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Week Ending Jul 6th, 2008

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:45:28 -0500

Hello all:  I hope I have all of last week's scores.  I am sending out this a bit early as I will be very busy with other things later in the week.Last weekend's claimed scores:1. DL-DX RTTY Contest.WX4TM    301  94  276,830  SOAB-24HP        7.40  ALK1ZZI/4  320  81  260,820  SOAB-24HP        7.7   GAK9MUG/4  212  75  187,875  SOAB-24HP        7     ALK4DLI    206  84  174,300  SOAB(A)24-HP     9.77  GAW4UK     201  48   59,280  SOAB-24DipoleHP  8.3   SCAE4Y      44  33   10,230  SOAB-24 LP       __    GA2.  Independence of Venezuela ContestCall   CW Q  Ph Q  Mult  Score    Category   Time   StateN4PN   100   2421  120   513,240  SOABMixHP  32     GAK4BAI   54      6   26     4,472  SOABMixHP   2:16  GAN3ZL     1      0    1         5  SOSB/20CWLP  .05  SC3.  NCCC Practice 7/4/08K4BAI  59  15  885  SOLP  0.5  GAK1ZZI  40  15  600  SOLP  0.5  GA4.  Michigan QRP Club July 4th SprintK4BAI  49  27  3,537  SOQRP5W  3:43  GAThis week's contests:1.  NCCC Ladder and SNS.  Thursday night local. Friday UTC.  SNS 0200-0215Z.  NCCC 0230-0259Z.  Think SNS will be 80, 40 and 20.  NCCC is 160-20M.  Exchange: Both calls, #, name, SPC.  One kHz QSY rule. Dupes OK after one intervening QSO or band change.  100W maximum power out.Limit speed in SNS to no more than 22 WPM.  No limit in NCCC.2.  FISTS CW Club Summer Sprint.  Friday night local, 00-04 UTC Saturday.  100W maxmium power.  160-10M CW.  (Look around 058 kHz.) Excxhange:  RST, SPC, Name, FISTS# or power out.  Mults count once for the contest, not per band.3.  IARU HF World Championship.  12Z Sat to 12Z Sun.  160-10M CW/Phone.   Exchange:  RS(T) + ITU Zone or IARU Society abbreviation or official abbreviation (such as "AC" or R1, R2, or R3).  Please look for me as W4AN from the K1TO station in Myakka Island, FL on all bands CW and SSB in the General Class bands.4.  SKCC Weekend Sprintathon.  00-24Z Sun.  Use mechanical key (hand key or bug).  Exchange:  Name, SPC, SKCC# or power.5.  QRP ARCI Summer Home Brew Sprint.  160-10M CW.  20-2359Z Sunday. Exchange:  RST + SPC + ARCI# or power.  You can enter even if you have no home brew gear.Should be something for everyone except RTTY this weekend.  Hope everyone has a good weekend and a lot of QSOs.Coming up next week:  Wednesday night local.  July North American QRP CW Club Straight Key/Bug Sprint.  I will summarize next week.  Also, the QRP 20M Fox Hunts have started up each Tuesday night local time. 0100-0230Z.  14060-14080.  5W Max power.  Exchange:  RST, State, Name, Power.  Work only the two designated Foxes each week.  Foxes will call "CQ FOX."  Foxes usually start out split, usually listening up 1 kHz and change to simplex when the pileup goes down significantly.   Tonight's foxes will be KV2X in NY and K5DI in NM.  We should have good skip to both of these.73,John, K4BAI.

