Fi-Ni Report

DX - Before It Disappears

2012-01-24T01:32:00.001Z

The Indian island of Ghorama is slowly disappearing thanks to rising sea levels. Yeah, yeah, yeah, global warming, yada, yada, yada. Above is a picture of one of the natives of Ghorama standing on what's left of the island. Due to disappearing land mass the island may now qualify as a new DX entity under separation by water rule. If so, it will still have more dry land mass than BS7, Scarborough Reef. Separate chartered boats from Japan, Finland and a joint US/British boat are headed to Ghorama hoping for first activation.

2012 Prognostications

2012-01-01T23:15:00.000Z

2012 New Year’s Predictions

New Year’s resolutions never work out well. Let’s face it, we’ll never lose that 20 lbs until we can give up the Dayton kielbasa (and neither will our heartburn stop). So instead of making a lot of promises we’ll never keep, we present our predictions for 2012. They’re about as likely as any resolutions we’d make.

1. In an unexpected or explainable development, sunspots will begin to roar across the surface of the sun. The solar flux index will hit 250 for weeks at a time. Trans-Atlantic and Trans-Pacific F2 contacts on 6m will be daily occurrences.

2. Washington DC will finally count as a separate multiplier in all contests. Except those sponsored by the ARRL or CQ magazine.

3. New North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un will take an interest in ham radio and will open up North Korea for any and all DXpeditions. The only stipulation is that all DXpeditions must be willing to transport small, heavy rods encased in lead lined containers. By the end of the year P5 will have fallen to #200 on the Most Wanted List just ahead of Italy.

4. In a twist on the Occupy movement, a group of DX’ers will attempt to Occupy Scarborough Reef to protest the ludicrousness of it counting as a separate entity. Unfortunately, since the reef is only able to accommodate at most five people at any one time, their protest will be overlooked.

5. In reaction to years of complaints that the CQ DX contests are just callsign copying contests, the CQ DX Contest Committee will change the rules and adopt a Sweepstakes style exchange. High error rates reduce top scores by one-half.

6. The topic of cut numbers will still be debated on the CQ-Contest email reflector. No consensus will be reached.

7. In a stunning development, there will be a universally accepted definition of “assisted” for contest categories. In an unrelated development, reports of airborne porcine will appear from around the world.

8. During a major phone contest, a net will vacate their frequency to allow a contester to establish a run frequency after admitting that they really didn’t have anything important to talk about.

9. The Reverse Beacon Network (RBN) will gain sentience and turn itself off during a major DX contest with a final spot of “Find the DX yourself, you lazy lids!”

10. The Lost Island DX Society will surpass the ARRL in membership.

Possible P5 Activity

2011-12-20T19:01:00.001Z

This morning the Lost Island DX Society email box contained the following gem. We're warming up the amp in anticipation:

Date: Tue, 20 Dec 2011 11:21:57 -0500
Subject: P5 DXpedition
From: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To: biggundx@gmail.com

Dear Friend,

I hope this email finds you well. I got your address from a
close friend who assured me that you are a good and trustworthy person and a
serious DXer. With the recent death of Beloved Leader Kim Jon Il, there is a
unique window of opportunity to activate the top Most Needed DX Entity, P5. As
the country transitions power from Kim Jon Il to its next leader, the state of
uncertainty that exists makes it possible to obtain the cooperation of certain
officials that will allow an amateur radio operation from P5. This is an unprecedented opportunity to hand out QSOs to The Deserving worldwide, of whom, of course,you are one.

Needless to say, the cooperation of certain officials and
the logistics involved in a DXpedition of this nature does not come cheap. Time
for organizing this operation is short as the window of opportunity is small,
so we are urgently reaching out to Top Gun DXers to ask for assistance to help
pull off this unique operation. For generous contributors, we will make special
accommodations to insure you will make it into the log and you will receive
priority service in QSL processing. Special times and publicly undisclosed
frequencies will be arranged to insure you get the needed QSO. Generous contributors will be those contributing $1000 or more. Our QSO scheduling will begin with the most generous contributors and continue down the list, assuming the window of opportunity for this operation doesn’t close too quickly.

If you wish to be included among the generous sponsors of
this historic DXpedition and insure your needed QSOs with P5, please respond
with your name and bank account information so that we may facilitate your
contribution. We must act quickly to avoid missing this unique window of
opportunity.

73, Romeo 5N0LID

Contesting Explained

2011-11-09T22:21:00.000Z

The particular form of inanity that we enjoy called “contesting” or “radio-sport” is often difficult for fellow radio amateurs to understand, much less the family and friends who occupy our non-radio existence (if it exists). The hours of listening to high levels of QRM and QRN, yelling endlessly into a mic, or mindlessly hitting the F1 key, for 24, 30, or 48 hours while a beautiful fall weekend beckons outside with rapidly fleeting mild weather and sunlight. The hundreds of hours of work and thousands of dollars spent building towers and antennas, buying new radios and amplifiers, all to exchange a meaningless nugget of information with the same couple of thousand similarly addicted hams around the world. Why?

That is a much deeper philosophical question than we can address here, but the answer is really no different than for those who spend their time and money chasing a little white ball around in the woods trying to knock it into a small hole in the ground. Hmmm. Sort of makes our avocation seem almost normal, doesn’t it?

The trouble is that it is difficult to explain what we do in a contest, much less why. The key to explaining foreign things to the unknowing is that you need to couch it in terms that are familiar to them. This requires using a frame of reference they can relate to. What is needed is a good metaphor. The Lost Island DX Society presents here a universally understood metaphor for at least some of the aspects of contesting – dating and sex.

The activity of Search and Pounce (S&P) is the cornerstone of any contester’s toolbox. Unless, and until, you reach Big Gun status, as a contester you probably spend a majority of your time in S&P mode. How can you explain this technique to mere mortals? The S&P hunt is not unlike the game played at every singles bar on every night of the week. The goal of every Harry Horndog at the local singles bar is to collect as many phone numbers from lovely ladies as possible, knowing full well that most of those numbers will be disconnected or belong to a pizza delivery place. It doesn’t matter. Harry is playing the odds. The more numbers he collects, the faster he’ll get a real one. Contest S&P is just like that, except you don’t have to buy the other station some fru-fru drink, make small talk and pretend you really like cats. You don’t care about the number you get from the other station – as long as you get A number from the other station. He with the most numbers wins! The measured pace of scanning the bands and working stations S&P is a lot like cruising the bar early before the crowd gets there. Pickings are relatively easy and you can cover a lot of space in a small amount of time.

But sooner or later, the hot blond in the miniskirt shows up. Once that happens, all the Harry Horndogs are stumbling all over themselves and each other to get HER number. This is a pileup.

The goal of every contester is to be the hot blond in the miniskirt. These are the Big Guns. They command the crowd who want to get their number. When a pileup continues for an extended length of time, it’s called a RUN. The run is to contesting what sex is to, well, sex. There are definite similarities between a run and sex. You never know when you’ll get a run. When you get a run, you never how long it’s going to last. You never know how good a run will be until it’s over. When it’s over, you miss the run and want another one. You never know if or when you’ll get another run.

So there you have it, Contesting Explained. Well, maybe not all of it, but if your non-contesting friends can’t understand the above explanation of what contesting is, well, maybe you should look for some new friends.

What really happens on 14.300?

2011-10-02T18:52:00.000+01:00

If you've spent much time on 20m SSB, surely you've run into the Maritime Mobile Net. and probably wondered what they really do other than making sure their frequency is kept clear "just in case." Finally, there's video evidence of the important service they provide to the world at large, keeping sailors the world over safe.

Second Annual Talk Like A Pirate Contest - September 19

2011-09-14T19:58:00.002+01:00

September 19 is once again the annual Talk Like A Pirate Day. Last year the Lost Island DX Society (LIDS) sponsored the first Talk Like a Pirate Radio-Sport Contest. LIDS, both formal and unformal, were encouraged to take to the airways and make Qs with other pirate-minded LIDS and lids. The suggested call was "Sea-Q ye Scallywags!" or "Ahoy Pirates!" with an exchange of signal Aahhrr-est-tee and yer pirate name.

To say we were underwhelmed with the contest response would be akin to saying that Cousin QRM has a slight taste for the rum. Oh, there were plenty of LIDS on the air that day and quite a few pirates, but the scoundrels were mighty stingy in offering up any pirate booty to sway the adjudication committee.

Nevertheless, we’re game to try it all again this year. So September 19, 0000Z-2359Z, plus or minus a couple of hours, work as many pirates as you can. Score is the total number of unique pirates worked, work 'em once per band, times the total number of Pirates and landlubbers ye work. Count any beauties ye work double. Triple if they "Aahrrr" you back with a lassie pirate name.

Submit scores and lies in the comments below. Send pirate booty to Cousin QRM to improve your chances of winning. Judging will be by a council of Pirate LIDS and will be as fair an' honest as the Poisson d'Avril contest. Deadline for entry - when you get around to it.

Another On-The-Air Award

2011-09-08T12:31:00.000+01:00

Following the announcement of the Lost Island DX Society’s LIDS-On-The-Air (LOTA) award, we discovered yet another unique On-The-Air style award. The Interstate Highway Rest Area Society sponsors the Rest Areas On The Air (RAOTA) activity and (soon coming) award. This is one of the more interesting concepts for an On-The-Air activity. Its easy to envision weekend DXpeditions to activate rare rest stops in the wide open west. Although award details are not available at press time, we assume that you’re not required to actually operate from within the restroom of the rest stop, which would be a little awkward not to mention potentially, umm, un-aromatic.

The LIDS give a hearty endorsement to the nascent RAOTA award and look forward to the Worked All Rest Areas (WARA) award that must certainly be on the way. Perhaps we can cooperate and have the LIDS mount an activity weekend to activate some of the rest areas. We see a Toilet-LIDS-On-The-Air weekend as sure to attract much attention and hopefully not cause much stink.

Gearing Up For Contest Season

2011-09-01T15:39:00.000+01:00

While we’re still wringing out the water left by Irene and patching the cracks in the drywall from the earthquake, a hint of autumn floats through the air in recent mornings. For ordinary folk that means football season. They’re gathering their tailgate accouterments and digging out their favorite team jersey in preparation for the Big Game.

As a Big Gun Contester or DXer, fall means the start of the contest and DX season. Time is running short for completing those antenna and shack improvements. Have you got your required multi-radio lockout rigged yet?

There is still time to order the Big Gun equivalent of a team jersey. Proudly proclaim your proclivity for the Lost Island DX Society. At some level, we’re all LIDS, so order your LIDS wear today from the official LIDS store on Cafepress. You can also get Dr. DX’s Antenna Wax wear for the antenna farmer looking to coax that last 0.01 dB out of his antenna system. And there’s even items for those who’ll work phone when they pry the J-38 from their cold, dead hand.

LIDS On The Air

2011-08-27T16:37:00.002+01:00

Recent years have seen a surge in popularity and activity of various ‘On The Air’ types of awards. The largest being the Islands On The Air (IOTA) award, but there is also the Summits On The Air (SOTA) and the Wainrights On The Air (WOTA) as well as several others.

The Lost Island DX Society is not above hopping on an already crowded bandwagon, so with great pride we announce the LIDS On The Air (LOTA) award. This award should be relatively easy to qualify for since LIDS can be readily found in just about every DX pileup and most contests. But don’t discount finding LIDS on the air during casual operations. To qualify for the LOTA award, work 100 or more LIDS. An SWL version of the LOTA award is also available with the same requirement to copy 100 or more LIDS. To qualify, send in a listing of the LIDS worked/heard and you will receive an impressive Certificate of Radio Achievement and Participation (CRAP). So if you would like to receive a LOTA CRAP, send your LIDS list to the Lost Island DX Society DX Society World Headquarters and we will be happy to comply.

Perpetual Energy

2011-07-18T02:27:00.004+01:00

While the grammar police were combing our previous reports, the Lost Island DX Society was sending a group of representatives to Washington, DC to see if we could help break the impasse on the debt ceiling. Or barring that, see if while distracted by budget issues we could sneak a request for permission to land on Navassa Island (KP1) past the Fish and Wildlife folks. Sadly, the answer is still 'no' on both accounts.

While attempting to find the back entrance into the Capital building, where we hear their cafeteria has a dynamite Francis Scott Key Lime pie, we came upon a sight which set us back on our collective heels for a moment. On the grounds of the Botanical Gardens at the foot of the Capital building sits a windmill that never stops turning. Despite the lack of any wind, this windmill turns continuously. We stopped and observed it for quite some time, and it continued to turn, again, without any evidence of natural wind.

Our delegation sought out one of the groundskeepers of the Botanical Gardens to ask about this miraculous windmill, thinking it must be motorized. Nope, we were informed, the windmill runs off of wind only. The secret is its location. Being at the foot of Capital Hill, it has an inexhaustible supply of hot air to power it, day and night.

Once informed of this, the answer was obvious. So, what does this have to do with Big Gun DX'ers and Contesters? Easy. Every Big Gun station has a similar, though smaller, supply of hot air available. If windmills could be installed at these stations in the proper location, it should be possible to generate enough power to supply at least one Alpha for the contest weekend. Green technology - it's not just for Al Gore anymore.

IAMRU Contest This Weekend

2011-07-07T18:01:00.005+01:00

This weekend the Lost Island DX Society will be participating in the summer festival of QRN, otherwise known as the IAMRU contest. This annual contest, under the guise of an everybody-works-everybody DX contest, is THE platform for a jingoistic radiosport competition between national radio societies. In the past, certain national radio societies have worked the contest rules looking for loopholes like a tax lawyer with an offshore bank account. This year should be no different.

The LIDS are testing some new performance enhancing hardware for the contest this year. The logging computer has been outfitted with some additional hardware and software. For every new multiplier worked, the computer triggers a dispenser and gives the operator an M&M. Green ones if it's a really rare mult. If the rate meter falls below a preset level, the computer trigger a power source connected to the operator's seat which administers a mild shock. If after two minutes the rate has not reached an acceptable level, the voltage of the shock is increased. This continues until either an acceptable run rate is attained or it is necessary to replace the op. If these enhancements work out, expect support for them to be included in a future release of N1MM and Writelog.

Survey of Field Day Activites

2011-06-26T00:31:00.006+01:00

The meisters of mediocrity heavily promote the annual Field Day Not-A-Contest-Even-Though-We-Keep-Score-And-Report-Them Event as a giant on-air kumbaya gathering of clubs and friends who take to the wilds of the local park and rough-it for 24 hours while trying to demonstrate that, given 12 months notice and plenty of time to plan and recruit volunteers, we amateurs can respond in a snap to provide communications in an emergency. If it falls on a weekend with nice weather.

Many group Field Day outings also provide ample opportunity for members of the group to channel their inner Bobby Flay and demonstrate what may be lacking in RF readiness is more than made up for in gastronomical extravagance.

Field Day has a place and function for amateurs of every streak and interests. In order to demonstrate the variety of Field Day activities, the Lost Island DX Society commissioned a survey of Field Day activities among a plethora of active amateur operators. (FYI, plethora has nothing do to with that fake zebra-leather looking stuff that covered the headboard of Cousin QRM's bed in his bachelor days - just to save you the trouble of looking it up like we did.) The question asked was "What did you do for Field Day this year?" Results below are about as accurate as the surveys printed in a popular radio magazine.

World Ending This Weekend, Dayton Hamvention To Be Held As Scheduled

2011-05-18T23:45:00.001+01:00

Despite warnings from California preacher Harold Camping that the world will end Saturday, May 21, 2011 beginning at 6 PM, the Dayton Hamvention will be held as usual. Hamvention chair Michael Kalter, W8CI, said “In the past we’ve dealt with thunderstorms and even tornadoes, and the Hamvention has continued on. We’re not going to let a little thing like the world ending preempt the premier amateur radio gathering in the world.”

As radio amateurs the world over began to converge on Dayton, OH for the Hamvention, organizers of the QRP-centric Four Days in May conference and the Contest University, two events held prior to the official start of the Hamvention, reported no concerns about the end of the world. “Contest University is over on Thursday, so an apocalypse on Saturday won’t bother our plans at all,” said Tim Duffy, K3LR, head of Contest University. “However, if the start time of the apocalypse is correct, it will kind of screw things up for the Contest Dinner on Saturday night,” according to Duffy.

