“Storm Watch”
Newsletter of NZ1U – The
Barnstormers Contest Group
"The Barnstormers
News"
Volume
6 No.10, December 31, 2001
6th
Annual Barnstormers Christmas Party – January 26th @ 6PM
Yes,
it’s that time again! I think I’ve got the number right this time and it will
be our 6th Annual Party. January 26th is a Saturday night
and we will start at 6PM and go to???
If
you wish, bring a dish or dessert. Don’t forget your beverage. I’ll supply the
hot wings.
Who
will get the “K1GX Award” this year?
As
usual this is the CQWW 160 CW contest weekend so we will be playing in that as
well. Please check what callsign we will be using before operating!
Lot’s of Progress being made….
Well,
I got my Christmas present early. Dave and Kim got the tripod and tribander on
the roof. At least this year the antenna will stay out of the snow (unless we
get a Buffalo snowfall!)
The
Alpha is fixed. Chris and Kim pitched in and purchased the new plate choke, we
all put time in troubleshooting, plus a few long telephone calls to the “Amp
Doctor” K1JCL.
The
Kenwood TL-922 is fixed and acts like the Alpha. Less than 100 watts of drive
and full legal output power. Man do those graphite tubes play!
What a Christmas present…
Christmas
Eve day both Kim and I worked Hawaii on 6 meters. We had already worked Alaska
so both of us are rushing to get the rest of the states. Kim (new name – “Mr.
Six Meters”) has been running stations on 6 meters and has worked plenty of
West coast and European stations. With the advantage of knowing CW, I have also
worked Cyprus (5B4) and Marshall Islands (V73). Kim still needs to finish the
six meter amp but that is practically done.
Resource Pool
I
have to thank everyone for the help keeping things running and also helping
with my other responsibilities. Dave has been tutoring Mary in Algebra and
Chris helped her with updating her resume.
What to look forward to…
With
half the major contests gone by what can we expect for the ARRL contests?
Considering that conditions were not that great in the CQWW contests and we
still managed a good score, I hope we can continue to build on our operating
skills and up the bar again. Poor Frank and Mark have been waiting for us to
help out and we are getting there. I
think we all have posted some good rates at times and there is nice improvement
all around. There will always be a need for the operators who plug along making
25-30 QSOs an hour so don’t worry if your not a speed demon. As usual I will
send out pre-contest Storm Watch so stay tuned.
Hope
to see as many of you as possible on January 26th, 2002
73,
Dick – KB1H