ARRL 10 metre contest win - and a new record!

Much to my very pleasant surprised, I received a certificate in the post yesterday from the ARRL telling me that I had won a section of the 10 metre contest in 2014. I checked my log and sure enough I had made 341 QSOs that weekend. I remember enjoying that contest - even though I was not participating competitively, rather just dipping in and out when I got the time.

The certificate from the ARRL confirming my first place award.

All of my contacts in the ARRL 10m contest were made with my Antron 99 vertical antenna and 100 watts or less. Needless to say I'm thrilled to win, and did not expect it at all. (In all honesty, I may have been the only entry in the section).

After I announced my win  on Facebook, Declan EI6FR informed me that I also now hold the record for EI in that section - Single Operator Unlimited Mixed Mode, Low Power. I'm pretty sure that's the first time I've ever held a contest record, and it makes the win all the sweeter.

Qualifying for the Hungarian ITU 2015 award

I don't normally chase awards, but having worked a number of the special HA*ITU/HG*ITU stations, I decided to see what might be involved in getting an award. When I looked up their online log, I found I'd had enough QSOs with the various Hungarian ITU stations to claim a bronze award, so I set myself the task of trying for at least silver, if not gold.

The special call signs are on air to celebrate the Telecom World Conference which is being held in Budapest this year. For the various award categories, and how to claim them, see this page.

To claim the gold award seemed like a difficult task. To get gold, you have to work EVERY station on the list at least once. They are listed in the image on the right. When I made out a list, I found that I was short five or six stations. Gradually over the past 48 hours I have worked lots of them and by today I found I only needed three more. One of these was the elusive HA1ITU, who is apparently using QRP home brew CW equipment. He finally popped up on 20 CW and 17 CW and I nabbed him on both bands. The chirp from his equipment suggested to me that he was indeed on a home made transceiver. The last one needed today was HG150ITU, who I nabbed on 20 metres CW. The logs are not yet all up to date, as can be seen in the above image, but I do have all the stations worked at least once, and some of them several times. This will be the first award that I have hunted for. I'm looking forward to getting it.

I've joined the Straight Key Century Club

Now that I am the proud owner of an SK-CC straight key - a limited edition gold-plated key (see previous posts) - it seems like a good idea to become a member of the Straight Key Century Club. I'm hoping to do more straight keying. It's something I enjoy. I'm not proficient at it, but with enough practice I will be. I am proud to carry on a tradition that began with telegraphy in the early days of radio. The SK-CC key was made by LTA in the Balearic Islands, and is a very nice reproduction of a Marconi key, similar to the one used on the Titanic. My key was number 75 of a limited edition. They are no longer manufactured. I hope to catch you on the bands soon for a straight key QSO. And forgive my mistakes - I'm still learning!!

My Straight Key Century Club membership number is 11904. You might be interested to know that it costs nothing to become a member. Learn more at the SKCC website.

A nice surprise in the post from CQ editors!

Many of you will know that although I enjoy DXing and HF activities, I am not a huge fan of contesting. I rarely participate in contests, maybe three times a year. Most of the time I do that because I want to use the opportunity to work DX that might I not otherwise get the chance to. Last winter, with my DXCC confirmed tally on 80 metres sitting at 89, I decided to enter the CQWW CW contest on that band alone, to see if I could get my total up. I had a great weekend, making something like 560 QSOs with my lowly Butternut HF6V vertical antenna! As the Logbook of the World confirmations rolled in, I eventually made it to 100 confirmed - DXCC on 80m - thanks solely to that contest.

Yesterday, a nice certificate from the editors of CQ magazine arrived in the post, confirming that I won first place in Ireland for 80m high power assisted. Of course, I cannot boast about this too loudly, as I don't think there were any other entries in the section. However, I am still impressed at what can be done with a 26-foot vertical antenna, and am happy to have won the certificate in any case.

Hopefully many more of you will also have received certificates this week. For me, contesting is not about huge antennas and massive power, running for 48 hours non-stop. I could never do that. Money, space and time do not allow it. I have a young family and am unable to contest for long periods. But dipping in and out of contests for a few hours at a time, as I do, can bring its rewards.