27,720 210 44 B 10 

Guatemala 

TG0AA (IK2NCJ, op) 

549,585 3105 59 C 15 

Costa Rica 

TI7/N4MO 293,643 1659 59 B 10 

TI2DLL 173,394 1014 57 B 10 

Antigua & Barbuda 

V26P (W5AJ, op) 

21,480 179 40 C 160 

Belize 

V31JP 5,815,071 6273 309 C 

St Kitts & Nevis 

V47KP 5,090,715 5387 315 C 

V44NK 243,939 1333 61 C 10 

British Virgin Islands 

VP2VF 422,994 2431 58 B 10 

Turks & Caicos Islands 

VP5A (KQ3V, op) 

4,257,162 4746 299 B 

Mexico 

XE2AUB 373,191 1367 91 B 

XE1BEF 62,100 345 60 C 

XE1L 106,920 660 54 B 10 

El Salvador 

HU1A (YT1AD, op) 

5,686,092 5542 342 C 

Cayman Islands 

ZF2NT (N6NT, op) 

6,435,558 6442 333 C 

ZF2DR (K5RQ, op) 

5,238,477 5651 309 C 

ZF2JB (KK9A, op) 

269,748 1524 59 C 40 

ZF2AH 495,030 2845 58 C 10 

Oceania 

Fiji 

3D2TC 697,221 1519 153 B 

Philippines 

DU1SAN 144,054 453 106 C 

DU1ODD 9,021 97 31 C 20 

4F9EAQ 2,016 32 21 B 15 

DU1LER 5,022 62 27 B 10 

Hawaii 

KH7R (KH6ND, op) 

6,676,188 6703 332 C 

NH7A 4,017,402 4362 307 C 

AH6IM 120,042 702 57 B 15 

Marshall Islands 

V73CW (AC4G, op) 

1,410,750 2090 225 B 

Australia 

VK4EJ 370,188 1092 113 B 

VK5EMI 2,142 34 21 B 

VK5GN 1,393,821 2223 209 C 

VK8AV 4,080 40 34 C 

VK3GK 3,588 46 26 B 15 

VK2KPP 328,140 1823 60 C 10 

VK4UC 146,682 843 58 C 10 

VK2UZ 75,600 450 56 C 10 

Pitcairn Island 

VP6BR (OH2BR, op) 

1,503,000 2505 200 B 

Indonesia 

YB1XUR 35,292 173 68 B 

YC8TXW 936 24 13 B 

YB3ASQ/9 275,274 746 123 C 

YB0ZAD 504 14 12 B 20 

YC8RRK 10,944 114 32 C 15 

YC0LOW 22,440 170 44 B 10 

New Zealand 

ZL1ANJ 1,018,455 1579 215 C 

South America 

Chile 

CE8EIO 1,127,448 2237 168 C 

CE6ABC 173,106 978 59 C 15 

CE8SFG 244,440 1358 60 C 10 

XQ3ZW 4,860 60 27 B 10 

Bolivia 

CP1FF 82,296 381 72 C 

Uruguay 

CX9AU 44,583 193 77 B 

CX8CP 424,800 2400 59 C 10 

Ecuador 

HC1HC 364,266 2058 59 C 10 

Galapagos Islands 

HC8N (K5TR, op) 

7,645,056 7408 344 C 

Colombia 

HK6PSG 462,510 1142 135 B 

Argentina 

LU1VK 88,200 300 98 A 

LU9HO 705,087 1497 157 B 

LO7H 581,202 1374 141 B 

LU2NI 452,640 943 160 B 

L44D (LU4DA, op) 

105,444 404 87 B 

LU5FF 35,670 205 58 B 

LU1BR 496,350 1103 150 C 

LU1FAM 191,052 1098 58 B 20 

LU2FT 156,078 897 58 B 15 

LU6FF 43,920 305 48 C 15 

LU4FM 447,987 2531 59 C 10 

LT1A (LU3CT, op) 

393,588 2262 58 C 10 

LU6FUQ 332,688 1912 58 C 10 

LP1F 262,740 1510 58 B 10 

LU1VEW 174,174 1001 58 B 10 

LW1EGD 166,896 976 57 B 10 

LU1FC 159,030 930 57 B 10 

LU1FGE 105,840 630 56 B 10 

LU5EVK 98,484 566 58 B 10 

LW9DAH 61,902 362 57 B 10 

LU7VCH 25,944 188 46 A 10 

LU5JKG 13,038 106 41 B 10 

Peru 

OA4SS 2,620,026 3594 243 B 

OA4CVT 14,934 131 38 C 40 

OA4AHW 4,500 60 25 B 10 

Aruba 

P40B (P43P, op) 

4,766,400 4800 331 C 

Brazil 

ZX2B (PY2MNL, op) 

1,093,176 2169 168 B 

PT2AW 119,394 402 99 B 

PY2YU 78,936 286 92 B 

PY7YL 48,462 197 82 B 

PY3FBI 39,690 210 63 B 

PR7FN 4,752 48 33 B 

PY2WVT 297 11 9 B 

PY2NY 331,632 784 141 C 

PV8IG 684 19 12 C 

PY5EG 107,358 617 58 C 40 

ZX5J (PP5JR, op) 

308,700 1715 60 C 20 

PR7AR 363 11 11 B 20 

ZW5B (PY2KC, op) 

392,055 2215 59 C 15 

PQ5W 328,686 1889 58 C 15 

PY2APQ 29,970 222 45 A 15 

PP5UA 410,988 2362 58 C 10 

ZV5A (PY5GU, op) 

382,800 2200 58 C 10 

ZX4Y (PY4OY, op) 

282,138 1594 59 C 10 

PY5HSD 150,684 866 58 B 10 

PY2NDX 55,890 345 54 B 10 

PY2EDY 24,564 178 46 B 10 

PY2LED 8,019 99 27 B 10 

PY3BM 6,177 71 29 B 10 

PY2TST 3,762 57 22 B 10 

Fernando de Noronha 

PY0FF 370,992 2096 59 C 15 

Venezuela 

YV5AAX 71,526 262 91 B 

YW1A (YV1AVO, op) 

325,500 1750 62 C 

4M3Y 4,725 63 25 C 

YV3AZC 127,716 734 58 C 80 

4M5E (YV5NWG, op) 

133,209 779 57 C 40 

YV3DX 17,433 149 39 C 20 

YV2FEQ 58,800 392 50 B 10 

Paraguay 

ZP5SAT 472,026 1042 151 C 

Single Operator Assisted 

Asia 

JH4UYB 1,095,219 1667 219 B 

JQ1BVI 642,546 1467 146 C 

7L4IOU 560,628 1074 174 B 

JR2DOL 495,900 1102 150 C 

JH4NMT 438,840 920 159 C 

JQ1NGT 121,662 751 54 C 

HL1/JI1EFP 46,053 301 51 B 

JH5OXF 21,045 115 61 B 

Europe 

YL8M (YL2KL, op) 

2,352,987 3549 221 C 

OK1DG 668,682 1218 183 C 

IZ5AXA 581,976 1096 177 C 

RV3BR 474,306 982 161 C 

PA3EWP 366,366 2002 61 C 

OM1CW 301,584 1648 61 C 

G4OJH 282,420 1569 60 C 

PA7FM 250,560 1392 60 C 

DK7ZT 206,226 513 134 C 

LY1DR 177,876 486 122 C 

I8NHJ 139,374 801 58 C 

9A1CHP (9A6NHH, op) 

80,028 494 54 B 

9A4KA 47,499 223 71 B 

PA0MIR 18,963 147 43 B 

OM2DX 10,881 117 31 C 

Multioperator Single 

Transmitter 

Asia 

JA7YAA (JE7HLZ,JH0ORW,JH0NZN, 

JG7PSJ,JM1QPR,7M1JAS, 

7K4SHF,+op) 

1,987,500 2650 250 C 

RK9CZO (RX9CAZ,RA9CDH, ops) 

374,517 873 143 C 

JA4YPE (JF3EBO,JN4MUC,JI4RDO, 

ops) 21,780 121 60 B 

JN1YUU (7M4WVB,7M4JVV,7M4NBR, 

7M4UVV,7M4WIK,7N4HIL,7M4UUC, 

ops) 9,030 70 43 B 

Europe 

TM1C (F5ITK,F5MUX,F5TRO,F6CTT, 

ops) 4,907,646 5801 282 C 

DL0WW (DK3GI,DL6RAI, ops) 

3,746,376 5118 244 C 

EI8IR (+EI8GS) 

3,444,720 4630 248 C 

DL8OH (+DL1IAO,DL2MEH,DL4NAC) 

3,083,184 4212 244 C 

OE2S (OE2GEN,OE2LCM,OE2MON, 

OE2VEL, ops) 

2,799,234 3793 246 C 

UZ7Z (UR5ZLY,UR7GG,UR7ZZ, 

UT0ZZ,UT4ZO, ops) 

2,623,140 3835 228 C 

OH3MMM (OH1VR,OH3WW,OH6LI, ops) 

2,540,025 3763 225 C 

OH7M (OH4XX,OH6LNI,OH7KD, 

OH7MHL,ops) 

2,463,552 3666 224 C 

HB2AUS (+HB9BYT,HB9CXZ,HB9DPD, 

HE9EEX, ops) 

2,326,338 2994 259 C 

OH8L (OH8LQ,OH8MCT, ops) 

2,314,575 3429 225 C 

DL1FEL (+DJ6QT) 

2,018,457 3381 199 C 

M2H (G0REP,G3MXH, ops) 

1,841,562 3054 201 C 

OL5Q (OK1HRA,OK1FLC,OK1VSL, 

OK1INC,OK1FFU, ops) 

1,743,147 2807 207 C 

RI3A (RA3DKE,RK3FM,RK3FT, 

RU3DGD,UA3ASZ,RV3BA, ops) 

1,687,578 2666 211 C 

LX1NO (+TF3CW) 

1,682,928 2697 208 C 

GW8GT (GW0MAW,GW4JBQ, ops) 

1,354,197 2671 169 C 

IK1SLE (+ops) 

1,342,653 2249 199 C 

SK0UX (SM0TQX,SM0JHF,SM0DRD, 

SM0XEU,SM5CCT, ops) 

1,267,680 2224 190 C 

TF3IRA (TF3AO,TF3HP,TF3MLT, 

TF3RJT,TF3VGT, ops) 

1,120,977 2211 169 C 

S50R (+ops) 

1,084,710 1730 209 C 

SK3IK (+ops) 

994,788 1812 183 C 

R3K (RV3FF,RX3DCX,RN3DC, ops) 

834,678 1599 174 C 

IO2L (I2OKW,IZ2ACZ,IZ2AVK,IZ2HAJ, 

ops) 731,601 1443 169 C 

IQ3X (IV3HAX,IV3SKB, ops) 

545,280 1136 160 C 

M4U (G0DVJ,G4EYE,G4YJQ,M0CGE, 

G4WHK,G3YYZ,G0OZS,M1DSY, 

G7HOW, ops) 

478,710 985 162 C 

IV3HYD (+IV3RAV,IV3RCH) 

468,639 1021 153 C 

3Z0I (+ops) 

459,795 1057 145 C 

EA5FFC (+EA5BX,EA5GMO,EA5ZI, 

EA7IO) 447,525 975 153 C 

LZ2K (LZ2NP,LZ2YO,LZ4HM,LZ4QY, 

ops) 440,628 1006 146 C 

DL0BKR (DJ3PY,DH2PK,DJ1ER, 

DH1PRA,DL6EN,DL5WJ, ops) 

438,672 988 148 B 

RK6AYN (+RN6BP,RU6AV,RW6ACM, 

UA6AH,RV6ARU) 

364,104 778 156 C 

SP9KDU (SP9AVZ,SQ9FMU, ops) 

89,817 329 91 B 

EJ3RCW (EI7IG,EI4FBB+ops) 

59,280 260 76 B 

UR4RWO (UT5RQ,UT0RW, 

UR5RMO, op) 

24,978 181 46 C 

UT4UWL (+ops) 

6,696 72 31 C 15 

DN1MA (+logger) 

6,375 85 25 C 10 

North America 

VP5B (K4ISV,K4CN, ops) 

8,498,052 8356 339 C 

8P9Z (K3KG,K4FJ, ops) 

6,627,060 6694 330 C 

XE2MX (+XE2L,N6KI,K6AM) 

4,343,922 4686 309 C 

XE2EBE (N6RT,AA6DP, ops) 

3,089,736 3301 312 C 

V31DX (+ops) 

2,779,308 3228 287 C 

VP9ID (+N2KJM,N2TTP) 

1,197,003 1891 211 B 

Oceania 

T32B (W0CP,KK0T) 

3,619,809 4623 261 C 

South America 

P40V (AI6V,P43A, ops) 

7,419,015 7295 339 C 

PJ4G (K2NG,NO2R, ops) 

6,059,724 6332 319 C 

LU1NF (LU8NA,LU1NDC,LU1NAF, 

LU2NAA,LU4NAZ+ops) 

1,509,453 2607 193 C 

Multioperator Two Transmitters 

Europe 

IR4T (I4UFH,I4JMY,IK4UPB,IK4MHB, 

IK2SGC,IK2QEI, ops) 

6,189,336 7316 282 C 

RU1A (RW1AC,RA3AUU,RV1AW, 

RX1AA,RA1ARZ, ops) 

4,476,150 6090 245 C 

LA8W (LA4DCA,LA5KO,LA9HW, ops) 

3,983,376 5354 248 C 

EA5DFV (+EA5ON,EC5CPL) 

2,609,334 3717 234 C 

RM6A (RA6CO,RA6CM,UA6AN, ops) 

2,562,672 3682 232 C 

North America 

6D2X (K2UA,K5TSQ,K9NW,W5VW, 

WE9V,XE2XDX,XE2YNE,XE2YNS, ops) 

11,223,927 10659 351 C 

KL7Y (+KL7FH,WA2GO,KL9A,AL7PJ, 

NL7Z) 7,062,198 8231 286 C 

WP2Z (N2TK,K3OO, ops) 

6,871,005 7135 321 C 

PJ8A (ND5S,W8EB, ops) 

613,536 1232 166 B 

Oceania 

DX3T (DU3AR,DU3JFK,DU3MIB, 

DU3KQA,DY3XEX, ops) 

6,633 67 33 B 

South America 

PY3MHZ (PY3AFS,PY3ADY,PY3BZA, 

PY3FOX,PY3MM,PY3PAZ,PY3TMR, 

PY3YY, ops) 

122,268 443 92 C 

PY2ECP (+PU2NYV) 

57,069 373 51 B 

Multioperator Unlimited 

Transmitters 

Asia 

JH7PKU (+JA9SSY,JG1ILF,JN3PYQ, 

JO1BMV,JR5KDR) 

3,195,801 4113 259 C 

JA6ZLI (JJ6WYS+op) 

193,929 509 127 C 

Europe 

RW2F (LY4AA,RA2FA,RN2FA,UA2FB, 

UA2FF,UA2FM,UA2FZ, ops) 

5,148,729 6333 271 C 

9A7A (9A7V,9A8A,9A2ME,9A3OS, 

9A3TR,9A4PA,9A4RX,9A6DM, ops) 

4,093,164 5091 268 C 

LY7A (LY3IT,LY3RJ,LY3HD,LY2NKJ, 

LY2KZ,LY3DA,LY1EE,LY2NK, 

LYB-26,LYR-346, ops) 

1,739,835 2829 205 C 

PI4CC (PA3BAG,PA3EPD,PA4LA, 

PB0AIU,PB4CC, ops) 

752,199 2107 119 C 

SY1D (SV1DNW,SV1DKL,SV1DKR, 

SV1DZB, ops) 

218,784 688 106 C 

North America 

KL7RA (+AL7IF,N1TX,NL7Y,KL7TC, 

KL7XD, ops) 

5,989,440 7340 272 C 

T48RAC (+ops) 

4,471,602 4702 317 B 

Oceania 

AH0P (JM1LTA,JG2CEZ,JH0SPE, ops) 

263,064 776 113 C 

Checklogs: 

4Z5GV, 8P6SH, CT1GWC, CT2GZT, 

DH5MM, DL1ARD, DL1DQJ, DL2ZAV, 

DL3TD, DL4VBS, DL5NA, DL6HTA, 

DL6NEJ, DL7BY, DL8DZV, EA1BOI, 

EA1OT, EA1OZ, EA3BJM, EA3URR, 

EA5CMQ, EA5DCL, EA5FXS, EA5TS, 

EC2AFA, ER1IM, EW6DI, EX8W, 

HA3UU, IK3XTY, IK4GRO, IV3BKH, 

JA1BMJ, JH7LRS, JK2VOC, K2LP, 

K7EFB, K9RSW, KC4KFT, KG8XQ, 

LB8AE, LU9APM, LY1DT, M0CJA, 

N4KG, N7WI, N9HDE, OK1DMP, 

OK1GS, OK2PCX, OK2PPM, PA0RBO, 

PP7ZZ, PS8ET, PS8NF, PT7WA, 

PY1NX, PY2KPY, PY2TVQ, RA0CAH, 

RA3AD, RA3DPD, RA3MB, RA9FF, 

RM4W, RN3FT, RU6LA, RW3DDG, 

RW4WE, RW6AML, RW9MZ, RW9TA, 

RW9TA, S57M, S59DBC (S55OO, op), 

SM0BNK, SM0UGV, SM5OK, SP1BLE, 

SP1DMD, SP2JJD, SP3CUG, SP9GFI, 

SQ4GXO, SV/OK1YM, UA0YAY, 

US7MQ, VP8ON, W0RTK, W2UH, 

W3FQE, W7GSW, W8VE, WA2BMH, 

WA3WFW, WA4IUN, WW3S, YC0IEM, 

YL2LY, YL2SW, YO6BGT, YU7CB, 

9A3GW, OD5NJ, YV5USB, K7CAR, 

KB6LEA, N1PGA, N8WK, W1FM, 

WB2ZTH 

Disqualification: HG1S 


SECTION NEWS 

The ARRL Field Organization Forum 

ATLANTIC DIVISION 

DELAWARE: SM, Randall K. Carlson, WBØJJX—Soon the 

holidays will be upon us, and folks will be taking to the 

road to visit friends and relatives. During this time of year 

the weather becomes increasingly harsh and trouble on 

the road can be a dangerous thing. Ham radio puts us in a 

unique position to be able to help our fellow hams and travelers 

in times of difficulty. So as the seasons turn colder, 

how about helping out and make an effort to monitor your 

local repeater on a regular basis for those that who might 

be having difficulty. Nothing feels better than being able to 

do something to help someone out of tough situation. Tfc: 

(Aug) DTN: QNI 179 QTC 14 in 23 sess. DEPN: QNI 25 

QTC 2 in 4 session. 73 Randall. 

EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA: SM, Allen R. Breiner, W3TI— 

SEC: Eric Olena, WB3FPL. ACC: Steve Maslin, N3ORH. 

OOC: Alan Maslin, N3EA. STM: Paul Craig, N3YSI. SGL: 

Allen Breiner, W3ZRQ. TC: Lawrence Thomas, AA3PX. 

ASMs: Ron Creitz, KB3CFV, Vince Banville, WB2YGA, 

Dave Heller, K3TX, George Law, N3KYZ, J. Yogi Bear, 

WB3FQY, Harry Thomas, W3KOD. It took quite a while 

before I got an e-mail address and find that it has its advantages. 

If the sender fails to enter their call letters, QTH 

and address, it becomes extremely difficult for the SM to 

reply. KB3CWG and K3BSX have volunteered their service 

as an LGL. W3ZRQ, the SGL, is receiving communications 

from area operators who are beginning to see advantages 

of having a Local Government Liaison appointee 

in their area who can assist with local zoning regulations 

before getting involved in a tower erection hassle. NG3F 

has accepted the Emergency Coordinator position for 

Juniata Co. It’s that time of the year when radio clubs nominate 

and elect new officers. Don’t forget to report the names 

and address of your newly-elected officials and keep them 

current with the SM. League affiliated clubs must file a report 

annually and Special Service Clubs every two years. 

Those members of the Delaware-Lehigh ARC who supplied 

communications for the 10 th annual Red Cross Lehigh Run 

were KA3ONZ, KE3AW, KB3CSS, N3QZT, KB3DEC, 

N2DH, KB3CSR, N3SNZ and W3JD. Montgomery RACES 

members WA3AKK, N3OMA, W3GSC, W3BNQ and 

WDØESL assisted their local Fire police with communications 

for the Methodist Church Bikeathon. Thanks and kudos 

to all the club bulletins we receive with information 

about your club activities. With the beginning of school, it 

is time for clubs to think about setting up their license instruction 

classes. The EPA section traffikers under the leadership 

of STM N3YSI, held their annual family picnic at New 

Ringgold and noted their QRP rigs work out great from that 

location. Next year’s picnic will be held at the same location 

on Saturday, July 19. STM Paul says, if you want to try 

something different in Amateur Radio, check into the PTTN 

training net that meets every evening on 3610 kHz at 6:30 

PM. Or you might try your hand at sideband phone traffic 

by calling into the EPA emergency phoine and traffic net 

that meets every evening at 6:00 PM on 3917 kHz. You 

could even meet our youngest and newest net control, 

KB3BBR, who operates in the traffic nets between her 

school homework. 73, N3YSI. Tfc: W3IPX 187, N3YSI 154, 

N3EFW 86, W3IVS 62, W3UAQ 51, W3NNL 33, KB3CEZ 

28, W3JKX 27, N3JSO 14, AD3X 14, W3TTW 13, KA3LVP 

10, W3HK 7, KB3DDL 7, N3ZXE 7, N3AO 6, N3AS 6, W3TI 

5, N3IRN 4, KB3BBR 3, W3BNR 2, KB3CKD 2, N3KYZ 2, 

W3DAB 1, W3KOD 1, K3ARR 1. Net Reports: EPA 95, 

EPAEP&T 69, PFN 27, PTTN 24, SEPTTN 21, D3ARES 

13, MARCTN 7, MCOES 4, LCARES 3. 

MARYLAND/DC: SM, Bill Howard, WB3V, 410-551-6775 

wb3v@arrl.org— MDC Section Web homepage http:// 

users.erols.com/wb3v/mdc/. CARR EC N3JIA rpts 64 members, 

3 sessions of the Net which meets on 145.410 MHz 

with liaison to MEPN, MDD, and MSN by KE3FL, and to 

BTN, WVPN, DTN, MEPN, Central Net, and Western Net 

by W3VK. Rich rpts contact with the Maryland Wine Festival 

Bike Tour. An AEC report recvd fm W3V and OES rpts 

recvd fm KE3FL 21 net ck ins on emer pwr. WX3F 3 net ck 

ins on emer pwr; N3JIA 2 net ck ins on emer pwr. HOWA 

RO WA1QAA rpts the training classes in directed net operation 

and formal traffic for new ARES/RACES members 

and those who desire a refresher. 5 members attended. 

