PODXS 070 80 Meter Sprint

So last night was the PODXS070 club's 80 meter sprint contest memorializing Jay Hudak (KA3X now SK), one of the original members of the PODXS club and a founding member of the 070 club. The contest had a rolling start as do most of the 070 sprints and ran from 2000 - 0200 local time. So I started off shortly after 8pm, once I was finished eating a wonderful supper that the XYL prepared. At first the waterfall was pretty cram-packed so I went hunting and pouncing until I had about 5 or 6 contacts then squeezed into a spot on the waterfall to call CQ. I had quite a few calls and within the first hour of operating the PSK31 mode I had around 18 quality contacts.

The second hour rolled around and I was determined to work more stations to increase the QSO rate. CQ 80 Meter Test de AJ4JD I continued to call. Contact after contact filled the log. At the end of the second hours I had 40 contacts in the log.

With each hour up to about 11:00pm I would find new blood as new time zones could start the contest. After the Midnight hour things began to slow and I would switch from calling CQ to hunting and pouncing. I did that for the last 2 hours of the contest (well last 2 hours for me). By the end of the 6 hour period I had 79 contacts, one of which was a dup, and 30 multipliers including a couple of DX entities: Puerto Rico, Venezuala, Spain, and Canada. With 78 QSO pts and 30 multipliers, I ended up with a total score of 2,340pts.

I don't know if that will earn me a place in the top or not but it was a fun contest none-the-less. I was able to add more 070 members into the log. As a matter of fact I have now contacted enough member to get my 150 endoresment for my LONP award. I know what you're saying, LON what? The Loyal Order of Narrow-Banded Phase-Shifters. It's a special member society in the 070 club for members who have contacted at least 100 other 070 members.

So that's all I have for now. Hope everyone has a great weekend. For those working the VHF contest good luck and have fun.

73 and good DX to all,
Tim - AJ4JD

PODXS 070 1K Results and the Tennessee QSO Party

Good morning everyone. Well it's been a fun couple of weeks of radio and it's not over by any means. Last week you may remember that the PODXS 070 club was having their 1K Celebration. Well the results have been published and I finished a respectable 6th place which I'm quite proud of. Also I have to offer a bit of congratulations to K1GMD who finished 1st overall with a whopping 143,000 points. Also congratulations to all who participated, it was an absolute blast. Also, Robin (AJ4IJ), my XYL, she finished a nice respectable 14th and contacted Sasquatch. I'm looking forward to the 80 meter sprint this coming weekend.

So this afternoon and evening was the Tennessee QSO Party. I had a lot of fun working the QSO party. I thought I was going to have to share the radio with the XYL but she wasn't feeling very well today and opted to not participate this time around. I did much better this year as compared to last year. Of course it helped that I knew more about contesting as compared to last years TNQP and that we have our very own HF and that I worked it solo.

I did take a couple of breaks during the contest. Once was to run to the CVS to get Robin some cold medicine. Another time was a few minutes here and there to play with the dog outside. The last break was to run out with Robin to pick up pizza and then eat it once we got it back to the house.

So after operating most of the contest, I ended up with 166 contacts. The break down is as follows I had 157 contacts on SSB, 9 contacts on PSK31. I had a total of 78 multipliers. I ended up working 21 TN Counties, 33 states, 3 Canadian Provinces, and 3 DXCC entities not including Alaska, Canada, and the US.

The final score that I had tallied was 26,798 points. That's not official but that is my best guestimation. I guess in a couple of months we will see were the cards fall.

Anyway, thanks to everyone that made contact with me over the past couple of weeks. It's been a blast and I hope to catch you all on the bands and the waterfall again real soon.

73, good dx, and God Bless de AJ4JD,
Tim

P.S. All logs have been uploaded to LoTW and eQSL.

Not to Ill to Play Radio...Thank goodness for digital...