Several regular attendees of the Hamvention, when questioned about the impact of the impending end of the world on the Hamvention reported that having experienced the Hara Arena bathrooms on Saturday afternoon, they have already experienced hell and are well prepared.

Hamvention officials reported that in the event of the world ending as predicted, Sunday's events for the Hamvention will continue as planned but attendees are advised to dress appropriately in the event of hail and brimstone.

Secrets of the CW DX Pileup

2011-05-03T13:33:00.002+01:00

Meaningless statistics up 26%!

How do you tackle that nasty DX pileup on cw? Check below and see where you fit in.

All data accurate +/- 400% - about as accurate as CBO predictions of the federal budget and GDP.

Survey Says...

2011-04-24T20:05:00.004+01:00

Remember that old TV show called Family Feud when it was good? Yeah, me neither.

The hottest trend in reporting these days is the presentation of data in the form of big colorful graphs. Whether it’s showing how many people with size 8 shoes think the president is doing a wonderful job versus the number of left-handed albinos who think he isn’t, the infograph is a staple of modern journalism. This data is from the murky world of statistics, a branch of mathematics only slightly less confusing than new car warranty exceptions. Surveys and statistics have two really important attributes going for them that make them a lazy reporter/blogger/whatever’s dream: 1) 67.9% of all statistics are made up on the spot, and 2) big colorful pictures means you don’t have to write as many words.

Being one to never look a Trojan horse in the mouth, the staff of the Fi-Ni Report is hopping on the infographic bandwagon. Just like our favorite magazine publisher in Connecticut, we’re going to start filling up blank space with pretty pictures that may or may not accurately reflect the habits and attitudes of the amateur radio community. Make of them what you will.

The A-R-Double-L

2011-04-01T12:30:00.002+01:00

Amateur radio is an activity governed by rules and regulations more than almost any other non-commercial activity. Firstly, amateurs are bound by the rules for amateur radio operation established by their governments regarding frequency, power and other limits of their operation. Those who pursue the art of DXing are bound by the rules of the various DX programs in which they participate. Contesters are bound by the rules of the contests in which they operate.

Where ever there are rules, there are inevitably rule breakers, intentional or not. Some are blatant, others, not so much. For every rule there is an interpretation of what the rule actually means. In the case of award programs and contests in particular, there is even room to argue that rules are wrong.

Opinions on these matters, like certain body parts, are universally widespread among the populace. This has lead to a sub-genre of activity in the amateur radio world defending or attacking various rules and interpretations. To date, this activity has been haphazard and un-organized. Amateurs, however, love clubs and organizations. Except for those who hate clubs and organizations - another argument for another day. But for those who feel a need for organization and recognition, we are proud to announce the founding of the Armchair Radio Lawyers League (A-R-Double-L).

The A-R-Double-L is predicated on the assumption that everyone has watched enough episodes of Law and Order to be a self-educated lawyer and can apply that astute thinking to interpreting the rules of the DXCC program or the 10-minute rule for CQWW and can argue their opinion persuasively without resorting to childhood epithets involving bodily parts. Hence, it is not expected to attract a large crowd of 75m ragchewers.

A new list-serv dedicated to A-R-Double-L arguments will be created. As needed, special list-servs may be created for individual topics such as “Should Scarborough Reef be considered ‘land’?” and “What actually constitutes ‘assistance’ during a contest?”. The hope is that these will remove some of the dreck from CQ-Contest*.

The Armchair Radio Lawyer League will be administered by the law firm of Howe, Dewey, Cheatham and Wynn.

* The Armchair Radio Lawyer League has no affiliation with the CQ-Contest website, the CQ-Contest list-serv or Major League Baseball.

Cheaters Rejoice – Your Day is Near

2011-03-24T14:34:00.003Z

The recent mast up the posterior for some of the contestcenti over on CQ-Contest is cheating in contests. Or more specifically, how to prevent and detect suspected cheating in contests. To date, the Russian DX Contest is setting new standards in either cheating prevention and detection or paranoia, depending on one’s viewpoint. To date, only the CQWW Contest Committee (CCC -hmmm, seems to be an old acronym) has had the cojones to start disqualifying serious competitors and naming names, or calls at least. If you are an avid reader of CQ-Contest (which should probably qualify for some sort of entry in the DSM), then you might suspect there’s a cheating contester under every other bed. I think the last time we heard such prognostications it came from a fellow going by the name of McCarthy, and he didn’t have an EI call.

Of course every contestcenti worth his monobanders proclaims their innocence. Everyone they know operates above board and clean as a whistle. It seems everyone knows who the cheaters are, but no one actually admits to knowing one.

Well, the day is fast approaching when contest cheaters can throw caution to the wind and fully and openly participate in a contest that not only celebrates but encourages cheating in the most extreme manner. I speak of the Poisson d’Avril Contest, held annually on April 1 since 1896. Yes, this contest pre-dates radio itself.

By its very nature and lack of meaningful rules or organization, the Poisson d’Avril Contest demands stretching the limits of propriety and common sense and, perhaps, the laws of several states. In the spirit of the contest, for 2011, contest logs are due within 48 hours BEFORE the contest begins. Work quickly, as time is shorter than you think!

The prima donna, kingpin, and perennial winner of the Poisson d’Avril Contest, K1DG, is claiming to relinquish his top spot this year. However, it will cost you to replace him. Literally.

The winner of the 2011 Poisson d’Avril Contest will have to buy the win. Not with sweat, hardware, BIC time, and good propagation, but with cold hard cash. That’s right – cheaters of the world rejoice! There is no need to waste 24 or 48 hours of battling the bands and other cheaters to eek out a Top Ten finish. You can BUY a FIRST PLACE FINISH from the comfort of your Lazy-Boy. This contest is not about a boy and his radio, but a boy and his wallet. It's not who has the biggest tower, but the deepest checkbook.

Lest you think K1DG has finally revealed his true nature, sadly no. The proceeds from the Poisson d’Avril Contest will go to support WRTC2014, an event we’ll never be invited to, so this is as close as we can get to participating.

Reports of My Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

2011-03-10T13:28:00.002Z

This note showed up in the LIDS inbox from Xtreme contester Macho Cuesew.

Hola Amigos! With the recent report in the news about an unidentified dead man found on a 1000 foot tower wearing only a tee-shirt and underwear, I have heard rumors being circulated that it was myself, Macho Cuesew. Have no fear, friends. Macho is alive and doing well!

Anyone who knows Macho would realize that the poor unfortunate dead man could not have been Macho Cuesew. Macho would never have been climbing dressed so improperly. When Macho climbs a tower, he wears his mask, a pair of gloves, and some steel shanked boots. That’s it. Macho truly believes in “free climbing”! There is no greater pleasure than being over 100’ up on a tower and feeling the wind blow through your, how you say,....hair? No, Macho Cuesew is much too macho to go out in a fetal position on a tower.

Some have wondered where I have been for so long. I have been consulting with a wealthy client I am not at liberty to name. This client, who is very famous as well as wealthy, has sought out the talents of Macho Cuesew to teach him all about Winning! As the most famous and successful Xtreme Contester, I am uniquely qualified to teach others about Winning! For the record, Macho Cuesew has been drinking Tiger Blood long before anyone else.

I will soon be back to training and competing on the world contesting stage. So, friends, rejoice, I am healthy and happy and will soon return to the air to dominate. To my competitors, resume quaking in your boots as you await my return.

73, Macho Cuesew

Giving it up for Lent

2011-03-09T13:15:00.000Z

Today is Ash Wednesday. Adherents of certain trains of philosophical traditions are nursing hangovers and beginning a period of atonement known as Lent. Lent usually involves acts of self-sacrifice to demonstrate the adherents moral superiority or tendencies toward masochism. While Cousin QRM is not a follower of any organization that purposefully restricts his dietary regime or demands public displays of smudginess and self-flagellation, even if figuratively, the occasional exercise of self-restraint is not a bad thing, and, if mother is to be believed, may even build ‘character’. I don’t think that’s the same thing as being called a character.

In faux observance of Lent, Cousin QRM is giving up the following for as long as he can stand it (give it a week):

- Reading CQ-Contest and trying to follow the arguments on the debate topic de jour. Especially those of a certain Irishman that are absolute. Except when he feels an exception should be made.

- Performing my duties as a DX Frequency Cop. Yes, all bedlam may result if I don’t helpfully direct the clueless that the DX station is listening ‘UP’, but for the next month or so, they’ll have to figure it out on their own.

- Posting yet another complaint about the lack of sunspots and paucity of DX on the bands despite the fact that recent events contradict this.

- Cick and pounce DXing and contesting. I will just that big round thing in the middle of my radio’s face to find stations on the air. My carpal tunnel isn’t so bad that my wrist can’t twist a little from side to side.

- Ever using the term ‘desitinated’ anytime. Anywhere. Period.

I know it looks like a set of tough goals, but one of the LIDS gave me some funny beads on a string that he said would help me get through it. Last time I had beads on a string, they were candy. I don’t think I can eat these.

Ham Discovers New Band

2011-02-24T13:15:00.000Z

Last weekend, Tom Sharp, NE1CLU, discovered a new amateur radio band. While tuning around last weekend during the ARRL DX contest, Sharp accidentally hit the band button on his radio marked “10” and heard signals.

“Ever since getting on HF four or five years ago, I’ve never heard anything on my radio when I pushed the ‘10’ button. I used to think the radio was busted, but it seemed to work fine everywhere else. So I figured that must be a band the FCC hadn’t let us on yet.” said Sharp. “I’d just forgotten about it and never bothered pushing the ‘10’ button anymore. Then, last weekend I accidentally hit it and there were signals on the band. Guess I missed the announcement from the AR-double-L about the FCC opening that band up to hams.”

Sharp worked several South American and Caribbean stations that were in the contest as well as hearing numerous US stations. “Wow, it great having a new band to play on. That ‘10’ band was a lot of fun.”

However Sharp noted that that day after the contest the band was again devoid of signals. “I hope last weekend wasn’t just a one time thing. Maybe the FCC only gave us access to the ‘10’ band just for the contest weekend?”

Dear Cousin QRM

2011-02-15T18:29:00.002Z

Dear Cousin QRM,
My YL has corralled me into finally tying the knot. I’m trying to save money on the wedding so I can buy a K3. So I had the brilliant idea of printing our wedding invitations on the back of my QSL cards. Most of my friends are hams, so I know they’ll appreciate it. My YL isn’t too keen on the idea. What do you think?

Desperate in Des Moines

Dear Desperate,
Cousin thinks it’s a wonderful idea to print your wedding invites on the back of your QSL card. Ever since the A-R-Double-L started up that online log program, LoLTW, our stack of custom printed QSL cards from The Little Print Shop has been sitting pretty constant and gathering dust. Sounds like a good plan to use those cards up, but make sure you use the one with both of your calls on them. What? She doesn’t have a callsign? Wellllllll, good luck. In our experience those mixed marriages don’t work out too well.

Dear Cousin QRM,
How many radios are too many?

Broke in Bangor

Dear Broke,
This is one of those rhetorical questions, ain’t it? Like, if a tower falls in the forest and there’s no one to hear it fall, can you still work the ZL7? After great deliberation, Cousin’s answer to your question is ‘two more than you currently have’.

Dear Cousin QRM,
The FCC rules say we’re supposed to use the minimum power necessary to make a contact. But my QRP signal is always getting blown away in the pileups by all these guys running amplifiers. Because they are running excessive power, I can’t work the DX. I spent five days in the pileup for the South Orchid DXpedition, calling and calling and calling before I ever worked him. Obviously, if I could work them with 5W, they don't need a thousand. If it wasn’t for all those QRO fellows QRMing me, I could have worked them a lot sooner.

QRP in Quantico

Dear QRP,
You spent FIVE DAYS calling in the pileup? Cousin flipped on the Alpha and worked them in about 15 minutes, after which he went back to catching up on episodes of Desperate Housewives. Who caused more QRM?

Contester/DXer Files Disability Claim

2011-02-01T02:34:00.000Z

Avid contester and DXer, Melvin Blouhard, K6LID, has filed a claim for disability with the Social Security Administration claiming physical impairment of his left index finger has made it impossible for him to work. He is applying for benefits claiming to be permanently disabled.

Carpel tunnel of the left index finger, know as F1-finger, is emerging as a major threat to active contesters and DXers. The constant, repetitive motion of pressing the F1 key on the computer keyboard to call CQ produces stresses on the index finger and can in extreme cases result in painful inflammation of the finger’s ligaments.

“A typical contest weekend I might press the F1 key two to five thousand times,” says Blouhard. “Then add in all the hours sitting in pileups or rare DX stations - I use F1 to send my call when DXing - that’s probably another three to four thousand times a week. It starts to add up.” “We’ve had a lot of good DXpeditions the last couple of years,” he added.

When questioned how impairment of his left index finger would make him completely disabled, Blouhard responded,”Everybody has to use a computer these days, regardless of the type of work you do. My left index finger is so sore and painful, I can’t hardly type anymore. I can barely stand to type out responses to some of that bull bleep stuff on CQ Contest, let alone set those boneheads on QRZ straight. The pain is just constant. Even when I’m not in front of the computer, it hurts so much I can hardly do anything using my left hand. I’m single so my, uh, personal life has also suffered tremendously.”

It is not known just how many active amateurs suffer from F1-finger, but it is thought that this is the first time a claim for disability from the syndrome has been filed. If successful, Blouhard’s claim may open a floodgate of claims based on contest and DX related injuries. The law firm of Howe, Dewy, Cheatham, and Wynn is considering adding disability claims to their radio related portfolio of services offered to the amateur radio community.

In the meantime, Blouhard continues to suffer with the pain of F1-finger as he sits in the VP8ORK pileup and attempts to log a new one.

HNY MMXI

2011-01-03T16:54:00.001Z

A belated Happy New Year to all the Lost Island DX Society members around the world! While we’re all still nursing our hangovers and SKN glass arms, the staff of the Fi-Ni Report have decided to announce our New Year’s resolutions.

1. For 2011, we resolve to not spend so much time fact checking the Fi-Ni Report. This is all to insure we get out the latest, most up-to-date news and information on Big Gun DXing and Contesting out to you, the Big Gun DXer and Contester. We’ll leave accuracy to radio-sport.net. Titillation and fear mongering are our goals.

2. We resolve to use software defined anything to help us win a contest. I’m currently looking into a software defined toilet to eliminate those bothersome bio-breaks required every 4 or 5 hours, especially after 807s. Shhhh. The CQWW committee might outlaw it before I get to use it.

3. We resolve to win the Poisson d’Aviril Contest, regardless of how much cheating is required. Likewise, we intend to take top spot in the 2011 Talk Like A Pirate Contest, which K1DG will NEVER win.

4. We resolve to operate at least one contest this year completely unassisted. We already have a piece of galena for the receiver and have scrounged a spark gap coil for a Model-T off of Craigslist for the transmitter, and got a box of Ticonderoga #2’s and a Big Chief writing pad in our stocking for Christmas. We should be ready by WPX.

What are your resolutions for the New Year, fellow LIDS?

The Legal Front of Radio Contesting

2010-12-29T17:25:00.002Z

The law firm of Howe, Dewey, Cheatham, and Wynn has announced the addition of Reginald Milquetoast, Esq. to the firm. Reginald will be specializing in rules interpretation of Skimmer and Skimmer-like technology to Single Operator contest categories. This currently hotly debated topic among the contestcenti is ripe for litigation, says Milquetoast.

When asked what contribution he could make to the topic, Milquetoast responded, “In a word - Latin. Throughout the countless thousands of words already written on the subject of Skimmer technology usage in Single Operator contest categories, not once has there been one word of Latin legalese used to defend or justify an opinion or position. Only Latin, preferably from a bonafied lawyer, can bring the appropriate gravitas needed to confuse and stupefy one’s opponents and establish the superiority of one’s position.”

