Great Basin Contest Group (GBCG) The GBCG is a group of Amatuer Radio Operators that get together to work some of the contests on the Ham bands. We consider ourselves to be low-key compared to the guys that take this stuff real serious, however, we are serious about good operating procedures on the radio.
We focus on CW contests. An excuse to get out of the shack and operate from a campsite is the preferred methood of operation. |
President's Corner - Message from Mike, KD7UUB I'm happy to be working as the club president again this year. This year our big emergency preparation excercise (Field Day) will be held at the usual QTH in the Uintah mountians. We will be using a single radio. CW only, QRP, simple wire antenna, and a battery that has been and will continue to be charged via a solar charger. We have confirmed that a logging PC can be powered from a seperate power souce. We need to keep it seperate from the radio, so we will be using the keyer in the rig and nothing from the logging PC. That's how many of us do it anyway, so it isn't really a problem... it is just more "organic"! ;-)
Thanks again for all the support. Keep the suggestions coming.
73 de Mike, KD7UUB GBCG President 2008 |
BRING YOUR OWN PADDLE! You know how long it takes to get your paddles or straight key adjusted so it feels just right. It takes time, and when it's not done right, it makes a big difference in your ability to send - which affects your "fun factor". Trying to adjust a key in the middle of a contest is not the ideal time or place for such an activity. Since nobody every sets there key up the same way as anybody else, it makes since to bring your key with you. In fact, you might want to bring your keyer with you as well. None of our radios use grid-block keying, so any modern keyer should work fine. Some radios require a 1/4 inch phono plug, and others use the 1/8 inch plug. If its a keyer, the plug needs to be stereo input (mono output). If it's a stright key, then in should be a mono plug.
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