If it weren't for the Digital Modes, I wouldn't have played any radio this past week. I've been down with a bad sinus infection since Tuesday. Luckily, I'm starting to feeling better today. Since last weekend, Robin (AJ4IJ) and I (AJ4JD) have been working the PODXS 070 club's 1K celebration contest. It's been a 3 stage contest for the celebration. The first stage, last Saturday, was to work as many 070 members in 24 hours. The second stage was a scavenger hunt that went from Monday through Friday. You had to work 10 different things (i.e. Fur-Bearing Creature (part of name, call or qth), A tree (part of call, name, QTH etc.)). The third and final stage started Friday evening at 8:00pm EST, after stage 2 ended. The objective was to work non-070 members only and the kicker was that it was no calling CQ, search and pounce only.

I have to say that I worked a lot of DX this last week and a half during the celebration. It seemed that there was a lot of DX on 20 and 40 this weekend. We were working Europe quite frequently and the occasional South American station and plenty of North American stations. Everything, of course, was worked on PSK31 and with 50 watts. Some of the countries include: Italy, England, Scottland, Germany, France, Sardinia, Mexico, Cuba, Netherlands, Hungary, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Poland, Australia and many more.

So with all the logs uploaded to LoTW and eQSL, as well as having been submitted to the contest manager, all we can do is sit and wait for the results to be posted. For Robin and I, here is how we faired:

Robin
Stage 1: 28 contacts - 28,000 points (Each contact was worth 1,000 points hence the 1K celebration).
Stage 2: Found all 10 objects - 10,000 points (Plus another 5,000 bonus points if approved by the contest manager for finding all 10 making 15,000 points)
Stage 3: 13 contacts - 13,000 points
Total - 56,000 points

Tim
Stage 1: 43 contacts - 43,000 points
Stage 2: Found all 10 objects - 10,000 points (Plus the 5,000 if approved making total 15,000)
Stage 3: 26 countacts - 26,000 points
Total - 84,000 points

I don't know how that will place either of us in the contest, but regardless it was a lot of fun and sure did help to keep my mind off my illness this past week. I look forward to the endorsement for participating and I'm really looking forward to the next 070 contest, The Jay Hudak Memorial 80 meter Sprint. We will also be working the Tennessee QSO Party, from Union County Tennessee, I'll see everyone then.

Good DX and God bless.
Vy 73 to all
AJ4JD - Tim

Ho Hum Radio...

Well, it's been another week of hardly any radio. I thought about working the TARA Grid Dip, but instead I spent a wonderful evening hanging out with my XYL Robin (AJ4IJ) in the back yard around a camp fire. The next day we all went to the Frank H. McClung Museum on the University of Tennessee campus. We had went to the museum so our harmonic could see a real life mummy. You see, she and the XYL are going to mummify a chicken as a school project. This will cover many subjects such as math, science, art, and history. After the museum, we had to run to the library to pick up a few books on Egyptian culture and burial practices to help with the project. (I guess I should add that Robin is homeschooling our daughter this year.) After the library we had to run to the store and then drop our cousin off at home (she wanted to see a dead person too). When we got home I had to mow the yard and weed-eat it as well especially since I hadn't been able to do that in about two weeks due to all the rain we've had.

By the time I got all that done, it was too late to work the Grid Dip. That's okay because I've had a wonderful week and weekend nonetheless. I did make a few PSK contacts earlier in the week, two with stations in Belgium (ON4AXU and ON3SB), a special event in Canada (thanks for the QSO Michael VE3FRED), and Joseph in 3 land (NE3H). So this morning, I turned on the radio and the 10-10 International Summer Contest was still going on. I worked a big whopping 3 stations before we decided it was time to figure out what to do today (Check out our outdoor blog for the adventure today).

So that's all the radioing I've done this week. Like the title says, Ho Hum Radio. That's okay, the International Light House/Lightship week is now. Get on the bands and make contact with all the Light Houses you can. They are great fun to work. I worked a handful last year and hope to do the same this year.

That's all I've got for this edition, until next time....

