Category: Contesting

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ARRL 10m Contest Results

Several CVARC members participated in the ARRL 10m contest held Dec 10-11, 2022. Band conditions were favorable with lots of activity on both CW and voice portions of the band.

  • Nick Blackwell-KC0MQE made 6 QSOs into the upper Midwest.  He noted a great window into MN, IL and WI and could easily be heard running 100 watts.
  • Craig Grimm-KD6NFD made 115 QSOs with 41 states and countries. He noted a brief opening to the upper east coast including NY, MD, RI, and ME that lasted less than 30 minutes.
  • James Smith-KK6YAM used the contest as an opportunity to test out his setup and made a QSO with another station in California.
  • Pete Heins-N6ZE made 28 QSOs with 15 states and countries including CA, IL, KY, MN, LA, WI, TN, FL, GA, SC, NC, Japan, Australia, and Brazil. He ran an Icom IC-756 running 90 watts into a Cushcraft R5 vertical antenna.

Mark your calendars for the CVARC Winter Field Day on January 28.  There will be lots of activity on all the bands and a great chance to make contacts, practice your skills and learn from others. See you at the park! 

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Spring Fling Rover Roundup Nets 737 QSOs

CVARC’s Spring Fling Rover Roundup was held Sunday April 11, along with a Zoom meeting hosted by Brad Ormsby-W6VO. It was a three-hour 2M simplex contest that allowed multiple QSOs with the same operators provided at least one of them had changed their location to another 6-digit maidenhead square. Each square you bagged, either as a rover or from home, counted as a multiplier. Several dozen people participated, and 18 submitted their scores during the Zoom meeting. Like all our VHF contests this past year, it was designed so that everyone could be competitive with any license or level of equipment.

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N6ZE’s Report on the Spring 2-Meter Sprint

N6ZE operated for the first half hour of the Spring 2-Meter Sprint in the Santa Monica mountains. Note the brown/orange layer over Santa Monica Bay. This indicated that there was a temperature inversion between Ventura County and San Diego County which served to make 2-meter signals much stronger than usual over the 180-mile path. Three San Diego stations with just handhelds were worked by N6ZE.

By Pete Heins-N6ZE@aol.com

The first of the Spring VHF/UHF sprint events was held on Monday evening, April 5th. As per usual, I decided to operate from a favorite high spot in the Santa Monica mountains for the first half hour (7 P.M. – 7:30 P.M.) of the 4-hour contest period and to watch the setting sun.

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One Great Hour of Fun

Pete Heins-N6ZE’s station on top of Tarantula Hill for the January 2021 VHF Sprint. N6ZE used a day pack to carry his station to the top of the hill.

On Saturday morning, January 2, the Winter VHF Sprint provided one great hour of fun to communicate with many (DM04) Ventura County locals who are members of the Conejo Valley Amateur Radio Club and/or Ventura County Amateur Radio Society. Unlike many other VHF/UHF operating events, only 6 meters, 2 meters, and 135 cm were permitted.

Pete Heins-N6ZE provided these interesting bits of trivia about the Winter VHF Sprint event:

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Thoughts on the CA QSO Party

AD6SF’s contacts plotted

By Stu Forman-AD6SF

I don’t consider myself a contester, but there are a few weekends each year that I let my family know that I plan to be unavailable.  Don’t include me in any plans, as I intend to hole myself up in the office for most, or all, of the weekend, leaving only to grab a quick bite or use the bathroom.  I might not come to bed, so don’t wait up.  I might not shower, so don’t get too close.  This was one of those weekends.   This past weekend was the California QSO Party.

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ARRL September 2020 VHF Contest

6m 1/4 wave whip, 23cm handheld and rubber duck, 33cm handheld and rubber duck, 2m and 70cm tuned and shortened whip, 135cm 1/2 wave whip. These antennas were always used except for one 23cm contact.

By Pete Heins-N6ZE

The fourth of the major yearly VHF contests was held during the second weekend in September. I’d known for months that it would be significantly affected by the COVID-19 virus because multi-operator and two-person rover operations would be nearly impossible to achieve. Then high temperatures and dense, polluting smoke from the wildfires further inhibited the contest event.

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CVARC “Virtual Picnic” Sprint a Big Success!

K6AGL may look lonely at the peak of the Bowfield Trail, but the VHF bands were alive for the CVARC Sprint on Saturday, August, 29, 2020.

Operators hiked to local hilltops or worked the VHF bands from home shacks, cars and even bicycles for the CVARC “Virtual Picnic” Sprint on Saturday August 29, 2020. Sprint organizer Keith Elliiot-W6KME said 24 operators reported scores.  A remarkable total of 455 QSOs were made during the three-hour VHF contest.

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