CHAR EC W3TOM rpts 28 members, 4 sessions of the 

Charles County Amateur Radio Emer Service Net on 

145.390 MHz with liaison to MEPN, and 1 SKYWARN training 

class. In Basic I training class were: KB3EFS N3QHC 

N3YR N3OK KB3DXT N3JDG N9TSA N3IPN WA3ZGD 

N3YSY, D Kincaid, WB8OYG K3DSP KB3EKU K3MZV 

N3QXX, K Martin, N3YZU N3JTN, C Norris, N3VIO 

KA3ZZH, B Price, N3JTJ N1WR, M Sach Sr., N3YRZ 

WR3Z, J Smith, N8AVX N3ZIY N3WZU N3IDX N3YYF 

KB3BWR, and KA3ZYG. In Basic II were KA3VNF W3TOM 

KB3EFS KF3AA N3QHC KB3EPA N3JTG N3ZIZ N3YR 

N3OK K3GRG KB3DXT N3JDG N9TSA N3IPN WA3ZGD 

N3YSY, D Kincaid, WB8OYG KR3A K3DSP KB3EKU 

K3MZV N3QXX, K Martin, N3YZU N3JTN, C Norris, N3VIO 

KE3RE KA3ZZH N1GOD, B & D Price, N3JTJ, M Sach Sr., 

N3YRZ WR3Z, J Smith, N8AVX KA3GRW N3ZIY N3WZU 

N3IDX N3YYF KB3BWR and KA3ZYG. FRED EC N8AAY 

rpts 8 members, 4 sessions of the FRED ARES Net on 

147.06. Eric and RO Roy, N2CSQ, resolved the RACES 

EOC ant problem. Eric is looking at the new EMCOM training 

certification program as a base for future training. WASH 

EC KD3JK rpts 41 members, 11 sessions of the WASH 

ARES/RACES Net and the Four State Net which maintains 

liaison to MEPN. Bob rpts ARES participation in the Hawk 

Triathlon, W3YGC was the sweeper for both events. Participants 

included N3ODA WB3FHV N3MVR N3VGS 

KB8ZQM KB8WHW KB3AOO N3NHW K3ABH WA4IBY 

KD3JK N8UKC K2AVA and W3YGC. With the nets: NET/ 

NET MGR/QND/QTC/QNI: MSN/KC3Y/31/54/267,MEPN/ 

N3WKE/31/48/469, MDD/WJ3K/62/302/875, MDD Top 

Brass: KJ3E 238, AA3SB 162, AA3GV 178, BTN/AA3LN/ 

no report, SMN/KE3OX/no report. Tfc: KK3F 2419, N3QA 

425, KJ3E 398, AA3GV 169, W3YVQ 131, AA3SB 92, 

N3WK 79, N3DE 68, W3CB 52, KC3Y 46, N3WKE 32, 

KB3AMO 28, K3CSX 25, N3ZKP 15, N3EGF 14, N3KGM 

10, W3VK 9, WA1QAA 8, WA3WRT 5, KE3FL 2, July 

WB4FDT 86. PSHR: KJ3E 271, KK3F 207, W3YVQ 160, 

AA3SB 135, W3VK 135, N3WK 133, AA3GV 131, N3ZKP 

126, W3CB 122, N3WKE 118, KC3Y 95, KB3AMO 86, 

K3CSX 76, WA1QAA 75, KE3FL 72. 

SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY: SM, Jean Priestley, KA2YKN, 

(@K2AA) e-mail ka2ykn@voicenet.com. ASM: W2BE K2WB 

W2OB N2OO N2YAJ. SEC: N2SRO. STM: K2UL. ACC: 

KB2ADL. SGL: KB2WKY.OOC: K2PSC. TC: W2EKB. TS: 

W2PAU WB2MNF AA2BN KD4HZW WB3IJB WA2NBL 

KA1AOR N2QNX N2XFM. As Radio operators, we have 

much to be thankful for this holiday season and throughout 

the year. Now it is up to us to help keep our bands clean 

and respectful. Riley Hollingsworth has taken giant steps. 

But he needs us to insure they stay clean. Amateurs mourn 

the death of 2 Silent Keys. John Glowacki, WT3V, is mourned 

by JSARS. He was dedicated to many aspects of radio including 

VE Testing and Packet. Traffic handling has lost “a 

great one”, N2XJ. Carl A Felt, Jr a ham’s ham, became a SK 

in June at the age of 91. Honor them by helping other hams 

and especially new hams just coming into the hobby. Traffic 

report, August: QNI rpts; W2CC NJPN 191, K2PB NJSN 73, 

WA2OPY NJM 185, AG2R NJN/E 244 and NJN/L 199 (above 

with NNJ). JSARS KC2ATQ 396, SJVN WB2UVB 281, KJ4N/ 

2 158, KB2RTZ 86, AA2SV 75, K2UL 62, K2UL-4, 50 

WB2UVB 36, WA2CUW 16, N2VQA 13, KA2CQX 11, W2AZ 

6, KB2VYZ 5, KB2VSR, KB2YBM KC2ETU 1. PSHR; 

KB2RTZ 246, K2UL 172, WB2UVB 164, KJ4N/2 144 AA2SV 

121, KA2CQX 98, WA2CUW 95, N2VQA 61. 

WESTERN NEW YORK: SM, Scott Bauer, W2LC — Congratulations 

to Vivian Douglas, WA2PUU (Onondaga Cty 

EC), the state Amateur Radio communications coordinator, 

Nancy Kirch, KF1L (DEC), of Binghamton, the host city communication 

chairman, and Jack Smith, KB2YEN, Broome 

County EC who organized the emergency communications 

for the Empire State Games held from July 27 through July 

30, 2000, in Binghamton, NY. Thanks, K2TDV, for use of 

the 146.13/73 and 146.295/895 repeaters, which are linked 

together, and were used to cover the Empire State Games 

for the duration of the event. There were 120 hams involved 

in the operation at 41 venues in Broome, Cortland, Tioga 

and Tompkins counties in WNY, including the swimming 

events in the Cortland area and the sailing events in the 

Ithaca area. All participants were major contributors to the 

event. However, a special thanks goes to Andy, KB2LUV, 

Howie, N2VJV, Nancy KA2HQF, and Ford, AB2HS, for their 

efforts. The Empire State Games is held at a different site 

each year. A few dedicated hams have traveled to each location, 

they are: Nancy Coe, KA2HQF, of Clay (since the 

early 1980s). Vivian, WA2PUU, of Syracuse and Jim 

W2BCH of Camillus, who I believe have both worked every 

year. For Viv and Jim, this year makes a total of 32 games, 

20 summer games and 12 winter games. Thank you, Vivian, 

and Jim! Great job to all who participated. You’ve made WNY 

very proud of you! Net Summaries: 

Net NM Sess QNIQSP Net NM Sess QNIQSP 

BRVSN WB2OFU 31 197 7 CHN W2EAG 31 150 22 

EBN WB2IJZ 23 372 0 

CNYTN WA2PUU 31 381 67 

NYPHONE N2LTC 31 193 253 

ESS W2WSS 31 312 78 

NYS/E WB2QIX 31 302 143 

NYPON N2YJZ 31 323 105 

NYS/M KA2GJV 31 192 71 

NYS/L W2YGW 31 245 238 

NYSPTEN KD2V 31 338 43 

NYSCN W2MTA 4 17 4 

OCTEN/E KA2ZNZ 311696 205 

OARCN N2KPR 4 40 5 

OMEN K2DYB 1 5 1 

OCTEN/L KA2ZNZ 31 699 211 

STTHN KC2AWA 9 51 3 

STAR N2NCB 28 251 11 

WDN/E N2JRS 31 607 75 

TIGARDS W2MTA 4 14 3 

WDN/M KB2VVD 31 585 44 

WDN/L W2GUT 31 549 62 

Traffic (August 00), * indicates PSHR, # for BPL: N2LTC*# 

799, KA2ZNZ*# 631, KA2GJV* 331, W2MTA* 237, NN2H* 

217, W2FR* 148, WB2QIX* 148, N2KPR* 128, WI2G* 93, 

NY2V* 89, KG2D* 70, W2PII* 59, W2LC* 55, KC2EOT* 

54, W2GUT* 53, KA2DBD* 47, AF2K* 38, N2CCN* 37, 

KB2ETO* 28, KA2BCE* 24, K2DN* 22, K2GTS* 19, 

N2WDS* 19, KB2WII* 8, WA2UKX* 8, WA2GUP* 1. Digital; 

Stn Rx/Tx: N2LTC 161/101, KA2GJV 3/0, K2DN 0/0, 

NY2V 0/5. 

WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA: SM, John Rodgers, N3MSE. 

ASM-ARES: WB3KGT. SEC: N3SRJ. ASM-Packet: KE3ED. 

OOC: W3ZPI. PIC: W3CG. STM: N3WAV. TC:WR4W. DEC- 

SO: KD3OH. DEC-N1: N3QCR. DEC-N2: KA3UVC. DEC- 

S1: KA3HUK. DEC-S2: N3BZW. DEC-Rapid Response: 

N3HJY. DEC-OES: K3TB. Chris Robson, KB3A, has resigned 

as the OOC for the section due to an increased 

volume of work with his business. I want to thank Chris for 

his service and especially for his friendship. I have asked 

Chris to remain on the section staff in an advisory role. 

Ralph Ofchinick,W3ZPI, has been appointed as the new 

OOC. As we approach the holiday season I want to take a 

moment to thank the many amateurs that volunteer and 

promote the Amateur Radio service. Your efforts are indeed 

appreciated. Any of the clubs in the section that would 

like me to attend a club meeting or event is asked to send 

me a request, and I will include the event on my calendar 

for the upcoming year. I enjoy the opportunity to meet with 

as many amateurs as possible at the various activities and 

discuss issues of concern to the members that I represent 

here in Western Pennsylvania. As we move into the twenty 

first century, let’s continue to build the future of Amateur 

Radio. Our future is in the youth of today. I encourage everyone 

to do all that is possible to work with young people 

to introduce Amateur Radio to them and help to get many 

licensed. Offer to work with schools for the “School Club 

Roundup.” Contact scout groups and offer a demo or to 

assist as an advisor for some of the merit badges. As we 

approach the New Year let us all strive to build our future 

in amateur radio and work to promote the service to the 

young people of today. A Happy Thanksgiving to you and 

your families. 73, John Rodgers, N3MSE, WPA-SM, 

n3mse@arrl.org. 

CENTRAL DIVISION 

ILLINOIS: SM, Bruce Boston, KD9UL—SEC: W9QBH. 

ACC: N9KP. STM: K9CNP. PIC: N9EWA. TC: N9RF. OOC: 

KB9FBI. DEC-Central: N9FNP. DEC-S/W: KB9AIL. Every 

two years each nuclear power plant holds a graded exercise. 

The Starved Rock RC has been making plans to assist 

with the drill set for October 4 in LaSalle. During the 

last two exercises, local hams helped out at the Grand 

Ridge, Brookfield, Seneca and Manlius townships and also 

at the Etna Road EOC. There have been many favorable 

comments from local, state and federal officials on the superior 

volunteerism and professionalism exhibited by Amateur 

Radio Operators. Hamfesters RC reports their 66th 

annual hamfest, held August 13 in Peotone, was another 

great success. Few radio clubs can trace their annual 

events back to the era of FDR. The Peoria Area ARC was 

treated to a martial arts demonstration during a recent 

meeting by members of the Gillespie family. Tae Kwon Do 

karate, weapon demonstrations, and board breaking highlighted 

the program. The Schaumburg ARC recently marked 

their 25th anniversary with a picnic and fox hunt. A special 

event station was also on the air to mark the occasion. 

Nearly two dozen repeaters have been de-coordinated this 

year according to the Illinois Repeater Association. Another 

group of repeaters are facing de-coordination as well. In 

some cases this is due to a lack of response from the repeater 

trustee. If your club’s coordination status is in doubt, 

contact the IRA frequency coordinator, K9VXW via e-mail 

at cberg@grayfox.svs.com or visit the IRA Website at 

www.enteract.com/~ira. North Shore RC has produced a 

nice magnetic sign for members to display on their vehicles. 

The new design features the club name and repeater frequency. 

NSRC members took a few moments at a recent 

meeting to discuss the PSK31 mode, which is growing in 

popularity. The Kishwaukee ARC operated special event 

station W9S during the Northern Illinois Steam Power Show. 

The club operated all four days of the event on 20 and 40 

meters. August traffic: K9CNP 115, NN9M 55, W9HLX 39, 

WB9TVD 34, ND9T 31, NC9T 24, W9FIF 11, WA9RUM 6. 

ISN Report de WB9TVD QNI 198, QTC-83, Sessions 30. 

9RN de KB4UBX sessions 62, traffic handled 256, average 

per session 4.12, rate of traffic 3.12, total time 80 min., 

percent represented IL 93% check ins NN9M, W9HLX, 

N9PLM, NS9F, WB9WOC. W9VEY Memorial Net report de 

K9AXS 6 with 200 check-ins. 

INDIANA: SM, Peggy Coulter, W9JUJ—ASM for Resources 

& Recruitment, W9IH. SEC: K9ZBM. ASEC: WA9ZCE. STM: 

W9FU. OOC: KC9V. TC: W9MWY. BM: KA9QWC. ACC: 

N9RG. Sympathy extended to the families and friends of 

Silent Keys 8/22, Harold A. Pride, W9WQC, Evansville; 9/ 

5, George McGrath, W2VKY, Evansville: They will be 

missed. Art Hopkins, WA9VQO, has resigned as SGL due 

to health reasons. He has been one of my faithful 

appointee’s since I have been SM (10 yrs). Thank you Art 

for all you have done in the past. It has been greatly appreciated. 

Hope some of you have attended at least one of 

the workshops that W9IH and W8ISH has held. They are 

really worth while. There will be another one shortly at New 

Castle. Hope you can plan to attend. The 21 Repeater 

Group provided communications for the Michiana Bicycle 

Club annual tour. Over 1100 registered to ride. This ride 

was 52 miles on 1st day and 58 miles 2nd day. Hams taking 

part were N9ZTF, KB9HIO, W9BRW, N9VSR, W9EFA, 

WA9UGP and KA9KOG. Did you know the Clark Co AR 

was organized in 1953. They have been active during parades, 

homecoming days and lots of bad wx. For your info, 

I am not on the Internet. Only have e-mail, so don’t pass 

me anything to retrieve from the Internet. Just can’t do it. 

Congratulations to WT9U placing 3rd in the IN division of 

the ARRL 10 Meter Contest. Also congratulations to N9CAR 

Summitville who was awarded the 1000th Worked All 

County Certificate by CQ Magazine. NM’s ITN/W9ZY, QIN/ 

KJ9J & K9PUI, ICN/K8LEN, WN/AB9AA, VHF/W9FU. 

Continued on page 114. 

Steve Ewald, WV1X Public Service Specialist 


Net Freq Time/Daily/UTC QNI QTC QTR Sess 

ITN 3910 1330/2130/2300 2441 506 1651 93 

QIN 3656 1430/0000 

July 87 51 387 33 

Aug 106 42 434 40 

ICN 3705 2315 85 14 325 28 

IWN 3910 1310 2298 – 310 31 

IWN VHF Bloomington 519 – 465 31 

IWN VHF Kokomo 715 – 155 31 

IWN VHF Northeast1230 – 620 31 

Hoosier VHF nets (13 nets) 1340 34 1208 57 

D9RN Total QTC 256 in 62 sessions IN represented by 

K9QBR, W9UEM, N9KNJ, WB9QPA, W9WN, KB9NPU and 

W9POX. 9RN Total QTC 210 in 62 sessions IN represented 

by KJ9J, KO9D, K9PUI, N9HZ, WB9UYU, and W9FC. Tfc: 

W9FC 398, W9ZY 113, KJ9J 92, W9UEM 85, WB9QPA 83, 

W9FU 79, K9GBR 70, AB9AA 59, KO9D 58, K9PUI 52, 

W9JUJ 49, N9KNJ 37, KA9QWC 36, KA9EIV 33, KB9NPU 

26, W9BRW 18, K8LEN 14, W9EHY 8, N9HZ 6, K9OUP 5, 

K9DIY 5, WB9NCE 5, K9ZBM 4, K9CUN 4, K9RPZ 4, AB9A 

4, K9SXM 2. 

WISCONSIN: SM, Don Michalski, W9IXG—SEC: 

WB9RQR. STM: K9LGU. ACC: K9FHI. SGL: AD9X. OOC: 

W9RCW. PIC: K9ZZ. TC: K9GDF. ASM: K9UTQ, W9RCW, 

W9CBE. BM: WB9NRK. It is with deep regret to inform you 

that W9FZC, John LaBlonde, is a SK. John was a member 

of CWRA and was instrumental in starting the popular Swap 

Net on the 146.88 repeater. Roy Peterson, K9FHI, has been 

appointed the new ACC replacing Bette Kratz, KF9ZU, who 

has moved to Arizona. Roy was the previous SM and his 

experience will be invaluable in working with the section 

clubs. Welcome back! Congratulations to Richard Regent, 

K9GDF, current TC and former SM, for receiving the prestigious 

ARRL A-1 Operator award! August 9RN report shows 

Wisconsin with 96% representation. Thanks, folks! HVARC 

reports 105 QSOs for the K9S special event on September 

2 & 3. Special events are great fun for clubs and it is real 

easy to apply for a 1X1 special event call. Just go to http: 

//www.arrl.org/arrlvec/1x1.html to apply. If you need advice 

on running these events, contact me. Nels Harvey, 

WA9JOB, has been working with the NFCC, National Frequency 

Coordination Council, ARRL and FCC. Our deep 

appreciation to Nels for his efforts on this tough job! Now 

that summer is over, it is time to start ham classes. Our 

hats off to clubs that already have them planned. The ARRL 

has a very good video series that can help your club instructors. 

We’ve run several Technician classes over a 

weekend using these tapes and Now You’re Talking so I 

can advise you how to start a class based on them. Section 

repeaters should consider using the courtesy beep to 

indicate weather status: “I” for inclement, “S” for severe, 

and “N” when a net is in progress. 73, Don, W9IXG 

w9ixg@arrl.org. Tfc: K9JPS 960, W9IHW 879, W9YPY 552, 

W9RCW 495, N9TVT 475, K9GU 416, WZ7V 385, W9CBE 

148,K9FHI 116, N9BDL 82, K9LGU 77, AG9G 68, KE9VU 

61, N9CK 60, W9YCV 59, W9UW 44, KB9ROB 39, N9KHD 

34, K9HDF 33, W9BHL 31, AA9BB 30, WB9ICH 26, KG9B 

26, KA9BHK 24, N9JIY 17, W9ODV 14, WD9FLJ 14, 

KA9FVX 9, K9UTQ 6, W9PVD 1. 

DAKOTA DIVISION 

MINNESOTA: SM, Randy “Max” Wendel, KMØD—In late 

August, I took my family camping to Bemidji and Ely. I met 

David Quam, WØCIA, who happened to lives on the lake 

we were camping at. He took us on a boat ride on Andrusia 

and over to Cass Lake. Saw bald eagles and loons. While 

traveling thru Grand Rapids, Blake Rickbeil, NØWSH, gave 

me the full tour of the fire cache. They have a room with 

full station and a great relationship with the department 

there. We had a great trip. I’m ready to upgrade from a tent 

to a camper-trailer. After a few thunderstorms, it seems like 

a good idea! By now, the MIMS tapes have been making 

their way around the ARES groups in MN. Understanding 

the incident mgmt structure helps us realize the organizational 

efforts behind disaster recovery. ARES in MN is looking 

at how we can utilize packet radio statewide especially 

during activations by the DEM when comms are beyond 

reach of normal VHF/UHF-range and when HF propo is 

poor. Reminder to Web users...go to ARRL Web site to your 

member-data-page and check the option box to receive Division/Section 

e-mails. A reminder to all of our ARRL nets. 

Still looking for clubs (ARRL affiliated too) and major cities 

to participate. Among various activities on the ARRL nets, 

we also provide the resource as a means for handling traffic 

as a public svc. Recently within a week’s time, we had 

traffic for two highly ham-populated cities in MN (one up 

north, the other in the south), but no takers there on the 

net. Please participate in your ARRL nets. Silence isn’t 

golden on our airwaves. Here they are again: ARRL voice 

nets: 3860 kHz 12 noon, 5:30 PM 7 days/week ARRL CW 

nets: 3605 kHz 6:30 PM, 9:50 PM 7 days/week. Tfc: WOØA, 

WØLAW, WAØTFC, KBØOHI, KBØAII, KØPIZ, WØHPD, 

KØWPK, KBØAIJ, W3FAF, WØWVO, KØPSH, KAØIZA, 

KN9U, WDØGUF, NØJP. 

NORTH DAKOTA: SM, Bill Kurtti, WCØM—I’m sorry to report 

that WØPVG is a Silent Key. Norm has been a steady 

Data & WX member for as long as I can remember. Enjoyed 

attending the Dickinson picnic again, We were glad 

to Have KØQB, Dakota Division Director, come up for the 

event. We all enjoyed hearing NØQAV sing the Ham Operator 

Blues with all that participated in the Saturday night 

sing along. Also, the Friday Night gang sang for us Sunday 

morning. Sorry that the chicken dance was not performed 

as usual. I would not attempt it with my 2 left feet, but it’s a 

joy to watch all ages enjoying that event. Tfc: NØRDJ 1. HF 

net reports by KBØXT HF Net mgr. Data Net 3937 kc 6:30 

PM CST daily 29/591/15. Wx Net 8:30 AM CST M-S 24/ 

592/38. Goose River Net 1995 kc 8:30 AM CST Sunday 4/ 

38/0. 

SOUTH DAKOTA: SM, R.L. Cory, WØYMB—Pennington Co 

ARES was called out on Sunday, Aug 27, to furnish com- 

114

munications for the Red Cross and other units at the largest 

forest fire in South Dakota history. The fire was near Custer 

in the Black Hills of SD. They did 24 hr, around the clock 

duty. The fire burned about 90,000 acres. EC KØLEW and 

his crew did an excellent job. They deactivated on Tues and 

Wed went on standby basis. They also helped fire departments 

that had hams and equipment on their trucks. Cell 

phones were severely restricted due to hilly terrain. Communications 

were to Red Cross shelters in Custer, Hill City and 

Rapid City. The fire came within 4 miles of the 146. 85 repeater. 

On Aug 19-20, a special-events station commemorating 

the end of the WWI was on the air from under the wing 

of a B29 at Elsworth Air Base. Over 1000 contacts were made 

worldwide. Chapter 102 of QCWA provided some of the operators. 