73, Good DX to you, and God Bless,
Tim - AJ4JD

Updates for W4H and PODXS 070 40 Meter Sprint

So yesterday, we decided to take a break from the "Rat Race" and just play Radio. So with that in mind we decided to work a little bit of W4H in celebration of our Country's Independence. Robin (AJ4IJ) decided to give it a go on 40 Meters for a few minutes with no bites at all. So she decided to turn it over to me. So I tuned over to 20 Meters which was very busy with a contest and of course the 13 Colonies Special Event. (BTW we both worked 5 of the 13 yesterday.) So away I called CQ W4H/AJ4JD on 20 meters and ended up with about 5 or 6 DX contacts. The band was going really long but it was hard to pull stations out due to QRM etc. So over to 40 Meters I went and made a few more stateside contacts. That was about the extent of it for me. I made a total of 12 contacts and all have been uploaded to eQSL. I will get them uploaded to LOTW soon under the W4H call but they are uploaded under my call.
So 8:00pm rolled and it was time for Robin to work the 40 Meter Firecracker Sprint hosted by the PODXS 070 club. She did quite well racking up a total of 80 contacts and 33 mutlipliers for a grand total of 2,640 points. Of course we did take a break long enough to watch our neighbors across the street blow up about $200 worth of fireworks. She also got up long enough to let me make a couple of contacts. Enough to get an attaboy for my 070 certificate. Thanks Honey.

So that's about all I have for now. I should be posting soon and overview of my contesting experience since I've been a HAM and got into contesting. That should be interesting to say the least.
Until next time... 73 and Good DX to all,
Tim - AJ4JD

P.S. We are now on Twitter. You can follow Robin at http://www.twitter.com/aj4ij and me at http://www.twitter.com/aj4jd.

Got PSK31?

I certainly do. And let me tell you, I've made some of the grandest contacts on the mode. With just 50 watts this evening I made contact with Belarus and Estonia on 20 meters. Thank you to ES7FQ and EU2MM. Hope to see you guys on the waterfall again. My other contact for the evening was with a familiar OM, AK4DW. David is about 9 miles or so as the crow flies from me and I happened across his signal on the waterfall on 20 meters this evening. David and I both tend to catch each other on the 145.470 2 meter repeater here in East Tennessee on the drive home from work from time to time.

In a few of our chews on 2 meters we've talked about PSK31 and how wonderful of a mode it is. David just recently got an HF rig and got all set up to work the digital modes. Since then I hadn't had the chance to chew the rag with him on any of the modes or bands. So this evening was our chance. David, congrats again on the setup and on your membership in PODXS 070 club. Catch you again on the fall and on different bands and modes.

I have to say that other than a good ol' phone contact, my favorite method of operation is digital via PSK31. Why just last night I made contact with an OM in Washington state with just 50 watts. Thanks K1NVY, I really enjoyed the QSO Fred. The same power level applies to the DX contacts I made this evening. Had I been on phone I seriously doubt we would have heard each other running a bare 100 watts.

So if you've ever thought about it, give it a try. I'm sure that if you are familiar with computers and even remotely adept at the keyboard, you will definitely enjoy working PSK31 or any of it's other varients as well as other digital modes like Olivia or RTTY.

Well that's all I have for this evening. So good DX to all and 73.

Tim - AJ4JD

P.S. If you see me on the waterfall or hear me on the bands, please feel free to give me a call. I would love to make contact with you.

It's In the Bag Now

Well HAM fans, the PODXS 070 Three Day Weekend contest is over. That's right at 23:59 UTC the 3 Day Weekend finished. Robin (AJ4IJ) and myself had an absolute blast. We both ended up with a total of 166 contact each believe it or not. However, I have to bow down to her as she ended up with a couple more multipliers than I did and 200 extra bonus points than me. So congrats to you Honey, you wopped the tar out of me. Hi Hi.

It was a very fun contest and I would like to thank everyone that contacted us both. We can now enter the Coveted LONP club. What's that some of you may ask? It's the prestigious Loyal Order of Narrow-Banded Phaseshifters. This is an award given to all 070 members for contacting 100 070 members on PSK31.

Well I've stared at a computer screen for far too long this weekend as you can imagine so I'mgoing to go QRT and say 73 to all. Catch you down the log and hope to see you on the waterfall again real soon.