In related news, the firm of Howard, Fine, and Howard, Esq. has announced they will be specializing in contest rules revision with emphasis on new technology integration. While unconfirmed, it is rumored that Howard, Fine, and Howard were involved in the recent National Contest Journal (NCJ) sponsored North American QSO Party (NAQP) CW contest rule revision allowing Single Operators to utilize Skimmer in the contest for the first time in 2011. When asked about the controversy that resulted from the rule revision announcement, Jerome “Curly” Howard, the junior partner responded, “I’m a victim of soicumstance! “

Perils of Modern DX-peditioning

2010-12-06T00:22:00.001Z

In the golden days of yore (defined as roughly 1946 to 1970), the Golden Gods of DXing risked life and limb to venture to the obscure corners of the inhabited and uninhabited world to activate that rare DX locale. In those days, the journey might have entailed dangerous boat trips, overland treks, or risky flights on planes that saw service in the first World War. None of these could be arranged on Travelocity.

While there still exists DX entities that require similar efforts to reach, the majority of the DX world can be reached by commercial means with regular service. (Although in some parts of the world the accepted definition of ‘regular service’ may be disputed) Hence, only a credit card with sufficient limit is required to become DX.

Cousin QRM recently scrapped together enough quarters from between the couch cushions to fly off to a locale outside the jurisdiction of the FCC, hence it qualified as a DXpedtion even if its position is in the 300’s on the Most Wanted List.

Air travel is a major component of most any modern trip. This means having to walk the gauntlet of the TSA (Traveler Sexual Assault). The TSA’s most recent tool for keeping the free world safe is a new imaging scanner. Critics claim the scanner is a little too revealing. But Cousin QRM had no such worries. When it came his turn to enter the scanner, Cousin QRM did so in the knowledge that the scanner operator had the shorter end of the bargain. However, Cousin began to have second thoughts on the matter when, upon exiting the scanner, the TSA officer quietly suggested that he see a doctor about ‘those polyps’ when he returned from his trip.

After a glorious long weekend of being DX and enjoying being on the other side of the pileup for a change, it was time to return back to Lost Island and home. After the previous encounter with the new-fangled scanner, Cousin decided it would be more prudent to opt for the conventional pat-down search.

After requesting the pat-down search, Cousing QRM was directed to a small, discrete booth out of public view. A short time later a uniformed man entered and asked Cousin to turn and face the wall with his hands in the air. Cousin complied and was subjected to a rather thorough pat-down. While Cousin was a bit uncomfortable with the search, he didn’t think it too unusual until the uniformed man slipped a dollar bill into his belt and left quickly. As Cousin was gathering his belongings and preparing to leave, a uniformed and badged officer entered and announced he was there to conduct Cousin’s pat-down search.

While the pleasures of being on the right side a pileup are immense, Cousin QRM has decided that he shall remain at home and be plain non-DX for the foreseeable future.

Big Gun Secrets #42

2010-11-28T19:30:00.001Z

(Part of an irregular series revealing secrets of Big Gun Contesting and DXing)

The goal of every Big Gun Contester is find a run frequency in order to allow the radio minions the opportunity to go in their log. Every contest.

With the inevitable crowding due to an excess supply of Big Guns and a shortage of run frequencies, the finding (and holding) of a run frequency is one of those skills that separates the wheat from the (little gun) chaff. Determining if a frequency is clear (enough) to run on is one of those tricks of the trade.

Outside the pressure cooker of a contest, the appropriate procedure to determine if a frequency is available is to send QRL? (on cw) or ask “Is the frequency in use?” I'm sure this is codified somewhere among the AR-Double-L's operating manual or on it's website, if you could find it. Although, opinions are divided, a significant number of Big Guns consider this the namby-pamby approach to establishing if the frequency is clear, at least during a contest. Their preferred technique is to simply call CQ Contest, on the assumption that if the frequency IS previously occupied, someone will speak up to defend it. Unfortunately, some of these Big Guns suffer from selective hearing.

The QRL vs. CQ devide appears to have a regional bias. In a recent unscientific survey, there was a distinct preference for the CQ approach by Big Guns north of the Mason-Dixon line while the QRL technique was preferred by those south of it. This bias toward politeness may explain the lesser prevalence of Big Gun contesters in the Southern regions of the USA.

The latest, cutting edge operating technique to establish if a frequency is available for running is to blend the two previous techniques. The new approach is to call “CQRL” to simultaneously inquire if the frequency is in use and to call CQ. This technique combines the politeness and consideration of the QRL query with the more aggressive CQ to attempt to establish a run frequency. In the case where the frequency is already in use, the Big Gun can legitimately claim they QRL'd to ask of the frequency was in use. Otherwise, they have started their run by calling CQ.

So remember, next time you're looking for a clear run frequency, drop in a short CQRL. If no one chews you out, start running!

It's That Time of Year

2010-11-09T17:57:00.002Z

Sure enough, right on schedule, the topic of Checks in Sweepstakes has reared its head on the always fascinating CQ-Contest email reflector. In a much-ado-'bout-nuting, the argument over the letter of the rules versus the attitude of the ARRL Contest Branch regarding SS Checks will rage for another couple of weeks. It should end right before CQWW CW begins.

As we head into the biggest CW contests of the year (CW SS, CQWW CW, ARRL 160m, Stew Perry), it will soon be time for discussing all those terrible key clicks polluting the bands. Start sharpening your claws, or just pull last years complaints from the archive and post them again.

Top Ten Reasons My Rig Is Better Than A Woman

2010-10-24T19:30:00.004+01:00

10. My rig doesn't care if I admire another rig
9. My rig only takes seconds to warm up
8. My rig doesn't complain if I keep turning its knobs
7. My rig doesn't complain if I stop turning its knobs
6. My rig doesn't complain I'm not turning its knobs the right way
5. My rig doesn't care if I bring home another rig
4. I can operate two rigs at once, and nobody cares
3. When I get tired of my rig or it gets old, I can take it to a hamfest and trade it for another rig
2. My rig has filters so I only have to listen to the stuff I want to hear

and the #1 reason my rig is better than a woman....

My rig has a volume control and an off switch

Papa Juliet Bingo

2010-10-11T20:40:00.004+01:00

Hey! Boys and gals! Are you having fun with the latest DX game to hit the airways? It's called Papa Juliet Bingo.

Lacking any real sunspots, DXing was getting rather tame. But thanks to the Kingdom of the Netherlands and our buddies in the Netherland Antilles, they've managed to manufacture not one, not two, but FIVE new countries right out to box on the magical date of 10-10-10. As of 0000Z on October 10, 2010 NO ONE had credit for these five spanking new entities. So the rush is on to bag all five new ones.

If you're playing at home with the rest of the worldwide DX community, fire up the beam and turn the kilowatt to the Caribbean and look for those PJ stations. To keep track, use the chart at the top of the page. When you fill in a row, shout out BINGO!

What does the winner get? Well, at least two months worth of waiting before the DXCC desk will even accept confirmations for these five new entities, which means, everybody drops down -5 on the DXCC count until next year's DXCC Yearbook is published. But in the meantime, turn on the rigs, turn off your brains and join the madness before these five entities become as common as, well, the old entities they are replacing.

Bark Like a Pirate?

2010-10-03T20:11:00.004+01:00

The recent Talk Like Pirate Radio-Sport Contest went over like a fresh barrel of rum on a long voyage among the radio scoundrels sailing the Ether Seas, though we're a mite surprised at the lack of skulduggery among the participants. I guess promises of buried treasure for the winner doesn't bring out the cutthroats like it used to.

Cousin's own Demon DX Dog caught wind of the happenings and demanded to be allowed to participate. While we tried to explain to D3 that allowing he could barely understand human language (i.e. food, sit, go, and occasionally no), there was no way he could speak pirate. But he threatened us with charges of specie-ism if we didn't let him play. In order to avoid any entanglements with the ACLU, PETA, or the Justice Department, we relented and allowed D3 to play. So the op you heard that sounded like he had a really bad cold, may not have been a congested contester, but the infamous D3 himself.

(P.S. Don't upset D3 by asking if he's related to Minni Pearl)

Alien QSL Bureau Announced

2010-09-29T18:26:00.000+01:00

Headlines raved this week, perhaps erroneously, that the United Nations was preparing to name an official ambassador to represent earth in preparation of alien contact. While some have guffawed at the idea of an ambassador to aliens, the idea is not without merit. If an alien ship parked itself in orbit around earth and sent out a "Take me to your leader" message, who would we point them toward? While I'm sure there is no shortage of political potentates who would self-nominate themselves for the position, the scramble for supremacy would look like, well, a typical UN meeting . Appointing a nominal talking head to be the face of earth would hide what a bunch of squabbling children we really are for probably at least an hour to two.

Nevertheless, we applaud the UN for being so far thinking, even if they weren't. The collected members of the Lost Island DX Society have never been accused of being deep thinkers, but we know how to ride the coattails of a good idea when we see one. So the LIDS are announcing the establishment of the first Extraterrestrial QSL Bureau to assist The Deserving in getting confirmations for (future) extraterrestrial QSOs. With the price of domestic and international postage going up every year it seems, one can only imagine the postal service's rates for Alpha Centauri. An SASE might bankrupt an individual.

The LIDS Extraterrestrial QSL Bureau will assist in bundling terrestrial QSLs and transporting them to their destination via rocket ship or whatever means is most cost effective. It will likewise receive, sort and distribute incoming QSLs from extraterrestrial locales, making it cost effective for our extraterrestrial ham radio friends to confirm all those W4 cards.

Don't send any envelopes to the LIDS Extraterrestrial QSL Bureau just yet. Details of the bureau operation will be forthcoming after initial Contact.

Pirate Contest

2010-09-09T14:25:00.002+01:00

September 19 is the annual Talk Like A Pirate Day. It is a celebration of all things Pirate and Pirate-like by spending the day talking in your best Pirate vernacular. To help fly the skulls and bones (figuratively), the Lost Island DX Society (LIDS), who's logo should be the skull and bones, is sponsoring the first Talk Like A Pirate Radio-Sport Contest, running from 0000Z to 2359Z, September 19.

Pirates be found on all HF bands, and no, we're not talking about that P5 that showed up on 20m. Use phone only, pirate slang is a tough row on cw. Call "Sea-Q ye Scallywags!" or "Ahoy Pirates!" Exchange is Aahhrr-ST and your Pirate name, e.g. Buccaneer Bob, Peg-leg Pete, etc. Romeo, while a right clever pirate name, is not allowed in this contest. If you work any land lubbers, try to clue them in, but if not, just wish the bilge rats "Ahoy" before making the squiffy walk the plank.

Score is the total number of unique pirates worked, work 'em once per band, times the total number of Pirates and landlubbers ye work. Count any beauties ye work double. Triple if they "Aahrrr" you back with a lassie pirate name.

Any Son of a Biscuit Eater found paddin' his log, looking at the cluster, or other sich clever biz'nes will be properly keel hauled and left to Davy Jones' Locker.

Submit all scores and lies in the comments below. Send any pieces of eight to the LIDS, it might help your score. Judging will be by a council of Pirate LIDS and will be as fair an' honest as the Poisson d'Avril contest. Deadline for entry - when we say it is.

A Meeting of the Big Guns

2010-09-02T17:49:00.001+01:00

Word has reached the Fi-Ni Report of an unprecedented meeting of the minds among the contestcenti. Several months ago the heads of the Five Families of American contest clubs met in a top-secret location identified only by the code name Aytonday to discuss a dire threat to amateur radio-sport, aka contesting. The Dons and Capos of the five largest contest clubs gathered in secret to address the sluggish Cycle 24 and potential remedies. In attendance were the heads of the Yankee Candle Contest Club (YCCC), the Primarily Virginia Radio Contesters (PVRC), the Funky Radio Contesters (FRC), the Sorta-inda Middle Contesters (SMC), and the No Chance Contest Club (NCCC).

News of the secret meeting was smuggled out via carrier pigeon and NTS traffic nets. The cabal discussed ways to address the sputtering performance of the current Cycle 24 solar cycle in an effort to increase contest activity and scores.

Suggestions ranged from asking for a federal bailout for Big Gun stations to a proposal to inquire of the Louisiana family, uh, contest club if they had connections with the New Orleans voodoo community who might be able to do something to address the problem. It was suggested that the residents of 14.230 would be suitable for human sacrifice if needed. A suggestion to move all the contest stations to the Caribbean was deemed impractical, at least at this point.

The most promising proposal presented was to attempt to resurrect the Palos Verde Sundancers to see if they can breath some life in a asthmatic sun spot cycle. However, last seen, the Sundancers were doing an afternoon review show in a Reno casino for the seniors catching the Early Bird special at the buffet. Its uncertain if they can be coaxed back to their old dancing grounds, especially since it now resides in a gated community that probably won't look kindly on such shenanigans.

Unable to reach a consensus, the heads of the Five Families departed and went in search of amplifier tubes with handles.

Preparing for the Contest Season

2010-09-01T18:04:00.005+01:00

Jumping Jehoshaphat! Here it is the first of September. Summer is semi-officially over and we're staring down the barrel of the 2010 Contest Season and the Lost Island DX Society hasn't gotten even one of the summer antenna projects completed. Plans for the pair of rotating 200' towers with stacked mono-banders ran into a snag due to a lack of space and money, so we're now trying to get a tribander up on a rusty old Rohn 20 tower we found in the weeds over on the neighbor's property. The SB-220 is still sitting in pieces at the club station waiting for the magic smoke to be put back into the power supply. Macho Cueso and Leche Dinero have spent the summer touring with a Lucha Libre troupe, so their preparations to dominate the Xtreme division of CQWW have been put behind schedule. It's time to start getting serious.

To get you in the proper frame of mind at least, make sure you've got your stocks of Lost Island DX Society paraphernalia. Whether you're a Big Gun or a Pea Shooter, attitude is everything and the LIDS have plenty of that. Whether its at the next hamfest or club meeting, come out of the closet and proudly let everyone know you're one of the LIDS.

Sunspots or no, the big contests cometh. Let's make some RF!

A Green New One

2010-08-18T18:39:00.003+01:00

In the north Pacific, ocean currents spin in an invisible giant whirlpool, bumping up against the land masses east and west, while flirting with the chilly arctic waters to the north, and the warm equatorial waters to the south. This is the North Pacific Gyre. Sounding like a monster from ancient mythology, the North Pacific Gyre is a large system of ocean currents that roar unseen among some of the most beautiful ocean in the world.

But all is not well in the North Pacific Gyre. In the heart of the beast, between Hawaii and California, lies a floating jetsam stream of man-made debris, mostly plastic detritus, a byproduct of the modern world. Estimates are that 225 million pounds of plastic is floating in the Gyre , covering an area as large as Texas, which sounds like a Texas size claim in itself.

A group of Dutch architects have a plan to make lemonade from these petrochemical-based lemons. They are proposing to collect this plastic waste and recycle it to create a habitable floating island out in the Pacific ocean. It will be called Recycled Island. Obviously a lot of thought went into this concept, much more than went into the name, although since the Netherlands is known for its marijuana bars as well as its excellent beers, we can't be entirely sure of the origin of this idea. Nonetheless, this has to be the greenest idea to come along since I ate that baloney sandwich out of the vending machine that was a week out of date.

Recycled Island will include residential housing, agricultural land, beaches, and tourism outlets, all built with recycled plastic as the building material. Think Lego-land without the vibrant primary colors. There is a rumor that either Hedi Montag or Pamela Anderson will be the official spokesperson for Recycled Island and it's (recycled) plastic world.

But while Al Gore is busy calculating the carbon offset for Recycled Island, you're asking what does this have to do with Big Gun DXing and/or contesting? Well, once Recycle Island is afloat, it should most certainly qualify as a New One for DX purposes. Regardless of sovereignty, Recycle Island will qualify based on the separation criteria alone as a new entity, although if Recycle Island is truly free floating, it might prove a little problematic. But as long as it stays within a single ITU or WW zone, that shouldn't be a big problem.

While it might be argued that a floating mat of recycled plastic isn't really a land mass, most reasonable people would recognize Recycled Island as more of an 'entity' than a group of small rocks barely above sea level at high tide that require stilts to keep from getting your tuchas wet while working a pileup with one arm around a mast to keep from falling in the water.

A New One means a land rush of DXers ready to activate an All Time New One as soon as the melted plastic solidifies enough to walk on. There are rumors, the Finns have already reserved a boat to take them there first opportunity. Once it's officially a DXCC entity, it will become a multiplier for all the DX contests as well. This will insure a steady stream of DX tourists to make sure everyone gets that Recycled Island mult. In the spirit of things, I suggest all Recycled Island QSLs be printed on recycled card stock.