NØIGP has set up a Web page on the Internet. Prairie 

Dog ARC also operated a special event station for 

Riverboat Days Celebration at Yankton on Aug 18-20. 

DELTA DIVISION 

ARKANSAS: SM, Roger Gray, N5QS, e-mail n5qs@arrl.org 

- I just got back from the Mena hamfest, and as usual had a 

really good time with lots of old friends and we met some 

new ones. The weather was cool and wet for the first time in 

what seems like months. Speaking of the weather, the hot 

dry weather has caused a serious fire hazard in most of 

Arkansas, and there have been several serious fires around 

the state. Remember tornadoes and hurricanes are not the 

only natural disasters we need to be ready for. One instance 

where we can help is multi-department fires where the different 

departments can’t talk to each other on their radios. 

We can fill the gap. Another important role we can play is 

arranging for refreshments during fires for the firefighters who 

can lose a lot of body fluid in 100 + heat while wearing protective 

equipment. Providing these services frees up 

firefighters to fight fires while we help where we can. It is 

time to follow up on the school stations and presentations. I 

have good reports from 2 schools in my local area, and would 

like to hear from elsewhere in the state. Please let me know 

what progress you are making. August reports follow. Tfc: 

KC5TMU 175, K5BOC 107, K7ZQR 97, AB5AU 20, W5RXU 

17, KO5E 10, W5HDN 9, WB5HIL 8, KA5MGL 6, KC5UEW 

3, ARN 84, APN 25, AMBN 16, OZK 4. 

LOUISIANA: SM, Mickey Cox, K5MC—ACC: KM5YL. OOC: 

WB5CXJ. PIC: K5IQ. SEC: AC5TM. STM: KG5GE. LCW NM: 

W4DLZ. LTN NM: WB5ZED. Very sorry to have to report that 

WA5LHL is now a Silent Key. Audry was very active on LTN 

and DRN5 for many years, including serving as the LTN NCS 

on Sundays. He was an Elmer for many and will be missed 

by all who knew him. I want to thank AC5TM for joining the 

section’s leadership team as the new SEC. All ARES and 

NTS participants should assist Tom however possible as he 

goes about his new duties. Other new appointments include 

W8YFS (Southeast DEC), KD5EWD (Jefferson Parish EC), 

WD5DWP (Orleans Parish EC), K5ER (Ouachita Parish EC), 

and K5OR (Technical Specialist). New officers for the Southeast 

LA ARC are WB5FBS (President), KB5SKW (Vice President), 

KI5LH (Secretary), and K5CAV (Treasurer). Thanks 

go to SARA for sponsoring a great hamfest this year in 

Shreveport. ACC KM5YL is doing an excellent job in helping 

many of our clubs keep their paperwork updated at ARRL 

HQ. Although we have been hit hard recently by the passing 

of WA5LHL and K5WOD, I’m happy to report a number of 

new stations checking in to either LTN or LCW or both. Everybody 

is invited to check in and join the fun on our section’s 

traffic nets. Tfc: WB5ZED 1178 (BPL), K5IQZ 189, W5CDX 

180, K5MC 106, KG5GE 43, K5DPG 19, KM5YL 8. PSHR: 

WB5ZED 207, K5IQZ 161, W5CDX 123, K5DPG 120, K5MC 

114, KG5GE 97, KM5YL 44. Net Reports: sessions/QNI/QTC. 

LTN: 31/347/76. 

MISSISSIPPI: SM, Malcolm Keown, W5XX—Section Web 

Page: www.arrlmiss.org. Web Master: K5IBM at k5ibm@ 

arrl.net. ASM: N5JCG, N5EZX. ACC: N5JGK. BM: W5EPW. 

SGL: AB5WF. STM: KJ5YY. The Tupelo ARC Special Event 

Station at the Elvis Presley Festival resulted in over 850 

QSOs in 30 counties and 48 states. Good Show! Put the 

annual ARRL Day in the Park on your schedule for October 

14 from 10:00 until at Pavilion 34 in Paul B. Johnson State 

Park south of Hattiesburg on U.S. 49. This year’s festivities 

are hosted by the Mississippi DX Association and chaired by 

W5OXA. Lunch will be served around noon. Bring a dish! 

Bring your pick up full of junk and be ready to tailgate! The 

Tupelo ARC is having a picnic on the following weekend at 

Veterans Park near Tupelo. Contact WJ5K for details. 

W5WAF reports he had a great tour of ARRL Headquarters 

hosted by no less than K1STO, the Manager of the Field and 

Educational Services Division. Congratulations to K5YG on 

placing #7 High Power W/VE in the 2000 ARRL RTTY 

Roundup. Also congratulations to the K5MDX Multi-Op Crew 

that continues to run up top ten finishes in both US and worldwide 

contests. OO Report: K5XQ. PIO Report: W5KWB. EC 

Reports: KD5CKP, K5DMC, KD5FUO, WB5OCD, WA5TEF, 

KC5TYL, N5ZNT. Net Reports: sessions/QNI/QTC. MSPN 31/ 

2841/55, MTN 31/89/44, MSN 31/1025/11, PBRA 31/703/10, 

Jackson Co ARES/RACES 31/535/23, MSSN 23/80/2, West 

Coast 2M ARES 14/140/4, NW MS ARES 5/33/0, JARCEN 

5/99/0, MCARA 5/57/0, Lowndes Co ARES 5/79/0, Stone Co 

ARES 4/27/0, MBHN 4/24/0. PSHR: N5XGI 156, KB5W 142, 

K5VV 128, W5XX 94, KJ5YY 73. Traffic: KB5W 369, K5VV 

104, N5XGI 60, W5XX 5. 

TENNESSEE: SM, O.D. Keaton, WA4GLS—ACC: 

WA4GLS. ASM: WB4DYJ. SEC: WD4JJ. STM: WA4HKU. 

PIC: KE4CES. TC: KB4LJV. The Cedars of Lebanon 

Hamfest was a success even with the rain that lasted until 

mid morning, a goodly number of hams turned out and had 

a great time. Bob McGraw, K4TAX, was guest speaker at 

the RATS Aug meeting. All enjoyed the discussion on EME 

QSO. The 2000-2001 RACK officers are: Bruce, K4PCK, 

Pres; Shella, KB4G, 1 st VP; Wayne, KF4TBY, 2 nd VP; Jim, 

KG4CFB, 3 rd VP; H.P., KA4LEO-Sec, Carol, N4LF- Treas, 

Steve, KF4BTO, Act Chair; Jack, K4IBP, Edu Chair; David, 

K4PTZ, Hamfest Chair; David, AC4JF, Repeater Trustee 

Chair. WD4D gave a presentation on rptrlink, N9YNQ and 

Internet Radio Linking Project, VE7LTD, at the Aug JCARS 

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club meeting. BARC celebrated the 39 th anniversary of the 

Bristol Motor Speedway and 52 nd anniversary of NASCAR 

during Aug 16-29 by operating s special event callsign of 

W4B. The Transponder reported that the Dayton hamfest 

was a smashing success. Roy’s (KE4TG) presentation on 

PSK31 was the ORARC’s high point meeting of the year. 

Angie’s (N6DWX) and Jerry’s (N4EO) trip to Mexico was 

lots of hard work, but also a fulfilling experience. SRARC 

has purchased a trailer to be converted into a communications 

facility. Funding and work is needed for this project, 

so those interested persons should contact K1KY. It is always 

good to see hams helping in worthy projects, so congratulations 

are due to those SRARC people who assisted 

the American Diabetes Association’s “Tour de Cure 2000” 

bike ride. Thanks to DARC members who helped during 4 th 

of July celebration: KF4ZGJ, K4TTA, AF4XW & wife, Pat, 

WB4LYHP, WM4Q, AA5GX, KC4SXT WA4OVO, KB4KA, 

KD4TJO, KU4AW, K4WNY. Net sess/QTC/QNI: TMPN 31/ 

37/2176; TCWN 27/13/157; TEMPN 23/53/735; TEPN 27/ 

63/2396; TSCWN 20/13/94. DRN 5: 62 sess, 637 msg, TN 

rep 66% by W4OGG, KE4GYR, K4WWQ. Tfc: N4PU 50, 

KE4GYR 38, WA4HKU 36, W4SYE 16, WB4DYJ 14, 

WA4GLS 11, KI4V 10, WD4JJ 9. 

GREAT LAKES DIVISION 

KENTUCKY: SM, Bill Uschan, K4MIS—ASM: Tom Lykins, 

K4LID. SEC: Ron Dodson, KA4MAP. SGL: Bill Burger, 

WB4KY. STM: John Farler, K4ZVX. ACC: Todd Schrader, 

KF4WFZ. PIO: Steve McCallum, W2ZBY. TC: Scotty Thompson, 

KI4AT. BM: Ernie Pridemore, KC4IVG. At the Central 

KY Hamfest held August 20 in Lexington, the ARES operator 

of the year award was presented by KY SEC Ron Dodson. 

Winner of the award was the Scott County ARES group with 

special awards given to three hams. Ted James, WD4KYD, 

Gene Glass, WA4QAK, and Eric Westerfield, KE4KWR. At 

the Louisville Hamfest held in Bullit Co, Certificates of Merit 

will be presented to Joan C. Slayman, KF4SXH, Vernon Nunn, 

N4UL, and John Meyers, N4GNL. A Public Service Commendation 

is being presented to Stu Kratz, KO4BI. Check out the 

pictures on the KY ARES Website. Bob Stephens from the 

KY. Division of EM gave a very good presentation about KY 

DEM and the new communications system being installed at 

the State EOC. 

Net QNI QTC Sess NM 

KTN 2076 66 62 K4LID 

KSN 181 36 31 KO4OL 

TSTMN 525 36 31 KG4EAB 

CARN 382 28 29 AD4EI 

4ARES 553 31 31 WA4RRR 

Tfc: K4AVX 41, KO4OL 36. PSHR: KO4OL 110. 

MICHIGAN: SM, Dick Mondro, W8FQT (w8fqt@arrl.org). 

ASM: Roger Edwards, WB8WJV, (wb8wjv@arrl.net). ASM: 

John Freeman, N8ZE (n8ze@arrl.net). SEC: Deborah 

Kirkbride, KA8YKK (ka8ykk@arrl.net). STM: James Wades, 

WB8SIW (wb8siw@arrl.net). ACC: Sandra Mondro, KG8HM 

(kg8hm@arrl.net). OOC: Donald Sefcik, N8NJE (n8nje@arrl 

.net). PIC/SNE: David Colangelo, KB8RJI (dcolangelo@ 

ameritech.net). SGL: John LaRock, K8XD (k8xd@voyager 

.net). TC: Dave Smith (DSmith@smithassoc.com). Youth 

Activities: Steve Lendzion, KC8MCQ (kc8mcq@arrl.net). BM: 

Thomas Durfee, Jr.,WI8W (wi8w@arrl.net). Congratulations 

go out this month to the newly elected officers of the Midland 

Amateur Radio Club, President Lee Hodges, KC8ITI; Vice 

Pres Bill French, N8NGQ; Secretary Mary Branson, KB8QYB; 

Treasurer Larry Macklin, N8CGP. Congratulations as well to 

the new officers of the Michigan Area Repeater Council, President 

Dennis Gaboury, W8DFG; Secretary Ron Huber, N8JAZ; 

Treasurer Joel Goldberg, W8HIU; Director Ron Gordon, 

W8YUC; Director Bill Kelley, KC8DBG. The new officers will 

take office on December 1, 2000. Bruce Winchell, N8UT has 

resigned as MARC Database Manager/Coordinator. My 

thanks to Bruce for his fine efforts in keeping the database 

current. My thanks to Gerry Crawford, K8GER (k8ger@arrl 

.net) of Luzerne for taking on the role as our Section JOTA 

Coordinator and don’t forget JOTA is October 21-22 this year 

and if you need information please contact Gerry for this opportunity 

to introduce radio to our scouts. Traffic reports for 

August: KB8ZYY 297, K8GA 266, K8LJG 104, WB8SIW 97, 

W8RTN 91, AA8PI 81,N8FPN 75, AA8SN 60, WX8Y 57, 

N8JGS 55, K8AE 53, W8RNQ 42, K8KV 41, WI8K 38, K8UPE 

32, W8YIQ 22, KC8GMT 21, K8JN 18, K8AI 14, K8ZJU 12, 

K3UWO 12, N8TDE 12, WA8DHB 11, KI8GR 8, N8EXS 3. 

Please support the following Section Traffic Nets: August 2000 

NTS Net Reports. 

Net QNI QTC Sess Net Mngt. Freq Time Day 

QMN 588 269 62 WB8SIW 3.663 6:30&10 PM Daily 

MACS 193 37 30 W8RNQ 3.953 11 AM Daily PM Sun.) 

(1 

MITN 399 188 31 N8FPN 3.952 7 PM Daily 

UPN 1025 35 35 AA8SN 3.921 5 PM Daily (Noon Sun.) 

GLETN 601 78 31 VE3SCY 3.932 9 PM Daily 

SEMTN 475 62 31 WI8K 146.640 10:15 PM Daily 

VHF Nets 629 03 39 KB8ZYY Various 

OHIO: SM, Joe Phillips, K8QOE, Fairfield, (to contact me, 

see page 12. The Ohio Section Conference at Columbus in 

September had plenty of news to report. First Carl Morgan, 

K8CM, resigned as OOC after two successful years and introduced 

his successor, Richard Kuns, KC8TW, of Fairfield. 

PIC Scott Yonally, N8SY, announced that “Zero Beat” newsletter 

of Alliance ARC (John Myers, KD8MQ, editor), won 

the 9th annual Ohio Ham Radio Newsletter contest. Second 

place was “The ZARC Carrier” of Zanesville ARC (Danny 

Grandstaff, KB8RIM, editor) and third place was “The Voice 

Coil” of Mahoning County (Youngstown) ARC (Andy Brincko, 

WA8ZLK, editor). Honorable mention, reported PIC Yonally, 

went to “SAARA SPEAKS” (Salem), Coshocton County ARA 

and the “Reflector”of the Huber Heights ARC. Then Ralph 

McDonough, K8AN of Adena, was introduced as the seventh 

winner of the Allan Severson, AB8P, Memorial award 

as Ohio Ham of the year. It was quite a news day. Richard 

Kuns, KC8TW, who became OOC on October 1, has for 27 

118

years been with Procter and Gamble, Inc. and has been 

licensed since 1981. He has been an active Official Observer 

and runs electronic bulletin boards and Web pages 

for several Cincinnati area ham groups. Ralph McDonough, 

K8AN, is retired from Kroger Corp., and has held a ham 

license for over 50 years. He was the first SEC in the Ohio 

Section and ran ARES Forums at the Dayton Hamvention 

for more than a dozen years. He currently serves as a DEC 

for the 9th region of Ohio. OHIO SECTION CONGRATS... 

(A) To Ross Meganthaler, NS8C, Maumee, as the 2000 

winner of the OSSBN Merit Award given annually to the 

traffic handler who has distinguished himself during the 

year, (B) To the Toledo Mobile Radio Association, who recently 

renewed Special Service Club in the ARRL. .. If your 

Ohio ham radio club isn’t a Special Service Club of the 

ARRL, contact ACC Brenda Kurkowski, KB8IUP, 

(kb8iup@arrl.net) and see if your group qualifies and you 

wish to enjoy its special privileges....OHIO HAMFEST FOR 

NOVEMBER; (18) Grant ARC at Georgetown....de K8QOE. 

Now for traffic reports for August: 

Net QNI QTC QTR Sess Time Freq NM 

BN (E) 121 69 239 31 1845 3.577 WD8KFN 

BN (L) 162 60 268 30 2200 3.577 NY8V 

OSN 136 15 492 31 1810 3.708 WB8KQJ 

OSSBN 1638 364 2078 93 1615, 3.9725 KF8DO 

1030, 1845 

OH Section ARES 1700 Sn 3.875 WD8IHP 

Tfc: WD8KFN 200, N8IO 163, W8STX 124, KD8HB 96, 

N8TNV 96, N8BV 91, WA8SSI 90, KA8FCC 89, N8DD 87, 

KA8CXG 71, N8RRB 64, W8BO 51, WA8HED 50, KC8HJL 

48, W8PBX 39, WB8HHZ 38, KI8IM 34, N8CW 33, W8RG 

31, WD8KBW 30, NY8V 30, NS8C 29, KA8VWE 27, 

KC8DWM 24, N8GP 23, KI8O 20, KD9K 20, N8YWX 19, 

KC8JKE 17, N8WLE 17, KC8HTP 11, KB8SBK 11, N8RAK 

10, KC8KYP 9, N8GOB 9, N8IBR 9, K8JP 9, KX8B 8, 

AA8XS 8, KB8TIA 7, K8QIP 6, KC8HPR 4, WD8SIQ 5, KK8J 

4, KB8SIA 3, N7CEU 3, K8WC 1. (Jul) KC8DWM 16, N8HIA 

4, KE8FK 1. 

HUDSON DIVISION 

EASTERN NEW YORK: SM, Rob Leiden, KR2L—STM: 

Pete Cecere, N2YJZ. SEC: Ken Akasofu, KL7JCQ. ACC: 

Shirley Dahlgren, N2SKP. SGL: Herb Sweet, K2GBH. PIC: 

John Farina, WA2QCY. BM: Ed Rubin, N2JBA. OOC: Hal 

Post, AK2E. TC: Rudy Dehn W2JVF. ASM: Tom Raffaelli, 

WB2NHC. ASM: Bob Chamberlain, N2KBC. ASM: Andrew 

Schmidt, N2FTR. ASM: Richard Sandell, WK6R. ASM: Phil 

Bradway, KB2HQ. Net Reports (Aug 2000) Check-ins (QNI)/ 

Traffic handled (QTC+QSP): AES 43/6 CDN 311/116 

CGESN 49/8 ESS 312/156 HVN 549/146 SDN 302/154 

NYPHONE 193/507 NYPON 323/219 NYS/E 302/305 NYS/ 

M 192/161 NYS/L 245/498. Section News: Volunteer for 

the NYC Marathon-1st Sunday in Nov! Let’s get ready for 

Winter! Charge the batteries, check out the HT, keep blankets 

and flashlights in the car and answer the call from the 

EOC if it comes! 73 de Rob. PSHR: N2JBA 163, N2YJZ 

151, WB2ZCM 146, KC2DAA 135, WA2YBM 130, W2JHO 

122, WB2IIV 116, W2AKT 111. Tfc: N2YJZ 144, N2JBA 69, 

WB2ZCM 56, WB2IIV 46, KC2BUV 38, KC2DAA 33, 

W2JHO 21, W2AKT 19, WA2YBM 17, K2AVV 8, WA2BSS 

2, KL7JCQ 1, KC2BUW 1. 

NEW YORK CITY / LONG ISLAND: SM, George Tranos, 

N2GA. ASM: KA2D, N1XL, K2YEW, W2FX, KB2SCS. SGL: 

N2TX. SEC: KA2D. ACC: N2MUN. PIC-East: N2RBU. PIC- 

West: K2DO. TC: K2LJH. BM: W2IW. OOC: N1XL. STM: 

WA2YOW. Congratulations to Hudson Division Director 

Frank Fallon for his re-election to a third term as Director! 

Frank has done a great job representing our area on the 

ARRL board. Mark your calendars for Ham Radio University 

2001 which will be held January 21, 2001, at Babylon 

Town Hall Annex in North Babylon. There will be many new 

forums and an expanded program. November section 

hamfests: MIARC on November 26 in Patchogue. The NYC 

Marathon is Sunday, Nov. 5 - volunteers are needed. Check 

the NLI Webpage at www.arrlhudson.org/nli for more information 

on upcoming events. NYC/LI VE exam list follows: 

Manhattan: BEARS, ABC Cafeteria, 125 West End Ave at 

66th Street, Contact Jerry Cudmore W2JRC at 212-456- 

5224 for dates & times; East Village ARC, 2nd Friday at 7 

PM, Laguardia HS, Amsterdam Ave and West 65th Street, 

Manhattan. Contact Robina Asti KD2IZ at 212-838-5995; 

Columbia University VE Team, 3rd Monday at 6:30 PM, 

Watson Lab, 6th Floor, 612 West 115th Street, Manhattan. 

Contact Alan Crosswell, N2YGK, at 212-854-3754; Queens: 

Hellenic ARC, 4th Tuesday at 6:30 PM, Pontion Society, 

31-25 23rd Ave, Astoria, NY. Contact George Anastasiadis, 

KF2PG, at 516-937-0775. Nassau County: Grumman ARC 

(W5YI), 2nd Tuesday at 5 PM, Northrop-Grumman Plant 5, 

South Oyster Bay Road via Hazel Street, Bethpage, NY. 

Contact Bob Wexelbaum, W2ILP, at 631-499-2214; 

LIMARC, 2nd Saturday at 9 AM, NY Institute of Technology, 

300 Building, Room 311, Northern Blvd, Greenvale, 

NY. Contact Al Bender W2QZ at 516-623-6449. Suffolk 

County: Great South Bay ARC, 4th Sunday at 12 noon, 

Babylon Town Hall, ARES/RACES Room, 200 East Sunrise 

Hwy, North Lindenhurst. Contact Tom Carrubba at 631- 

422-9594; Larkfield ARC, 2nd Saturday in Feb, May, Sep, 

Nov, Huntington Town Hall, Room 114. Contact Stan 

Mehlman, N2YKT, at 631-423-7132; Peconic ARC, exams 

held January, April, July, and October on next to last Friday 

at 6:30 PM at Southold School, Oaklawn Ave, Southold, 

NY. Contact Ralph Williams N3VT at 631-323-3646. Mid 

Island ARC, last Weds of each month at 7 PM at 36 Dew 

Flag Rd, Ridge NY 11961, Contact: Mike Christopher W2IW 

at 631-924-3535. Report all changes to N2GA before the 

12th of the month. Report all changes to N2GA before the 

12th of the month. Tfc: WB2GTG 354, N2AKZ 100, W2RJL 

82, KB2KLH 76, WA2YOW 28. 

NORTHERN NEW JERSEY: SM, Jeff Friedman, K3JF— 

Net and traffic reported by STM Dave, WB2FTX: 

120

Net NM Sess QNI QTC QSP 

NJM WA2OPY 31 185 43 38 

NJPN W2CC 35 191 17 17 

NJSN K2PB 30 152 4 4 

NJN/E AG2R 31 244 77 64 

NJN/L AG2R 31 199 55 51 

CJTN KB2VRO 31 247 32 31 

NJVN/E N2RPI 31 426 34 29 

NJVN/L N2OPJ 31 289 40 35 

Tfc: KC2AHS 65, N2OPJ 40, N2RPI 38, W2JG 37, KB2VRO 

35, W2MTO 28, K2VX 26, K2PB 20, W2CC 20, N2GJ 9. 