Tim - AJ4JD

The 070 3 Day Weekend Contest

Sorry I've been away for so long. Let me tell you, it's been crazy hectic around here. Anyway, this evening started the PODXS070 club's 3 Day weekend contest. For all those into PSK you should really look into this club. This contest is focused on 070 members contacting other members, so unfortunately if you aren't a member this contest wouldn't be fun for you.

Regardless of the fact, Robin (AJ4IJ) and myself are participating and have already racked up a quite a few contacts. However, I have to work in the morning and must retire at this time. However, we will both be back "On The Air" tomorrow. So all 070 members keep an eye out for us. we will definitely be on 20, 40, and 80. If 6, 10, and 15 are open we will be there too. Regretfully we do not have an antenna for 160 at this time so it's out of the question at this time.

Good luck to all my fellow 070 members and see ya on the waterfall tomorrow.

73 de AJ4JD,
Tim

Florida/Nebraska QSO Parties

So this weekend we decided we would go camping and enjoy the great outdoors. Now I know what you are thinking, this is a HAM radio blog not an outdoors blog. And you are thinking correct. If you want more on our camping trip you can check our Robin and Tim's Grand Adventures. Once you get back to here then you will see why it was worth going over there. Anyway, we did go camping but cut the trip short and came home.
So yesterday I decided to turn the HF on and see what the bands were doing and how bad our AC noise problem was. Surprisingly the power line noise was not affecting 20 meters at all. So I scrolled up and down the band and heard several Florida stations working the Florida QSO Party. I figured what the heck, and I worked a few stations before the first period ended within the hour I started. Once that was done I heard one station from Nebraska on 20 working the Nebraska QSO party. Considering I do not have Nebraska confirmed yet I figured what the heck and worked him too. Since that was the only Nebraska QSO party contact I made, hopefully I gave the OM an edge over everyone else and he will reward me by confirming Nebraska Hi Hi. Of course with a call like K0BLT who wouldn't want to confirm that one. That has got to be the tastiest callsign I've heard yet.
So today I thought, before we get into anything major, I would check the bands out again to see how they were doing and whether or not the AC noise was going to be a problem. I turned the rig on and it sounded promising. I to take care of a little business prior to sitting down and by the time I called my first station, the noise was starting to affect things. I made about 3 or 4 more Florida contacts before 20 was taken over completely by the noise. Grrr.

Oh well, it was a good day regardless. I got to make a few contacts and even a PSK-31 contact with Jim (N1BCL) this evening. Thanks for confirming VT so quickly Jim.

To all those I worked this weekend, thanks for the QSO's and 73.

Catch ya on the Bands,
Tim - AJ4JD

31 Flavors Failure yet successful.

No thanks to the local AC noise we are plagued with in our little area, I wasn't very successful in the 31 Flavors contest. Not that I'm making excuses or anything, but that noise just wipes out anything and everything that isn't a big power station. Regardless of the fact, I was able to squeak out three good DX contacts during the contest and one of those was with an OM who was making his very first HF contact and to top that off it was via PSK 31. VE2VAG, my hats off to you for taking the wonderful plunge into the world of Digital Modes and HF in one shot. I also got Germany and Belgium.
Later in the evening I made a couple of contacts on 40 meters. It was after the contest period ended in my neck of the woods. W3HF, thanks for another 070 contact. That makes another point towards LONP and my first towards the QCWA endorsement.
You should all have eQSLs waiting for you, I will upload to LOTW shortly.

Well that's all I have for now, so until next time,
73 & Good DX
AJ4JD - Tim

Dit Dit.

31 Flavors in 30 minutes

I am sitting here in the shack, getting ready to work the PSK 31 Flavors contest by the PODXS070 club. The noise isn't too bad and I've been able to copy a few stations just fine. I've got my macros set up and the power levels set and I'm ready. If anyone reads this blog of mine, come on down to 14.070 on 20 meters and say hi. I'll put you in my log and hopefully turn out some decent results, and if not, well that's okay too. I will enjoy all the contacts regardless. So with just about 30 minutes till the rolling start hits here...

I'll say best of 73. Good luck fellow contesters and good DX. See you on the waterfall.

