7QP LINK
Pat Murphy N7UVH from Post Falls ID wins the SDXA-sponsored plaque for the highest single operator digital score. He also set the record for the highest low-powered digital score in the history of the contest. Congratulations Pat!
Early 2018
Bouvet Island is the second most wanted entity from information on Club Log.
You can prepare for them! There is enough time to consider more, better, and higher antennas. How about some more power? A new Transceiver?
◾Most Wanted Rank: 2
◾CQ zone: 38
◾Continent: AF
◾Primary prefix: 3Y/B
Below info courtesy of bouvetdx.com site
Bouvet lies at 54 degrees, 25 minutes South and 3 degrees, 22 minutes East. It’s the product of a volcanic eruption that last occurred in 4,000 B.C. Bouvet is 97% ice covered, and with surrounding rocks and small islands, has an area of 19 square miles, with 18.4 miles of coastline. Its location, ice, rock cliffs, high seas, harsh climate and surrounding pack ice and icebergs isolate it from human presence. Jean-Baptiste Charles Bouvet de Lozier first saw the island in 1739. The island was not seen again until 1808. There was a disputed landing by Benjamin Morrell. But, the first documented landing was by the Norvegia expedition in 1927, which named the island Bouvetoya, and claimed it for Norway.
Sometime between 1955 and 1958, a landslide occurred, creating a rock-strewn, ice-free area on the northwest coast. The area was named Nyroysa, and subsequently became a Norwegian scientific and research site, which was decimated by an earthquake in 2006. A new research facility was erected in 2014.
Bouvet became a Nature Reserve in 1971. Several weather stations have been placed on the island, and a number of Norwegian expeditions have visited the island in the last 50 years. The island has hosted several previous DXpeditions, including:
•LH4C by W4BPD in 1962 – No documented landing.
•3Y3CC and 3Y1VC by LA3CC and LA1VC in 1977.
•3Y5DQ and 3Y1VC 1978-79 by LA5DQ and LA1VC.
•3Y5X by LA2GV, LA1EE, JF1IST, F2CW, and HB9AHL in 1989.
•3Y2GV by LA2GV in 1997.
•3YØC by N4BQW in 2000.
•3YØE by ZS6GCM in 2008.
Like most DXpeditions, they are heavily funded by our donations. This may be the most expensive DXpedition ever! Here is a 3Y0Z LINK to their website and further donation information.
40 CONTINUOUS YEARS PIN AWARD PIN
Congratulations Chuck!
REMEMBER THE STORY OF THE ARRL DELETING TWO COUNTRIES, POSSIBLY CHANGING YOUR DXCC TOTALS?
Well, they have rescinded their original action and reinstated the two counties back to ACTIVE status. If you previously worked any of them, you should check your DXCC totals on LOTW and on the ARRL DXCC web pages to confirm everything is back to “normal.” Your logging program may have updated your totals so check those totals too.
THANKS TO FOR HIS PRESENTATIONS ON ANTENNA PHYSICS AT THE MAY AND JUNE MEETINGS
Bob discussed beverage receiving antennas, antenna aperture, radiation resistance, and many antenna topics of interest to the members. Bob is the author of the ARRL book entitled; Antenna Physics: An Introduction.
Here is a LINK to Randy’s story on his Rover travels.
(This worked in the 50’s, but may not work in the 21th century)
Want to see it enlarged? Use this
LINK
TOM FLINT
KC7UG
EPHRATA
BOB ZAVREL, JR
W7SX
SPOKANE
ANTENNA PHYSICS: AN INTRODUCTION
Bob is author of this modern book, published by the ARRL (and available from them or Amazon or other sources).
These two books are free.
1. K1TTT David Robins: BUILDING A SUPER STATION
713 pages – The history of building the K1TTT amateur radio super station in Peru, Ma. 30 Years of building, re-building, changing and improving plus lots of visitors and events. You purchase it at $0.00 which means free!
Free PDF download to your computer at this K1TTT LINK.