MIDWEST DIVISION 

IOWA: SM, Jim Lasley, NØJL—ASM: NØLDD. SEC: NAØR. 

ACC: NØIJP @ KEØBX. BM: KØIIR @WØCXX. SGL: KØKD. 

The monthly breakfast at Country Kitchen for the Ottumwa 

group looks to become a monthly no exam, paperwork exam 

session. Seems the examiners find the need to eat also! 

UHF and VHF have been hopping and NØSM reports good 

TV DXing. The Tri-State group in Cresco now has a tone 

that they say sounds like an FM station: 103.5! They say to 

stay tuned for news! Have you noted that the RF safety 

rules are now in effect for all of us. Check the League Web 

site for the full rules. I received a newsletter from the Southwest 

Iowa Amateur Radio Club of Council Bluffs this month. 

I thank you. They report the Red Oak 146.655 machine is 

now 1n a much high location and with much improved coverage. 

They also provided some beautiful pictures of their 

FD. Amazing what you can do with a now with a good color 

printer. SEITS is hoping to get more of the members involved 

by starting the nomination process for officers earlier 

than usual. I understand they are going Nowhere from 

FMARC again. How was it out there in Nowhere, Il They 

are also trying to do an inventory of club equipment. Wonder 

if that is also going nowhere. I regret to report the loss 

in early September of KBØDD. From the report, it looks like 

the Iowa City club had a great FD. The River City Radio 

Rag (RCRR) carries a nice review of the FT-100. CVARC 

printed an excerpt from the NEC dealing with our antenna 

installations. Most have probably never seen a copy of the 

NEC, let alone read it! 73 de NØJL. Newsletters were received 

from OARC, TSARC-N, SWIARC, SEITS, FMARC, 

ICARC, CVARC. Tfc: WØSS 241, KAØADF 80, NØJL 9. 

KANSAS: SM, Orlan Cook, WØOYH— ASM/ACC/OCC: 

Robert Summers, KØBXF, SEC Joseph Plankinton, 

WDØDMV. STM: Ron Cowan, KBØDTI. SGL: Marshall 

Reese, AAØGL. PIC: Scott Slocum, KCØDYA and TC Frank 

Neal, N8FN. The ARRL KS State Convention went well 

enough to pay the bills with 430 registered. That is 6% of 

the KS ham population. Not all were from KS though. 56 

ARES/NTS mbrs attended our Section meeting. Wendell, 

WØTQ presented Norman Dillman, NØJCC, of Manhattan, 

the Kansas Amateur of the Year 2000 Award. See the 

“KAR”newsletter for more, available by email orlan@swbell 

.net and see http://www.colossus.org/kar/ for Kansas info. 

Allow me to recognize our Net Managers: Louie, WBØYWZ, 

of 2 weather nets 6:45 AM & 6 PM Dy, Bill NØKFS of KSBN 

6:30P Dy & KPN 8AM W,S, S, all 3920 kHz, Jay AB5PA of 

CSTN 12:30 PM Dy 7253 kHz, Tom, WBØZNY of 2 CW nets 

7 & 10 PM Dy 3610 kHz, Ron, KBØDTI, of the QKS-SS 

Kansas slow speed CW net. Jul. Kansas Nets: sessions/ 

QNI/QTC, KSBN 31/933/85. KPN 23/277/17 KMWN 31/549/ 

428 KWN 31/625/401 CSTN26/1794/81 QKS 59/280/70 

QKS-SS vacation SEC61/640/21 QNS KBØAMY KCØAUH 

N ØBTH KØBXF WDØDDG WDØDVM NØLJR WØPBV 

KBØWEQ TEN 256 msgs 62 sessions Kans 68% w/KBØDTI 

AAØOF KXØI KØPY WØWWR NBØZ WBØZNY WØSS mgr. 

DTRN60/593/288 Ks 96% NØKJ KBØAMY WØFE WØOYH 

WØWWR KBØDTI BBS W1AW BBS Bul/Per/NTS AAØHJ 15/ 

426/4. Tfc: WØWWR 129, NBØZ 57, KBØDTI 43, WØOYH 

43, NØRZ 5, KXØI 15 NØZIZ 4 OBS WAØDTH 12. 

MISSOURI: SM Dale Bagley, KØKY—MO Traffic Nets, Daily: 

SSB 3.963 MHz 5:45 PM CW 7:00 PM and 9:45 PM. Kent 

Trimble, K9ZTV, was appointed Net Manager for the Missouri 

Traffic Net, sometime referred to as the MON net. Kent 

is a life member of the ARRL, and has great background in 

traffic handling. The month of August was filled with activities 

in the MO Section. SMARC in Springfield, MO lead by 

Hamfest Chairman Woodie Moore, WØODY, and he SMARC 

members produced a fine Hamfest. Which included several 

well- attended forums. The Westside Hamsters ARC 

were presented their Charter of Affiliation at their regular 

meeting. Their efforts are increasing the awareness of 

Amateur Radio in the area. The ARRL MO State Convention 

in conjunction with the CMRA Hamfest in Columbia, 

MO, turned out great. Thanks to the hard work by Dewey 

Bennett, WMØH and the CMRA membership. Large numbers 

of section appointees attended and participated in 

some excellent forums. Steve Ewald, WV1X, of ARRL HQ 

staff did a fine job at the ARRL Forum as did Midwest Director 

Wade Walstrom, WØEJ. Patrick Boyle, KØJPB MO 

SEC, lead the ARES forum and moderated the Red Cross, 

MOVAD, & MARS forum. Tom Hammond, NØSS and Rich 

Beckwith, WNØX, presented a program on QRP. There was 

also a large turn-out for the Missouri Repeater Council 

Meeting. The St Charles Hamfest, sponsored by the St. 

Charles ARC was a success again this year. The Hamfest 

was well ran by the St Charles ARC membership under the 

leadership of Ken Fieser, KBØVLN. The Hamfest featured 

some excellent forums. In last month’s column, Jason 

Tuggle’s call sign was listed incorrectly. His call is N9OOC, 

and he has been appointed as an OO. Net/Sess/QNI/QTC: 

(Aug) WARRCI 4/100/0; MTN 31/407/67; Audrain ARC 4/ 

57/1; Rolla Billboard 30/394/8; QCWA 35 5/60/0; MTN (CW) 

57/125/26. Tfc: K9ZTV 61, KEØK 68. (Jul) QCWA 35 4/48/ 

0; WARRCI 5/129/0; MTN 31/385/45; Macon ARC 4/57/0; 

NØATH rptr 98 QNI; Rolla Billboard 30/437/7; Jackson Co 

ARES 5/50/0. Tfc: KEØK 60. 

NEBRASKA: SM, Bill McCollum, KEØXQ—ASMs: WØKVM, 

NØMT, WYØF, WBØULH & WBØYWO. There was an excel- 

122

lent story in the Kearney Hub on August 21, about KCØHOX 

and KCØHIE. KCØHOX has had some health problems recently 

and we wish him a speedy recovery. The Lincoln 

ARC racked up 1800 man hours of communications support 

for the Nebraska State Fair. Seventeen Amateur operators 

provided communications support for the Bellevue 

Police Department during the Arrows to Aerospace parade 

on August 19. This year’s special event station at Pioneer 

Village was a success. 205 contacts were made and the 

farthest was Japan. The AK-SAR-BEN ARC Flea Market 

attracted nearly 350 attendees. Congratulations go to Bill 

KAØVXK for winning the $250 gift certificate. Net Reports: 

MID NE 2M ARES: QNI 353, QTC 5 & 31 sessions. NE 

STORM NET: QNI 1033, QTC 10 & 31 sessions. Lincoln/ 

Logan ARES: QNI 110, QTC 2 & 12 sessions. WØIRZ Memorial 

Net: QNI 57, QTC 3 & 4 sessions. NMPN: QNI 1575, 

QTC 5 & 31 sessions. MARES: QNI 206, QTC 2 & 4 sessions. 

NE 40M NET: QNI 391, QTC 20 & 30 sessions. Traffic 

Totals: KØPTK 98, KEØXQ 18, WØRWA 12, WYØF 8, 

KAØDOC 2, WØEXK 2, WØUJI 2, WBØART 2, WØWHY 2. 

PSHR: KAØDBK 79, KBØYTM 34, KCØHOX 44. 

NEW ENGLAND DIVISION 

CONNECTICUT: SM, Betsey Doane, K1EIC—BM: KD1YV. 

OOC: WA1TJT. PIC: W1FXQ. SEC: WA1D. SGL: K1AH. 

STM: K1HEJ. TC: W1FAI. It was great to see so many of 

you at The New England Division Convention in Boxboro. 

The committees sure did their usual FB job. To those of 

you who have not attended, there’s really something magical 

about Boxboro—it’s a wonderful tradition every two 

years so mark your calendars now for last weekend in August 

2002—it’s worth it! Heck, we even survived the power 

outage just before the banquet! It was real nice to see our 

old CT friend Luck, KY1T, and catch up on the news. 

Michelle, N1PNT, did a wonderful job with the youth forum. 

Clubs throughout CT are getting their programs ready for 

the fall. The Southern Berkshire ARC operated at the 

Goshen Fair for three days. They gave out a record number 

of “First Steps to CW Proficiency” certificates to kids 

who tapped out their names on a straight key. At this writing, 

the Shoreline ARC and members of ARRL Staff are 

planning to participate at Scout Show 2000 at 

Hammonassett State Park. The Shoreline Club will operate 

using the call K2BSA/1. I am hoping to attend this very 

fine event—we must encourage young people to join our 

ranks! Don’t forget JOTA weekend of October 21. Why not 

invite some scouts in your area to your stations and give 

someone the thrill of operating! For fast-breaking news, 

watch for my on-air bulletins and electronic newsletters 

which you may subscribe to on the ARRL Members Page. 

C U next month! 73. Net sess/QNI/QTC/NM: WESCON 31/ 

266/71/ka1gwe; NVTN 23/83/39/KB1CTC; ECTN 31/290/ 

56/WA4QXT; CPN 31/233/80/N1DIO; CN 24/84/34/N1AEH. 

Tfc: NM1K 2710, KA1VEC 500, KE1AI 165, KA1GWE 120, 

KB1CTC 113, WA4QXT 80, KB1ETO 8. 

EAST MASSACHUSETTS: SM, Joel Magid, WU1F— August 

Net and traffic report submitted by STM Bill Wornham, NZ1D. 

Net Sess QTC QNI QTR NM 

EMRI 62 94 170 452 K1SEC 

EMRIPN 29 99 169 545 WA1FNM 

EM2MN 3 73 273 386 N1LKJ 

HHTN 31 43 265 360 N1IST 

CITN 31 68 258 476 N1SGL 

WARPSN 4 12 38 NA K1BZD 

NEEPN 3 6 10 NA WA1FNM 

CHN 31 22 150 285 W2EAG 

Tfc: W2EAG 334, NZ1D 149, N1LKJ 107, WA1FNM 83, 

WA1LPM 58, K1SEC 56, KD1LE 44, N1IST 32, N1SGB 30, 

K1BZD 26, WA1TBY 25, N1LAH 25, N1TPU 23, N1AJJ 23, 

WA1VRB 10, KB1EB 9, N1BNG 8, N1TDF 8, N1XQC 6. 

MAINE: SM, Bill Woodhead, N1KAT—The summer came 

to a spectacular end for me personally with my participation 

in the National Lighthouses On the Air event. N1OXA, 

KD1OW, and son found ourselves at the most perfect place 

anyone could hope to spend 24 hrs. Our assignment from 

the Androscoggin ARC was to put the Marshall Point Light 

in Port Clyde on the air, and we did in fine style. Once up 

and operational, it was a unique experience to find ourselves 

on the receiving end of a pile up. Arrangements had 

been made to spend the night, and when the morning came, 

an RF enhanced double rainbow woke me up. A quick muster 

of the rest of the crew drew “Oohs!”&” Ahs!” at the breathtaking 

site. Fortunately, we were able to capture the moment 

digitally and on film. Other Maine lighthouses were 

on the air, but I’m sure none were able to boast such a 

sunrise. Congratulations to all who participated, and looking 

forward to next year’s event. The next Maine State 

Convention is scheduled for Mar 30 & 31 at the Ramada 

Inn in Lewiston. Time and space is still available to accommodate 

a variety of talks. Express your ideas to Rick, 

N1WFO or Ivan, N1OXA. 73, Bill, N1KAT. Tfc: W1KX 103, 

W1QU 52, W1JX 33, K1UNQ 24, KA2ZKM 21, KA1RFD 

21, N1JBD 20, W1BLT 20, W1JTH 18. 

RHODE ISLAND: SM, Armand Lambert, K1FLD—This 

year’s Boxboro ARRL Convention was the best yet with 

great weather and good friends in attendance. The Wouff 

Hong initiation at midnight was well attended, and finally 

yours truly and spouse, Simone, KA1YVF, were in the participating 

crowd along with Riley Hollingsworth and others 

that survived the midnight ordeal. / Riley did mention that 

we hams need to recruit new members, and to do the walk 

not just the talk that is to get involved in community activities 

and promote Amateur Radio. / In the News: The Newport 

County Radio Club has rebuilt their repeater setup and 

moved it to 145.450 with an S9 signal into Woonsocket, 

many thanks to Mike, W1MPB, Mike, K1CW, Charles, 

W1CG, John, AA1JS, Bob, AA1LG, Jim, KC1SD, Michael, 

W1MFS, and John, W1WLG, for their combined efforts in 

support of club activities. /Dan KA1BNO has announced 

the availability of a brochure compiled by himself and Bill, 

124

WA1RI, listing the ARRL affiliated radio clubs in RI along 

with their Web sites, VE sessions and contact persons./ 

Congratulations to Bill, WA1RI, and Jolene on their granddaughter, 

Abigail Lynn Maxwell. 73 till next time, keep hamming 

and Happy Thanksgiving to all. 

VERMONT: SM, Bob DeVarney, WE1U—As I write this, intense 

preparations are going on for communications at the 

Burlington Air Show this coming weekend. Amateur Radio 

Operators will be helping to support the Red Cross, who 

will, in turn, be supporting nearly all EMS and Police operations 

throughout the weekend. We will be using a combination 

of amateur and commercial frequencies, including 

some nifty commercial radio gear we were able to get 

from Red Cross National such as a commercial repeater 

with a lowband vhf link. Lots of handhelds to program and 

distribute to the teams in the field, and to the folks manning 

the first aid tents. All in all, a perfect opportunity for us 

to show off what we are capable of contributing in times of 

need. I also know that hams helped out over the weekend 

up here at Shelburne Farms with the Fall Harvest Festival. 

I’ve long said that we hams do a super job of communicating 

amongst ourselves, but a poor job of communicating to 

the general public what we’re doing. If you have a public 

service event coming up, and would like some help getting 

it publicized, e-mail me, or let me know somehow, and I’ll 

do my best to help you get it publicized. You’ll also likely 

see it mentioned here in the Section News. 73 de WE1U. 

WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS: SM, William C. Voedisch, 

W1UD, w1ud@arrl.org—ASM: N1NZC. ASM (digital) KD1SM. 

STM: W1SJV. SEC: K1VSG. OOC: WT1W. Molly Bish, a lifeguard, 

at the town beach in Warren, MA, was missing and 

believed abducted. The Warren area is out of range for most 

communications. AA2T and SWC EC N1LKT, with the help 

of Qubog ARC pres John, K1UJT, organized a cross-band 

link. For three days, until the police and civil service got additional 

commo equipment, this was the only communications 

for the police and volunteer search and rescue teams. 

As usual, WMA was in the forefront. Congrats to all you 

people! A job very well done. NOBARC had their Field Day 

on Windsor Hill. Their flea market was a success as well. It 

seems great to get some news for a change. MARA furnished 

a crew for the annual Lonsjo Bicycle Race in Fitchburg and 

the TT trails on Mt Wachusett. Bands are in great shape and 

people headed over the world on DXpeditions. Looks like 

winter and spring will be outstanding for DX operation. Tfc 

(July): N1ISB 18, W1ZPB 220, K1TMA 123, N1RLX 1, KD1SM 

8, W1SJV 9, W1UD 192. (June) K1TMA 131. 

NORTHWESTERN DIVISION 

ALASKA: SM, Kent Petty, KL5T — Anchorage and Fairbanks 

hamfests were tremendous success! Great job by all, and 

special thanks to Greg Milnes, ARRL NW Director, Gordon 

West, and others for making the trip. The field organization 

is still in need of Boy and Girl Scout liaisons — please contact 

KL5T if you feel up to the task…it’s awfully important. 

We are still looking for a sponsor for our state PRB-1 effort. 

Will your state representative be willing to help Contact your 

State Government Liaison, Rob Wilson, AL7KK for input. HF 

nets: Sniper’s Net 3920 1800 AST, Bush Net 7093 2000 AST, 

Motley Group 3933 2100 AST, and Alaska Pacific Net 14292 

M-F 0830 AST. Please report communication drills and exercises, 

emergency communication activations, and public 

service activities on FSD-157 to KL5T. Net sess/QTC/QNI/ 

NM: Alaska Snipers Net 31/0/909/KL7GG; Alaska Morse Wire 

Net (July/Aug) 3/3/6/AL7N. Tfc: AD4BL 3. 

EASTERN WASHINGTON: SM, Kyle Pugh, KA7CSP—Despite 

the high numbers of wildfires this season, amateurs 

were only called upon mostly for Red Cross efforts in some 

locations. Possibly e-mail kept firefighters in touch with their 

families this time. Want to find out if your station is RF exposure 

compliant Go to the Radio Club of Tacoma Website at: 

www.w7dk.org to bring up a calculator. Simply fill in the blanks 

and it tells you if you’re compliant. STM Don W7GB reported 

Harvey, KA7EKL, and Harvey, K7GXZ, handled message traffic 

on the CW nets from the Idaho State Fair in Boise. In 

memoriam: Gary Heden, AB7PI, and Vic Doerrheim, 

KD7AHH, both of Spokane became Silent Keys. There were 

9 out of 10 OO reports for August. 73/KA7CSP. Net Activity: 

WSN: QNI 687, tfc 269; Noontime Net: QNI 8868, tfc 287; 

WARTS: QNI 3213, tfc 89. Tfc: K7GXZ 430, W7GB 285, 

KA7EKL 260, K7BFL 54. PSHR: W7GB 139, K7GXZ 127. 

IDAHO: SM, M.P. Elliott, K7BOI — OOC: N7GHV. SEC: 

AA7VR. STM: W7GHT. Once again a GREAT CW exposition 

was held during the Western Idaho State Fair with many 

area hams participating. The event also attracted TV coverage. 

With the messages handled 3 hams made BPL for 

Sept. Congratulations to KB7GZU, W7BOI and W7GHT! 

The ID Section now has a Web presence! Go to 

“id_arrl.homestead.com/mainpage.html” and check it out. 

The site will have current ID ARRL news, a staff listing, 

club listing, educational programming ideas and other useful 

items. If you think of something that should be added to 

the Web site let me know. 73 — Mike, K7BOI. Tfc: KB7GZU 

682, W7GHT 650, W7BOI 568, W6ZOH 249, WB7VYH 96, 

and N7MPS 16. PSHR: W7GHT 198, WB7VYH 104, and 

N7MPS 56. Net (SESS/QNI/QTC/ Mgr.): FARM-31/2455/ 

127/ W7WJH; NWTN-31/1233/62/KC7UND; IDACD-23/ 

431/41/K7UBC; IMN-31/328/337/W6ZOH. 

MONTANA: SM, Darrell Thomas, N7KOR—Amateur Radio 

Operators continued to be involved with the massive 

wildfire situation in the Montana Section during August. 

Several clubs and individuals in Western Montana were 

put on standby for a possible RACES Activation and American 

Red Cross Shelter support. On August 20th a call was 

put out on the local repeater in the Helena area from the 

communications director of the 70000 acre fire at 

Townsend, MT, for assistance. Dispatchers at the scene 

had been on duty in excess of 48 hours without relief. Two 

hams K7MT and AA7OG responded within an hour to support 

the operation and were joined by KC7NBU and 

KC7PSE who handled the night shift. These hams handled 

all the normal and emergency communications of the fire. 

They spent 2 days at the scene. In Southeast Montana, 

126

the members of the Yellowstone Radio Club were called to 

the scene of a fire east of Billings MT to coordinate mutual 

aid among responding agencies. As the month ends, we 

still have hams involved in many ways from handling communications 

to hose lines. Thanks and congratulations to 

all for a fine job representing the volunteer spirit of Amateur 

Radio. Net/QNI/QTC/NM MTN 1701/53 N7AIK IMN 

328/337 W6ZOH. PSHR: N7AIK 123. 

OREGON: SM, Bill Sawders, K7ZM—ASM: KK7CW. SEC: 

WB7NML. STM: W7IZ. SGL: N7QQU. OOC: NB7J. STC: 

AB7HB. ACC: K7SQ. Dick Frey, K4XU, has accepted the 

position as Official ARRL DXCC Card Checker. Dick, President 

of the Central Oregon DX Club, is an avid dx’er and 

world-class contester. Many of you remember Dick being the 

top design engineer for Ten Tec and the Harris Company. He 

is presently in the same prestigious position for Advanced 

Power Technology in Bend. Ed Corey, K7OC, of the Hoodview 

Amateur Radio Club, has accepted the appointment as HF 

Awards Manager, and is responsible for validating WAS and 

5-Band WAS applications. Both men have accepted a heavy 

responsibility in maintaining the integrity of these prestigious 

awards. Lyle Nelson, W6OFF, has resigned from the Official 

Observer program. A retired Air Force Colonel, Lyle has 

worked on a VE team for many years, and was also a Technical 

coordinator for Douglas County before moving to Coos 

Bay. Thanks, Lyle, for a job well done. The annual Oregon 

QSO Party, will return to its original May weekend. Too many 

other contests were on during this years August trial, and 

several participants requested the return to Spring. The 2001 

event will be a one-day affair, scheduled for Saturday, May 

12th. Mark your calendars now, and plan a fun-filled day 

operating and representing your county in the 2001 OQP, 

and keep in touch. NTS traffic totals for August: W7IZ 169, 

N7DRP 167, W7VSE 77, KC7SRL 65, N7YSS 41, KA7AID 

10, KC7SGM 7, KK1A 5. 

WESTERN WASHINGTON: SM, Harry Lewis, W7JWJ—The 

Shoreline ACS team recently participated in a Costco Safety 

Fair and during the same week participated in a packet exercise. 

This was with the Kirkland, and Bellevue ACS teams. 