Week Ending Jun 29th

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 17:09:42 -0500

Last Week's Claimed Scores:1.  ARRL Field DayCall   CW Q  Ph Q  Dig Q  Score   Category   Hours    StateN40X   1999  2810    0    13,608  4A LP      24       FLOps:  N4OX, KC4HW, K4PV, KB4ET, N4OGW, KY5R, KY4F, K4IBS, K4TD.N4N    1197   695   66     6,442  _A LP      __       GAOps:  K1ZZI, K4DLI, K4UEE, KE4UW, KN6RO, N5ZZ, N8HK, W2WG, W5JR, WA2MBP,WB4SQ, WB8VTC, AA4RC.N4PN    703  1178    0     5,318  1E LP      24       GAW4LEE   297   862  157     4,890  3F LP      19.5     AL  Ops:  WX4TM and others.K5KG    681   487    0     3,328  1D LP      16       FLK4GA     13   816    0     1,684  1D LP      16       GAOps:  AB4HQ, KF4GTAK4AQ    202     1    0       778  1D LP      10.7     GAWF4W    209     0    0       728  1D LP       6.5     GAK4SAV   315     0    0       630  1D HP       6.7     ALNM2L    108     0    0       432  1C LP       4       NC/SC/GAW4NTI   108     0    0       432  1D LP       5       ALW4NBS    73     0    0       292  1D LP       _       ALN4GG     96     3    0       189  1D HP       1.5     GAKU8E     87     0    0       146  1D HP       1.5     GAW4M           (1163          ___  _____       ___     GAKD4YDC    0   557    0       ___  1D _P       ___     GAW4CVY                        ___  3A LP       24      GAOps:  K4EOR, W2YO, K4EOR, others.2.  RAC Canada DayCall  CW W  Ph Q  CW M  Ph M  Score    Category   Time  StateN4PN  336   777   39    39    601,068  SOABMixHP  17    GAN3ZL  255     0   27     0     50,652  SOABCW LP  12    SCW4BQF 121     0   23     0     20,976  SOABCW HP   4    GAK1ZZI 199     0   10     0     12,980  SOSB/40CWHP 6.2  GAW4NBS  76     0   11     0      3,476  SOABCW LP  __    AL3.  NCCC NS Sprint Practice 6/27/06K4BAI   55  14    770  SOLP  0.5  GAK1ZZI   41  12    492  SOLP  0.5  GAThis week's contests:1.  NCCC NS Sprint Practice and SNS Pracice.  Thursday night local.  SNS0200-0215Z Friday on 80, 40, 20 CW.  NS 0230-0300Z Friday on 20M CW only.  Maximum power 100W.  Maximum speed in SNS 22 WPM.  Exchange: Both calls, QSO #, Name, SPC.  One kHz QSY rule in SNS.  Regular NA QSY rule in NS, 5 kHz to call CQ, and one kHz to call another station.  DupeQSOs OK after one intervening QSO.2.  Michigan QRP Club July 4th CW Sprint.  23Z Fri to 03Z Sat.  160-10M CW.  5W QRP.  Exchange:  RST, SPC, Power or MiQRP member #.3.  Venezuela Independence Day Contest.  00Z Sat to 2359Z Sun.  160-10M CW/SSB.  RS9T0 + #.  Work everyone.4.  DL-DX RTTY Contest.  11Z Sat to 1059Z Sun.  80-10M RTTY, PSK31, PSK 63.  RST + QSO #.  Work everyone.5.  Original QRP Contest.  15Z Sat to 15Z Sun.  80-10M CW.  RST + Serial#/power category. Categories:  1W VLP; 5W QRP; 20W MP.6.  QRP Fox Hunt.  20M CW.  0100-0230Z Wed (Tuesday night local). Work only the two Foxes. Run no more than 5W output.  14050-14070.  Exchange:  RST, State, Name, Power.Hope everyone has a nice weekend and a lot of fun.  Happy Fourth.  God Bless America.  73, John, K4BAI.

ACG Field Activities

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 08:30:32 -0500

FD-pedition 2008 - Molino, Florida!

Jay, N4OX will be hosting another effort for Field Day 2008 from Molino, Florida. Combining members from the Alabama Contest Group and the Florida Contest Group-Panhandle, participants will include but not limited to K4TD, KY4F, VE7ZO, KY5R, NF4A, K4PV, KB4ET, N4OGW and our host N4OX. There are others that may come along as the event unfolds. The anticipated category is 4A, but could change. There are plans for a VHF/UHF station and possibly a GOTA station. If you are interested in participating from just North of Pensacola, please contact jay at n4ox@frontiernet.net. Heck, if you are in the area, just stop by and say hello!

U.S. Space and Rocket Center in HuntsvilleK4BFT will be active in Class 4A, contact Tom, KG4CUY for more information. Added by N4KG: The Huntsville Amateur Radio Club (HARC - K4BFT) and the North Alabama DX Club (NADXC) will once again combine forces to put on a 4A Field Day operation under the callsign K4BFT� (Big Fat Turkey)

We will have stations outfitted for 80 / 20 CW,� 75 / 20 SSB, 40 / 15 CW, and 40 / 15 SSB plus a GOTA station. There may be a VHF / Satellite station. Tom� N4KG� (40M CW Station Manager / LF FD antenna wizard).

Added by N4NM: K4BFT (Huntsville ARC), 20CW/80CW. We'll be 4A. We use three ops at this station: N4NM, KR4F, and K4ADK. Two el quad at 55' for 20M, and an inverted VEE with apex at 70' for 80. Orion II.

