Lisa Rodriguez

so ive been licensed for about 3 years now and mostly just did local stuff and some contests here and there, but lately ive been getting really into DX and i think i want to actually go for DXCC. i've worked maybe 80-something entities confirmed so far through LoTW which feels like a decent start but i honestly have no idea if im doing this the most efficient way. my main question is — do i need to worry about mixed vs phone vs digital separately from the start or should i just focus on getting the basic 100 confirmed first and then worry about the endorsements later? also is WAS worth chasing at the same time or is that a distraction? some of the elmer types at my club say to focus on one thing but im finding that a lot of the stateside contacts are actually helping me get comfortable with pileups for the rarer stuff anyway. also what do you all think about eQSL vs LoTW for this stuff — my understanding is ARRL only accepts LoTW or physical cards for DXCC credits but want to make sure im not wasting time logging on both platforms if it doesnt matter for the award

so ive been at this morse code thing for about a year now. started with the Koch method app on my phone and got up to around 13wpm pretty comfortably but now i just cant seem to push past it no matter what i do. i practice like 20-30 minutes every day, sometimes more on weekends. i can copy solid at 13 but the moment i bump it up to 15 everything falls apart and i start writing letters down instead of just listening and letting it flow. someone at the club meeting told me to just crank the speed way up like to 25wpm and listen even if i cant copy it, let my brain get used to the sound of the characters at high speed. another guy told me to not do that and just slowly work up 1wpm at a time and not move on until i can copy for 5 straight minutes without errors. both of these seem like they contradict each other and i dont know who to listen to. been at 13wpm for like 4 months now and its getting a little discouraging. anyone gone through this and come out the other side at 20 or better?

welcome to the addiction, seriously. okay so first thing -- dont stress about the antenna situation. ive worked CQ WW with a dipole hung between two trees at like 25 feet and made contacts all over the place, especially if conditions cooperate. the guys with the big beams will always have an advantage but thats not the point when youre just starting out, the point is to get on and make some noise and see whats possible. for N1MM just download the manual and honestly just ignore 90% of it at first. you really only need to know how to log a contact and how the dupe checking works. set it up for the contest category, plug in your callsign and get going. youll figure out the rest as questions come up. i remember my first contest i had the wrong exchange programmed for like the first hour and didnt notice, nobody really cares that much when youre learning. SOTA is a completely separate world yeah but honestly a great one, i do a couple activations a year when the weather is good. start with the contesting first and get your feet wet, then look at SOTA later. Field Day next june will also be a great chance to operate with a club if theres one near you, much more relaxed than CQ WW and great for learning.

yeah the interference problem is real but it's honestly more manageable than the forums make it look. i ran SO2R for the first time seriously during ARRL DX CW last year with a pair of Elecraft K3s and some cheap bandpass filters from 4O3A and it wasnt perfect but it was workable. the key thing nobody tells you up front is that you dont have to go full 2BSIQ right out of the gate, that stuff takes actual practice with the SO2R More software or whatever you're using. just start by using the second radio passively, like when your run goes dead you flip over and S&P for a few minutes, bag a few mults you'd have missed, then come back. even doing it that way my score went up noticeably. the rate math works out pretty fast once you stop losing 20-30 minutes per band change just staring at a waterfall wondering where everyone went. the filter situation depends a lot on your antenna setup too. if your two antennas have decent physical separation and youre not trying to run 40 and 80 at the same time with dipoles 30 feet apart you might be surprised how okay it is with just the bandpass filters. worth trying before you convince yourself it cant work.

so ive been meaning to ask if anyone here is planning on hitting the Tri-County hamfest on the 14th. i went last year and picked up a pretty decent MFJ tuner for like 20 bucks so im hoping to find some more deals this time around. my buddy said the swap meet tables have been getting better the past couple years, more HF stuff showing up instead of just old CB radios and random connectors lol. anyway if anyones going maybe we could meet up at the tailgate area, i'll be the guy with the red hat probably dragging around way too much stuff to look at

Started with Direwolf, now use TNC4 for everything mobile. The downside is dedicating a radio specifically to APRS unlike a dual VFO radio with built-in TNC like the Kenwood D-74/75, but for the price you're basically into it for the cost of the Kenwood.