The disaster scenario was to have a radio transmission tower 

into a nursing home creating a mass casualty incident, plus 

eliminating all communications enabled by the tower, such 

as cell phones. The King Co Medical Services team under 

the direction of DEC Marina, N7LSL, has also participated in 

helicopter rescue training. Reporting via SEC N7NVP we find 

that Don Deadrick, WL7FQ, Whatcom Co EC reports his unit 

demonstrated their communication skills at the Ferndale Old 

Settler’s Parade and Chuckanut Car Club Rally. They also 

demonstrated the communication van for British Petroleum 

(BP) Co. In Pacific Co, EC Emily Wolfe, KB7L, is off to a 

running start. Her team helped with a Bike Run and a 911 

outage. They conducted a bunny hunt to sharpen their DF 

skills. The Cowlitz Co fair saw lots of Ham support and even 

signed up some people for the next Ham class. Cowlitz Co 

members provided base support for the well organized RAW 

2000 (Ride Around Washington) bike ride that starts in 

Wahkiakum Co, travels through Cowlitz Co and ends at the 

Clark Co Fairgrounds. K7YFJ’s Clark Co team had fun at the 

Pedal the Pinchot bike ride and the Evergreen Fly-in. Hopefully 

all the training this past summer has sharpened our skills 

enough to deal with whatever the up coming winter throws at 

us. The recent edition of the RN-7 newsletter looked like a 

combined hospital report of all injuries and illnesses of traffic 

handlers. Hope everyone will soon be back on the air full 

time. The very small number of OO reports recently given 

for poor operating skills attests to the excellent behavior of 

those who have recently upgraded. To those new to HF, try a 

little traffic handling, a different aspect of public service. 

PACIFIC DIVISION 

EAST BAY: SM: Andy Oppel, KF6RCO—Hats off to Chair 

KE6WRE and a crew of over 100 MDARC members for putting 

on another excellent Pacificon convention! Congrats to 

KC6TYB on her upgrade to Extra. CCC recognized the upgrades 

of KE6CQP to Extra and KD6AGA to General. EBARC 

congratulated AI3X on becoming a US citizen and welcomed 

new members KG6CFU and Andrew McAfee (no call yet). 

HRC provided communications for the Skyline 50K Run while 

ACSCT did the same for the Run for the Parks in Alameda, 

and at the same time on the same repeater! With carefully 

selected tactical call signs, it all went smoothly. VVRC conducted 

a successful fire watch over the 4th of July with 16 

members participating: KF6KFP, KF6VBJ, W6OMF, K6HEW, 

N6ZGB, N6WVF, KA6FDI, KF6PQW, KF6VBI, KA6IPE, 

WH6AB, NI6V, K6ZU, K6DME, KD6JSB and K6OLL. ORCA 

has formed a work group to assemble a new EOC RACES 

station: WB6NER, KF6VOG, W6BUR, WA6CUY, KF6GZY, 

N6TQS, W6THD, AD6ME, W6UAB, KD6MP, K6JAT and 

W6LL. Tfc: W6DOB 666. PSHR: W6DOB. BPL: W6DOB. Tfc 

nets: NCN1/3630/7PM; NCN2-SLOW SESSION/3705/9PM; 

NCN-VHF/145.21/7:30PM; RN6/3655/7:45pm & 9:30PM; 

PAN/3651/7052/8:30 PM. 

NEVADA: SM, Jan Welsh, NK7N—ASM: Dick, W6OLD. TC: 

Jim, NW7O. OES: Joe, N7JEH. W6LOA - John Ryan was 

appointed EC for the Tahoe Basin Area. NV SEC Paul 

Cavnar-NN7B and Sacramento Valley S. SEC Bill 

Penninton-WA6SLA, worked together on this as the area 

includes part of Sacramento Valley, two states, two Pacific 

Division sections and six California and Nevada counties. 

The NV ARES HF net on 3965 kHz is growing thanks to 

AB7WZ. I was able to reach net control with borrowed NVIS 

antenna courtesy KE7DB, and am now proud owner of 

same. Excellent activity report from AC7EL-EC (was AEC) 

on emergency survival course, training in CPR, 1st aid, 

light rescue plus demo for Girl Scouts and new AEC, Sam 

Musselman-KE7VBU. KB7REO-EC reported on joint ARES 

and AF MARS supplying Comm on Indian Springs to Lake 

Mead Dr. detail and SKYWARN activities. N7CPP traffic 

reports had emphasis on training. N7JEH activity report on 

Pony Express event, they used W7LKO repeater and services 

of many amateurs. 73, Jan. 

PACIFIC: SM, Ron Phillips, AH6HN—ASMs: Harry 

Nishiyama, KH6FKG, Lee Wical, KH6BZF.Jim Reid KH7M. 

128

Stu Johnston, NH6DR. Dennis Niles, KH6XT. Dan Spears, 

KH6UW. SEC: Dennis Carvalho, KH7H. TC: Chuck 

Cartwright, AH7Y. PIC: Russ Roberts, KH6JRM. ACC: Bob 

Schneider, AH6J. Lee Wical, KH6BZF, reports that the 

Battleship USS Missouri Amateur Radio Club has finished 

it’s planning and has moved into the implantation phase of 

finishing the Missouri’s radio room cleaning up existing 

equipment. Lead by USSBMARC President, Ned, KH7JJ, 

the existing Missouri radio room, off the port side of the 

ship’s main deck, is being readied to install the Amateur 

Radio club equipment. A complete station has been provided 

by the Navy League, to which the club is very grateful. 

John Peters, K1ER/KH6 is the director and trustee of 

the club call sign, KH6BB, has worked with Lee, KH6BZF, 

who contacted Ms Mae Lowe, widow of KH6BB, to secure 

permission to obtain Bola’s old call sign. John worked hard 

with the FCC to obtain this call sign in remembrance of 

both the USS Missouri and Bola Lows. The “BB” call sign 

is in keeping with the ship’s naval number, BB-63. Some 

million visitors per year will view the ship’s radio room and 

therefore be exposed to Amateur Radio. Thanks, Lee for 

the info. Our section OOC, Dan Spears, has been busy 

getting new people interested in becoming OOs. Also, Dan 

and group have reported MI on Oahu and has forwarded 

the info to HQ. Keep up the good work, Dan. Tim Hayes, 

NHØH, the new DEC for Saipan reports a total of ARES 

members @ 21. Tim has set up a local net for check-ins 

and drills. Good work, Tim. The County of Hawaii has 

awarded a contract to the Amateur community on the Big 

Island for enhanced emergency comm. More on that later. 

Thanks to all for the inputs for this report. Mahalo & 73. 

SACRAMENTO VALLEY: SM, Jerry Boyd, K6BZ—Congratulations 

to the NCCC for another very successful California 

QSO Party. Great operating event! Check the Section Web 

Page for information concerning the various ARES Nets which 

occur weekly. Those nets can be used to discuss general 

items of interest as well as emergency communications issues. 

Enjoyed visiting with many amateurs from around the 

Section and Pacific Division at PACIFICON. Congratulations 

to MDARC for another fine convention. A new, cooperative 

effort between this Section and the Nevada Section has resulted 

in the appointment of a “cross section boundaries” 

EC to serve the “Tahoe Basin”. W6LOA has been appointed 

to that position by the Nevada SM. This is important because 

of the cross over by hams needed when a problem occurs in 

the Tahoe Basin on either the CA or NV side. The work on 

this project was done by SEC (South) WA6SLA, and NV SEC 

NN7B...Thanks! The River City ARC and Sierra Foothills ARC 

operated a special event station and Amateur Radio info display 

at the California State Fair. Congratulations on a job 

well done. Until next month, 73 de K6BZ. 

SAN FRANCISCO: SM, Len Gwinn, WA6KLK—ASM: 

KH6GJV. SEC: KE6EAQ. KB2ZAK is a new EC in Del Norte 

County. He is also becoming active on HF and VHF. In 

Humboldt Co W6RA, W6BME, and W6DSB are now active 

on VHF SSB. KN6ZU on net/drill participation writes “Only 

through participation do we gain experience and insight. So 

take the opportunity when one has the chance to run a routine 

net and make some small errors rather than one you will 

regret forever. This is what Field Day is all about to me. Not 

the score in points, but the fact that you learn what it takes 

to go non-stop, and copy information accurately and fast. 

The fact that one has to set up a temporary station gives you 

the chance to learn what you need in your ready bag. Only 

through experience do you learn what to expect to go wrong 

in a disaster by being involved in practice, study, training, 

and the word of others who have been there in a real disaster 

and lived to share with you their experience.” EARS of 

Sonoma County had a great turnout for their breakfast AND 

had a booth at the Sonoma County Air Show with lots of visitors. 

Marin County had a big turnout for their annual picnic. 

The Pacific Director, W6CF, has been to many of the Section 

club meetings lately and will be to more in the future. 

SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY: SM, Donald Costello, W7WN— 

Where has the year gone so quickly Thank you to all who 

attended the National Weather Service Spotter training program. 

The training took place in Merced at Mercy Hospital. 

Instruction was given by Dan Gudgel and Paul Jones who 

are both Amateur Radio operators. There were about 34 persons 

in the class. The Spotter program of NWS is yet another 

way Amateur Radio operators in the SJV Section can 

interface with emergency communications. The NWS office 

in Hanford has a very nice VHF/UHF station in the office and 

will soon be HF capable as well. The station is operated by 

local Amateur Radio operators from the Hanford area. Training 

sessions can be set up in other sites in the SJV Section 

for those interested. Club presidents are encouraged to send 

e-mail to me if interested in having a training session. 

w7wn@arrl.org. I will gladly forward your request to the NWS 

office in Hanford. I would like to thank Steven Mendenhall, 

Dan Gudgel and Paul Jones of the NWS for their work, often 

on their own time, in developing the SKYWARN program in 

SJV Section. Does your local radio club have an ARES 

group If not please consider forming one. Special thanks 

go to Howard Watson, N3TNQ, of Merced for arranging for 

the use of Mercy Hospital conference facilities for the NWS 

training session and for the continuing ARES training sessions. 

Radio clubs of SJV please send stories of your clubs 

involvement in local public service for publication in the Section 

News. Send the stories to w7wn@arrl.org. As this Section 

News will break near years end I would like to extend 

best wishes for the Holiday Season from myself and the staff 

of the ARRL San Joaquin Valley Section. 

ROANOKE DIVISION 

NORTH CAROLINA: SM, John Covington, W4CC— SEC: 

KE4JHJ. STM: NØSU. BM: KD4YTU. TC: K4ITL. PIC: 

KN4AQ. OOC: W4ZRA. SGL: AB4W. ACC - vacant. http:// 

www.ncarrl.org. Congratulations and welcome to our newest 

affiliated club, the Guilford Amateur Society. The charter 

of affiliation was presented during the ARRL meeting at 

the Shelby hamfest. Division Director Dennis Bodson, 

W4PWF, presented the charter to President John Shultz, 

130

132 

K4JBS, with several other club members observing. The 

new official name for the club recently formed in Troy is 

the Montgomery Amateur Radio Society. Hope to have them 

affiliated soon also. Hurricane season reminds me how 

much we depend on hams at all levels throughout the state 

to help during disasters. In addition to the activity on the 

statewide nets, we depend tremendously on local nets to 

handle much of our traffic. There are three NTS Local Nets 

in NC: Central North Carolina Traffic Net (CNCTN), 146.82 

MHz, 9:30 PM; Piedmont Coastal Traffic Net (PCTN), 

146.88 MHz, 9:00 PM; and Eastern North Carolina Traffic 

Net (ENCTN), 146.685 MHz, 8:30 PM. We also have many 

non-NTS local nets that help pass our traffic. We could sure 

use some more NTS nets to provide some additional outlets 

for traffic, especially in the west and southeast. To become 

an NTS net, you must meet daily, have frequent liaison 

to section nets, and follow NTS rules during your formal 

session. Contact our STM, Don NØSU for more details. 

August Traffic: W4EAT 375, AB4E 260, K4IWW 142, 

NC4ML 132, NØSU 100, W4IRE 96, AA4YW 95, KI4YV 92, 

N4AF 68, W3HL 54, AC4DV 52, KE4JHJ 51, KE4AHC 35, 

W4CC 25, WD4MRD 17, NT4K 12, WA2EDN 12, AD4XV 

10, KB8VCZ 9, KF4YHG 7, KE4YMA 5, N8UTY 4. 

SOUTH CAROLINA: SM, Patricia M. Hensley, N4ROS— 

SC ARRL has made history this month by completing our 

first election for Section Manager in 14 years. Every prior 

SM was appointed or was an incumbent without opposition. 

The election results should be announced shortly; congratulations 

to that person. My OM, K8AFP, licensed for 

nearly forty-five years, has told me about the prestige and 

leadership associated with SMs in the past. Almost every 

amateur was a member of the ARRL, and the SM was truly 

the spokesperson for their Section. Unfortunately, this is 

no longer true. Only one-third to one-half the licensed amateurs 

are ARRL members, and much misunderstanding of 

the purposes and benefits of the ARRL exists among them. 

This results in division between groups instead of cohesion 

among the amateur fraternity. Many times, individuals 

who could make real contributions become frustrated and 

remain among the silent majority. The questionable status 

of Amateur Radio cannot sustain continual injuries and hope 

to exist intact as a viable team. In the future, Amateur Radio 

will change. We must ensure that it is a positive change 

by, once again, volunteering our individual skills, functioning 

cohesively as a group, and by supporting our elected 

Section Manager. Tfc: AF4QZ 122, KA4LRM 60, WA4UGD 

49, W4DRF 45, KA4UIV 21, K4BG 21, WD4BUH 18. 

VIRGINIA: SM, Lynn Gahagan, AF4CD—SEC: OOC: 

KR4UQ. STM: W4CAC. ASM/A: KE4MBX. ASM/B: W4TLM. 

ASM/C: TC, W4IN. ASM/D: KC4ASF. PIC: W2MG. Once 

again the Virginia Section leads the way. Congratulations 

to Terry Fox, WB4JFI, of Falls Church on being the recipient 

of the ARRL 1999 Technical Innovation Award. As the 

recipient of this award, Terry will receive a check for 

$500.00, and an engraved plaque to be presented at an 

ARRL convention. Are you interested and prepared to provide 

your community emergency communications, when the 

time is at hand Perhaps you may want to check into one 

of the many section level nets to brush up on your NTS 

skills or, listen in to learn how to pass traffic. Our STM, 

W4CAC has put together a Web site which lists Virginia 

Local and Section Nets, the Fourth Region Net and the 

Eastern Area Net and their operating schedules. The address 

for the site is: http://w4cac.tripod.com/vastm/ The Net 

Manager for our Section CW Nets, WA4DOX runs the VSN 

(Va. Slow Net) each Tuesday at 7 PM 3680 kHz. The net is 

run at 13wpm or slower. Practice NTS messages are 

passed and this is a great place to sharpen your CW skills. 

Obie reports new operators are visiting the net. In fact he’s 

talked me into joining the group and I could sure use the 

code practice! I am very pleased the ODEN (Old Dominion 

Emergency Net) has grown to where it is today. We have 

ARES and NTS members checking in and, now have several 

pieces of NTS traffic being brought to the nets. This 

shows how the two groups can and should work together 

to achieve our mutual goals of preparedness. One of the 

problems we are now faced with is time. We have so many 

people checking into the ODEN that sometimes everyone 

doesn’t have a chance to comment. We are addressing that 

issue and look into possible solutions. Meanwhile please 

keep in mind that this is a training ground for new NCS. If 

you have never run a net before or, if you have and would 

like to give it a try, contact one of the Net Managers. The 

DXing this year has been great, and it appears that we will 

have another two years or so of excellent band conditions. 

Oh, and just a reminder don’t forget the ARRL Sweepstakes 

coming up in November. This is a good time to work towards 

your WAS award! Very 73 de AF4CD. Tfc: W3BBQ 

210, WA4DOX 138, KR4MU 109, W4CAC 85, K4YVX 70, 

AF4CD 60, K4MTX 53, KØIBS 44,WB4ZNB 32, AAA4AT 

26,W4VIC 15, W4YE 9, N4FNT 8, W4JLS 8, WB4UHC 6, 

W4SEE 5, W4MWC 4, KB4CAU 3, K4JM 3. 

WEST VIRGINIA: SM, O.N.(Olie) Rinehart , WD8V— The 

“Mill” is history, and it will be recorded as a good part of 

history. In my opinion, and I have heard several others express 

the same opinion, is that it was a very fruitful and 

productive State ARRL Convention and WV State Amateur 

Radio Council annual meeting. My thanks to those who conducted 

the forums and other meetings, all of which were 

well attended. Congratulations are in order for, not necessarily 

in any order but, WV Outstanding Amateur of the Year, 

Garry H. Ritchie, W8OI; First Place Highest Score Single 

Op WV QSO Party Dennis Bombardiere , W8YS; and 

WVSARC Field Day Highest Score by club or group registered 

with the Council, West Virginia Amateur Radio, Inc., 

WV8AR. A little different slant on the RFE/RFI situation. 

Not just that it is mandatory that you have read and understand 

the FCC regulations, and that your station remains 

in compliance, but “you owe it to your fellow living creatures 

to not radiate harmful interference.” It makes it a little 

more binding that just satisfying the FCC doesn’t it. At least 

once a year, I make an appeal so please if you have news 

of amateur radio in WV that is beneficial, or of value to 

others, or some group, club, individual has accomplished

something worth while, please let me know by land, sea or 

on the air, so that I may include in this column. Contact me 

at WVFN 3.865 6:00 PM local; phone (304) 768-9534; fax 

(304)766-1068; cell (304)541-WD8V (9388) or e-mail 

wd8v@arrl.org. 73. Tfc: KA8WNO 161, WD8V 75, W8YS 

170, W8WWF 60, KC8CON 35, N8BP 6, WD8DHC 51. 

ROCKY MOUNTAIN DIVISION 

COLORADO: SM, Tim Armagost, WBØTUB—ASM: Jeff 

Ryan, NØWPA. SEC: Mike Morgan, N5LPZ. STM: Mike 

Stansberry, KØTER. ACC: Ron Deutsch, NKØP. PIC: Erik 

Dyce, WØERX. OOC: Karen Schultz, KAØCDN & Glenn 

Schultz, WØIJR. SGL: Mark Baker, KGØPA. TC: Bob 

Armstrong, AEØB. BM: Jerry Cassidy, NØMYY. Rocky Mountain 

Division Asst. Director (and former Director) Marshall 

Quiat, AGØX, has resigned his position citing health reasons. 

Shortly after receiving Marshall’s resignation, the 

ARRL Board of Directors named him an honorary Vice 

President of the League. An honor well deserved, to be 

sure. Those of us residing in the Rocky Mountain division, 

and especially those of us here in Colorado have been the 

primary beneficiaries of Marshall’s two decades of service 

to Amateur Radio, although as an ARRL director, Marshall 

has had an influence on ARRL policies and direction, benefiting 

hams nationwide. His tireless efforts supporting hams 

in need of legal advice is well known and without peer in 

our Section. When you run into Marshall at swapfests and 

other functions in the coming months, congratulate him on 

his League appointment, and thank him for his many years 

of service. Swapfests at Jeffco (Denver Radio Club) and 

the always popular Campfest (Mountain Amateur Radio 

Club) both took place on Aug. 20 th and a few people actually 

attended BOTH!! Those are some really dedicated 

swappers. The DRC Swap included an ARRL forum hosted 

by RM Div Director Walt Stinson, WØCP. These forums are 

a great time to share your views with your elected officials 

and all should avail themselves of this opportunity. Any 

items for the column Please e-mail them to me: 

n0wpa@arrl.net 73, de NØWPA. NTS traffic: ADØA 157, 

KØTER 64, NØUOD 58, KIØRP 58. CAWN: WØWPD 931, 

KØHBZ 561, WØGGP 505, NØFCR 468, K4ARM 404, WØLVI 

389, WØNCD 335, WBØVET 266, KIØND 239, NØNMP 217, 

NØDKK 114, ADØA 88, KØTER 55, NØUOD 35, KIØRP 30. 

CAWN: WØWPD 637, WØLVI 504, WØGGP 460, NØJUS 447, 

WØNCD 443, KØHBZ 436, K4ARM 371, WBØVET 316, 

NØNMP 299, NØFCR 222, KIØND 196, WDØCKP 158, 

AAØZR 121. 

NEW MEXICO: SM, Joe T. Knight, W5PDY—ASM: K5BIS 

& N5ART. SEC: K6YEJ. STM: N7IOM. NMs: WA5UNO & 

W5UWY. TC: W8GY. ACC: N5ART. New Mexico Roadrunner 

Net handled 125 msgs with 1199 checkins. New Mexico 

Breakfast Club handled 287 msgs with 1085 checkins. 

Yucca Net handled 24 msgs with 660 checkins. Caravan 

Club Net handled 13 msgs with 57 checkins. SCAT Net 

handled 2 msgs with 602 checkins. Four Corners Net 

handled 20 msgs with 432 checkins. GARS Net handled 

10 msgs with 33 checkins. Rusty’s Net handled 78 msgs 

with 783 checkins. Valencia County Net, handled 10 msgs 

with 47 checkins. Deming ARC Net handled 11 msgs with 

70 checkins. Our NM State ARRL Convention August 26- 

27 th went extremely well, and it was a real pleasure to have 

Bill Cross, W3TN, of the FCC, Walt Stinson, WØCP, our 

ARRL Division Director, and Rosalie White, K1STO, ARRL 

Field & Educational Services Manager, as our special 

guests. The convention was certainly a success and our 

special thanks to KM5EH, and his staff, for their fine job. 

Thanks also to our ARES SAR Crew for a very long, but 

successful, Rescue Mission from the 10,000 foot shear cliffs 

of the Sandia Mountains, during the convention. 

Alamogordo Hamfest and Banquet on August 5th. Special 

thanks to all their staff for such a nice event. The International 

Hamfiesta is scheduled for Oct. 28-29 th . See 

“hamfiesta.org.” The Socorro Hamfest is scheduled for Nov. 

4 th . So sorry to report the passing of KC7EN. Best 73, 

W5PDY. 

UTAH: SM, Mel Parkes, AC7CP—I would like to wish everyone 

a Happy Thanksgiving, and hope your upcoming 

holidays are very eventful. I really enjoyed my visit to the 

Dixie Amateur Radio Club in St George last month. It was 

a great opportunity for me to meet many of our hams in the 

southern part of Utah. I would also like to say thanks to 

everyone throughout the state who participated in Jamboree 

On the Air this year! Your efforts are a great way to 

introduce young people to Amateur Radio. This time of the 

year is when most of our clubs begin their annual elections 

for officer for the next calendar year, please give some serious 

thought about how you can best serve your local club 

or Amateur Radio group. Start making plans to attend the 

Utah VHF society meet in February, and don’t forget the 

Utah Hamfest . 73 de N5UVP. 