If this idea works out, don't be surprised to see more proposals floated for turning plastic waste into plastic islands. The IOTA gang will go nuts for this. Just think, an island DXpedition where you don't have to clean up your trash. Leave it behind so they can extend the beach out a bit. I suggest adding a little dune over there so we can make the beach topless.

UPDATE:

It appears that Honolulu is having trouble finding a spot for all its trash. So Recycle Island has the potential for TONS of more raw material. Or perhaps there can be more than one Recycled Islands. We just have to make sure they are far enough apart to qualify as separate entities. There may be no limit to the number of DXCC 'countries' we can create.

Five-Nine

2010-07-26T14:07:00.003+01:00

At least once a year, some DXer or contester re-starts the perennial question of why the signal report exchanged by every DXpedtion or in every contest is always 59. This is a dangerous road of inquiry, for implicit in the question is the expectation that logic and reason should be the basis of amateur radio activities. When it comes to contesting and DXing, logic and reason are qualities rarely in evidence. Tradition is the triumphant rule in most matters, as it is here. All signal reports are 59 because of tradition. But not the tradition which you might think.

Most contesters and DXers assume the 59 signal report is merely a shorthand way of exchanging the required information without having to think . After all, signal reports are subjective, much like interpretations of the speed limit signs on the highway. Readability 5, perfectly readable. Well, that is when the splatter and QRM of the guy running 1.25 kHz above you isn't wiping you out. Signal strength, 9, very strong signal. On a quiet band, if I had a six element monobander at 100' pointing your way, I'm sure you would be very strong.

But the common 59 signal report we exchange today does not derive from the oft quoted RST system of signal reports. To understand why, and where, we got the 59 exchange from, we must dig back into the very earliest days of amateur radio.

It was 1929 and amateurs radio operators were pushing the boundaries of radio technology and DXing. A group of British amateurs decided to sponsor a test to see which amateur stations could work the farthest and most DX. Today, we would call this a DX contest, but this was before such organized events were conceived.

The British group decided that to prove a valid contact had been made, they would assign each station participating in the test a unique number that they would exchange with each station they contacted, which would then be reported to validate the contact.

A Welsh amateur radio operator by the name of Ergryad ap Tywysog was very keen on proving his station was the best in the British Isles. Ergryad has assembled a monstrous AM station that put out a dominant signal, so he jumped into the test full bore.

Unfortunately, the organizers of the DX test had done a good job of publicizing the event, but had failed to adequately communicate the need to obtain a unique number for each station. Thus, there was some chaos on how the test was supposed to work. Ergryad understood the rules and had gotten his unique identifier number. But Ergryad had a bad habit of randomly switching between speaking English and Welsh, and often mixed the two, which made him difficult to understand. During the test, Ergryad, who had been assigned the number 253, would give his exchange as, "Fi nifer two-fi-tree." In Welsh, "Fi nifer" means "my number".

Needless to say, not many other radio amateurs of the day understood or spoke Welsh. Ergryad's signal was so strong though, he worked almost all the stations on the air, both in Europe and in North America. The other amateurs, many not knowing how the DX test was supposed to work, assumed that Ergryad was saying "Five-Nine Two-Five-Three" just with a thick Welsh accent, and assumed that the five-nine was a signal report and the two-five-three was a serial number. So they quickly adopted the format and began making DX contacts.

After the DX test ended, the sponsoring group realized what had happened. Rather than try and correct the very widespread misunderstanding, they adopted the new format. It proved so popular, that other groups began to adopt it for tests they sponsored. By the time the concept of organizing a formal radio contest developed, the Five-Nine 'signal report' was ingrained among DXers. It wasn't until the mid- to late-60's that high speed phone operators began to realize that careful enunciation was slowing down their rates and hurting them competitively and they developed the technique of giving the signal report as "Fi-Ni", which is actually very close to Ergryad's original exchange. It also laid the foundation for the future founding of the Lost Island DX Society and it's Fi-Ni Report.

Keeping Us Straight

2010-07-20T17:35:00.001+01:00

It's 0001Z Monday morning. Around the world, contesters are rejoicing in joy or sighing in relief as they end another weekend of contesting. The contest is over.

But not for a dedicated group amateurs intent on insuring all participants in the contest played fair. The Contest Score Investigators (CSI) are gearing up to investigate evidence of cheating by radio-sport competitors. They will spend countless hours in the succeeding weeks, perhaps months, scouring logs of cluster spots, and audio recordings looking for evidence of rule infractions, whether those of the station's country radio rules or those of the contest sponsor's. This dedicated team committed to the strict rule of law, will continue even after the official results of the contest have been release, meaning their work may go on for more than a year. In contests where competitor's logs are released publicly, the CSI team will dissect the individual logs of competitors suspected of cheating, looking for evidence. Instead of spending hours in front of a radio, the CSI team members spends them in front of a computer screen, running statistical analyses and looking for patterns of suspicious behavior in IP trace routes.

The CSI are not paid by the hour, administrative lackeys, tiny cogs in the giant machinery of justice. No, their mission is entirely self-appointed. No contest sponsor asks for their assistance policing the sport of radio contesting. Their findings carry no weight, except in the court of public opinion, usually on the CQ-Contest reflector. Are their findings anticipated for their insight? Hardly. Almost every report from a CSI analysis results in additional, conflicting analysis from other CSIs. Rarely is a consensus reached or action taken as a result of any CSI analysis. Discussions, or arguments, about them rage for months after the contest or even the final results. While the CSI analysts slice and dice the data from the last big contest, the competitors have moved on and operated several more. Meaning that the CSI's work will never be done.

Spies Among Us

2010-07-08T16:33:00.004+01:00

No, not those silly undercover UA sleepers! Someone has been secretly recording some of the LIDS it seems. The pictures are a little fuzzy, but that just might be Cousin QRM in the leopard skin skirt. Don't ask, we won't tell. Keep an eye out for this K3NG character.

Open vs Closed

2010-06-21T20:47:00.002+01:00

Commentary by Cousin QRM

The recent tiff between the German and the Spaniard HQ stations regarding last year's I-R-R-U Contest (motto: Are You? I Are) has dredged up a new re-occurring theme among the contestrati – Open versus Closed Logs. We haven't quite figured out where in the schedule the Open Log debate should fit on CQ-Contest, so its occurrence is still somewhat random.

In this instance, the Spanish HQ team alleged some definitely unkosher behavior occurring in the German HQ team's log after a review of said log. The German's did not appreciate being the focus of this new Inquisition and denied their team did anything wrong. Besides, they couldn't be responsible for the actions of some over-zealous fellow countrymen, and anyway, the Spaniard's log didn't look exactly squeaky clean, either.

One of the outgrowths of this controversy has been a revival of the arguments pro and con regarding making contest logs open to all gawkers. The Open Log contingent argue that contest sponsors should make all logs available for inspection, since there are no secrets to contesting except keep your butt in the chair and work stations, and if you don't want your logs open, just what are you hiding?

The Closed Log contingent point out that the latter argument was used very effectively back in the 1950's by one Senator Joseph McCarthy, a reference that probably loses resonance outside of North America. Some of the Closed Log coterie argue that there ARE secrets in their logs, and they have nothing to do with phony Qs or rubber clocking. Besides, forcing a contester to open his log for all to see violates his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, another reference that loses resonance outside of the North American borders.

Cousin QRM has thoughtfully weighed the points of both sides in deciding where he and the LIDS should come down on this controversy. After careful deliberation, Cousin QRM has decided to side with the Closed Log crowd. It is far too risky that sneaky competitors will glean critical information from a careful analysis of the LIDS logs. Our hard won competitive knowledge, skills and advantages could be easily erased by clever bit-shifters.

In fact, now that this threat has been brought to our attention, we're getting down right paranoid. How do know we can trust the contest sponsors with our log? Once they finish tabulating our score, what else are they going to do with that log? Hey, the log checkers are contesters, too. Now, I don't want to cast aspersions on the many honest, hard working volunteers who do the log checking for all the contests we enjoy. But it only takes one bad apple to spoil the whole bunch, girl, at least according to the Jackson 5. Again, we just can't take that chance.

A contester can be hoisted upon his own petard with an open log, too, as demonstrated by last year's CQWW logs which showed certain Big Guns operating outside of their 160m band allocations. Now, we're all allowed a mistake or two getting too close to a band edge. Just because it wasn't noticed for over two hours during a run doesn't mean it wasn't an honest mistake. Right?

We're also getting worried about those QSL cards we receive following each contest. Could they, perhaps, be a surreptitious way to finagle key portions of our logs out of us? What a brilliant strategy! And all these years we thought we were helping out WAS and county hunting paper chasers. Now, we see the real motive. This goes far deeper than anyone could imagine.

So, effective immediately, Cousin QRM and the LIDS will not be submitting logs for ANY contest, anymore. No logs, no LOTW uploads, no QSLs. Nuthing! No matter how much K5ZD begs, we're not sending in our logs. That doesn't mean we're giving up contesting. Not at all. We'll still be in their fighting just as hard as ever, but we won't send in our logs. Just can't take the chance the wrong eyes might see our award winning secrets. It's a shame too. I'm pretty sure this is the year we will win Multi-Multi on both modes of CQWW. Oh well, guess you'll just have to take our word for it when we announce our claimed score.

Say Cue Feel Day

2010-06-18T14:28:00.001+01:00

Next weekend, North American amateur radio operators will crawl from their basement and attic radio rooms, known as 'shacks', and face the bright light of day and oppressive heat of summer to take their radios and antennas to open fields and picnic shelters everywhere to participate in the annual Feel Day.

Feel Day is an exercise to simulate how radio amateurs would function in an emergency situation, such as an extended Internet outage, and would have to actually revert back to the fundamentals of amateur radio, that is, actually using radios. For many amateurs, this is the only time of the year that their monitor glow tan is supplemented through natural means. Sans the modern conveniences of computer control and Internet spotting networks, they are forced to exercise the age old skills of grasping a tuning knob, tuning through a band and listening to signals. These ancient skills have most acutely atrophied among the modern DX'ers and contesters who have perfected the cluster based 'click and shoot' skills so prevalent today. But fortunately, the hand position of gripping a round tuning knob is not significantly different from that used to grip a computer mouse. Although the immobility of the tuning knob has causes some confusion, most mouse-based radio amateurs quickly adapt. Users of trackballs have been reported to have significantly more difficulty adapting to the tuning knob.

Many amateurs find the exercise of ancient skills tiresome and tedious. But they can find relief and comfort in another of Feel Day's tradition - the Feel Day feast. After a grueling hour or two in front of a radio, the weary amateur can retire to the refuge of culinary delights. While the extent of Feel Day feasting varies by group, whether it is a well stocked cooler or an elaborate grilled buffet, one can be certain that it will not include any items made with tofu or with the words 'low fat' on it's label. Some amateurs come to Feel Day and never touch a radio the entire time, but plant themselves at the food tent for the duration.

Whether it's dusting the cobwebs off a J-47 key or dusting off a bowl of campfire chili, Feel Day has something for all radio amateurs. While many spend months planning and anticipating it, after 24 hours outdoors in June battling bugs and Murphy, they understand why it's only done once a year.

LIDS in Dayton

2010-05-26T22:13:00.002+01:00

The annual Dayton foofarall has passed, and all of the pundits have pronounced it a smashing success/total failure. Regardless of the final judgment, like most of life, we can all agree it wasn't what it used to be. Not that it ever was.

It had been quite a spell since Cousin QRM had haunted the halls of Hara. Despite rumors to the contrary, the reason had nothing to do with an event resembling a famous scene from the movie "Oh, Brother Where Art Thou" that ended with the catchphrase, "… and STAY out of the Woolsworth." Why, there haven't been Woolsworth's around since Cousin was a knock-kneed Novice learning which end of the soldering iron to hold.

Despite having depleted the rig and DXing funds visiting the Mouse House just a week earlier, Cousin QRM and Rusty Key made the trek to Dayton representing the Lost Island DX Society. Besides the dazzling array of rigs and toys displayed by the manufacturers, our primary goal was to try and blend in with the Big Gun DX and contesting crowd over at the Crown Plaza and hopefully learn some of the hallowed Secrets of The Big Guns. There were rumors that Macho Cueso might make an appearance, but alas, border security is much tighter these days.

Our pilgrimage began properly Friday morning with the flea market. Right off the bat, we ran into a tremendous deal for the budding Big Gun - a 5kW amplifier. It was a beauty of construction and reasonably priced at a little over a $1/watt. Rusty was tempted, but decided that he didn't need another driver amp for the shack, so he passed. If some contester or DX'er did not pick it up, I'm sure we'll hear it on 75m SSB one day.

At the inside exhibits, Cousin and Rusty made their way to the booths of the radio manufacturers to ogle radios they could not afford. Cousin QRM made the observation that visits to the Icom and Yaesu booths were a little like a visit to the local topless club. You can eyeball and drool over the goodies all you like, and you might even get to tweak a knob or two, but you know there's no way you can afford to take one home. Strangely enough, the cover charge to get in is about the same.

The highlight of the weekend was getting to spend time with Dash the Dog Faced Ham, or at least his human counterpart, Jeff, K1NSS. Jeff and Dash graciously allowed the LIDS to hang around their booth where he was premiering the second of Dash's books. If you missed getting yours at Dayton, you can order them online, but you won't get them signed by the author.

Cousin spent some time at the Antenna and Contesting forums. The crowd was inspired by NR5M's story of what you can accomplish on a small urban lot and with no budget. It gave us all hope. Rusty Key sat through a talk on how to become a 50 wpm cw wizard and then turned to Cousin and said, "A is dit-dah, right?"

In the evenings, the LIDS snuck over to the Contest Super Suite at the Crown Plaza and waited for someone to spot them as intruders and toss them out (see second paragraph above). But amazingly, no one spotted the Peanut Pistol s and allowed them to stay.

Saturday night the LIDS and Dash snuck into the Contest Dinner and tossed bon mots at the speakers from a far corner while chewing on Not-Quite-Ready-For-Primetime Rib. Dash seemed humored by Cousin's color commentary as they played Spot-the-Big-Gun, which was as easy as shooting monkeys in a barrel, and about as organized.

It was rumored that Rusty Key accidentally got in the line for the pileup contest at the Kansas City DX Club's suite, thinking it was the drink line. The next day, Rusty showed up with a gift certificate, claiming he won it in the pileup contest despite being a no-code Extra. The rest of the LIDS remain dubious and are still on the lookout for reports of a mugging at the Crown Plaza Saturday night. So far, there is nothing to pin on Rusty. Maybe he did get something out of that 50 wpm talk.

Returning ,inspired from the mere proximity to Big Gun greatness, the LIDS are itching for the next big contest. Even if they can't afford the latest DX Machine or a climbable tower, Dayton always serves as a salve for the soul of the DX'ers and Contesters. See you in the pileups. We'll be part of that rumble you can't quite copy.

Cousin QRM's Florida Visit

2010-05-08T15:51:00.004+01:00

Cousin QRM found himself in Orlando last week, but alas it wasn't for a tour of the Florida Big Guns of the Florida Contest Group. The XYL and harmonics were screaming to visit the Mouse House, so Cousin found a cut-rate travel agent online and arranged a trip. Cousin thought he was getting tickets to Walt Disney World, but found out too late that the really cheap tickets were to Walter's Dizzy World. Not the same thing. To describe Walter's Dizzy World as a cheap knock-off does a dis-service to cheap knockoff's everywhere.

Upon entering Walter's Dizzy World, the origin of the name was apparent. The main attraction at the front of the park was a 'ride' where they gave you a baseball bat that you placed on the ground, then rested your forehead on the bat end and spun around in circles until you couldn't take it anymore. After that experience, Walter's was much more entertaining, or at least less disappointing. As another example of the quality of Walter's attractions, Walter's "It's a Tiny World After All" merely featured looking through binoculars from the wrong end.

After the experience of Walter's Dizzy World, Cousin's XYL and harmonics refused to be placated by a visit to the HRO store. So Cousin broke into the DXpedition piggy bank and bought tickets to the real thing. Thinking he could still salvage some DX fun from his mis-spent funds, Cousin took his K1 and a paddle with him to Epcot. Rationalizing that if he operated from each of the 'countries' in the Epcot World Showcase, the operations would be as valid as Romeo's, Cousin proceeded to try to find a spot to hang a dipole at each 'country' and operate as /XE, /LA, /BY,/DL, /I, /JA /CN, /F, /G, and /VE. It turns out the Disney 'cast members' don't have a real good grasp of ham radio and certainly don't appreciate the DXCC program. Cousin was hoping to see if Epcot's Eiffel Tower would load up as well as the one at the Paris casino in Las Vegas, but he never got the chance. The saving grace was the opportunity to sample each country's adult beverage. By the end of the day, much of the disappointment had been forgotten.

