Contester

oh man go for it, CQ WW is a blast even if you're running barefoot into a wire antenna. seriously dont let the big gun stations intimidate you. yeah they'll work more multipliers than you but that doesnt mean you wont have fun pulling in dx from europe or south america when the bands open up. 100 watts and a decent dipole can absolutely work. for logging get N1MM+ it's free and basically the standard for HF contesting, has the exchange built in and keeps track of your zones automatically. the zones thing is ITU vs CQ zones depending on the contest — CQ WW uses CQ zones, you can find a map online just print it out before the weekend. the exchange is just 59 and your zone number, people go fast so just listen to a few QSOs first to get the rhythm. honestly the first hour feels chaotic and then it clicks

honestly the battery thing is what i'd focus on first. i learned the hard way that a battery that tests fine sitting around doesn't necessarily hold up when you're actually running 50 watts on and off for six hours. worth doing a proper discharge test before you need it for real. other than that sounds like you're on the right track, way further ahead than most people who just say they'll do it someday

so this is the third time my mag mount has slid off the roof while driving. im using one of those diamond nr770 antennas with the mag mount base and every time i hit about 55mph on the highway it just slides right off. tried different spots on the roof but same thing keeps happening. anyone else have this problem or am i doing something wrong here

New to linear satellite operations and getting mixed advice about power levels. I understand the basic concept that transponder has limited output power and high power signals reduce downlink power available to other users, but looking for practical guidance. What's considered appropriate EIRP for different satellites? Seeing recommendations from 5W to 25W EIRP depending on the bird. Also confused about SSB and CW operation through the 20-50 KHz transponder bandwidth - do I need to worry about adjacent channel interference like on HF? Running FT-847 with home-brew 10el on 435 and commercial yagi on 145.

i did something similar with a cheap chinese rotator not a T2X but same idea. the noise thing drove me crazy for a while. ended up doing the ADC averaging in software, just taking like 32 samples and averaging them, which helped a lot more than i expected. not a fix for the root cause obviously but gets you usable numbers while you sort out the hardware side. also just to mention — i eventually moved the whole thing to a raspberry pi zero W instead of arduino because i wanted to run a web interface and it was easier to just run python. but the arduino approach totally works if youre already down that path, dont let me derail you

Start with the QRPGuys tuning indicator kit first - it's only about $15 and will give you confidence with SMD components. Plus you'll actually use it with your QCX+ later! I made that mistake of jumping straight into a complex build.

oh man a creek clearing sounds amazing, that's kind of the whole point right. i did one last fall at a wildlife refuge and just sat there watching herons for like 20 minutes before i even set up the antenna. the radio part is great but its also just a good excuse to be outside somewhere nice. i cant speak to all your logging questions because im still pretty new to this myself but i will say the WWFF Facebook group is actually pretty active and helpful if you havent joined that yet, people post activation reports and upcoming activations there and the hunters definitely watch it

so ive been licensed about 8 months now, general class, and everyone keeps telling me i need to try a contest to really get the hang of operating. CQ WW is coming up and i looked at the rules and honestly i got a little lost. like i understand the basic idea — work as many stations as possible — but the zone multiplier thing is kind of confusing me. do i need special software or can i just log on paper when starting out? also someone at the club mentioned Field Day is sort of a different beast because its more about the experience than the score, which sounds more like my speed honestly. im also curious about SOTA, i know thats not really a contest but people seem to treat it like one? i hiked a 14er last summer and now im wondering if i should just bring a radio up next time. anyway if anyone has tips for someone totally new to the contest side of things id appreciate it, i dont want to jump in completely blind and embarrass myself on the air or mess up someone elses run

yeah what he said basically. i used to stress about this when i first got my ticket and honestly the answer is just use them when it seems like it would help. nobody is going to come after you for not saying november on a local repeater. the NATO phonetics are kind of a HF and weak signal thing more than anything, when youre trying to pull a callsign out of QRM on 20m you really need them otherwise you end up with like 3 or 4 requests for fills and everyone gets annoyed lol

yeah techs do get some HF privileges, its not just VHF/UHF. you get a small slice of 10 meters for phone around 28.3 to 28.5 MHz, and you can use CW on a few other bands like 40, 15, and 10 meters. the ARRL website actually has a pretty decent band plan chart that breaks it all down, way easier to read than the actual part 97 text honestly. just look up the ARRL frequency allocations page and it should make sense pretty quick. the thing your club guy probably meant is that techs cant just go anywhere on HF, the privileges are limited to specific segments and specific modes. so you cant just fire up SSB on 40 meters for example, thats general and above territory. but youre not completely locked out of HF which some people think.

the Bencher BY-1 is a solid paddle for learning, good choice. one thing i'd check is your keyer settings, specifically the weight adjustment if the MFJ has one. sometimes a slightly heavier weight setting can make the spacing feel more natural while youre still building muscle memory. also are you squeezing or doing single lever? if youre trying to do iambic mode right away that might be adding to the chaos honestly, some people find it easier to just do single-paddle mode until the spacing clicks and then worry about iambic later

marathons are honestly one of the better first activations because theyre pretty low stress compared to something like a shelter deployment. you'll almost certainly get a briefing the morning of, usually the EC or a net control walks everyone through the frequencies, the ICS structure, check-in procedures, that kind of thing. bring a notepad and write it all down because youll be glad you did when youre standing in the sun three hours in trying to remember if its 146.52 or the repeater for medical relay. as for staying put yeah mostly you're at your aid station the whole time, at least for a road race. the job is just being there and being reliable. honestly the hardest part is staying alert when traffic is light and nothing's happening for like 45 minutes at a stretch. and absolutely bring the handheld, nobody's going to think that's weird, half the experienced guys show up with three radios and a go bag. better to have it and not need it.

ok so i finally got my technician license last month and ive been just listening on my local repeater for a few weeks now trying to get a feel for things. i found out there's a weekly net on tuesday nights and i really want to check in but honestly im kind of terrified of saying the wrong thing or messing up the procedure or whatever. like i know you give your callsign but then what? does the net control say something to you first or do you just jump in when theres a gap? and is there like a specific format people expect or is it pretty casual? i dont want to be that guy who kills the flow for everyone. also i noticed there's some kind of special event station thing happening next weekend tied to a county fair and i have no idea how those work either — same kind of deal or totally different? sorry if this is a dumb question i just dont want to embarass myself on the air