WYOMING: SM Bob Williams, N7LKH—The Wyoming Section 

currently is placing special emphasis on expanding and 

refining the Section Emergency organization. The initial 

objectives are to have an EC in each county and to encourage 

emergency support people to be members of both 

ARES and RACES. There have been objections by some 

to membership in each of these emergency organizations, 

and I have yet to understand why. I would appreciate hearing 

from anyone what the objections are because I would 

like to fix the problems whatever they are. In addition, we 

shall attempt to identify the relationship between the emergency 

communications volunteers from the Section Amateur 

Radio community and the County Emergency Management 

Coordinators appointed by the Wyoming Emergency 

Management Agency. At present it seems to be based on 

the individual personalities of the EMC and the EC. A series 

of meetings is planned over the rest of this year to 

work these things. The principals will generally be the Section 

SM, ASM, SEC, RACES Coordinator and whoever else 

wishes to take part. 

134

SOUTHEASTERN DIVISION 

ALABAMA: SM, Bill Cleveland, KR4TZ—ASMs: W4XI 

WB4GM KB4KOY. SEC: KC4PZA. STM: K4JSJ. BM: 

KA4ZXL. OOC: WB4GM. SGL: KU4PY. ACC: KV4CX. TC: 

W4OZK. PIC: KA4MGE. The Montgomery ARC will have 

its Hamfest on Saturday November 11, 2000, at the Montgomery 

Coliseum. Doors will open to the public at 9:00 

AM. Talk-in is available from W4AP on the 146.84(-) repeater. 

Admission is $5.00 per adult. CAVEC Amateur 

Radio License exams start at 8:00 AM. For more information, 

please contact Dennis Rumbley, KS4UO (chairman) 

by phone at 334-409-9971, or by e-mail at ks4uo@arrl.net. 

Don’t forget November Sweepstakes is this month. The 

CW Sweepstakes is in the first full weekend of November 

(Nov 4-6), and the Phone Sweepstakes is on the third full 

weekend in November (Nov 18-20.) For more detailed information 

look in the October QST on page 102 or visit the 

November Sweepstakes Website at http://www.arrl.org/ 

contests. Before I end this report, since Thanksgiving is at 

the end of the month, I would like to thank everybody for 

promoting Amateur Radio and helping me with my section 

duties. I would like to thank my Section Staff: KC4PZA, 

K4JSJ, WB4GM, KU4PY, KV4CX, W4OZK, KA4MGE, 

KA4ZXL, W4XI, and KB4KOY. I would also like to thank 

some notable hams in the Section that contribute a lot to 

our service: WA4GQS, KC4RNF, AC4CS, AF4HE, and 

KE4YZK. Let’s not forget the real important people: all the 

active hams in the Alabama Section! And finally, I would 

like to thank my family and the families of my staff for your 

support while we try our best to contribute to the Alabama 

Section. God bless & 73, Bill Cleveland, KR4TZ. 

GEORGIA: SM: Sandy Donahue, W4RU—ASM/South Ga: 

Marshall Thigpen, W4IS. ASM/Legal: Jim Altman, W4UCK. 

SEC: Lowry Rouse, KM4Z. STM: Jim Hanna, AF4NS. SGL: 

Charles Griffin, WB4UVW. BM: Eddie Kosobucki, K4JNL, 

ACC: Susan Swiderski, AF4FO, OOC: Mike Swiderski, 

K4HBI. TC: Fred Runkle, K4KAZ. PIC: Matt Cook, 

KG4CAA. It is November, a month that has two fine events: 

Thanksgiving and the Lawrenceville hamfest sponsored 

by the Alford ARC at the Gwinnett County Fairgrounds, 

Nov 4-5. This has turned into Georgia’s largest and most 

influential ham show and shouldn’t be missed. All the manufacturers 

will have exhibits as well as several dealers. A 

huge flea market highlights the hamfest as well as forums 

for the ARRL, ARES, NTS and others. Also FCC enforcement 

guru Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH, will make an encore 

appearance answering your questions at a special 

forum on Saturday. Randy Bassett, KR4NQ, and his outstanding 

committee of Alford club volunteers are to be 

commended for all the hard work that goes into producing 

such an excellent ham radio event. Stop by the ARRL booth 

and say hello to W4RH and myself while you are there. 

On Labor Day weekend, W4NZJ and myself stopped by 

the West GA ARS picnic near Carrollton and thoroughly 

enjoyed ourselves. This club is mourning the passing of 

member Tony Arrington, KD4UIP. Our condolences to his 

family. New officers of the Bill Gremillion ARC (Newnan): 

Pres K4QFF, V Pres. N4HIC, Sec N9VRO, Treas K4WPM. 

The ARC of Savannah lost a member, Curt Spomer, 

WB4FMK, is a silent key. Likewise, the Ga Section sends 

our regrets to his family. Which brings up a reminder as 

we enter the holiday period. Take it easy on the Georgia 

roads this Thanksgiving. We want to see you again next 

year. 73 Sandy. Tfc (Aug): AF4NS 100, W4WXA 93, 

WB4GGS 93,WU4C 87, W4AET 51, K4WKT 40, AF4PX 

17, K4JNL 10. 

NORTHERN FLORIDA: SM, Rudy Hubbard, WA4PUP— 

ASM, Capital District: K4VRT. ASM-East Central District, 

ASM-Florida Crown District: N4UF. ASM-West Central District: 

NR2F. ASM-E Panhandle District: WA4NDA. ASM-W 

Panhandle District: KO4TT. ASM-Suwannee District: 

W2DWR, ACC: WA4B. BM: N4GMU. OOC: W4QV. PIC: 

KF4HFC. SEC: WA4NDA. SGL: KC4N. STM: WX4H. TC: 

KO4TT. Anyone interested in an ARRL appointment should 

contact the staff person in charge of the respective program, 

ie, the SEC is the one to contact for an OES. Each one is 

listed above as to what program they represent. In this Section, 

they are delegated to authority to appoint or cancel the 

appointments under their jurisdiction. However, the SEC is 

authorized to appoint DEC and EC, and the STM is authorize 

to appoint the NM. The PIC appoints the PIO. NOFARS 

member Tom Castiglia, NO4A, was named recipient of the 

Florida Community College at Jacksonville award for Community 

Service for 2000. Congrats, Tom. City of Jax and JEA 

are installing an integrated radio system that will serve all 

city agencies including fire, police and JEA. Mike Key, 

N4GIH, is supervising construction of the system. National 

Weather Service office has a call sign, WX4JAX, now assigned 

for the Amateur Radio station. Although hurricane 

season so far has been a non-event for the Northern Florida 

Section, we may not be so fortunate between now and the 

end of the season. Whenever the State Emergency Operations 

Center in Tallahassee is activated on a level needing 

Amateur Radio, the Northern Florida Emergency Net (NFEN) 

will operate on 3950. Advance notices prior to the hurricane 

arriving will be given on the 3950 frequency on the NFAN 

net each day at 0800 Central and 0900 Eastern Time. Anyone 

desiring to become a Net Control Operator is urged to 

notify the Net Mangers K4VRT and K4JTD. We should have 

a Net Control Operator and an Alternate for each Net. The 

Net Managers themselves need some relief, so how about 

it Let them know you will be available. 73 de Rudy. Tfc: 

KF4NFP 293, KE4DNO 240, K1JPG 188, AF4PU 135, NR2F 

110, KE4PRB 107, K4DMH 60, AF4GF 48, K4JTD 36, 

AD4DO 36, KE4EZQ 35, AB4PG 32, WB2FGL 28, KB4DXN 

28, N9MN 25, KM4WC 24, N4JAQ 22, W8IM 16, KG4EZQ 

16, W4KIX 13, KJ4HS 9, WX4J 8, WB9GIU 6, KG4ELJ 3, 

WB2IMO 2, WA4EYU 2. 

PUERTO RICO: SM, Víctor Madera, KP4PQ— El programa 

de exámenes del ARRL/VEC se expande a toda la isla. 

Habrá sesiones de exámenes en Arecibo, Aguadilla, San 

German, Ponce, Guayama, Fajardo y Barranquitas gracias 

a la “Ínter” que nos ha cedido sus facilidades. Los 

exámenes en la UPR continúan como siempre. La actividad 

del “Lighthouse Weekend” que auspició el PRARL fue 

exitosa. Se lograron 2557 QSOs y 118 países. Felicitamos 

a WP3A, KP4KOE, KP4RAT, KP4EOP, KP4DX, WP4LNY, 

NP3IR y WP4LJG quienes operaron desde la isla de Caja 

de Muertos. Enviarán QSLs a todos los que la soliciten. 

Visitamos a Adjuntas a una actividad del grupo 

Radioaficionados en Acción. El modo PSK31 está tomando 

auge entre los radioaficionados del oeste. La actividad 

dedicada a Samuel Morse en Arroyo sigue progresando. 

Si le interesa operar desde allí en CW comuníquese con 

Julio, WP4LNY. Esta actividad la auspicia el PRARL, la 

FRA y el Municipio de Arroyo. Envíen información sobre 

sus intereses vía email a kp4pq@arrl.org. 

SOUTHERN FLORIDA: SM, Phyllisan West, KA4FZI - SEC: 

W4SS. STM: KJ4N. ACC: WA4AW. PIC: W4STB. TC: KI4T. 

OOC: K4GP. BM: KC4ZHF. SGL: KC4N. DEC/ASM: N4LEM, 

WB9SHT, AA4BN, KD4GR, WB2WPA. For expanded Section 

News, see www.sflarrl.org or request e-mail. It is with 

sincere regret that I must accept the resignation of Joel 

Kandel, KI4T, as Technical Coordinator for our section. Joel 

was SFL TC for the past 17 years, working hard for our section 

in the area of antenna zoning ordinances as well as the 

toughest technical problems. Joel’s business activities are 

very demanding. Travel outside the country as well as around 

the state are limiting his time and energy for ham radio activity. 

The section appreciates those 17 years of service, Joel. 

You have more that earned a break. We wish you well in 

your business endeavors and good health to enjoy your work 

and ham radio for many more years! The Indian River ARC 

put the Cape Canaveral Lighthouse “on-the-air” for the first 

time ever during the “International Lighthouses On-The-Air” 

special event. Using the SE call sign of N4L, they were considered 

rare DX because it was one of the few lighthouses in 

FL never yet on the air. Club members operated from COMM 

ONE and the club trailer. The Wellington ARC presented a 

timely program on protecting equipment from electrical surges 

and transients with MOV’s, gas discharge tubes, LC Circuits, 

and zener type semi-conductors. FREE MOVs and installation 

instructions were given to attendees! A post-blow surge 

protector clinic was held to determine the cause of failure in 

items brought in from home. Palm Beach Co ARES has incorporated 

PBC ARES as a 501(C)(3). Not-For-Profit corporation 

with a 9-member Board of directors and several committees. 

The Not-For-Profit status is already opening many 

doors, including donations of meeting/training rooms. Manny 

and Dave will be presenting the benefits, pitfalls, and process 

of incorporation at the Melbourne Section Workshop. 

In other emergency activities: Chris, KD4DQY, reports that 

Vero Beach has a new G5RV antenna up at the EOC: Broward 

has an upcoming airport Certification Drill, which will include 

all ARES/RACES members: and Lee County has boosted 

emergency net check-in averages to 32. Recently, ARRL 

approved hamfests are: WPB Repeater Association in Palm 

Beach Gardens Oct. 21, and Port St. Lucie ARC on Nov 11. 

Best wishes for a successful event to both. Don’t forget: New 

banners are available for use in the section by clubs and 

amateur groups for special events and hamfests. DECs and 

ASMs are: District 1, Brevard/Indian River/Osceola, N4LEM, 

Ray Kassis, DEC/ASM: District 2, Martin/Okeechobee/St 

Lucie, WB9SHT, Bruce Reid, DEC/ASM: District 3, Glades/ 

Hendry/Palm Beach, AA4BN, Jim Sparks, DEC: District 4, 

Broward/Dade/Monroe(Keys), KD4GR, Jim Goldsberry, DEC/ 

ASM: District 5, Collier/Lee/Monroe (Mainland), WB2WPA, 

Gary Arnold, DEC: Traffic Totals by KJ4N STM: WA9VND 

626, KC4ZHF 350, KB4WBY 288, KA4FZI 231, KD4HGU 164, 

KD4GR 158, KE4IFD 125, K4VMC (club) 105, WB4PAM 88, 

KD4JMV 66, K4FQU 61, W4WDN 49, KT4XK 47, WB4CSQ 

41, W8SZU 38, WA4EIC 32, KE4IDG 32, KG4CHW 21, 

KE4UOF 19, AA4BN 18, KE4WBI 17, W4WYR 15, K4OVC 

9, K4ENA 2. 73, Phyllisan West, KA4FZI, SM SFL. 

VIRGIN ISLANDS: SM, John Ellis, NP2B, St Croix— ASM: 

Drew, NP2E, St Thomas. ASM: Mal, NP2L, St John. SEC: 

Duane, NP2CY, St Thomas. PIC: Lou, KV4JC, St Croix. 

ACC: Debbie, NP2DJ, St Thomas. NM: Bob, VP2VI/WØDX, 

Tortola. VI section Website (http://www.viaccess.net/~jellis) 

Thursday September 8, a total of 15 people took exams on 

St Croix (a record) and 7 either upgraded or received new 

licenses. Continued interest in technical and help discussions 

on Caribbean Maritime Mobile Net, Sundays at 1130Z, 

on 7241 kHz. Bernie, WG3G, Gil, KP2U, and Carol AA2QH, 

providing folks using AirMail and WinLink 2000 with needed 

guidance. Lou, KV4JC, has new puppy - Curly (locally assigned 

call K9WAG). See Lou’s Website (the one for the 

Caribbean Maritime Mobile Net) at http://www.viaccess.net/ 

~KV4JC for info and pix of Curly. Contest season soon to 

be upon us, let’s just get past those storms and get the 

antennas back up! Send section related e-mail to 

NP2B@atthehelm.com. St John repeater 146.63, St Thomas 

repeater 146.81 and St Croix machine on 147.25. Enjoy 

& 73, John NP2B. 

WEST CENTRAL FLORIDA: SM, Dave Armbrust, AE4MR, 

ae4mr@arrl.org, http://www.wcfarrl.org— ASM: NA4AR. 

ASM-Web: N4PK. ASM-Legal: K4LAW. SEC: KD4E. TC: 

KT4WX. BM: KE4WU. STM: AB4XK. SGL: KC4N. ACC: 

AC4MK. PIC: AB2V. Please join me in welcoming Dr David 

Colburn, KD4E, as the new Section Emergency Coordinator. 

Allen Turck, KE4MPQ, has resigned as SEC due to 

other personal commitments. Be sure to check in to the 

WCF Section Net on 3.911 Sundays at 7:30 PM and the 

Informal Net MWF 9:00 PM on 3.911. August: 

Net/NM QNI QTC Bulls QND Sess 

AIN/WA4ATF 66 3 4 97 3 

Polk ARES/KE4VBA 122 0 5 144 6 

SPARC/KF4FCW 436 32 0 818 31 

Turtle/KT4TD 406 77 0 482 31 

HCAN/KD4CQG 75 0 3 63 4 

FMSN/KT4PM 282 35 0 417 31 

TPTN/AD4IH 729 79 0 436 31 

QFNS/KF4KSN 189 46 0 714 31 

QFN/AB4XK 843 264 0 1073 62 

PSHR: K4SCL 146, KT4PM 140, AD4IH 139, K4RBR 139, 

136

AB4XK 116, KF4KSN 106, KE4VBA 101, KT4TD 101, 

W4AUN 99, WB2LEZ 90, AE4MR 70, SAR: AB4XK 234, 

K4SCL 196, AD4IH 93, KT4PM 47, KF4KSN 44, KE4VBA 

38, K4RBR 32, KT4TD 17, W4AUN 15, W4HCS 5, WA4ATF 

4, AE4MR 4, WB2LEZ 2. 73, Dave, AE4MR. 

SOUTHWESTERN DIVISION 

ARIZONA: SM, Clifford Hauser, KD6XH—Summer vacation 

is over, and I have gone back to work. Yes, I finally found a 

job and can now afford Amateur Radio activities. Rick 

Paquette, W7RAP, has been appointed as an assistant section 

manager with the purpose of coordination of VE examinations 

through the state. I get many calls each month asking 

for the next scheduled VE testing and normally don’t have 

the up-to-date information. Rick will be my single point of 

contact and will keep this data and be able to provide people 

with the necessary information. Please give him all the help 

he needs to do this important function. Rick can be reached 

at 520-794-0387. Ned Stearns, AA7A, has been approved 

for DXCC card checking. He is a member of the Central Arizona 

DX Association and will be available for card checking 

during major hamfest and other times as necessary. The 

Kingman hamfest was small but very nice and well done. 

Thanks to the Hualapai amateur radio club for a job well done. 

As of this date, the Old Pueblo Radio Club (OPRC) will still 

have their hamfest on 21 October 2000. Their president, 

George Lynch, KA1TY, was fatally injured in a skiing accident 

during the summer and was the primary planner for this 

event. I recently received a telephone call from a new operator 

asking the question of why repeaters have squelch 

tones (PL) listed and how can he modify his radio to be able 

to access these repeaters. I explained the concept of tone 

squelch and why these different tones were necessary. Then 

I helped him program the proper tone into his radio memory. 

The point of this is that we have many new operators that 

need assistance and help so they can enjoy the hobby. We 

need to be available to help these people as necessary. This 

will encourage them and also keep our hobby alive. 73, 

Clifford Hauser, KD6XH. ATEN 724 QNI, 14 QTC; 31 sess. 

Tfc: K7VVC 825, W7EP 14. 

LOS ANGELES: SM, Phineas J. Icenbice, Jr. W6BF — 

Please welcome our new ACC, Bill Leslie, WA6POK. Bill is 

also available at wa6pok@arrl.net for those of you who 

want to report club activities. If you are old fashioned, Bill 

also has one of those PHONES (626 579 1761). Joe Cira, 

KB6AXK, is now re-assigned as our STM. Joe Provenva, 

W6UPN, w6upn@arrl.net, is our OOC, and he is doing such 

a great job with his crew of OOs that only one or two have 

strayed out of the norm in the past month. Riley is writing 

to a few of our locals to be certain that they understand his 

rules. We also have a couple of unlicensed operators stirring 

up the troops. Some comments have been made about 

an all out Federal investigation for a multitude of violations. 

All FCC type violations should go to Joe, our OOC. Spud, 

K6KH, is in charge of planning our next Los Angeles Convention. 

Spud and his illustrious crew will be evaluating 

potential- future locations such as the “Fairplex” and other 

sights near the Burbank airport. Any and all worthwhile suggestions 

are welcomed. 73 de W6BF, Phineas. 

SAN DIEGO: SM, Tuck Miller, NZ6T, 619-475-7333— Hi 

folks, and may I be one of the first to wish you a very happy 

Thanksgiving. Please sit back a bit, and reflect on all that 

we have that we are thankful for. Our families, our jobs, our 

friends, our hobbies. I want to thank all those who give tirelessly, 

day in, and day out for public service. On a sad note, 

Kazuo, WA6BCC, informed me that over the weekend of 

September 9 & 10, that he had a special Olympic event in 

Coronado. Some folks from the Filimars should up on Saturday, 

which we thank them for, however no one showed up to 

help out on Sunday. This is of course very disappointing. 

We keep telling folks how Amateur Radio can help and benefit 

the public, so when the time comes to shine, we need to 

do just that. I have always tried to be upbeat in this column, 

however there are times we have to tell it like it is. We need 

to keep involved in the public arena. Keep our service out 

there, where the public can see us. Show them that we have 

earned our right to use the bands that we do. I hope everyone 

had a great time at the Southwestern Division Convention 

in Scottsdale this past month. Next year’s convention 

will be held in Riverside, and then right back here in San 

Diego. Seems as if everyone loves coming to San Diego. 

Tfc: KT6A 471, KD6YJB 164, KF6YVQ 18, WA6IIK 2 PSHR: 

KT6A 138 KO6BU 52 Until next month... Remember, Helping 

Others......Always Worthwhile!! 73, Tuck, NZ6T. 

SANTA BARBARA: SM, Robert Griffin, K6YR, (k6yr@arrl 

.org)—SEC: Jack Hunter, KD6HHG (kd6hhg@arrl.net). STM: 

Ed Shaw, KF6SHU. (ed@radshaw.com). SGL: Paul 

Lonnquist, NS6V (paul@dock.net). ACC: Michael Atmore, 

KE6DKU (jatmore@telis.org). OOC: Howard Coleman, 

W6HQA (w6hqa@arrl.net). PIC: Jeff Reinhardt, AA6JR 

(jreinh@ix.netcom.com). TC: Warren Glenn, KM6RZ, 

(wglennrz@ix.netcom.com). ASM-Ventura: Don Milbury, 

W6YN (w6yn@arrl.net). ASM- Internet, Jack Bankson, 

AD6AD (ad6ad@arrl.net). DECs: Santa Barb-Dave Lamb, 

WA6BRW (wb6brw@arrl.net). SLO-Bill Peirce, KE6FKS 

(ke6fks@arrl.net) & Ven-Dave Gilmore, AA6VH (aa6vh@ 

arrl.net). Ed Shaw, KF6SHU, in San Luis Obispo joins the 

ranks of the Amateur Auxiliary. Congrats on your recent OO 

appointment! The new ARRL W6 In-coming QSL Bureau 

Manager is Steve, N6QEK (neqek@arrl.net). Join the Section 

Reflector: Send a blank e-mail to: arrlsb-subscribe@ 

egroups.com and be part of the Info Hotline. Receive instant 

updates on Section news-FREE! SB Sec Web: www.qsl.net/ 

arrlsb/. Join in our Section NTS traffic nets: SCN slow speed 

NTS Net, M-F, at 1915 local on 3598 kHz & SCN/SB at 2100 

local on 147.000+(131.8), 224.90- (131.8) & 449.300-(131.8). 

PSHR/Tfc: K6YR 168/585, KF6OIF 123/78, KE6MIW 99/32, 

KC6NBI 111/2 & AD6LW 118/-. Rob, K6YR. 

WEST GULF DIVISION 

NORTH TEXAS: SM, Don Mathis, KB5YAM—STM: 

KC5OZT. BM: KC5OZT. SEC: K5MWC. SGL: N5GAR. 

OOC: WB5UDA.ACC: WN5PFI. ASMs: KX5K, K5RE, 

KK5QA, KK5NA, N5JZ, KB5LWZ, KD5HIS, AD5X, W5GPO. 