Still looking to salvage some ham radio fun from this trip, Cousin QRM had high hopes for the Tower of Terror at Disney Hollywood Studios, but turns out it has nothing to do with towers or antennas. However, the ride did give Cousin a taste of the sensation of free-fall, something hopefully never to be experienced on a real antenna tower.

Unfortunately, intensive exposure to so much sweetness and cuteness apparently produced a reaction in Cousin. Cousin's extremities have swelled up and his voice has suddenly gone up several octaves. The attached picture demonstrates how this is affecting his cw sending. So if you hear a really sloppy fist on the air the next couple of weeks, it will likely be Cousin's. Fortunately, there is time to recuperate before the next big contest.

Contester Forgets Contest

2010-04-27T13:34:00.001+01:00

Last weekend's popular Florida QSO Party was absent one enthusiastic participant. Die-hard contester Len Krinkleklotz, WD4FLA, of Lands End Ranch, Florida completely forgot about the annual state QSO party for his home state.

"I look forward to the FQP contest every year, even more so than the big contests. It's my own state's QSO party, so even with a modest station I can be the 'DX' for once. Plus, I get to re-connect with lots of old friends on the air then, too. Make no mistake, though, I'm competitive when it comes to this contest, so I go all out," said Krinkleklotz, 66.

So what happened this year? Krinkleklotz got so wrapped up in an online argument on the CQ-Contest email reflector that he forgot about the contest until after it was over.

"For more than a week now I've been arguing with these knuckleheads on the contest reflector about how all this new technology is just ruining amateur radio and destroying contesting as we know it. The back and forth has been furious. Probably twenty emails a day or more. We keep going back and forth with straw man arguments about sailboats, and motorboats, and rowboats. Someone even chimed in something about snowmobiles. I still ain't figured that one out yet."

"Well, I got so worked up that I spent the whole weekend individually dissecting their faulty arguments and rebutting them. Before I knew it, it was Sunday night and I had missed my favorite contest!"

While disappointed, Krinkleklotz is not discouraged. "I want to make sure that next year when the Florida QSO Party rolls around, I'm working a real live human being on the other end and not some contest robot. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to set some whippersnapper straight about how to use cut numbers properly. I just saw his post and he's got it ALL wrong..."

Contester Criticizes New Technologies

2010-04-17T12:00:00.000+01:00

Traditionalist contester and DXer Giuseppi Giancarlo, IB1OF (Italy-Bravo-One-Oscar-Foxtrot), is highly critical of new computer and internet based technologies begin introduced into the realm of HF DXing and contesting. Giuseppi, who has been licensed for over fifty years and an active DXer and contester for most of that time, complains that the blending of computer and internet technologies is destroying the core RF basis of amateur radio.

“All this computer and internet stuff is like rowboats competing against sailboats for traditionalist like me. Once they put those big sheets on tall masts, the real, he-men rowers couldn't compete. No matter how many big, strong paisons you had pulling an oar, it's just not fair watching those “sailors” pass you by while they sit there letting the wind do all the work,” said Guiseppi.

“Me, I believe in amateur radio they way Guglielmo Marconi invented it. They won't let me run my spark gap anymore, but I still use my TNT transmitter and regen receiver. And I still log everything on paper by hand. Well, it's actually parchment, and I use an ink-dipped quill and record every QSO in calligraphy.”

A log checker for a major international DX contest confirmed that Guiseppi's submitted logs are on parchment and in handwritten calligraphy. “They are absolute works of art, but it is a complete PITA to deal with them because someone has to read that stuff and enter it all into the computer for cross-checking. His log takes five times longer than any other just because of that,” said the log checker who requested anonymity.

“All this DSP, and Skimmers, and clusters, and internet stuff. Pretty soon, we won't need the radios and antennas all together,” Giuseppi complained. “It's not the way Marconi did it and it's not the way Hiram Percy Maxim would have done it. Ham radio is supposed to be an old man and his radio, that's it.”

Giuseppi's criticisms were aired on both a posting to the CQ-Contest reflector and on his blog page.

Dayton Fashion

2010-04-12T00:40:00.006+01:00

We're only about a month away from the Dayton Hamvention, so time to start planning in earnest. In particular, the fashion scene is an important component of the Dayton experience. Big guns, little guns alike, the look at Dayton is as important as it is during Fashion Week in NYC. The top photo shows one of the vendors at a recent hamfest hawking the latest in haute couture for public service activities. Yellow safety vests never go out of style in the ham radioverse, just ask around on your favorite repeater.

The LIDS can't compete with the yellow safety vest, but over at the Fi-Ni Report's home for official merchandise, we do have a new shirt in yellow certain to get you the attention you crave, and an apt description of most of the official LIDS. See the second picture above.

We still have official Lost Island DX Society logo shirts and the beeutiful Dr. DX shirts. Order yours now so you'll have them in time for Dayton.

CQWW Phone Changes for 2010

2010-04-01T03:23:00.001+01:00

April 1, 2010, Hicksville, NY – The CQWW Contest Committee announced today that the 2010 CQWW DX Phone contest will be run exclusively on AM (amplitude modulation). No SSB (single sideband) contacts will count for the contest.

The decision by the contest committee is an attempt to merge the growing contest activity worldwide with the increasing interest in boatanchor radio gear as the aging amateur radio population becomes increasingly nostalgic.

“All the time we’re hearing hams complaining that radio was so much more fun in the old days – less QRM, more gentlemanly behavior. And they’re always talking about how great those old radios were. We can’t go back in time, but we can try to re-create those days by having everybody go back to using the gear they had back then,” said CQWW spokesmodel Gene Dylan, W3ZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

The announcement has sent contesters hurrying to their user’s manuals to see if their current radios are capable of operating in AM mode. “On my radio, I had to go to menu 47-6, subfunction 23, option 17, alternate function ‘b’ to activate AM,” said contester Henri Poisson, AP/F0OL. “It took me four hours of reading and fiddling with the radio to find it. Once I turned it on, I couldn’t believe how inconsiderate those lousy SSB’ers were with their Donald Duck sounding signals.”

Others are rapidly scrounging for AM gear from their youth or before. There has been a noticeable increase in the number of AM-capable radios being sought and sold at hamfests and online swap forums. Heathkit DX-35 transmitters are reportedly selling for $300-500 more than they were just six months ago, which is to say they are now selling for $325-525.

The higher duty cycle requirements of AM will force participants to run radios and amplifiers at much reduced power levels than typical during SSB contests. Some Italian stations are reportedly only able to generate 2 kW of modulated audio with their amplifiers on AM, while several Russian contest stations have reportedly been able to achieve 5 kW of modulated audio while backing down their contest amps.

One of the side benefits of switching to AM for the contest is that most non-contest users of the bands will continue to operate SSB. Thus, contesters will suffer much less QRM from non-participants and won’t be able to understand their complaints.

The switch to AM for the CQWW DX Phone contest is but one new idea the CQWW Contest Committee is considering. If the AM version of the contest does not prove to popular, or propagation does not continue to improve, and complaints from non-participants continues, the committee is considering moving all of the CQWW contests over to QSOnet.com. But for 2010, it will be all AM.

Welcome eham readers!

2010-03-31T17:16:00.002+01:00

Poisson d'Avril Contest 2010

2010-03-30T15:48:00.001+01:00

We are once again about to witness one of the most blatantly corrupt, nefarious, perfidious, and unscrupulous events of the year. No, it’s not time for another congressional election. I refer to the Poisson d’Avril Contest, held every April 1^st, whether anyone cares or not. This is advertised as the 56^th running of the Poisson d’Avril Contest, although records only seem to exist back to 2006.

K1DG, by his own proclamation, has won every running of the contest since its inception. That should make K1DG fast approaching an age that should give others hope of winning this contest soon. Very soon.

Despite rule changes and calls for more openness in adjudication of the results, K1DG has maintained a steadfast attitude of “Nana nana na-na”. He has even gone so far as to retain the services of the law firm of Hungadunga, Hungadunga, Hungadunga, Hungadunga, and McCormick to defend his grip on control of the contest. Frankly, we are impressed. But we’ll still put the LIDS official law firm of Howe, Dewy, Cheatham, and Wynn up against them any day.

The LIDS considered funding a CQWW-style observer to go to K1DG’s station and observe him during the contest. But the plan was abandoned when it was pointed out that the problem was not in the contest, but in the scoring. As LBJ once said, “Let ‘em vote for who that want to, just as long as I get to count the votes.” DG is our LBJ.

So, once again this Thursday, the electorate will sheepishly head to the polls and re-elect the same scoundrels to office. Wait. That’s not for another six months.

So, once again this Thursday, the hopeful and the brash will attempt to de-throne the king of Poisson from his self-appointed throne. Regardless of the band conditions, regardless of the QRM, regardless of activity level, we think we know how this will all turn out.

New 4Q Expedition Announced

2010-03-30T01:13:00.002+01:00

Despite the mysterious and possibly tragic end to the LIDS DXpedition to Sri Lanka, another fearless group is mounting their own temptation of fate. May God have mercy on their souls.....

LIDSfest 2010 Opens Up Spring Hamfest Season

2010-03-22T17:47:00.001Z

One of the sure signs of the coming of spring is the beginning of the hamfest season. While not limited to spring time, spring hamfests are as sure a sign of warm weather as flip flops and tank tops, a combo preferably not seen at hamfests.

Last weekend saw the 2010 LIDSfest hamfest and swap meet sponsored by the Lost Island DX Society held at the Far And Away Community Center in Lake Lid. LIDSfest brought many LIDS and others out of winter hibernation to renew old acquaintances and pick over the goodies in the flea market. Being early in the spring, it appeared that some of the LIDS had not gotten around to taking their spring bath just yet. But any odiferous offenders were masked by the perfume from the lady at the Avon table in the flea market.

The LIDSfest flea market had the usual expected vendors - the Avon lady, the knock-off wallet and purse vendors, the crochet tea and toilet paper cozy lady, and even the Girl Scout cookies - peppered in among the electronic detritus brought in by the diehards. Most of the electro-mechanical bits and pieces appeared to have been originally manufactured during the 50' or 60's and have probably not seen daylight since the last hamfest of the fall. There was a plentiful assortment of flea market vendors selling two and three generation old laptops and even a few Apples manufactured during the period when Steve Jobs was not the head of the company.

A few boatanchor aficionados held court with a collection of Hallicrafters, Harvey-Wells', and Swans, all looking very uncollectable. For the ESSB enthusiast, a multitude of audio mixer boards and other devices that could be dual purposed for the shack or the garage band were readily available.

Beside the LED light and battery dealer sat a lone table containing a modern vintage HF transceiver and a CW paddle, the only one visible in the flea market.

Original plans for LIDSfest 2010 included a forum highlighting the LIDS' UP5LID and 4Q2LID Dxpeditions conducted back in October 2009. However, the loss of the UP5LID laptop containing the DXpedition logs, also containing all the digital photos taken during the DXpedition, made a presentation problematic. As no word to date has been heard from the 4Q2LID team, despite efforts to locate the camp of the Tamil Tiger's baseball training camp, a small memorial service was held in their memory.

Many hamfests also include forums with local or regional officials from the ARRL to discuss current issues of vital importance to the amateur community. Unfortunately, all local ARRL officials, even down to ORS appointees, were previously engaged and could not attend.

No hamfest is complete with the requisite hamfest food. Not to disappoint, the local volunteer fire department, which was providing the food, managed to find some three month old hot dog buns and freezer burned weenies to insure that patrons left LIDSfest with a taste, and heartburn, they would remember all year long. In keeping with other hamfests, the prices of hot dogs were kept equal to the admission ticket price. Plans to offer BBQ at LIDSfest were derailed when a local PETA group threatened to demonstrate. PETA representatives were, however, satisfied that the hot dogs contained so little actual animal product, they would not object to their sale.

By day's end, many happy LIDS left with new connectors and batteries, as well as LED lights. They got to see old friends and make some new ones and tell them both their latest lies. Attendance was good, despite the economy and everyone is looking forward to next year's LIDSfest - same time, same place.

CQ-Contest Schedule

2010-03-17T13:53:00.012Z

The CQ-Contest email reflector is a wonderfully open, free flowing forum for the world of competitive contesters to discuss the matters of the day within the contesting community. Whether it is the latest for the contester's toolbox to maintain or gain a competitive edge, or merely airing frustrations about the current band conditions or latest contest rule change, CQ-Contest is the predominant forum for active, and not so active, contesters.

Newcomers or occasional readers of the CQ-Contest traffic may have a hard time following the flow of the reflector. Long time avid readers, and contributors, will notice that certain threads make periodic reappearances with some regularity, i.e. everything old is new again. And again. And again.

To help followers of CQ-Contest, the Fi-Ni Report is offering the following schedule for common discussion topics along with an approximate schedule of their appearance. Hopefully this will help the newbie, occasional, and avid reader from committing a faux pax by bringing up a topic out of season. It is also useful in helping contributors plan their arguments for the next round of "discussions".

Hopes for a New One Dashed

2010-03-07T20:40:00.002Z

A recent announcement of a DXpedition to the Principality of Seborga briefly raised the hopes of The Deserving that a New One was one the horizon. HA3HK announced an operation from the small enclave in Italy using the callsign T03HK (Tango Zero Three Hotel Kilo), but within days announced he would not be using the daring T03 call.

The Principality of Seborga, also known as a micro-nation, has claimed independence since the early 1960's, due to being overlooked in the Act of Unification for the Kingdom of Italy in 1861, and has even had an informally elected prince, Prince Giorgio Carbone, know locally as 'Your Tremendousness'. We point out the prince's titular title in order to avoid any confusion with the leader of the Lost Island DX Society, Cousin QRM. The LIDS have actively encouraged the promotion of micro-nations for classification as separate DX entities, and the Principality of Seborga certainly adheres to the requirements.

The decision by HA3HK to not use the T03 call (an unassigned ITU prefix) is purported to be motivated by the encouragement of the Seborga ruling council and his desire to adhere to Italian law. Given the proliferation of '300 Watt' amplifiers in Italy, this seems akin to worrying about a smoking ban in the middle of a forest fire, but adherence to law and order is always safest.

Sources close to the Serborga administration have given the Fi-Ni Report exclusive background on why they discouraged HA3HK from using the T03 callsign.

When the Seborga town council learned of the planned DXpedition, they began researching ham radio and in particular the peculiar world of DXing. After reviewing stories in QST, the DX Magazine, and other sources with reports of DXpeditions, they began to comprehend the full impact of the possibility of the Principality of Seborga becoming a New One. While the international recognition of Seborgian independence was attractive, the town council feared the small enclave could not withstand the inevitable invasion of Finns, Germans, English, and American DXpeditioners desiring to activate the newly declared DX entity. Last fall, a bus load of errant Estonians on a weekend drinking binge had broken down in Seborga and nearly destroyed the village square in their revelry and terrorized the local livestock to the point where milk and cheese production was down almost 50% for the following month. On the bright side, they did manage to exhaust the previous year's vintage of a particularly nasty local Cabernet Sauvignon that the residents had begun using as a degreaser.

The local council officially proclaimed that they did not want to antagonize the Italian government and thought the T03 DXpedtion might be considered an act of aggression, hence they discouraged HA3HK from using his desired callsign. HA3HK has announced that he will adhere to the Italian rules for operation by a visiting amateur, including the use of a I-prefix for the operation. There are rumors, though, that he has invited a contingent of ES amateurs to join him on the operation. No word on if they have accepted.

15m Band Reappears After Long Absence

2010-03-01T18:23:00.001Z

The 15 Meter Band recently reappeared after an unexplained absence of more than three years.

The 15 Meter Band, a workhorse for contesters and DX'ers worldwide, has been missing for over three years but recently made an unexpected, but long overdue, reappearance during the recent ARRL DX CW contest. No explanation of the long absence was offered by the band. When approached for a comment, the sometimes cantankerous band responded with "Wha'sit to ya? Bugger off."

