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        I had some time this weekend, and thought I would work some PSK31.  I realized that an RTTY contest was in progress, it was the DARC Worked-All-Europe (WAE) DX RTTY Contest.  So, I thought I would make a few RTTY contacts since there were so many people on the bands.  I was sucked into the fun.  However, I found myself with the question: "Do you have/need QTCs?"  I politely said no.  It bugged me, what are QTCs? Finally, I checked it out in the Contest Rules. I learned QTCs are reports of QSOs that took place earlier in contest, and were being sent back to a European Station or different continent.  You copy the report down, and insert them into your contest log submission.  You get additional points for these exchanges.  So, I learned something new about the WAE DX RTTY Contest. Next time, I will be ready.  

           I had fun working the contest. I finished up with 96 QSOs, 0 QTCs, and several new countries worked.

             Also, I found a good reason for always submiting your logs to DARC contests. The Deutscher Amateur-Radio-Club e.V. (DARC) has a DARC Contest Logbook to which the submitted contest logs are deposited.  These QSO are cross check with other logs, and once QSOs are confirmed, they can be used to apply for DARC Awards (Worked All Europe(WAE), Europe Award, & Europe DX Award) without needing a supporting QSL card.

        I completed installing the vertical antenna on the side of the new house.  Most of the day was spent fishing the coax, and ground wires through the house from the study to the side of the house.  Then, the rest of the day was spent setting up the computer and radio.  By the end of the day, I was making contacts with the new station setup.  

                 -- Peter (KB5HPL)

Today, I completed assembly of my portable HF station and put it on the air.  

 Over the past year, I have been in the process of purchasing the equipment and materials needed to put the station together.  I purchased an Icom IC-706MKIIG HF radio, LDG AT-100Pro Auto Antenna Tuner, microHam USB Digi keyer interface, DC Power Supply,  Apple iBook G4 laptop, MacDXLogger software and a Comet CHA-250Bx vertical antenna.  As well as the wood, cables, screws, brackets, pole, bucket, and concrete needed to complete the project.

 

Then, I worked to design, and build a shelf like stand which holds all of the equipment neatly together so that it would be portable.  The wood pieces were cut out, sanded, stained, and screwed together with screws to assemble the shelf.  The radio was mounted to the top of the shelf using the mobile mounting bracket.  I found a spare mobile mounting bracket that worked for mounting the antenna tuner next to the radio.  The power supply and interface are mounted to the bottom of the shelf by screwing their lids to the shelf and running the cables through a hole in the bottom of the shelf.

  

 

The last part was assembly, and installation of the antenna system.  I assembled the antenna per the manufacturer’s directions on the ground.  The antenna was attached to a longer section of pipe which, when installed, puts the antenna at 13 feet.  For the base, I used a bucket with a short section of pipe mounted into concrete.  Then, the antenna & long pipe section were hoisted up and slid into place on the short pipe section in the base.   The pipe is attached to the porch cover for stability.  All that remained was routing the coax cable, and installing a ground rod for my station.  I was on the air a few minutes later and made a contact to the state of Virginia.

                   -- Peter (KB5HPL)