Let it be known… this was my (KONWJ) First Contest. Having only obtained my Tech license less than a year ago, I didn’t know what I was in for.
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There was very clearly pent-up excitement for the ‘start’ of the contest. The local 146.52 & 446.00 freqs lit up when the clock struck 1pm… and by “clock struck”, I mean 15 of the local repeaters began to arrogantly chirp, squawk and proclaim the “time” with total disregard of accuracy amongst their peers… I mean who really knows what time it is anyways… As for me… I got a late start… Turns out playing radio doesn’t always get priority when negotiating family schedules.
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pic 1 above: View from Platte River lookout tower
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That being said, I was able to listen in to the action! It was at this time when the pileups began. Local hams were efficiently exchanging the required data points relevant to their contest goals. I heard some familiar voices along with many others. As a new/nervous ham, it was great to listen in, pick up on the norms, and note any bad form to avoid.
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Like all good new HAMs, I thought I was aptly prepared by 57 hours of YouTube on the topic of Contesting. The reality is… You don’t know what you’re doing till you get into it and start finding your rhythm. By listening for a bit, you realize there are different styles and flavors.
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Recalling my Technician license exam and various VHF principles, I was bound and determined to garner as much elevation as possible! Saturday afternoon I spent a few hours atop the Platte River State Park lookout tower, 85 ft. above the ground; on top of my ~1,109 ft elevation for a whopping 1,194 feet! I got more of a sunburn while up there than any contacts; as in – I think I got 1 contact (Thanks FJR!)
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After absorbing as much solar radiation as my body could handle, I went down to a nearby pavilion for some shade and a shot at 6M operation. (Thanks to K8JOK for the 6M rig). Given this was my first ever attempt at SSB, I was pumped. Hearing all of the excitement around this magic band, I was gung-ho! I got my jungle antenna setup and sat on 50.125 calling CQ for about an hour. No action… hmmm. Naturally I text JOK… he could hear me very low in the noise. Clearly, I’m doing something wrong. (More on this later). At about this time, a sizable storm began to thrust down both to the south and north. I tore down the station and headed home for more action tomorrow (Sunday).
To be clear, this far into the story here.. and I’ve made less than 3 contacts for about 5 hours of operation, 32 flights of stairs (I had to make a few trips up), and 3rd degree burns.
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Rig pic above:
YAESU 891 HF & 6M portable
MAT 30 HF tuner
Dakota Lithium LiFePO4 23Ah battery
iPad Pro running Hammers Sfwr
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Sunday was going to be the day! I’m sure it 120 degrees out with raging humidity from the previous night’s storm. So I opted to setup 6M station in the backyard with the Packtena and Jungle Antenna. I returned to the national calling frequency…. No action… I decided to explore the rest of the band and began dialing around until I heard it! That moment when you hear the squeal and subsequent incremental cascade of sound… finding its resting place into audible human voice! I found a guy!
Sunday afternoon I made a handful of contacts on 6M across the band. It was interesting to find contesters camping out on a frequency and repeatedly calling CQ. Seemingly the calling frequency might not be the spot to hang? Still need to understand why I was getting no action there….
All in all, over the whole weekend, I made fewer than a dozen contacts. It was some of the most fun I’ve had to date as a HAM. It had all the parts… Radio operation out in the wild, exercising things I’ve learned, listening intently through the sound of crackle and fuzz for the sound of another HAM exploring the vastness of the electromagnetic spectrum. Will I be a Contester? Verdict is still out… but you’ll certainly find me on the air!
73, Nate KONWJ