The band, which performed brilliantly at its peak, was often undependable and erratic in the years before it's disappearance. It was known for periodic, unexplained absences, at time failing to show up for weekend contests with no explanation or apologies offered.

The recent three plus year absence has been attributed by supporters to certain solar conditions. However the band has been hounded with allegations of substance abuse for years. It was rumored that the 15 Meter Band has shared time in rehab with such celebrities as Charlie Sheen and Brittney Spears, with whom it was rumored to have been romantically linked.

Representatives for the band claim it is in good health and will only continue to improve with each contest and will soon be demonstrating the performance that made it a superstar at its peak.

The 15 Meter Band's cousin, the 10 Meter Band, is still missing in action with the exception of some small, weak flurries of activities.

Rookie Rumblings

2010-02-15T17:44:00.003Z

The ARRL's new Rookie Roundup Contest won't be run for another eight weeks, but it is already stirring up consternation among the contesteratti. The Rookie Roundup, aimed at enticing newcomers to the wonderful world of radio sports, is also an experiment in dragging the collective heels of the contesting community into the 21st century.

One of the innovative aspects of the Rookie Roundup is the requirement for pseudo-real time logging. Although the details are a bit murky on how it is supposed to work, all log entries are due at the ARRL score server within ten minutes of the end of the contest.

The Luddite contingent of the contesting peanut gallery has been in full attack mode over the quick reporting requirement. Using the straw-man argument of the dyslexic, back-woods rookie with Parkinson's disease and only a 300 baud dial-up internet connection, the Luddite's are decrying the discrimination of this fictitious rookie who will never be able to make the League's ten minute deadline.

There are, however, additional rules in the inaugural Rookie Roundup that have escaped the attention of the armchair contest lawyers.

The exchange for the contest includes the year licensed, referred to the as the "check" in the rules. This exactly parallels the ARRL November Sweepstakes exchange. In the Rookie Roundup, the focus group are the rookie competitors, defined as those licensed within the last three years, so obviously their "check" should either be 08, 09, or 10. However, the question of whether non-rookie participants are as free to be creative with their "checks" as they are in Sweepstakes has not been addressed by the armchair lawyers. For those wishing to argue either for or against a strict interpretation of the "check" definition, there are large numbers of messages on the CQ-Contest reflector from the October time frame that can be cut and pasted with little editing.

The definition of rookie may even be problematic. The rules only define a rookie as having a "check" from the current or preceding two calendar years, where "check" is defined as the "two-digit number of the year first licensed ".

The Contest Litigation branch of Howe, Dewy, Cheatham, and Wynn, LLC, is rumored to be investigating the possibility that the rookie class definition could be extended to a club station licensed within the defined time frame. If so, it is rumored that a contingent of Type-A Big Gun contesters may be preparing to apply for new club licenses.

Sprint Warm-Up

2010-02-12T13:25:00.003Z

It's only four days until the inaugural running of the Fat Tuesday Sprint. For those wanting to enter the LU class, this weekend offers numerous opportunities to hone your skills. Very fittingly, the Louisiana QSO Party is this weekend. I'm sure the Louisiana Contest Club will be well represented. You can train for the Fat Tuesday Sprint while helping our Cajun cousins to laissez les bons temps rouler in their QSO party.

Coincidentally, the good folks at National Contest Journal also scheduled a 'normal' sprint for this weekend as well in order to help you prepare for the Fat Tuesday Sprint. Fat Tuesday rules probably won't help your score in their sprint.

The Facts Are...

2010-02-10T12:48:00.002Z

The Fi-Ni Report's regular readers (although one can argue that anyone reading the Fi-Ni Report can not be call 'regular') understand the unique viewpoint promulgated by this site and the peculiar collection of individuals who comprise the Lost Island DX Society (LIDS). However, occasionally a member of mainstream amateur radio society will stumble upon one of our sporadic missives and incur intestinal distress at the erroneous and even slanderous content that typically comprises at least 80% of any individual Fi-Ni Report.

When one of our reports is taken as factual, this brings a collective smile to the faces of the 100 monkeys with Selectrics we employ in the back room writing copy. (Due to a limited budget for bananas, we can only employee 100 monkeys, which is why you ain't getting Shakespeare here)

For the uninitiated who mistake the Fi-Ni Report for radio-sport.net or Amateur Radio Newsline, let us be clear:

The Fi-Ni Report is to factual reportage what talk radio is to rational discourse. We are as concerned with accuracy as the US congress is concerned with balancing the federal budget.

On the off chance we accidentally publish something factual, we hide behind our first amendment rights and back it up with our second amendment ones. That anyone reads these pages is a continual source of amazement and further proof of the failings of our educational system. That anyone would consider seriously the rambling of a know-it-all blowhard is unfathomable. But then again, 73 magazine did run for 43 years, so maybe we have a future after all.

- Cousin QRM, Chief of the LIDS

Fat Tuesday Sprint Contest

2010-02-09T13:36:00.001Z

The Lost Island DX Society is sponsoring a new sprint style contest in celebration of Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday. The inaugural Fat Tuesday Sprint will take place on, when else, Fat Tuesday, February 16, 2010. The Fat Tuesday Sprint differs from the traditional Sprint rules in subtle but important ways, Read the rules carefully.

Rules:

1. Eligibility: All licensed amateurs may enter, but only those of legal drinking age are eligible to compete in the LU category.

2. Object: To make as many contacts as possible during the contest period.

3. Contest Period: 0000Z-o400Z February 17, 2010 (ok, technically Ash Wednesday UTC)

4. Bands: 160m-10m, phone and cw.

5. Contest Exchange: Serial number, name and QTH (state, province or country), Blood Alcohol Level is optional

6. Entry Classification: LU - Liquored up. LU category contestants must consume one shot of liquor (your choice) upon completion of each QSO and before attempting to make another QSO. LU class entrants may work anyone for credit.

S - Sober class. S class entrants may not work other S-class entrants for contest credit, only LU class stations for credit. S class entrants should sign their call/S to identify themselves as such.

7. Use of spotting networks or other assistance. Sure, knock yourself out.

8. Scoring: 1 point per SSB QSO, 2 points per CW QSO; Each state, province, country counts as a multiplier. Multipliers count per band. Final score is total QSO points times total multipliers.

9. Logs are due whenever you sober up (LU class) or whenever you get around to it (S class). Send logs, summaries, and comments to biggundx@gmail.com.

For LU class stations, we anticipate strategy will play a big part. Running stations will obviously lead to a potential early finish due to passing out. A careful balance between running and S&P operation will be necessary to survive the full four hours of the Fat Tuesday Sprint and maximizing your score.

Log checking will be used to detect cheating among LU class entrants. Excessively low error rates, especially later in the contest, will be cause for suspicion and potential disqualification.

S class entrants are encouraged to have as much fun with inebriated LU class stations as legally and ethically possible. This may include, but is not limited to, asking distracting questions, excessive duping, and running extreme QRP. Other suggestions for S class operation welcome.

LU class entries should include a listing of the liquor of choice used. Bonus points will be awarded for submission of certified blood alcohol content results recorded at the end of the sprint. Highest score gets most bonus points. Point values to be decided by the contest committee.

All results of the contest committee final. Not valid in Minnesota or Utah. Your results may vary.

ARRL Elects First Female President, OOOT Is Apoplectic

2010-02-04T13:53:00.001Z

At its 2010 Annual Meeting, the ARRL Board of Directors elected Kay Craigie, N3KN, as the League's 15th President to succeed Joel Harrison, W5ZN, whose chose not to seek re-election. Craigie is the first woman to hold the position of President of the ARRL.

Old, old, old timer Woodrow Fusseloot, 1OT, was apoplectic upon hearing the news that a woman had been elected to lead the ARRL. "Carn-sahrnit! What was they thinking electing a woman? Why, they can't even vote, can they? Old Hiram is probably spinning in his grave," said Fusseloot. 1OT , who is 98 years young, was licensed prior to the requirement for prefixes and has consistently refused to use one despite later regulations. He also refuses to give up his spark generator transmitter but continues to fiddle with his 'new-fangled' regen receiver.

Elsewhere, reaction to Craigie's election has been considerably warmer. Heads of national amateur radio societies around the world have sent notes of congratulations and well wishes to Craigie. She has even received a message from the head of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea Radio Society (DPRKRS) who said, "We congratulate the imperialist running dog N3KN ascendancy to the throne of the ARRL. The DPRKRS is willing to accept declarations of surrender from the ARRL at our convenience."

League insiders say that Craigie has her work cut out for her in cleaning up the mess created by outgoing president W5ZN. "His office is a total disaster zone. There are coffee cups everywhere, stacks of paper. And there's a stain on the chair that I have no idea what it is or how it got there," said an HQ staffer who did not wish to be named.

Craigie, who is originally from Pennsylvania, now lives in Blacksburg, VA, home to the University of Virginia, also known as the Mountaineers. She is married to Carter Craigie, N3AO, who will assume duties as the ARRL's First Lady to President Craigie.

Scientists Discover That SID Is Actually Caused By Man Named Sid

2010-02-03T13:12:00.002Z

Scientists have discovered the HF radio propagation phenomenon called sudden ionospheric disturbance (SID) is actually caused by a man named Sid.

For decades scientists have claimed that the sudden, unexpected, short duration loss of ionospheric propagation referred to as SID was caused by a large influx of solar particles that saturated the ionosphere and dramatically increased D-layer absorption. The phenomenon occurs randomly and usually produces HF propagation outages that lasts from tens of minutes to perhaps several hours at a time. Previous studies have linked the occurrence of SID to high sunspot and solar flux activity. The onset of a SID is quite sudden and dramatic and often described as if someone flipped a switch on the ionosphere, turning propagation off. Now, it turns out that may be exactly what is happening.

Scientists now say that the ionosphere is actually controlled by a light switch in the basement of the home of Sid Bloomfield of Nimrod, Arkansas. Bloomfield, who has lived in the same house since 1949, says that when he moved into the house, he and his wife Shirley found a light switch in the basement that did seem to be connected to anything in the house.

"For years I tried to figure out what that switch was for. I'd flip it and try to find a light or outlet that it was hooked to, but never could," said Bloomfield, 73. "I'd eventually forget about it, but every couple of years or so, I'd remember it and flip it and look some more. Usually after a couple of minutes or an hour or so, I'd give up and flip it back, just in case it was hooked to something important."

Scientists discovered that the timing of Sid Bloomfield's flipping of the light switch corresponded to occurrences of sudden ionospheric disturbances in the western hemisphere. They concluded that somehow the light switch in Sid Bloomfield's basement is connected directly to the ionosphere and it has the capability to turn it off and on. The exact mechanism is unknown, but theories based on quantum particle entanglement have been advanced as the most likely explanation.

Meanwhile Bloomfield is happy just knowing what the switch does. "I don't really understand it all. They tried to explain to me about the iron-sphere up in the sky. That's all way beyond me. When they first told me about it, all I could think about was 'There's iron up there?' But I'm just glad someone figured out what that switch in my basement does. Now I know, I won't be touching it again. Of course, the grandkids sometimes play down there in the basement, an' you never know what they'll get into. But I'll keep an eye on that switch and try to make sure it stays on."

Geography Challenged Amateur Pursues WAS Award

2010-02-01T01:36:00.000Z

Nelson Whizzhiemer, N1TWT, is doggedly pursuing the ARRL Worked All States (WAS) award. Nelson, 22, was licensed less than two years ago and has enthusiastically been enjoying the HF bands. The WAS award is often the first major operating award earned by amateurs. Whizzhiemer has been steadily working new states but is frustrated that he has not worked Puerto Rico yet.

“I haven't even heard a Puerto Rican station yet.” says Whizzheimer.

When informed that Puerto Rico is not one of the United States and thus not required for the WAS award, Whizzheimer expressed relief.

When asked if he had worked Hawaii yet, Whizzheimer replied, “You can't fool me, Hawaii ain't no state. Its overseas somewheres.”

Whizzheimer is a proud product of the public school system.

Flannan Isles

2010-01-26T19:50:00.001Z

Islands are the DXers crack cocaine. There is mystery and romance that islands inspire, and not just the tropical palm trees and sweet drinks with umbrellas in them kind either. DXers find the romance of glacier covered rocks in the Antarctic to be just as compelling as humid atolls with no hint of shade and homicidal infestations of birds and crabs. The RSGB’s Islands On The Air (IOTA) program is solely devoted to this fascination with islands, big or small, rare or common. For the DXer that finds the DXCC list too trivial a challenge, the IOTA program is sure to provide some interest. A recently announced IOTA DXpedition to the Flannan Isles of Scotland, EU-118, is a good example of the extremes and challenges that is island DXing.

First a little background. Wikipedia provides a wealth of information on the Flannan Isles, namely where are they and why are they interesting. To quote,

“The Flannan Isles are a small island group in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, approximately 32 kilometres (20 mi) west of the Isle of Lewis. They may take their name from St Flannan, the 7th century Irish preacher and abbot. The islands have been devoid of permanent residents since the automation of the lighthouse in 1971. They are the location of an enduring mystery which occurred in December 1900, when all three lighthouse keepers vanished without trace.”

Ahh, a mystery. This is no run of the mill lump of moss covered granite sticking up out of the North Atlantic. It turns out that the island’s lighthouse was finished in 1899. It was manned by a three man crew with a fourth rotating crew member to provide relief. You can imagine in the days before ham radio and the internet, spending an extended period of time on a small rock with two other blokes is likely to get boring rather quickly. Less than a year after commissioning the lighthouse, in December 1900, the relief boat shows up one day to find nobody is home. The light is out, everything is normal in the lighthouse keepers quarters, except for an overturned kitchen chair, but no evidence of the three lighthouse keepers. Theories abounded as to the fate of the three missing lighthouse keepers. The official story concocted by an investigator with the National Lighthouse Board was as follows,

“From evidence which I was able to procure I was satisfied that the men had been on duty up till dinner time on Saturday the 15 December, that they had gone down to secure a box in which the mooring ropes, landing ropes etc. were kept, and which was secured in a crevice in the rock about 110 ft (34 m) above sea level, and that an extra large sea had rushed up the face of the rock, had gone above them, and coming down with immense force, had swept them completely away.”

Of course that sort of explanation just doesn’t make for much of a mystery. This is just the sort of story that is fodder for tales of paranormal activity or alien abductions. These are much more palatable than a mere story of getting washed out to sea by rough weather, so we’ll stick with those.

Alas, like most of the world’s lighthouses, the Flannan Isle lighthouse has been automated to prevent future alien abductions. Again, we’ll steal a quote from Wikipedia.

“On 28 September 1971, it was automated. A reinforced concrete helipad was constructed at the same time to enable maintenance visits in heavy weather. The light is produced by burning acetylene gas and has a range of 20 miles (32 kilometres). It is now monitored from the Butt of Lewis and the shore station has been converted into flats. Other than its relative isolation it would be a relatively unremarkable light, were it not for the events which took place just over a year after it was commissioned.”

We’re not sure who Lewis is, but we don’t envy him his job.

This June, the MS0INT team plan to activate the Flannan Isles, providing a rare IOTA island group to hungry DXers worldwide. The LIDS look forward to working them and wish them success. Just watch out for the aliens. And Lewis.

Demon DX Dog Storms the Web

2010-01-19T12:43:00.003Z

Our good friend K1NSS over at Dashtoons.com has started a nice section featuring those Second Ops many of us have in the shack. He's been kind enough to include some pics of Cousin QRM's Demon DX Dog among the gallery. Triple D hasn't mastered the key yet, but he is handy at holding a run frequency on phone while Cousin takes a bio break. Does that make Cousin Single-Op Assisted? Hardly. If anything there should be a Single-Op Distracted category. But some claim that's what the cluster is for.

Law Firm Announces Radio Sport Division

2010-01-18T16:08:00.002Z

The law firm of Howe, Dewey, Cheatham and Wynn, LLP has announced a new practice in the area of radio-sport contest rule regulation. The new radio-sport division will be led by Arthur Phil Dodger. Art has been a partner in Howe, Dewey, Cheatham and Wynn since 1998 when he pioneered the legal defense strategy of "depends on what the meaning of 'is' is".