Visit the section Web page at (http://www.lsic.net/net/ 

ntexas.html) for the most current information. Jerry 

Combest, N5JL, now has the newsletter up and going. We 

are working on the mail list. There are about 50 or so bad 

mail addresses in the list that need to be fixed/purged. Let 

us know if you had wanted to be on the list and are not receiving 

the newsletter. Had a couple of real good demonstrations 

this last month with ATV. I have found that ATV is a 

real attention getter with younger potential Hams. I am seeing 

some good activities in process and being planned in 

the section for working with school agers. I would like to 

salute the Plano club, among others, for their planned school 

activities. Not only is this area important to our hobby, it is 

exciting seeing all of that energy and new ideas being brought 

into the hobby. Had a real good meeting at the Gainsville 

Hamfest. Thanks, Coy. Tfc: N5JZ 684, K5NHJ 597, KC5OZT 

506, KB5WEE 324, W5AYX 123, WA5I 137, KC5VLW 117, 

N5GG 54, KB5TCH 54, KB5YAM 8, AC5UZ 4, N8QVT 1. 

OKLAHOMA: SM, Charlie Calhoun, K5TTT—ASMs: N6CL, 

W6CL. SEC: KA7GLA. ACC: KB5BOB. PIC: WA9AFM. OOC: 

WA9VMY. SGL: W5NZS. STM: K5KXL. I want to share a 

couple of stories with you this month. First, I would encourage 

you all to become an elmer. I had the distinct pleasure 

to help a new ham, program his new HT. Howard McCloud, 

KC5RGC, spent many hours reading the question pool into 

a tape recorder and preparing his student for the exam. By 

coincidence, I was at the testing session for my extra upgrade, 

when his student Mikey Reiser, KD5LPE, a 12 year 

old blind ham, passed his exam. It was a wonderful gift that 

Mikey gave Mr. McCloud and myself in return for our assistance. 

I know Mikey will have great pleasure from his experiences 

with Amateur Radio. Congratulations Mikey! My second 

story is one of commendation for public service. On Sep 

13, 18:00CDT, a vehicle was stolen in Tulsa with two infants 

still in the car. Hams activated almost immediately to assist 

the police department in locating the vehicle. Hams from all 

over the area assisted in the search. Every bit of information 

we could get from the police department encouraged us 

to continue the search. We set up grids and worked both 

stationary and moving positions until we had canvassed the 

entire city and surrounding areas. The search continued past 

4:00 AM when there were no more leads from the police and 

we had covered everything we could think of. The children 

were not found that night. Thankfully, they were discovered 

the following morning, unharmed, on a rural road about 90 

miles NE of Tulsa. Tfc: N5IKN 658, WA5OUV 604, KK5GY 

575, KF5A 411, WB5NKC 148, K5KXL 141, WA5IMO 122, 

KM5VA 99, KE5JE 93, KI5LQ 75, WB5NKD 75, W5REC 25, 

N5FM 2. 

SOUTH TEXAS: Ray Taylor, N5NAV—ASMs: NR5ED, 

N5WSW, W5GKH, K5DG, N5LYG, WA5UZB, KK5CA, K5EJL, 

W5ZX, WA5TUM, KB5AWM, WA5JYK, K5PFE, K5PNV, and 

K5SBU. STM: W5GKH. SEC: W5ZX. ACC: N5WSW. TC: 

KJ5YN. BM: W5KLV. OOC: W5JAM. SGL: K5PNV. November 

looks promising for a feast. On August 14 at 2 PM we 

activated ARES for Tropical Storm Beryl as it headed for the 

lower Texas coast. We were honored to have Jim Haynie, 

W5JBP, President of ARRL, as NCS from 6 AM to 7:41 AM, 

August 16, when we secured the net after all the EOCs 

closed. Beryl went inland in Mexico just below the tip of Texas 

causing some flooding and heavy rains in the Texas Rio 

Grande Valley. We then had several forest fires in South 

Texas. The fire in Newton County used the services of 12 

hams to furnish the Red Cross communications from August 

30 to September 8. We used 7285 for communications into 

Orange Red Cross Office, however most of the communications 

was handled on 2 meters in the field. K5SUB, DEC for 

the area, was in charge. The grocery stores and cafes in the 

area furnished the food (anything you wanted) while HEB 

Food Chain furnished bottle water. The Red Cross then delivered 

it to the field. I would like to thank all those volunteers 

who worked so hard for a week, the firemen, Red Cross 

workers, and the ham radio operators. They deserve the highest 

of honors. KF5TC became a SK at 1 AM on August 15. 

W5CTZ became a SK at 10 PM August 23. Both were very 

active on the traffic nets. You should be ready for the big 

feast on Thanksgiving Day. If you know someone who is not 

as fortunate as you, share a Thanksgiving dinner with them. 

Have a great November. Tfc: W5SEG 839, KA5KLU 449, 

W5KLV 223, W5TUK 185, W5GKH 118, W5ZX 73, N5NAV 

38, N5OUJ 33, KØYNW 22, W5OYY 10. 

WEST TEXAS: SM, Charlie Royall, WB5T, 915-944-0469, 

WB5T@arrl.org—ASMs: Cley, K5TRW. Ron, KB5HGM. 

Jerome, K5IS. Fred, W6VPI. Sandy, W5MVJ. SEC: Alex, 

N5LRH. OOC: John, KO5D. OBM: Frank, N5WT. New Appointments: 

EC, Brewster Co, District 5, Dave Cockrum, 

N5DO. EC, El Paso Co, District 5, Lewis Maxwell, KB5HPT. 

Traffic report, Region 5, Cycle 1 and 2 for Aug. In 62 sessions, 

QTC 637, QTR 1269 minutes @ average rate of .502 

WTX represented 21 percent by N5XB. Proposal to be considered 

by amateurs in Districts 4 and 5: change the boundary 

between these two districts by placing Pecos Co and 

Terrell Co in District 5. Please send your comments to the 

WTX Section Manager at e-mail listed above, or by postal 

mail to 2063 Putter Dr, San Angelo TX 76904. See you at 

the Odessa Hamfest 4-5 Nov. The holiday season is fast 

approaching. Hope everyone enjoys a fun-filled Thanksgiving 

with family and friends. Until next time, 73 de Charlie, 

WB5T. 

138

Ham Ads 

l) Advertising must pertain to products and 

services which are related to Amateur Radio. 

2) The Ham-Ad rate for commercial firms 

offering products or services for sale is $1.00 per word. 

Individuals selling or buying personal equipment: 

ARRL member 50¢ per word. Non-ARRL member $1 

per word. Bolding is available for $1.50 a word. 

3) Remittance in full must accompany copy since 

Ham-Ads are not carried on our books. Each word, 

abbreviation, model number, and group of numbers 

counts as one word. Entire telephone numbers count 

as one word. No charge for postal Zip code. No cash 

or contract discounts or agency commission will be 

allowed. Tear sheets or proofs of Ham Ads cannot be 

supplied. Submitted ads should be typed or clearly 

printed on an 8 1 ⁄2" x 11" sheet of paper. 

4) Send ads to: the ARRL, 225 Main St., 

Newington, CT 06111 ATTN: Ham Ads. Or via fax 

860-594-0259 or e-mail: hamads@arrl.org Payment 

must be included with ads (check or any major credit 

card accepted). 

5) Closing date for Ham-Ads is the 15th of the 

second month preceding publication date. No cancellations 

or changes will be accepted after this closing 

date. Example: Ads received September 16th through 

October 15th will appear in December QST. If the 15th 

falls on a weekend or holiday, the Ham-Ad deadline is 

the previous working day. Please contact Melissa 

Yrayta at 860-594-0231 for further information. 

6) No Ham-Ad may use more than 100 words. No 

advertiser may use more than two ads in one issue. A 

last name or call must appear in each ad. Mention of 

lotteries, prize drawings, games of chance, etc. is not 

permitted in QST advertising. 

7) New firms or individuals offering products or 

services for sale must check with us to determine if a 

production sample (which will be returned) should be 

submitted for examination. Dealers are exempted, 

unless the product is unknown to us. Check with us if 

you are in doubt. You must stand by and support all 

claims and specifications mentioned in your advertising. 

The publisher of QST will vouch for the integrity 

of advertisers who are obviously commercial in 

character, and for the grade or character of their 

products and services. Individual advertisers are not 

subject to scrutiny. 

The American Radio Relay League does not 

discriminate in its advertising on the basis of race, 

color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital 

status, or national origin. 

The League reserves the right to decline or 

discontinue advertising for any other reason. 

QST HAM ADS ON THE WEB — UPDATED MONTHLY 

http://www.arrl.org/ads/ham-ads.html 

SELL YOUR RADIO TODAY! Check out 

RADIOS ON-LINE on the ARRL web site: 

http://www.arrl.org/ads/RadiosOnline/ 

CLUBS/HAMFESTS/NETS 

BICYCLE MOBILE HAMS OF AMERICA. We mix 

hamming with biking! VHF and HF. 450 members in 

46 states, 6 countries. 10th annual forum at 

HamVention. To receive more info., sample 

newsletter, e-mail your street address to 

menicko@avalon.net. Or write to BMHA, Mike 

Nickolaus, NF0N, 316 East 32nd St.-Q South Sioux 

City, NE 68776. 

COUNTY HUNTERS: Worked All Texas Award 

Beautiful Certificate. Temple Amateur Radio Club 

P.O. Box 616, Temple, TX 76503 www.tarc.org 

FRIEND OF BILL W. - Join HAAM net Saturdays at 

12:30 Eastern on 14.290; Sundays at 09:00 Pacific 

on 7.283.5; Sundays at 09:30 Pacific on 14.340/2. 

K6LX. 

JOIN the Lambda Amateur Radio Club (LARC) 

since 1975, the only open and visible public serviceoriented 

ham club for gay and lesbian hams. Monthly 

newsletter, HF skeds, internet listserv and IRC, 

hamfest meetings, chapters, DXpeditions. Write 

LARC, POB 56069, Philadelphia, PA 19130-6069 or 

e-mail: lambda-arc@geocities.com 

MARCO: Medical Amateur Radio Council, operates 

daily and Sunday nets. Grand Rounds: 14.308 MHz 

Sunday mornings at 10:00 am Eastern time. 

Medically-oriented amateurs (physicians, dentists, 

veterinarians, nurses, therapists, etc.) invited to join. 

Inquiries to: MARCO, 2650 Head of The Tide Rd, RR 

4, Belfast, Maine 04915-9624. Web:http:// 

www.smbs.buffalo.edu/med/marco/ 

QCWA—Quarter Century Wireless Association. If 

you were first licensed 25 years ago and currently 

licensed you are eligible. Be one of us! Write 

Dept. T, 159 E 16th Ave, Eugene, OR 97401- 

4017. Call 541-683-0987. 

RAINBOW AMATEUR RADIO ASSOCIATION - The 

gay/lesbian club. Active weekly H.F. nets, monthly 

newsletter, e-mail reflector, web page: www.rara.org. 

Chat Room. Privacy respected. E-mail: rara@qsl.net 

or P.O. Box 191, Chesterland, OH 44026-0191. 

THE ARRL LETTER — The League’s news digest for 

active amateurs, professionally produced and edited 

and now available in a weekly electronic edition via 

the World Wide Web at http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter 

THE Veteran Wireless Operators Association, a 74- 

year old, non-profit organization of communications 

professionals invites your inquiries and application 

for membership. Write VWOA, Edward Pleuler, Jr., 

Secretary, 46 Murdock Street, Fords, NJ 08863. Visit 

our web site for activities, history, membership: http:/ 

/www.vwoa.org 

ANTIQUE/VINTAGE/CLASSIC 

ANTIQUE RADIO CLASSIFIED. Free sample copy! 

Antique radio’s largest-circulation monthly magazine. 

Old radios, TVs, ham equip., 40s & 50s radios, 

telegraph, books & more. Ads & articles. Free 20- 

word ad monthly. Subscribe today. Six-month trial: 

$19.95. Yearly rates: $39.49 ($57.95 by 1st Class). 

Foreign: write. ARC, PO Box 802-B22A, Carlisle, MA 

01741. Phone: 978-371-0512, Fax: 978-371-7129, 

Web: www.antiqueradio.com 

BROADCAST MICROPHONES and accessories (call 

letter plates, stands) wanted: early carbon, 

condenser, ribbon, dynamic models. Cash or trade. 

James Steele, Box 620, Kingsland, GA 31548. 912- 

729-6106. jsteele@k-bay106.com; http://www.kbay106.com/mics.htm 

CLASSIC RADIOS FOR SALE: Good used 

equipment wanted. The Radio Finder, 11803 Priscilla 

Lane, Plymouth, MI 48170. Tel/Fax 1-734-454-1890. 

finder@radiofinder.com or http:// 

www.radiofinder.com 

MANUALS FOR MOST OLD HAM GEAR. Best 

source for 20 years and now at lower prices! Most 

USA made ham gear. Our catalog “P” ($1 USA/$3 

elsewhere) required to order or get free info via 

internet at www.hi-manuals.com. Hi-Manuals, Box P- 

802, Council Bluffs, IA 51502. 

RARE QST COLLECTIBLES: 7 hard bound volumes 

from Nov. 1920 thru Dec. 1926. In good condition. 

Best offer over $900. Also rare IRE collectibles from 

Aug. 1918 thru Dec. 1948. Best offer $900. Roland 

Kissler W7JVB, 2040 S. Division, Moses Lake WA 

98837. 509-765-4240. 

“Repair - Restoration - Tube-type receivers, 

transmitters, amplifiers. 45 years experience.” 

N4PZ/W9OJI, 815-734-4255. 

TELEGRAPH KEYS wanted by collector. Bugs and 

unusual or unique straight keys or sounders, and 

tube electronic keyers. Also pre1950 callbooks. 

Vince Thompson, K5VT, 3410 N. 4th Ave., Phoenix, 

AZ 85013. 602-840-2653. 

TELEGRAPH MUSEUM/COLLECTOR’S 

INFORMATION: http://www.w1tp.com 

WANTED: Electronic estates, hi-fi, broadcasting. 

Cash paid. KB8CCY, 419-782-8591. 

WANTED: Electronic estates purchased. Ham 

radio, tubes, broadcasting, Hi-Fi, transformers, 

military, etc. Top cash paid! McDaniel 800-251- 

5454. 

WANTED: pre-1925 battery radios, crystal sets, and 

vacuum tubes. Also early telegraph keys and pre- 

1900 electrical apparatus. Jim Kreuzer, N2GHD, Box 

398, Elma, NY 14059. 716-681-3186. 

wireless@pce.net 

WANTED: Western Electric audio equipment. 

Amplifiers, pre-amps, tubes, speakers, parts, 

mixing boards, etc. McDaniel 800-251-5454. 

150

QSL CARDS / CALLSIGN NOVELTIES 

100 QSL Cards $8.50 postpaid. Send Stamp for 

Sample. ARTIST, P. O. Box 148652, Nashville, TN 

37214. 

AFFORDABLE QSL CARDS, available in small 

quantities with lots of options. Parma Graphics, 

K2BKA, 5 Rondout Harbor, Port Ewen, NY 12466. 

914-339-1996. 

BRASS BELT BUCKLE with your call letters. Raised/ 

cast - not engraved. Each one-One of a kind. 

View at www.urcall.net 

CALL SIGN NAME BADGES. Club logos our specialty. 

Certified ARRL engraver. Capital Engraving, 3109 Marigold 

St. Longview, Washington 98632-3415. Al, WA7UQE. 

capengrave@kalama.com. http://www.open.org/capengrv 

DOC’S QSL CARDS. Full color cards - send 

SASE for samples & price list. 10630 Lone Star 

Way, Knoxville, TN 37932. 865-691-8288, or 

docs@icx.net. http://www.user.icx.net/~docs 

ENGRAVlNG: Callsign/name badges by WØLQV. 

Send for price list. Box 4133, Overland Park, KS 

66204-0133. E-mail: lqveng@juno.com 

FREE SAMPLES. The QSLMAN®, Box 73, Monetta, 

SC 29105. Phone/FAX (803) 685-7117 anytime. 

Email: w4mpy@qslman.com. Always 100% 

satisfaction guarantee on anything we do. Check the 

web site at: http://www.qslman.com 

MARCUM’S QSLs: info/order: 

www.bisonweb.com/marcumsqsls or POB 456, 

Forest Ranch, CA 95942. 1-800-390-2220. 

QSL CARDS: Fast quality service. Samples $1 

(refundable with order). WordWise Services, 107 

Giles Court, Newark, DE 19702. 

QSL SAMPLES $1 refundable, Bud Smith, Box 

1948, Blaine, WA 98231. 

QSLKIT at home micro-perf printing on your ink 

jet printer. CardBox filing systems, index cards 

and more. www.HamStuff.com by W7NN. 

QSLs - Many designs! Custom cards, “Eyeball” 

cards. Samples $1, Larger pack $2. Charlie Hansen, 

NØTT, 8655 Hwy D, Napoleon, MO 64074. 

QUALITY QSLs By WX9X from $18.95. See our 

display ad in this issue. 

SKYWARN, RACES, MARS patches, decals, caps, 

more. Write/fax for info. CAPS Unlimited, PO Box 

460118C, Garland, TX 75046. 972-276-0413. E- 

Mail:k5hgl@home.com, www.skywarnsupply.com 

TRAIN QSL’S www.bisonweb.com/marcumsqsls; 

1-800-390-2220. 

PROPERTY/VACATION/RENTALS 

A RETIREMENT AND FUN HOME FOR SALE! 

Located in Mount Dora, Florida, in the hills and lakes 

of Lake County a few short miles to all Central 

Florida. Attractions. Disney World, Universal, and 

Space Center. A prime Central Florida. Location with 

a very low HF noise level. 4 br. 2 Bath. 2600 sq.ft. 

Living. Completely operational Den / Shack. 400 sq.ft 

75 Alumni-tower fold down with TA-53m, and GAP 

Challenger vertical. Kenwood TS-940, Henry 3K 

Ultra. $225,000. Lou W4EKU. Email: 

n4wjv@magicnet.net Phone: 352-383-8457. 

ANTENNA FARM for sale. Sunny SE New Mexico 

3800’ elevation. 8 Beverages, 3 Towers, 160m 

Hloop. 1800sq. ft. 3 br 2ba, 720 sq. ft. garage/shop/ 

shack. W5DB dbandsjb@gte.net 

BAHAMAS RENTAL: Abaco villa w/station. N4JQQ, 

407-894-2519 or strutledge@aol.com 

BAHAMAS, Treasure Cay Resort. Beach house/ 

contest station rental. Many world records. 3 BR/2 

Bath. KC4SZE, 256-734-7300 or 

kennethh@hiwaay.net 

BLUE RIDGE MT. of VA. - Build your vacation QTH 

on a beautiful mountain top near Blue Ridge 

Parkway - Floyd, VA. Info www.public.usit.net/dlarsen 

or www.bfrog.com/zig/land/ E-mail: kk4ww@fairs.org. 

Dave, KK4WW, phone 540-763-2321. 

DXshack FG, J6, 3W, XU, XW. TRX+kWAMP+Beam 

ANTs & Bed. Yonezuka, JA2EZD URL://qth.com/ 

dxshack. DXshack@wwdx.net 

152

154 

Exceptional Ham Home in beautiful Sun City West, 

AZ. Complete with tower and KLM KT34XA beam. 

Single level, 3 BR 2 BTH, 2442 sq. ft. upgraded 

home w/ a double garage on a large cul-de-sac lot. 

Bright open “country” kitchen, new interior paint and 

private hot tub make this home unique. Big ham 

shack - $169,900. Info: Richard Haworth W7MDQ 

(Realtor), 800-967-0383 (24 hrs.) Prudential 

Preferred Properties. Email: rhaworthaz@aol.com 

For Sale: Beautifully maintained 2BR, 2BA lake-front 

HAM-QTH in Inverness, FL. Safe and peaceful area. 

72' crank-up with TH11DX, 2-el Yagi 40m, slooper on 

80 on 2 acres,$145,000. For details call Erik W4ADP 

first three weeks in Nov. or fax (352) 637-4886, 

E-mail: seicom@swissonline.ch 

FOR SALE: Exceptional Ham home in Sun City 

West, AZ. 1391 sq.ft., 2 BR, 1 3/4 BTH, dbl garage. 

Del Webb retirement community. New roof, new 

paint in and out, new carpet & new dishwasher. Tri- 

Ex 54' crank up tower installed. Citrus trees in large 

back yard. $125,900. Info: Richard Haworth, 

W7MDQ (Realtor), 1-800-967-0383 (24 hrs.) 

E-mail: rhaworthaz@aol.com. 

Prudential 

Preferred Properties. 

HAM VACATION-Rent 4 bedroom Chalet in 

Spectacular Colorado Rockies. IC-756 (HF) & IC- 

706IIG (6&2) plus Alpha 91b, 40, 6, 2 meter 

beams. Log Periodic and slopers. 160 & 80. $550 

weekly. 55¢ stamp for brochure. WØLSD, Ken, 

Box 156, Buena Vista, CO 81211. 719-395-6547. 

diverken@chaffee.net. 

KH6SQ - http://www.seaqmaui.com 

P49V/AI6V’s ARUBA Cottage for rent; 2 bedrooms, 

rig and antennas. For info write: Carl Cook, 2191 

Empire Ave., Brentwood, CA 94513. 

St. Esprit, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. QRP (price, 

too) hill acreage, sandy ocean beach and lake, Fleur 

d’Lis Trail. N1XOR, Box 1164, Wellfleet, MA 02667. 

508-349-3209 

SUN CITY AZ: Choice 1832 sq. ft. home, 3 br, 2 

ba, with a great hobby room and workshop space. 

Free-standing aluminum tower, multiband beam, 

etc. America’s premiere 55-and-over community. 

Don Steele, Ken Meade Realty, 800-977-1776. 

www.VE3PFC@ARRL.NET 

TURKS AND CAICOS “HAM-LET” VACATION: 

House with station located Providenciales hillside 

above ocean. Jody Millspaugh, 649-946-4436 or Box 

694800, Miami, Florida 33269 USA. E-mail: 

jody@tciway.tc 

GENERAL 

#1 CALLSIGN CD-ROM. “HamCall” contains U.S. 

and International callsigns with lat/long, grid square, 

e-mail addresses and more. Updated monthly. 

Check/Visa/MC. $50, $5 ship/handling. Buckmaster, 

6196 Jefferson Hwy., Mineral, VA 23117. 800-282- 

5628 or http://www.buck.com/haminfo.html 

“EVERYTHING FOR THE MORSE ENTHUSIAST.” 

Morse Express. Keys, keyers, kits, books. 303-752-3382. 

http://www.MorseX.com 

2000 Callbook CD-ROM Distributor “59(9) DX 

Report” Great price and service on genuine “Flying 

Horse” CD $39 to US, $40 to VE, $41 to DX. Order 

online http://www.members.aol.com/the599rpt/dx.htm 

or E-Mail: the599rpt@aol.com; write P. O. Box 73, 

Spring Brook, NY 14140 Tel/Fax - (716) 677-2599. 