W4NTIGuess I'll fire up from the house and pass out some points.

W4LEE will be 2F AL 2F AL from the Lee County Emergency OperationsCenter..Tom WX4TM (ops: WX4TM, KI4ACW....)

The Heart of Dixie ARS (W4HOD)will be operating as 2A from our clubhouse in Loachapoka, Alabama. Loachapoka is 7 miles west of Auburn on Highway 14 West. Everyone is welcome to join us if you don't have other plans. 73, Cheryl AA4YL

Week ending Jun 15th, 2008

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 16:45:51 -0500

Last week's claimed scores:1.  ARRL June VHF QSO PartyK4EA    829  235  194,815  SOHP      26     GAK4LY    594  234  161,928  SOLP      27     SCKY5R    539  196  105,644  SOLP      __     ALN4LR    405  157   63,585  MSLPSB/6  16     GA  +PKTK4WI    364  157   57,148  SOLPSB/6  20     ALK4ZGB   342  135   46,170  SOLPSB/6  16:30  ALNF4A    282  110   31,020  SOLP       5.1   FLN4NX    239  102   24,378  SOLPSB/6  10     GAKU8E    202   95   19,190  SOLPSB/6   9     GAKR4F    126   67    8,442  SOLPSB/6  11.8   AL  QRPK4BAI   113   56    6,328  SOLPSB/6   6:09  GAN4KG     81   53    4,293  SOLPSB/6   3     ALK4OD     78   44    3,432  SOLPSB/6   4.8   GAN4GG     51   27    1,377  SOLPSB/6   3     GAWX4MM    59   17    1,003  SOLPSB/6   2.2   AL2.  ANARTY WW RTTYCALL   QSO  MUL  CONT  Score    Category   Time   StateW4UK   304   54     4  466,344  SOSTHP     14     SCWX4TM  142   51     5  199.14-  SOSTLP      3.5   AL3.  West Virginia QSO PartyCall   CW Q  Ph Q  Mul  Score   Category   Time   StateN4PN   40    68    39   7,884   SOMixHP    7      GAK4BAI  21     7    11     694   SOMixHP    2      GA4.  NCCC Ladder, 6/13/08N4OGW  60  36  2,160  SOLP  0.5  MSK4BAI  55  28  1,540  SOLP  0.5  GAN3ZL   28  19    513  SOLP  0.5  SC  Congratuations to Greg, who has just graduated from high school.5.  GACW WWSA DX ContestCall   QSO  Zone Cont  Score  Category  Time  StateK4BAI   39    15   21  4,068  SOABHP    1:48  GA6.  Flying Pigs QRP Club June Run for the BaconK4BAI   11          7    161  SOQRP5W   1:15  GAThis week brings the following contests:1.  NCCC Thursday Night Ladder and Slow Speed Practice (SNS).  SNS runs from 0200 to 0300 Friday UTC on 80 and 40 CW.  Ladder runs from 0230-0259 on 160-20M CW.  Exchange:  Both calls, #, name, SPC.  2 kHz QSY rule.  Dupes OK after one intervening QSO or band change.  Mults count per band.  Keep speed to 22 WPM or below during SNS.2.  All Asia DX Contest.  48 hours of Sat/Sun UTC.  160-10M CW. Exchange:  RST + age.  (YLs can send "00" for age.)  Work only Asian stations.  Just yesterday, I got a beautiful certificate from last year's AA CW for high US in zone 05 for 20M single band.3.  SMIRK Contest.  6M any mode.  48 hours of Sat/Sun UTC.  Exchange 4 character grid square and SMIRK # if you have one.   You don't have to pay current dues to give out your SMIRK #.4.  Kid's Day.  80-10M SSB plus 2M repeaters.  Exchange:  Name + age + favorite color.I should be QRV Thursday night and also on the weekend in AA and SMIRK.   Hope for good conditions for DX on HF and for anywhere on 6M.  Hope everyone has a nice weekend and a lot of QSOs.73,John, K4BAI.

Apr 8th ACG Get Together in Athens

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 12:49:49 -0500

One of the cool things about life is some of the people you meet along the way. You guys are the coolest!

I sent an email to the ACG about being in North Alabama this evening and maybe we could meet for dinner... blah blah... I hoped for maybe three or four to show up..Well I was a little late getting there and let me tell you that there was standing room only. Twelve folks were there!!! Three wives! We had a great time. Those in attendance were Tom (W4NBS) and Anita Schwinn; Tom Russell, N4KG; Jerry Montgomery, K4SAV; Johnny (KR4F) and Melanie (N4HIX) Winters; Tim (KY5R) and Patty Wininger; and Rick Walter, K4TD.

