Monthly Archives: November 2014

2014 SSB Sweepstakes

Posted on by November 19, 2014
The ARRL SSB Sweepstakes last was last weekend.  This is the first contest where I called CQ rather than Search and Pounce operation.   I waited until I had worked all but one Section before I started calling CQ since my primary objective had been to get a clean sweep.
I was very nervous the first time I called CQ.   I was afraid I would not be able to copy the other stations well enough to hold the frequency or that I would look like a complete newcomer (I guess in a sense I was).  This turned out to not be as big a problem as I had expected.
3500zWarmAfter running stations for a  while I started to get into the routine and felt fairly comfortable running stations.  However, my voice got a real workout since I was not using any recorded sound clips.   I was surprised when I saw bright orange glow from the AL-80B after I had been running stations a for a while.  I guess when I S&P I never have a high enough duty cycle to get it’s 3-500Z warmed up!
I had another surprise when I generated a 1-1/2 hour  long pile up on 40 meters working stations that were actually looking for Indiana!  That was exhausting. I gained a more vivid appreciation for the skills of the DXpedition operators.  I’m sure some of the stations in the pileup were mumbling under their breath as I was trying to pick calls out of the mess.  Thank goodness it didn’t last much longer because I needed a biological break!  I was excited when I finally worked NT (Northern Territories) late Sunday afternoon and again near the end of the contest.

I was pleased with the contest, because my score was an improvement over last year, plus I managed to work a clean sweep.  I used N1MM+ in the contest.  It worked flawlessly during the contest, but I had a problem generating my Cabrillo log after the contest.  I ended up importing an ADIF file into the Legacy N1MM and to create the Cabrillo log.  Hopefully, an update will correct the issue before the next contest.  I am not sure why N1MM+ listed two lines for 28 mHz?
There is a summary my modest effort below.
Fred, KC9QQ
                   SSSSB Summary Sheet
Operator Category : SINGLE-OP
Assisted Category : ASSISTED
             Band : ALL
            Power : HIGH
             Mode : SSB
 Default Exchange : U 71 IN
       Gridsquare : EM69TN
          Band     QSOs     Pts  Sec
         3.5           106        212   30
           7             244       488   23
          14           138        276    6
          21            136        272    1
          28            140        280   23
       Total            764    1528    83
            Score : 126,824

First Attempt at Astrophotography

Posted on by November 11, 2014
Astrophotography Setup

Astrophotography Setup

Intermixed with my ham radio activities this summer I have started to dabble in Astrophotography.    A camera is similar to a very sensitive receiver.  It is able to give very nice views of faint stellar objects that are often barely visible through the telescope’s eyepiece.

This photo was taken at Burkhart Creek County Park, in Morgan County Indiana.  This park is a nice dark site for central Indiana.  It is located about 35 mile Southwest of Indianapolis.

On this particular night the temperature dropped rapidly and dew began to cover everything soon after sunset.  The black strap on the front of the telescope is a dew heater which keeps the dew from condensing on the telescopes optics.

M27_BurkhartCreek

Dumbbell Nebula Messier 27

As a newcomer to astrophotography, I have learned something new during each outing.  On this particular outing I discovered that my setup was not well balanced; thus overloading the Declination drive motor.  I made some temporary adjustments and was at least able to take the following image of the Dumbbell Nebula (Messier 27).

 

Once I got home, I corrected the balance issue.  Now if we can just get some clear skies, I will try some more astrophotography.

73,

Fred, KC9QQ