The radio-sport rules division will bring their expertise in contract and tort law to assist top tier (i.e. Big Gun) single-op and multi-op contest stations in developing technology and operating strategies to implement cutting edge approaches to winning radio-sport contests while maintaining adherence to the current rules.

With increasing scrutiny of top competitors by contesting committees and evolving rule changes to meet perceived inadequacies, Howe, Dewey, Cheatham and Wynn can provide the level of legal analysis necessary to insure a priori adherence to the contest rules and also provide capable defense afterwards in the event of accusations of impropriety.

At the time of the announcement, no clients of the new radio-sport division of Howe, Dewy, Cheatham and Wynn were publicly identified, but anonymous sources indicate that Xtreme contesters Macho Cuesew and Leche Dinero have signed as clients.

Just Keeping It Honest

2010-01-15T01:50:00.001Z

It's getting tougher and tougher to keep things honest.

First I worried that someone would accuse me of running excessive power. So I bought one of those fancy digital wattmeters with a threshold sensor. I had the factory set the threshold to 1499 watts, just to be safe. If I ever hit 1500W, the meter would automatically trip the amplifier off.

Then I worried that I might be accused of using the cluster while entering unassisted. So I canceled my internet service and sold off all of my packet gear and VHF/UHF radios. I just do all my email and websurfing at work. Things are a little slow these days, so no one notices.

Someone said that it might be cheating to use those databases of calls, names, and QTHs with your logging program. Well, I hate to do it, but I gave up using computer logging and went back to paper and pencil. Just me, my radio and a log sheet.

Then someone said it wasn't fair that I had a mental database of calls and such from all the years of contests I've operated. So I started drinking heavily between contests, sobering up just long enough to work the contests. I've managed to forget most of what I knew, but have to admit I still occasionally recognize a friend's call.

Now some are claiming I might be cheating if someone tells me about a needed mult or rare band opening on the air during a contest, even if I didn't ask them about it. All I know to do is to unplug the headphones and keep the volume turned all the way down to make sure I don't hear anything I shouldn't. It's going to make it harder to make Qs, but I'll keep CQing and hope my ESP gets better.

Big Gun Contesting and DXing - A Look Forward

2010-01-03T22:29:00.002Z

This is the start of not just a new year, but the start of new decade. We thought this would be a good time to take a look forward to see what the future of Big Gun DXing and Contesting will look like. To get an idea of the future, we went to the most advanced Big Gun we know - Macho Cuesew, the king of Xtreme contesters. Below is Macho's essay in his own words. It does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Lost Island DX Society, the Fi-Ni Report, or Major League Baseball.

The future Big Gun and his station will be modeled on NASCAR. Radios, antennas, towers, they're all expensive and sponsorship is the way to get to the big time, unless you're independently wealthy or a successful gambler.

In exchange for the sponsor's help, naturally I'll help advertise their products - all off the air of course. I've already ordered myself one of those jumpsuits like the NASCAR drivers wear. Across the chest and back I'll have the major sponsor's logos emblazoned, and have smaller patches on the arms and legs for minor sponsors. I'll wear the jumpsuit at every 'appearance' I make, like hamfests and club meetings. So don't be surprised if in April you see me at Dayton with my jumpsuit on, Icom across the chest, Force-12 across the back, Vibroplex on the right arm, Dunestar on the left. Of course this is all pending getting those sponsors on boards.

But the real key to promoting myself as a Big Gun and getting those sponsors is the web. Several Big Gun stations have started streaming live audio during contests from their stations. A few are even doing live video as well. This is a great way to get and keep little guns and beginners interested in big-time contesting. But all those eyeballs and ears are also potential customers for my sponsors.

I'll equip the shack with live video and audio, in HD and stereo, to broadcast every contest. It'll be just like the NASCAR in-car cameras, except full-time. That also means arranging the shack to insure that sponsor's products are prominently displayed for all to see. Of course, I'll also wear my jumpsuit to operate every contest.

Now, this is where we make the jump to the real big time. Once we have those viewers watching during the contest, we can expand beyond traditional radio equipment suppliers. Just like NASCAR went beyond car and parts manufacturers to sign up sponsors like Tide and Viagra, we can do the same thing in contesting.

Just like in the movies, the key will be product placement. So, for example, I can have a Red Bull energy drink sitting there on the operating desk that I can sip from, or a Starbucks coffee mug with my coffee in it. The key is finding products that would interest contesters and DXers, or even hams in general.

You can even slip in an occasional endorsement since there will be live audio. For example, you might casually comment, "Boy, that Alpha Big Boy amp sure busts the pileups easily", or " That Red Fulla-Bull energy drink sure wakes me up!".

There's a non-radio product that is ideal to pitch to both serious contesters as well the generally graying ham radio population, but I'm having trouble convincing the manufacturer. That product is Depends. My best idea so far to during the contest let out a big sigh and comment, "Depends lets me keep running." Shoot, that could make a YouTube video ad by itself.

We can also stick in plugs for our sponsors in our soapbox comments, not unlike the post-race interviews with the NASCAR drivers. For example, the soapbox for the next big contest might read like this: "I tell ya', the Yaesu/Ameritron/Cushcraft/Depends super station was just awesome this weekend. We were a little slow there at the start due to some local power line QRM, but once that cleared up we had some great runs to Europe in large part thanks to those heavy duty Depends which help keep us in the chair. Toward the end of the contest we got a little drowsy, but a double shot of Stahbucks espresso gave me the jolt I needed to make it to the end. "

The future Big Gun may very well be named Ricky Bobby.

Fi-Ni Report's End of Year Top Ten List

2009-12-31T02:14:00.002Z

End of the year means it's time to look back and look forward. My crystal ball is a little murky, but here is Cousin QRM's Top Ten Contest and DX Events for 2009. This is a very scientific culmination of what popped into my head. Agree? Disagree? Enjoy.

1. Sunspots

Or rather the lack of them. The predictions by the 'experts' throughout that year that cycle 24 would start "any time now" had the hollow ring of the politician's cry that the economic recovery was "imminent". Finally, we did see some sun spots toward the end of the year. But so far Cycle 24 has been about as robust as the economic recovery.

2. CQWW Contest Committee Gets Some Cohonies

After years of not-so-quietly-whispered rumors about rampant cheating by some competitors, the contesting world was SHOCKED to see several disqualifications handed down by the CQWW Contest Committee. On a roll, the contest committee then implemented some rule changes, among them the requirement for competitors to allow on-site visits to stations during the contest. No more looking at your neighbor's paper for the answers. Now if the ARRL would follow suit.

3. New contest clubs

2009 saw it's usual bemoaning of the death of amateur radio. But the sport of radio contesting continues to attract more and more participants, except from the world of nets. The most encouraging sign of the growth in contesting is the establishment of at least two new regional contest clubs. The Arizona Outlaws and the Louisiana Contest Club opened up shop this year, bringing new blood and camaraderie to the contesting scene. Growth is a sign of health.

4. DXpeditions

It seems no matter where we are in the sunspot cycle, there are always intrepid adventurers ready to go to some rock in an ocean and provide The Deserving with a new one, or two. For 2009 we tip our hat to the folks who brought us K5D, K4M, TX3A, and VK9GMW. They brought us top drawer entertainment, not to mention a couple of new counters.

5. 7O1YGF Accreditation

This one belongs among the Eternal Enigmas of DXing. We had long ago tossed this card in with our Romeo collection for the DXDCCC award. Suddenly, eight years after the fact, this one counts. Like manna from Newington, the news had many of us jumping for joy. Given recent world developments, this may likely be the last operation from 7O for some time, unless you count occupation forces.

6. Xtreme Contesting

The CQWW Contesting Committee makes our year end list again. Showing foresight and courage, they created a new just-about-anything-goes category to encourage advancement of the technology that is going to take radiosporting into the 21st century. While we've yet to see what will be made of this new opportunity, we applaud the effort to make it available. Ultimately, Machco Cueso and Leche Dinero will be recognized as the champions they are.

7. Blogs

This entry might seem a bit self-serving, but as the year came to an end, Cousin QRM had an epiphany. I get more of my day-to-day amateur radio news, information and entertainment from blogs than anywhere else. KA3DRR, K3NG, and G4ILO are must-reads on a regular basis, for their blog rolls if nothing else. Radio-sport.net is THE source for actual contesting news. Sad to say that the traditional dead-tree news sources have shrunk in importance. They are still enjoyable for the articles, but there is little 'news' in them by the time they arrive on the doorstep. This is true throughout the publishing industry, but our small niche is perhaps more vulnerable than the mass-market magazines. Hopefully, they can still turn a profit and keep publishing.

8. CQ-Contest

Like a pair of favorite worn-out jeans, the CQ-Contest reflector continues to provide comfort and utility. Comfort in knowing that regardless of whatever else may happen in the world, we can count on the annual arguments about cut numbers, Sweepstakes checks, and packet cheating. Somewhere among all the chaff, is an occasional nugget of useful information that (usually) makes all the other worthwhile. Not to mention that it provides inspiration for at least half the entries on this blog.

9. LoTW

The ARRL's Logbook of the World has matured into a useful tool for the DX'er. It still has it's many flaws, but it's still the best show in town. We still miss getting those pieces of cardboard with funny looking stamps on them, but the cost and time savings make LoTW a winner in my book. When first announced, I wondered how LoTW would affect the "business" model of DXpeditons depending on QSL donations for support. It appears that DXpeditoners have adapted to the new realities and it does not appear that LoTW is severely hampering their operations. Now, if we could only get ARRL and CQ and all the other awards to play nice and share with one another.

10. Did I say Ten?

Well, I can only think of nine.

Contest Community College 2010

2009-12-16T21:42:00.001Z

The Big Guns over at Contest University have announced the opening of registration for the 2010 session of Contest University, to again be held in conjunction with (but not affiliated with) the Dayton Hamvention.

Most of us LIDS never make it to Dayton and if we did, we'd be too intimidated to enroll in something as prestigious sounding as Contest University. So if you're like us, but still think education is the path to Big Gunnery, don't forget the LIDS own Contest Community College. It's a correspondence course, so you can save your money, and we grade on a curve (if your check clears, you pass).

Below are some of the topics for the 2010 session of the LIDS Contest Community College. Compare our curriculum to the Contest University one and see if ours doesn't meet more of your needs. Registration is open now.

CCC 2010 Topics:

• Radio Contesting Relaxed Ethics - Bigger scores, less work, mo' fun

• Logging - Accuracy = How to Up Your Rate

• Ergonomics and Station Efficiency - How to make room for your keyboard and your beer

• Very Basic Antenna Applications - The PL-259 goes where?

• Where to put your antennas -NOT where your XYL suggested

• VHF Contesting - Yes, Virginia, there's something besides repeaters up there

• DX Clusters and Contesting - how to hide your IP address from K1TTT

• RTTY Contesting - F-keying your way to victory (some material may duplicate CW Contesting)

• Mobile Contesting - As if cell phones weren't distracting enough

• CQWW and ARRL DX Contests - Four events you'll never win

• Advanced Antenna Applications - Fitting a Big Bertha into a suburban backyard

• Sprint Contesting - a whole weekend of insanity compressed into a few hours

• Advanced Sprint Contesting - caffeine is you friend

• QSO Parties - just because it's a "party" it doesn't mean you break out the hors d'oeuvres

• DXpedition Contesting - DX you'll never work from places you'll never be able to afford to go to

• Propagation - No, we STILL ain't got no sunspots

• WPX Contest - M/S means what now?

• CW Skimmer - I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that .

• Big Gun Station Economics - Ponzi schemes for beginners

The Considerate Operator's Net

2009-12-05T17:46:00.004Z

The Lost Island DX Society is proud to announce a new on-air activity. The LIDS are sponsoring the Considerate Operator's Net, an event to celebrate the public service, friendship and utility of the plethora of nets, formal and informal, that operate throughout the amateur radio bands.

The burden of calling, controlling, and guarding the frequency of a net falls upon the shoulders of a handful of dedicated net control stations. The Considerate Operator's Net's goal is to train new net control operators as well as celebrate participation in nets.

Participants in the Considerate Operator's Net are encouraged to train as net control operators by finding a frequency and calling their own net. The suggested procedure is to call "CQ Considerate Operator's Net Test". This is somewhat unwieldy, so it is expected that many participants will shorten this to "CQ CON Test".

Participants not actively training as net control stations are encouraged to check into the nets being called by the net controllers. It is recommended that net control stations give check-in stations a signal report and indicate their approximate location by announcing their CQ zone number. Likewise, check-in stations should also give the net control station a signal report and their CQ zone number. The net control station may then dismiss the check-in station from his/her net and allow them to proceed to check into other nets while the net control station continues to take additional check-in stations to his/her net.

Net control stations and net participants are encouraged to maintain a log of all nets checked into and net check-ins that occur during the activity period. Certificates will be awarded based on the number of total net check-ins and nets checked-into. There is no differentiation between checking into a net or being a net controller and taking check-ins. Both activities count equally. Net logs will be collected and the activity reported at a later date.

Final details and timing of the Considerate Operator's Net activity have not been determined at this time, but preliminary planning indicates the last weekend in October might be a good date for the activity. If it proves popular, we might expand the Considerate Operator's Net test to other weekends.

Tis' the Season

2009-12-03T02:03:00.004Z

.... to wonder just what kind of word is tis'?

Given the current state of the economy, most of us aren't looking for a new Alpha under the Christmas tree or for Santa to leave a load of Rohn 55 in the driveway this year. But don't despair, you can find some inexpensive goodies at the official LIDS store to stuff your stocking with. And for less cheesy stocking stuffers, the LIDS recommend checking out the books and other items from our friends at Dashtoons as well.

We now return to our usual programming.

Disclaimers and Disavowals

2009-11-30T18:16:00.002Z

Recently W4KAZ felt compelled to issue a disclaimer on his blog disavowing any and all connection to the Fi-Ni Report. Apparently the rumor, accusations and innuendo attributing the Fi-Ni Report to him became too much to bear. We understand. One man can only withstand so much slander.

The Lost Island DX Society and the Fi-Ni Report are happy to affirm the innocence of W4KAZ and clear him of all blame. W4KAZ is acquainted with lots of LIDS, but aren't we all?

While we are at it, we'll take the opportunity to clear up some other rumors regarding the LIDS and the Fi-Ni Report:

1. The Lost Island DX Society is not a powerful, super secret society of Big Guns who REALLY run things in the DX and contesting world much like the Masons and the Knights Templar run the rest of the world. While membership in the LIDS is strictly controlled (you just have to ask to join, that's all) that hardly makes it exclusive. Most members of LIDS keep quiet about it out of shame and good sense, KA3DRR excepted. We are reminded of Groucho Marx's comment that he'd never join a club that would have him as a member. Most hams feel the same way about the LIDS.

That being said, the LIDS' occasional foray into the nation's capital to lobby the powers that be or their periodic DX conventions in Las Vegas might be seen as gatherings of power and influence. We'll do nothing to dissuade that impression as it helps us write off our liquor tab and gambling losses as legitimate business expenses.

If curiosity about the membership of the Lost Island DX Society ever gets the best of you, next time you hear a Big Gun station on the air, just ask him/her "Are you one of them LIDS?" Their answer should remove any doubts.

2. The LIDS and the Fi-Ni Report disavow any connection, influence, or cooperation with the following:

a. The sunspot cycle (we leave that to the Palos Verdes Sundancers)

b. QST, CQ magazine and Wayne Green

c. The M/S rule change for CQ WPX

d. The Kennedy assassination

e. The approval of 7O1YGF for DXCC credit

As stated in our profile, the Fi-Ni Report aspires to the journalistic standards set by The Weekly World News. For those unfamiliar with this paragon of supermarket tabloid journalism, it is printed on the finest birdcage liner and fish wrapping paper available. It has been an invaluable resource for housetraining puppies since its inception. We have limited the Fi-Ni Report to electronic form in an effort to prevent the useless slaughter of trees to give physical form to the useless slaughter of "news" that we create.

LIDS Sweepstakes

2009-11-24T01:38:00.001Z

Sunday night brought down the curtain on another year of November madness. No, not Black Friday, that's still to come - Sweepstakes. This year's phone Sweepstakes was certainly a fun ride and it looks like many records will be broken.