Additonally, there was an unknown gentleman, that I later learned was invited by N4KG, that joined us Sy Moskowicz, W4IFG. The remarkable thing about Sy was that he has confirmed 305 DX on CW and 318 DX on PH -- get this he operates only MOBILE! After dinner we all went outside to look at his installation and setup. I think there were some serious negotiations between he and Rick. He went into a great amount of detail about studies that he had done on the best location for a mobile antenna--turn out that a van is best with the antenna mounted in the center of the roof. Just uses 4 magnet mounts and the Hustler mobile system. No ground. He also uses capacitance hats on 40m and below... Very interesting fellow, of course I invitied him to operate in the AQP and join the ACG... I should add that he also uses a Hercules Amp at about 700 watts for most of his contacts.

Rick, K4TD invited Jim Roberts, VE7ZO of the WRTC fame (2007 Winner)! He blended right in with out group. The thing that was most interesting was his CW practices techniques using Morse Runner. I found it interesting that he uses all the different modes: pileup, HST, single call, etc. He said that he really like the single call mode at 45WPM, he copies 20 calls in 5 minutes. Rick, K4TD said that he could do 17 calls in 5 minutes. Many of the guys at the table said that they used MR to keep their CW up to snuff....

After I got back to my hotel room, I thought I would tried to see how many I could copy in 5 minutes but I had to set the speed at 35 wpm (which is way more than I can really copy)... I got 11 the first time and 9 the second time, I decided to quit while I was ahead. Guess I still need a lot of practice.. hi hi

Here are a couple of photos of the group in attendance...

Birmingham Hamfest coming up the first weekend in May.. Maybe we can have a lunch get-together there!

Jim/KC4HW

ACG Get-Together

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 07:33:00 -0600

A small group of us got together at a local resturant in Athens, Al on the Feb 27th. Present were KR4F/Johnny, N4HIX/Melanie, K4TD/Rick, N4KG/Tom, KY5R/Tim, Jerry/K4SAV and myself. We had a pretty good time. Mostly talking about the VP6DX missed contacts. Tom's solutions was to just send them an email and tell then! Wonder if that would work if you did not work then at all... hi

We also presented the plaques for the 2007 Alabama QSO Party for Top Alabama Phone and CW scores to Tim/KY5R and Jerry/K4SAV.

Congratulations to both of you!

Jim/KC4HW

Alabama QSO Party 2007 Results at AQP Website

Sat, 01 Mar 2008 13:08:24 -0600

The results from the 2007 AQP are available on the AQP website. http://www.alabamaqsoparty.org/2007/2007AQPResultsV2.pdf (opens a PDF window) A number of members of the ACG were 'in da house' for the 2007 running. And I am especially pleased that the Auburn University ARC effort won the LP multi-multi but in a dead-heat with the Russel County ARC! Only three ops manned K4RY. Carey/AI4TZ, Don/KA4NDY, and I had a great time but should have eaten less and keyed the radios more! Congrats to all participants and award winners. Cheers es 73 de Jay/N4CBK.

2007 AQP Results and Scores

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 21:24:00 -0600

2007 Alabama QSO Party Results and Scores. The 2007 results and scores are available at http://www.alabamaqsoparty.org We certainly appreciate all that participated both in and outside of Alabama. We have a record number of folks that participated. 149 total logs submitted in 2007! The 2008 AQP is shaping up to be a great event. If you haven't planned to participate, please check your calendar for Jun 7th and 8th, 2008 (first full weekend in June) and plan to get on board with great little QSO party. If you have any questions regarding please do not hestitate to let me know at kc4hw{at}alabamaqsoparty{dot}org. Jim/KC4HW

ACG sponsors CQ 160 CW JA Plaque for 2007 and 2008

Wed, 03 Oct 2007 21:40:13 -0500

I am happly to report that I received confirmation from David Thompson/K4JRB that we will sponsoring the Plaque for the high scorer for the Japan station in 2007 and 2008 CQ 160 CW Contest. Additionally, K4TD and KC4HW will sponsor (in the Alabama Contest Group name) a plaque for the high scorer in VE. I am sure that David/K4JRB will be contacting us soon for our sponsor fees. As soon as we can, I will post a pic of the two plaques here on the website. I want to thank all that partcipated in the voting process. Jim/KC4HW President - ACG