Tim - AJ4JD

PODXS 070 PSK 31 Flavors

That's right YLs and OMs this Saturday from 12pm to 6pm your local time, the PODXS 070 club's 31 Flavors contest will be taking place on 20 meters. I'm planning on working the contest and hope to do well. However, how well I do will be largely dependent upon whether I'm afflicted by our local noise problem. Regardless, I will be in there and will give it the old college try and will hopeful work some of the other PSK variants. That's right this contest is not limited to just PSK 31. In fact, you can use BPSK31, 63, and 125 as well as QPSK 31 and 63.
So if you are into digital modes and contesting, then get those Keyboards into shape and join the fray. You DO NOT have to be a member of the 070 club to participate. I hope to see read your signal from the waterfall. Until Saturday...

73 and Good Contesting,
Tim
AJ4JD
PODXS 070# 865

And to the Death it was...

The Death Match is over. Final results 147 QSOs and 80+ multipliers. Congrats to all who participated and good luck with the results. Thank you to all the contacts and to the Michigan DX Association for such a fun contest.

73 and God Bless,
AJ4JD
Tim

The Battle Rages On...

The PSK31/63 Death Match continued today. We headed over to dad's (KU4ME) to work the match to the death. We got over there around 3:30 and promptly started working 20 meters. I made a handful of contacts there and then it was to 40 for a few and finally on 80 to work many more. Of course, in the middle of all this death matching, one gets hungry. After all, all the battling can make one ravenous. So wifey (AJ4IJ aka my trusty log lady) and I took a break for a dinner date. We had intentionally skipped out on my company's Christmas party and we had opted instead for treating ourselves to a night out on our own.
So we went to eat at the Outback as we had received a gift card from my brother for Christmas. Once we were done we drove around, stopped and got some Starbucks (necessary fuel for contesting), picked up something to eat for the harmonic (KJ4EGJ), and headed back for more. For another four hours I worked while Robin logged and by a little after 2am, the century mark was reached. We called it quits for the night only to rest and recuperate so we could battle erm.. I mean contest some more tomorrow.
So if you are contesting look for me on 20, 40, and 80. Till then,

73 and God Bless de AJ4JD,
Tim

PSK 31/63 To The Death ... Match

Well I had every intention of working the ARRL 10 meter contest this evening. Unfortunately, upon arriving at dad's (KU4ME) house, I quickly learned that 10 meters was pretty much deader than a door nail. I heard a couple of stations in there but no sooner than I would hear them, they'd fade right back out again. So after a few calls, I gave it up.

It was at this point that my lovely XYL Robin (AJ4IJ) suggested checking the digital modes. So I fired up Ham Radio Deluxe and launched DM 780. We tuned to 3.580 and found a nice strong waterfall coming in. Within seconds we picked up that there was a PSK Contest going on. CQ PSK31/63 DeathMatch ran across the screen. Of course Google is our friend and we rapidly found out that the Annual Michigan DX Association's PSK 31/63 Death Match contest was on tap for this weekend.

Happy that Robin found me a contest, I quickly set up some macros and dad walked me through tuning up the radio, setting my power on the USB Signal Link, and testing our power output. Within mere minutes I was calling CQ PSK31/63 DeathMatch de AJ4JD. I worked 80 meters for quite a while using PSK 31. After almost 20 contacts, I jumped over to 40 and worked a handful there. After a few of no one coming back to me, I decided to check 20 but it was completely dead so back to 80 I went.

On 80 for the second time of the evening, I switched modes to PSK 63 and continued calling CQ. I picked up a few more contacts and a couple of those were previous contact from earlier on PSK 31. It was around 2:30 a.m. when I wasn't getting any more takers and I decided that I was done for the night. I had been run through and gave in.

It was definitely a fun evening, and I look forward to working more of the contest throughout the weekend. That's right, the Death Match runs all weekend so I have more of a chance to push up the totals. If I remember correctly, I've made around 35 contacts in 17 different states and one Canadian province.

Well it's late now and I must go recuperate from the evening's battle. So with that I will say 73 to all, good DX, and happy contesting.

AJ4JD - Tim