This year’s Dayton Hamvention® is in the books, and it was a great time. Lots of equipment to see and many people to meet and talk with. The event is so big that it’s difficult to take in everything, even in three days, and adding Thursday’s activities stretches it out even more.
Michigan QSO Party 2016
One of the highlights of the year for me is the Michigan QSO Party, held on the third Saturday of April each year. It’s sponsored by the Mad River Radio Club and brings the spotlight to the Great Lake State.
Each year I try to do something a bit different – after all, the county I live in (Oakland) is one of the most active counties. I’ve tried in the past to get out and activate another county or help out another operation. This year, I did fewer than a hundred QSOs in a couple hours from home, way down in the pack in the single-op low power category, but spent most of my time at Michigan State University’s club station, W8SH. Continue reading “Michigan QSO Party 2016”
Wallpaper: Canada Day Contest 2015
Bart, VE5CPU, just surprised me with a certificate for my entry in the 2015 Radio Amateurs of Canada’s annual Canada Day contest. With 10,640 points, I was first place in the 8th US call area.
I always enjoy working the RAC’s two contests each year – the Canada Day contest, always held on July 1st, and the RAC Winter Contest, usually the Saturday between Christmas and New Year’s Day. Continue reading “Wallpaper: Canada Day Contest 2015”
New rig in the NF8M shack
My Kenwood TS-690S has served me well for over a dozen years, but it was time to move into the 21st century and upgrade the HF portion of my shack.
After reading the reviews and consulting with some of the world’s top contesters, I decided on one of the 690’s successors, the highly-regarded Kenwood TS-590SG.
Now that some of the initial bugs have been worked out of the 590, and a few features added, it made perfect sense. Continue reading “New rig in the NF8M shack”
ARRL January VHF Contest 2016
I don’t normally expect much out of the January VHF contest, so working just seven stations on six meters Sunday afternoon was all right with me. The best DX was only the other side of the state, but I managed three grids (woo-hoo!) for a score of 21 whopping points.