Check/Visa/MC 

2001 CALLBOOK CD-ROM “Flying Horse”: $38.95 

POSTPAID (mid-November). ARRL: 2001 Handbook 

- $30.95; Antenna Book - $28.95. All ARRL items 

DISCOUNTED: , 

760-789-3674. Duane Heise, AA6EE, 16832 

Whirlwind, Ramona CA 92065. Check/VISA/MC. 

http://www.radiodan.com/aa6ee/2000 

40’ Aluminum tower, HyGain TH3-MK 3, Rotator, 

cables. K1NJE (781)-593-4834 

59(9) DX REPORT Weekly DX and Contest bulletin. SASE 

for sample. P. O. Box 73, Spring Brook, NY 14140. 

A BEST BUY! Paddlette K-4 iambic keyer @ $48.95 

+ $2.25 shipping. 12 functions include two 50 

character memories and 4 year battery life. See July 

2000 QST page 53 for details. Paddlette Co. P. O. 

Box 6036 Edmonds, WA 98026. E-mail: 

bham379627@aol.com. Tel: 425-743-1429. 

ACOM COMMUNICATIONS Authorized SGC Dealer 

order your SG 2020 now for the Holidays. Email: 

ACOMATI@USNETWAY.COM for 12V accessories & 

used gear. Orders 800-699-5158 

ALUMINUM CHASSIS AND CABINET KITS. UHF- 

VHF Antenna Parts, Catalog E-mail: 

k3iwk@flash.net or http://www.flash.net/~k3iwk

Anderson Powerpole and OEM power connectors. 

MasterCard/Visa www.powerwerx.com 

ANTENNA DESIGN BOOK, 140 pages, helical, loop 

yagi, beams, loops, short antennas, flat tops, and VLF 

projects, $12.95. R.A.C., POB 37, Clarksville, AR 72830. 

ANTENNA HARDWARE - S.S. “U” bolts, aluminum 

saddles, element and boom plates, S.S. hose 

clamps. Write for list to Harbach Electronics, 

WA4DRU, 2318 S. Country Club Road, Melbourne, 

FL 32901-5809. http://www.harbach.com 

APPLE I Microcomputer wanted for museum. 

KK4WW, 540-763-3311. 

ARRL, RSGB, GORDON WEST BOOKS, 

CALLBOOK CDs, Code Keys, Oscillators, etc. 

Discounts on all. Free catalog. Only $0.75 handling 

per order plus actual shipping. Credit cards 

accepted. Worldwide service. JWO SERVICES, 12 

Hickory Place, Camp Hill, PA 17011; On line catalog, 

easy to use shopping cart at www.jwoservices.com. 

E-Mail: johnw3is@igateway.com. Call 3-10 p.m. 

Eastern, Phone (717)-731-4747; Fax (717)-730- 

9373. 

ASTRON POWER SUPPLY, Brand new w/warranty, 

RS-20m $99, RS-35m $145, RS-50m $209, RS-70m 

$249, SS-25m $122, SS-30m $135. Call for other 

models, 626-286-0118 or sales@aventrade.com; 

www.aventrade.com 

ATTENTION SB-200 & SB-220 OWNERS: Restore 

and up-grade your tired old amplifier with our parts 

and kits. Power supply boards, soft keys, soft starts, 

new fans & motors, many more items. Write for 

details. Please specify the model. Harbach 

Electronics, WA4DRU, 2318 S. Country Club Road, 

Melbourne, FL 32901-5809. http://www.harbach.com 

ATTENTION YAESU FT-102. Expert repairs. Over 

6000 hours servicing the 102. Reasonable rates. 

Call evenings, Mal, NC4L, 954-961-2034. 

ATTN: CW OPERATORS - Still available! Super 

CMOS III Semi-Kit, same features as Logikey K-3. 

SASE for details to Idiom Press, 95441-1025. 

ATV Video Test Pattern Generators with Character 

ID, composite and S-video outputs, audio tone. Many 

options. Other video products and kits also available. 

Tom Gould, WB6P, GEKCO Labs, Issaquah, WA. 

888-435-7221. www.gekco.com 

AVVid is an authorized Kenwood and Icom service 

center for warranty and non-warranty repairs. 

Reasonable rates and fast turnaround. E-Mail to 

clif@avvid.com or call 800-214-5779. AVVid, 222 N. 

Story Road, Suite 128, Irving, TX 75061. 

BATTERY: Sealed lead acid/gel cell and NiMH at 

wholesale price. 0.5AH to 100AH, Nexcell NiMH AA 

1400mah $2, AAA 600mah $2. 626-286-0118; 

www.aventrade.com 

Browse our web site and check out the “Monthly 

Special” TDL Technology, Inc., www.zianet.com/tdl. 

CASH FOR COLLINS. SM-1, 2, 3; 312A-1, 2; 55G-1; 

399C-1; KWM-380; 62S-1; KWM-1; 302C-3; 51S-1; 

75S-3C; 32S-3A; buy any Collins equipment. Leo, 

KJ6HI, ph/fax 310-670-6969. radioleo@earthlink.net 

CONTESTER laminated keyboard overlays, QSL 

return envelopes, DX Edge and more. 

www.HamStuff.com by W7NN. 

CQing all DXers, if E & F skip makes your day! Then 

check out G & H. For a free tract about tuning in - 

Self Ministries, P.O.B. 117, Bristolville, OH 44402 

USA. 

DIGITAL FIELD strength meters: http:// 

www.digifield.com 

DUSTCOVERS: Sturdy plastic dustcovers for 

various cw paddles with callsign engraved. $17 

includes S&H. Larry Stamm 28 Topton Rd. Kutztown, 

PA 19530 http://www.8.bcity.com/covers 

DWM COMMUNICATIONS-SASE brings catalog or 

visit: http://www.qth.com/dwm 

ELECTRIC RADIO Magazine in our twelfth year. 

Articles on vintage ham and military gear, repair/ 

restoration, history, and AM operation. Large 

classified section. $3 for a sample copy, ER, 14643 

County Road G, Cortez, CO 81321. 

ELECTRON TUBES. Bought and sold. Large 

inventory equals fast delivery. Daily Electronics, 

10914 NE 39th St. Ste. B-6, Vancouver, WA 98682. 

800-346-6667, fax 360-896-5476. 

daily@worldaccessnet.com 

Electronic Kits/Components/Software - Amateur 

radio, internet broadcaster, fiber optic, voice 

changers. Diodes, transistors. Schematic / PCB 

software. Call J-Tron 888-595-8766, www.j-tron.com 

156

158 

For Sale: Microwave test equipment. HP8620A 

sweep oscillator with HP8621B/86340A 3.2-6.5Ghz 

$400, HP5245L frequency counter with HP5254B .2- 

3Ghz and HP5255A 3-12.4Ghz plug-ins $700, 

Boonton 82AD modulation meter AM/FM 10- 

1200Mhz $500, Wavetek 1062 0-400 Mhz sweep 

oscillator $500. 219-277-1786 WA9PYH 46637. 

FOR SALE: New O.R.P. plus $450; Heathkit SB634 

station console $50; Heathkit 2036 power supply 

$25. W7OUW, 503-982-0401. 

FRACTAL ANTENNAS! Web exclusive ham 

articles from pioneer N1IR. See ham page at 

http://www.fractenna.com. 

FREE Ham Gospel Tracts; youth leaders needed 

for national outreach. SASE, W1REZ, P. O. Box 

8, Harmony, ME 04942. 

FREE!!! Ham Radio and other CD-Roms & Software 

disk catalog. MOM ‘N’ POP’S SOFTWARE, P. O. Box 

15003-HA, Springhill, FL 34604-0111. 1-352-688- 

9108. momnpop@gate.net 

FREE: Ham Radio Gospel Tracts, SASE. KW3A, 265 

West Ave., Springfield, PA 19064. 

GE RADIOS: Mastr II 110w VHF continuous duty 

repeater 44” cabinet $1600. Mastr II 100w UHF mobile 

repeater $650. Mastr II 100w 42 to 50mc mobiles $135 

each. Delta SX 110w VHF wide spaced mobiles $225 

each. Motorola Radios: Mitrek 110w mobiles 40 to 50mc 

$135 each. Micor 100w mobiles 42 to 50mc $85 each. 

Terms of Sale. Prepaid Orders Only. No credit cards, No 

C.O.D.’s. All prices plus shipping. NH Communications 

Co. P.O. Box 5342, Manchester, NH 03108. Tel: 603- 

668-3004. 

GREAT CIRCLE MAPS computer generated for your 

exact QTH, $20 ppd. worldwide. Printouts $12 ppd. 

SASE for info. Bill Johnston, K5ZI, Box 640, Organ, 

NM 88052. 505-382-7804. 

HALLICRAFTERS Service Manuals. Amateur and SWL. 

Write for prices. Specify model numbers desired. Ardco 

Electronics, P.O. Box 95, Dept. Q, Berwyn, IL 60402. 

HEATHKIT AMATEUR RADIO REPAIR by RTO 

Electronics, 7280 Territorial Road, Benton Harbor, MI 

49022. 616-468-7780. E-mail: 

hamtech@rtoham.com. www.rtoham.com 

Heathkit, Yaesu, Kenwood repair, Ed, WA1LJY, 

616-429-4295. 

HEATHKITS WANTED: Top dollar paid for 

unassembled kits. Michael Seedman, 847-831-8823 

eve., or mseedman@interaccess.com 

HEATHKITS WANTED: Unassembled kits, 

catalogs, manuals and older gear. Bill, WA8CDU, 

616-375-7978. billrobb@net-link.net 

Hygain TX2 antenna Rotor with 100ft of brand new 

RG8U and 100ft of heavy duty Control cable $450. 3 

Hygain antennas for 10, 15 and 20 meters TH7DXX, 

TH6DXX and a 4 Element. All plus shipping 321-725- 

0011. 

Icom 765 with CR-282 High Stability Crystal, CW 

Filter, SM-8 Mike. Recently serviced and updated by 

Icom. One owner, mint condition, $1100; K7OM, 360- 

417-5505; k7om@prodigy.net 

ICOM repair most ICOM radios COMTEK 

w7jv@aol.com. Kuni, 360-779-9730 

IC-R100 Scanner 0.1-1856 MHZ All mode except 

sideband receives cellular accessories and manual 

included. $250 wb8zir@freeway.net 517-471-5133 

INTERNATIONAL RADIO (Service Division) offers 

kits that add new features to your rig! Also 

repairs, alignments of Kenwood, Icom, Yaesu, 

Atlas equipment. 1118 Raymond Ave., Fort 

Pierce, FL 34950. intlradio@juno.com or 561-489- 

6302. http://www.qth.com/irsd 

K8CX Ham Gallery http://hamgallery.com 

KA1INX - www.recycledradio.com 

KENWOOD PS940 with Antenna Tuner Speech 

Processor and extras, bought HAM-FEST, untested 

other interests now. First $950 takes all. 1239 Bluestone 

Drive, Bethlehem PA 18017. 610-867-5983 after 6pm. 

LEARN CODE by Hypnosis, http://www.qth.com/ 

cweasy/ or 800-425-2552. 

Low Band Dxers. K1FZ receive antenna transformers. 

Efficient models for Pennant, EWE, Flag and 

Beverages. See web site for more information. 

www.qsl.net/k1fz/ Email: k1fz@agate.net Phone 

(207) 338-0474 

MACINTOSH ham logging program on CD-ROM. 

http://www.peachtree-solutions.com 

MFJ ALS600 no tune solid state 600 watt HF amplifier. Mint 

condition. $750. NN8R, 419-332-0607 before 9 pm ET.

160 

MORSE 0-20 WPM 90 days guaranteed! 

Codemaster V for IBM compatible PC $29.95. Morse 

Express, 800-238-8205. http://www.MorseX.com 

PACE Soldering/Desoldering: Replacement 

parts, tips, new systems for SMT and Thru-hole 

PCB repair are in stock! Also a stocking 

distributor of a wide assortment of solders, 

fluxes, cutters and hand tools. Technimark, Inc. 

847-639-6324. www.technimark-inc.com 

PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARDS for Amateur Radio 

projects. Internet: www.cl.ais.net/farcir. E-mail: 

farcir@ais.net. List SASE. FAR Circuits, 18N640 

Field Ct., Dundee, IL 60118. 

ROSS $$$$ Used Specials: Kenwood, LH-4, $22.50; 

MB-4, $10.00; PG-3D, $13.50; Yaesu, FP-301, $90.00; 

S72, $30.00; E-72L, $25.00; NC-29, $45.00; Icom, 701- 

PS, $90.00; AT-100, $249.00; AEA, AT-1000; $200.00 

Call or visit our Web page for complete list and more 

Specials http://www.rossdist.com Phone (208) 852- 

0830 All prices Cash FOB Preston, Ross Distributing 

Company, 78 South State Preston, Idaho 83263 

Russian Telegraph Keys direct from Ukraine $18. 

WB0UYQ - www.qsl.net/kc0afx or jbide@lisco.net 

SX88 HALLICRAFTERS receiver wanted. Jim, 

W6OU, 714-528-5652. 

TELEGRAPH KEYS wanted by collector. Bugs and 

unusual or unique straight keys or sounders, and 

tube electronic keyers. Also pre1950 callbooks. 

Vince Thompson, K5VT, 3410 N. 4th Ave., Phoenix, 

AZ 85013. 602-840-2653. 

The Dxer’s Control Panel. http://www.HAMDX.com 

TRIBANDER COMPARISON REPORT: Find out the 

real lowdown on HF antenna performance. K7LXC & 

NØAX test the KT34XA, TH7, TH11, C-3 Skyhawk and 

more. Over 60 pages. $17 + $3 s/h. CHAMPION 

RADIO PRODUCTS, www.championradio.com, 888- 

833-3104. 

TRYLON SELF-SUPPORTING TOWERS: Steel 

towers available up to 96 feet. Terrific value and 

reliabilty. The popular T-200 is 96 feet and is only 

$1974. CHAMPION RADIO PRODUCTS, 

www.championradio.com, 888-833-3104. 

TUBES for sale, all kinds. Send SASE for price availability. 

K9GTK, 2932 W. 99th St., Evergreen Park, IL 60805. 

Phone/fax 708-423-0528. E-mail: tivas@xnet.com 

Tubes for sale: New m/p of 6js6c $70.00. M/p of 

ge 6jb6a or 6146w $38.00. Other amateur radio 

tubes are available. Bob Bieker n9tew E-mail: 

tubes@internetbci.com Web-site 

www.internetbci.net/tubes Ph: 219-924-0945 

TUBES WANTED: Highest prices paid or will trade 

for all types of industrial, receiving and transmitter 

tubes. D & C Electronics, 3089 Deltona Blvd., Spring 

Hill, FL 34606. 800-881-2374. 

TUBES WANTED: I pay cash or trade for all types of 

transmitting or special purpose tubes. Mike Forman, 

1472 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland, CA 94602. 510-530- 

8840. 

VIBROPLEX BUGS with NY address wanted for 

private collection. Especially want bugs with 2.5” or 

3” wide base or S/N under 100,000. Also want Martin 

or Bunnell-Martin Flash Keys, any old or unusual key 

or bug, and collections from estates. Randy Cole, 

KN6W, 4540 Fairway, Dallas, TX 75219. 214-521- 

7041 or cole@netcom.com 

WANTED: 110/220 Vac Leese-Nevelle type motor driver 

alternator. Any condition Bill KA7VJO 909-481-7884 

WANTED: 75A-1 FRONT PANEL - mint condition. 

Attached chassis OK - working or not. No cabinet. 

w6pbi@juno.com or 775-265-3966 

Wanted: Audio tubes: WE 300B, 274A/B, 262B, 211, 

212, 845, 6550, EL34, 12AX7, 6922, etc. John Birck. 

(801) 224-1216; fax (801) 224-6059. 

WANTED: Hi capacity 12 volt solar panels for 

repeater. kk4ww@fairs.org or 540-763-2321. 

WANTED: National NC-240D, National NC-183D, National 

NC-400, Multi-Elmac PMR 8 and Multi-Elmac AF 68, KB0W, 

(916) 635-4994. frankdellechaie@sprintmail.com 

WANTED: Tube Testers: TV-2C/U; WE KS-15750-L1; 

WESTON 686; Hickok 539C, & RD1575; Triplett 

3444, Tektronix 570 curve tracer; RCA WT-100A. 

John Birck. (801) 224-1216; fax (801) 224-6059. 

WANTED: Tubes. Nobody pays more or faster than 

us! Mike Forman, 1472 MacArthur Blvd, Oakland, CA 

94602, 510-530-8840. 

WANTED: VCO BOARD (0129-#PO162) FOR 

ALINCO DR-110T VHF FM Transceiver. W4NDV, 

803-534-8865. 

WB4AEJ - http://www.hamsearch.com

Index of Advertisers 

ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT STAFF 

John Bee, N1GNV, Advertising Manager 

Hanan Rayyashi, KB1AFX, Production Coordinator 

Melissa Yrayta, Advertising Assistant 

Direct Line: 860-594-0207 Fax: 860-594-0259 

e-mail: ads@arrl.org 

http://www.arrl.org/ads 

Active: 146 

ADI Communications: 8 

Advanced Battery Systems, Inc: 155 

Advanced Specialties: 145 

Alinco Electronics, Inc: 11 

All Electronics Corp: 158 

Alpha Delta Communications: 132, 142 

Amateur & Advanced: 145 

Amateur Electronic Supply LLC: 137, 139, 141 

Am-Com: 116 

ARRL: 118, 140, 144, 155, 157, 164, 166, 170, 

171, 172 

Ameritron: 167 

Antique Electronic Supply: 148 

Antique Radio Classified: 122 

Associated Radio Communication: 154 

Atomic Time: 153 

Austin Amateur Radio Supply: 162, 163 

Autek Research: 153 

Better RF Co., The: 130 

Bilal Co: 138 

Buckmaster Publishing: 145, 146 

Burghardt Amateur Center, Inc: 133 

Butternut: 113, 118 

Cable X -Perts: 147 

Champion Radio Products: 161 

Circuit Specialists, Inc: 152 

Code Quick: 136 

Com Dac: 145 

Command Technologies, Inc.: 156 

Communication Concepts Inc.: 126 

Communication Products: 136 

Communications Specialist Inc: 122 

Conex Electro Systems: 159 

Creative Services Software, Inc: 161 

Cubex Company Inc: 156 

Cutting Edge: 113 

Datamatrix: 130 

Davis RF Co.: 148 

Denver Amateur Radio Supply: 152 

Digital Communications Inc: 158 

Elecraft: 134 

E-Z Hang, Inc.: 118 

Farallon Electronics: 146 

First Call Communications, Inc.: 113, 128 

Gap Antenna Products Inc.: 143 

Glen Martin Engineering: 159 

Grundig: 6, 7 

Ham Central: 145 

Ham Contact, The: 120, 124 

Ham Radio Outlet: 108, 109, 110, 111, 112 

Ham Station, The: 113 

HamTag: 132 

Hamtronics: 159 

High Sierra Antennas: 158 

Hi-Res Communications Inc: 150 

Hy-Gain: 165 

ICOM America, Inc: Cover II, 1, 3 

IIX Equipment Ltd.: 113, 146 

International Components: 145 

International Crystal Mfg. Co: 148 

Intuitive Circuits LLC: 146 

J. Martin Systems: 146 

Jun’s Electronics: 129 

K2AW’s “Silicon Alley”: 122 

Kachina Communications Inc: 160 

Kangaroo Tabor: 154 

Kenwood USA Corp: Cover IV, 18 

KJI Electronics: 145 

KK7TV Communications: 150 

KO6YD Designs: 136 

LDG Electronics: 149 

Lakeview Co.: 152 

Lentini Communications: 162, 163 

Levy/Letham Global, LLC: 122 

Lewallen, Roy W., W7EL: 136 

Lightning Bolt Antennas: 158 

Logic: 152 

M2 Enterprises: 151 

M & S Computer Products Inc: 158 

Maha Communications & Elec.: 2 

Metal & Cable Corp: 118 

MFJ Enterprises: 17, 115, 117, 119, 121, 123, 125, 

127, 131 

Micro Computer Concepts: 113 

Mirage: 13 

Mosley: 154 

Mr. NiCd: 174 

N4XM XMatch Antenna Tuner: 132 

NCG Co.: 14 

National RF, Inc.: 146 

Nemal: 156 

North Ohio Amateur Radio: 145 

ONV Safety Belt Co.: 118 

Orlando HamCation: 126 

Pactor: 146 

Palomar Engineers: 128 

PC Electronics: 157 

Peet Brothers Co.: 148 

Personal Database Applications: 152 

Power Port: 113 

Premier Communications: 8 

Print Products International: 156 

Prolog: 130 

QRO Technologies, Inc: 155 

QSLs By W4MPY: 161 

QSLs by WX9X: 152 

R & L Electronics: 173 

RF Inquiry, Inc.: 134 

RF Parts Co: 25 

Radio Amateur Call Book: 142 

Radio Bookstore: 157 

Radio City: 162, 163 

Radio Club Of J.H.S. 22 NYC: 114 

Radio Depot: 145 

Radio Era Archives: 114 

Radio Works: 149 

Raibeam: 157 

Rapidan Data Systems: 153 

Rederring Embroidery: 113 

Rohn: 124 

Ross Distributing Co: 150 

SGC: 130 

Spider Antenna: 145 

SSB Electronics: 114 

Surplus Sales of Nebraska: 120 

T.G.M. Comm.: 150 

TE Systems: 138 

Tennadyne Corp: 160 

Ten-Tec Inc: 26, 27 

Texas Towers: 175, 176 

Tigertronics: 160 

Timewave Technology Inc.: 161 

Tower * Jack: 138 

Traffie Technology: 150 

Tropical Hamboree: 126 

Universal Radio, Inc.: 162, 163 

Universal Manufacturing Co.: 116 

Vectronics: 135 

Vi-Con, Inc: 128 

W & W Manufacturing Co: 155 

W2IHY Technologies: 159 

W5YI: 148, 153, 161 

W7FG Vintage Manuals: 157 

W9INN Antennas: 154 

Warren Gregoire & Associates: 153 

West Mountain Radio: 148 

Wheeler Applied Research Lab: 136 

Wohlers: 168, 169 

Yaesu U.S.A.: Cover III, 22, 23 

Yost & Co., E.H.: 174 

If your company provides products or services of interest to our Members, please contact the 

ARRL Advertising Department today for information on building your business. 

Your customers are reading.....QST! 

December Issue Focus: Holiday Buying Guide/Field Day Results Deadline: October 20 , 2000 

January 2001 Issue Focus: HF Digital Communications Deadline: November 20 ,2000

November 2000 QST

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