2. G3TRP Trevor Preece: THE THE VHF/UHF DX BOOK, 2017 Replica Edition
The VHF/UHF DX Book was written in the early to mid-1990s by a team of experienced VHF/UHF DXers and equipment developers, in an effort to pass on our knowledge and stimulate further developments. Looking back, that plan worked very well… for a time. But as we entered the digital age, information of lasting value became trapped on the printed pages and was lost to the next generation of VHF/UHF DXers. To keep that information alive, this digital replica of the Second Printing dated 1995 has been released by kind permission of the copyright owner TRPublishing and its proprietor Trevor Preece G3TRP.
Free PDF download to your computer at this G3TRP LINK.
Randy (from Moscow) spent the weekend activating eight Idaho counties on CW for the annual Idaho QSO Party. Here is his story with additional pictures at this LINK.
Since randy was going to be mainly on 20 meters, Steve K7AWB decided to see if he could work Randy in all of his activated counties over the two day contest. He did, just barely. The distance between the two stations was too short for F2 propagation so it required Steve to use a mix of headphones, adjusting the rf gain to reduce background noise, turning the DNR way up past usual use, going to 200 Hz filter, using the outboard 20 meter Yaesu preselector filter, and of course using a 20 meter yagi with 6 elements at 90 feet helped.
Clearwater County
Kootenai County
In the woods of Massachusetts, pairs of contestants huddle in tents filled with communications equipment. Their voices soar through the air, riding waves into the atmosphere, as they comb through static and noise for a response from the other side of the world. They’re searching for loot–in the form of other voices in the sky. The rarer their contact, the more valuable their treasure.
Joining them in their quest is author J. K. George, an experienced radio operator himself, who guides you through the exciting world of amateur radio competition and the intriguing characters of the 2014 World Radiosport Team Championship. The competitors hail from across the planet–from youthful challengers to veterans with decades of radiosporting experience. You will meet fascinating personalities not only among the teams themselves but also among their ”widows”–spouses left behind for the allure of the airwaves.
They battle computer malfunctions, getting lost, and staying at the top of their game for 24 hours in a hot, stuffy tent. The final scores bring surprises, disappointments, even a recount, and decades-long friendships will be stressed in the fight for the crown of amateur radio–the ultimate ”contact” sport.
This amateur book about the last WRTC contest in New England is available from your favorite bookseller including AMAZON for $17.79 hardbound on May 26, reduced from $22.95 list.
Jay WS7I
It seems like forever that Jay Townsend WS7I has been our main QSL card checker for DXCC, VUCC, and WAZ awards. Jay has resigned the card checking from both the ARRL DXCC/VUCC program and CQ Publications WAZ program. He also reports is he is no longer the DXAC (DX Advisory Committee) member from the Northwestern Division for the ARRL.
Our remaining card checker is SDXA member Bruce Wade N7ZA whose contact information is at the bottom of this page. He can check DXCC, VUCC, WAC, and WAS cards for the ARRL awards.
Interested SDXA members for the card checking position should discuss their interests at the next SDXA meeting on April 6.
SDXA thanks Jay for the multitude of card checking, both in Spokane and at other regional ham gatherings.
I ran across this ham radio world map for sale on AMAZON. Although I have several ARRL maps on my shack walls, this map looks promising. I always check world maps to see if they are current by seeing if they show the latest country, South Sudan in Africa. On March 9, it was selling for $23.49, being 24″ x 36″ and showing the 40 CQ zones.
Although our birthday is really March 16, we celebrated early at the regular March SDXA meeting. Here are some shots of the activities and the CAKE (thanks Marybeth!).
Marybeth AE7GT cuts the cake
Around the cake table, left to right: Bob N7AU, Randy W7TJ, Dick W7BHP, Marybeth AE7GT, and Treasurer Harold AD7QJ
Happy Birthday SDXA
For a short history of the start of the organization, try this LINK by Lamar Ray WA7LT.