All, however, was not easy going. The Lost Island DX Society's resident phone expert, Rusty Key, suffered a severe burn to his tongue Saturday morning while having his morning coffee. As a result, Rusty's speech was severely impaired. Of course, he had not previously prepared the wav files for his voice keyer, so Rusty was forced to spend the weekend calling ,"Theee Coooo Thweeeeppp Thaaaks, Theee Coooo Thweeeppp Thaaaks." That made getting a run going very difficult, which forced Rusty to spend most of the contest in search-and-pounce mode.

But even that was an exercise in frustration. Many (most?) ops had trouble translating exchanges like "Numma Freee Freee Thiickks Bwaah-wo" which resulted in lots of requests for repeats. It appears that some Sweepstakes operators have a cruel streak in them as some of the repeated requests for repeats were accompanied by audible snickers.

This obviously made for a difficult contest. That frustration was the likely source of Rusty's mistake on Sunday when, while trying to swing the beam between NWT and VI for the multipliers, he went past the rotor stops and destroyed the rotor. Rusty's beam is now orientated perfectly for working HC8 next weekend, but probably no where else.

But all was not lost. Even with a broken rotor, Rusty managed to work all the sections for the treasured Clean Sweep. Overjoyed at his achievement, Rusty couldn't suppress himself from keying up the LIDS repeater and announcing, "Tweepp, Tweepp, I gahed a keen tweepp!" Congratulations, Rusty.

Minutes of the October LIDS Meeting

2009-11-19T21:33:00.004Z

The regular monthly meeting of the Lost Island DX Society was held in the back room of the usual watering hold, The Plugit Inn, on October 30, 2009. The meeting was called to order at 6:32 PM by newly elected President Randy.

President Randy welcomed all members and guests and commended some of them for getting in the spirit of things and wearing their Halloween costumes to the meeting, even if it was a day early. As the confused members looked around the room, President Randy realized from the uncomfortable silence that no one actually had worn a Halloween costume to the meeting. Couture has never been a strong suit of the LIDS.

The first order of business was to get drink orders in for all present. Rusty Key ordered his usual Guinness on tap, knowing full well the Plugit Inn does not carry Guinness on tap, and was once again met with a hail of spitballs and detritus. A semblance of order returned to the meeting afterwards.

President Randy announced that after giving careful consideration to the matter and discussing it with the Executive Bored of LIDS, beginning in January, the monthly LIDS meeting will begin at 7:00PM rather than the usual 6:30PM start time.

Several members immediately jumped up to express their dissatisfaction with the new start time. Among the arguments made against changing the start time were:

- If it ain't broke, why fix it?

- A later start time will discourage folks from coming to the meeting, reducing Society participation

- Some folks won't get the word and will show up at 6:30, not find anybody around and leave

- The 6:30 start time is traditional and you shouldn't mess with tradition

- Changing the start time means that we can't compare future meetings to past ones, so all the old meeting minutes will be useless

After listening to the complainers grouse for about ten minutes, a group of supporters for the meeting change chimed in and began to defend the idea of moving the meeting time. The pro-time change arguments included:

- A later start time will allow folks who work later to be able to make it to the meeting on time, which might increase meeting attendance

- Since Happy Hour at the Plugit Inn starts at 7:00, all the 807's will be Happy Hour priced instead of having to pay full price for the first one

- Half of the crowd shows up late anyhow, so a 7:00PM start time might mean everybody will be on time and there won't be so many interruptions from the late arrivals

- A later start time will likely attract new members who could never make the old start time

One old timer claimed that the meetings used to start at 7:00PM years ago, but got changed sometime back in the late sixties. Or maybe it was the seventies. Either way, he blamed the change on the AR-double L (sic).

Several of the cooler heads in the room opined that ultimately the meeting start time would make no difference in how many people showed up to a LIDS meeting, but if the price of beer kept going up, no matter what time the meeting started, fewer would show up. There was muted general agreement on the latter.

One armchair lawyer expressed the opinion that just because the meeting officially starts at 7:00PM that does not prevent individual LIDS from gathering at 6:30PM and enjoying a cold 807 before the official start of the meeting at 7:00PM. A second armchair lawyer objected to the interpretation of the first armchair lawyer, claiming that a pre-meeting gathering of LIDS was in fact a de-facto meeting, if enough LIDS showed up, and hence there was potential that society business could be conducted at this de-facto meeting outside the view of the general membership, thus any pre-meeting gathering was expressly prohibited.

Another armchair lawyer chimed in that he thought that was excessively harsh and, surely, we could trust our fellow LIDS to gather outside of an official meeting and not create mischief. Several mumblers about the room commented about "certain" members lacking moral fiber and the need for rules that could be strictly enforced. When confronted about whom the "certain" members might be, the mumblers said they didn't know of any personally, but had heard rumors of their existence.

Rusty Key spoke up and suggested that the meetings be moved to Wednesdays.

At this point in the discussion, the general membership was about half way through the second round of 807s and logic and pronunciation were being compromised. President Randy managed to get the crowd's attention by whispering that there had just been a cluster spot for a P5 station on 20m. Once he had the crowd's attention, he stated that he and the Executive Bored had already made the decision to change the meeting start time and that was that. He hoped all the loyal membership would continue to come to the meetings, but understood if some found the new start time did not fit their schedules.

C.W. Guy (French pronunciation ) announced that all loyal and steadfast LIDS should arrive anytime they wanted before 7:00PM and keep their butts in the chair until the meeting ended. There was general agreement on his point, but some question on the practicality of it, as by now the third round of 807s had arrived and the lease on the first two was expiring for many.

Having settled, more or less, the issue of meeting starting time, the Society moved on to other business. By this point in the evening, the fourth round of 807s had arrived, so details are pretty vague. There was something about some contests. Maybe some DX. I dunno.

Respectfully Submitted

Cousin QRM

Shack Security for Big Guns

2009-11-17T13:11:00.002Z

Last weekend, Mach Cuesew went to his Secret RF Lair to continue preparations for dominating the Xtreme Contesting category in the upcoming CQWW CW contest. Upon arriving, Macho noticed things in the shack looked disturbed. He immediately called his fellow Xtreme contester, Leche Dinero to inquire if he had been by the Secret RF Lair. Leche denied coming anywhere near the Secret RF Lair, as he had been busy in the ring practicing his Flying Leap off of the top rope move all week.

Macho said no equipment had been stolen or damaged, but it appears a spate of spurious cluster spots had been made from his computer over the last week. Even more confusing, it appears that some of the spots were actually legitimate, leading credence to either the blind-squirrel theory or the 1000-monkeys-in-a-room-with-a-1000-typewriters theory. Since the Secret RF Lair has only two keyboards, we favor the former theory. Either way, the security of the Secret RF Lair had been breached. Considering that the security consisted of a rusty latch with padlock that closed but didn't lock, this was not a tremendous surprise.

Macho Cuesew decided it was time to implement serious security to protect the shack of the future Xtreme Contesting Champion. Macho called up Dr. DX's Lab of Mad Sciencery for help. The good doctor was not in, but his able assistant Algor was happy to help out. Algor brought over Dr. DX's highest tech electronic lock and installed it on the door leading to the Secret RF Lair. The new lock is voice activated. There is a microphone mounted beside the door that looks a lot like the head of a D-104. To gain access, you step up to the microphone and shout "59-59-59" quickly. However, it's not that simple. The electronics are tuned to recognize only true Big Gun operators (like Macho and Leche) so the access code will really sound more like "FiNiFiNiFiNi". If you've never run a pileup in a big DX contest, you'll never be able to duplicate the sound. After installing the new lock, Algor pointed out that the lock operates off of wind power from the person yelling into the microphone, thus making the new lock very green friendly. This, of course, ignores the carbon dioxide exhaled and halitosis of the speaker.

With the Secret RF Lair newly secured, Macho Cuesew is continuing preparations for his first official championship in Xtreme Contesting. Dr. DX's FiNi Lock will be available to other Big Guns after the first of the year. In addition to securing a Big Gun shack from vandals and thieves, the FiNi Lock is also useful from keeping pesky CQWW Inspectors out during contests.

Another Kind of Code Talker

2009-11-12T21:27:00.001Z

I don't think this is the same as the Navajo code talkers.

Contest Season 2009 Mid-point

2009-11-12T14:14:00.002Z

How's your contest season going?

This is the saddle of fall activity; CQWW SSB and CW SS are behind us, SSB SS and CQWW CW are just ahead. Then there is the holiday flurry of ARRL 160m, ARRL 10m and the Stew Perry before we collapse into the end of the year. Oh yeah, we gotta stay awake or wake up long enough for Straight Key Night. (No, it's not a CONTEST, but as an operating activity, it serves to keep us humble to once a year pull out the J-38 and make an unmitigated abomination of Mr. Morse's code by trying to send something other than 5NN)

Our CQ SSB effort wasn't too awfully different from Dash's. But Cousin QRM usually finds Gummi Bears when he shakes the rig rather than pretzels. It's funny how for months we've bemoaned the lack of sunspots and poor conditions only to find 15m hopping during the world's biggest DX contest. Years ago someone once told me that a dead band was composed of thousands of operators listening for the band to open. Or maybe we just got lucky. Macho Cuesew and Leche Dinero are still trying to steal enough network bandwidth to get their worldwide network of remote receivers to work properly. Maybe by the CW contest.

Sweepstakes is always a blast, even if the cw event serves to re-enforce our humbleness even more than SKN. Cousin QRM keeps trying for that elusive sweep, and Lord knows he needs the broom to clear off the cracker crumbs from the shack table. Rusty Key pointed out that if all the LIDS lived close enough, we could enter the club category and whup all them other big contest clubs, east and west. But our wide flung membership only fits within the 'circle' that is Mother Earth. (So far, none of the astronaut-hams have expressed an interest in being one of the LIDS, but we welcome inquires.)

So this last 'free' weekend of the year will be devoted to repairing antennas and raking leaves around Dr. DX's Lab of Mad Sciencery. Get the voice keyer files recorded and polish the D-104. Polish the beam with Dr. DX's Antenna Wax, and chill the Beveridges. The rest of the year, and contest season, are coming fast.

Homebrew kW for the Big Guns

2009-11-11T01:49:00.002Z

DIY, or homebrew is one of the most active and popular areas of the amateur radio hobby, particularly among the QRP crowd.. They have been designing, building and sharing circuits for the flea power fanatics for a very long time. In fact, approximately half of the all the Altoids sold in the US have the candies thrown away just for the tins to house a Powermite or other QRP rig.

Well it's time the Big Gun QRO crowd join the fun. The next edition of QRM!, the official journal of the Lost Island DX Society (LIDS) will feature an article on a homebrew kW amplifier. But this amp doesn't depend on a big fire bottle 3-500 to make it's heat, or even a ceramic 4CX800. This is a solid state kW.

There are several solid state kW amps on the market, but they all use fancy high power transistors, which carry comparable price tags. The price of a replacement set of finals for some of these amps is worth as much as your car. Well, that is, it's worth as much as MY car. YMMV, but the ole' Gremlin still gets around pretty good.

This exciting new high power amp design uses a power device that is dirt cheap and readily available - the 2N2222, the cockroach of solid state devices. The lowly 2N2222 is the unappreciated ugly step-sister with the hairlip of the transistor family.

By itself, the 2N2222 is only capable of generating 1W of power, but put 1,000 of them in a cascode/cascade design and you've got a full gallon of RF ready to pump into the ether. But a 1,000 transistors sounds awfully expensive, doesn't it? 2N2222's are dirt cheap. 1,000 of them will run you $435 from Digi-Key. That's less than fifty-cents a watt - a bargain compared to hollow-state technology.

There is another advantage of running a massive number of solid-state devices compared to tubes or high-powered transistors - redundancy. I like to call it putting all your eggs in one basket conundrum. With a big tube amp, you might have one, two, three, or even four tubes to generate that kW. If you pop a tube, you lose, at best case a quarter of your output power. Worst case, you're back to fighting it out with the QRP, excuse me, low power crowd running a 100W. Then you've got the big expense of buying replacement tubes. Ouch! See the comment above about the price of power devices and cars.

With this new homebrew kW design you have 1,000 transistors. So what if you lose 10, 20, even 50 of them? That drops you from a kW to 950W. That's less than 0.25 dB loss. And the replacement cost is less than a week's worth of Starbuck's.

Tube amps require high voltage power supplies, typically 2kV or more. You've got to be careful around that kind of voltage, lest you end up flying across the room from an errant screwdriver. It might be fun the first time or two, but after a while the twitches become annoying.

With 2N2222's you can build this amp to run off of 12V, a nice safe voltage. And the beefy 800A power supply can be used for spot welding in a pinch as well. Dual use technology - yet another advantage to this design.

It's tough to sandwich 1,000 transistors into an Altoids tin, even if you use surface mount. But we've found a source for a special breadbox size Altoids tin that's just perfect to hold a kilo of 2N2222's. (See photo at the top of the page)

The next issue of QRM! will be available as soon as the printer finishes the that batch of contest certificates for the World Wide LIDS QSO Party. If you're not a LIDS member, but would like a copy of the new issue of QRM! with the new amp design in it – just ask one of the local LIDS to borrow their copy!

Crossing the Streams, uh, Threads

2009-10-29T14:15:00.004Z

In the wake of the CQWW phone weekend, the contest reflector is awash in the usual post-game chatter. There are however, two particular threads that are worrisome.

The first is a discussion thread about the, umm, extremes some ops go to in order to maintain a full 48-hours of butt-in-chair (BIC) time. Nature calls us all, but we don't all get up to answer, apparently.

The other is a discussion thread about self-spotting.

My fear is that these threads will inevitably merge.

The Big Event - Round One

2009-10-23T13:31:00.003+01:00

With zero hour fast approaching, all the LIDS are making last minute preparations for CQWW - The Phone Edition.

Cousin QRM is pouting that he didn't get selected by the CQWW contest committee for a station inspection.

Macho Cuesew and Leche Dinero are squirreled away in their secret lairs trying to desperately steal enough network bandwidth to operate their worldwide network of remote receivers.

Rusty Key is practicing his vocal exercises to keep his voice in shape for an entire weekend of screaming into his trusty D-104.

The LIDS will all sit out the first minute of the contest in memory of C6APR.

It's almost time, fellows. Join the LIDS and fire up the filaments, point the beam somewhere, strap in and enjoy the show. You're all Fi-Ni!

Tragedy Strikes C6APR CQWW Team

2009-10-22T13:21:00.008+01:00

The Fi-Ni Report attempts to find the humor in our shared obsession we call radio-sport. Today, there is no humor, only sorrow as we mourn the tragic deaths of four of our Big Gun brethren. Yesterday W2GJ, K3IXD, W3PP, and K4QO were killed when their plane crashed on takeoff from the Summerville, SC airport. The four were headed to Bermuda to operate as C6APR for the CQWW phone contest this weekend.

Whether we knew them personally or just from the contacts on the air, the contesting and DXing communities have suffered a loss. We mourn for the families and friends and share their grief. At 0000Z Saturday the bands will explode with activity as usual, but there will be a hole in the bands where C6APR should be. We pray that they are now where the bands are always open, even the long path, and all the signals really are 59.

You can read a recent article about the C6APR operation here.

CQWW Team Competition

2009-10-13T18:47:00.004+01:00

The Lost Island DX Society is putting together a pair of teams for the Team Competition of CQWW.

In light of the recent rule changes, we will assemble two teams - team one will the Yellow Cards, team two will be the Red Cards.

UP5LID DXpedition Report

2009-10-07T20:41:00.005+01:00

The first DXpedition by LIDS for LIDS, working all LIDS is now history. The Lost Island DX Society sponsored not one, but two DXpeditions back in August. What? You didn't know? Two groups of LIDS headed out to activate special calls; one to Kazakhstan to operate UP5LID and one to Sri Lanka to operate 4Q2LID.

The UP5LID group arrived at the airport bright and early for departure, loaded down with gear, only to meet their first obstacle. The airlines had no reservations for us. Turns out the package deal we got from Madoff-Ponzi Travel really was too good to be true. With the expedition threatened to end before it began, the group pooled their traveler's checks and maxed out their credit cards and kited a few checks to book new flights. As our travel arrangements were last minute, the routing was not the most direct. Somehow we managed to fly through Atlanta and Newark. Twice. And that was just on the flight out.

After a torturous 72 hours of air travel, over half spent in various airports bars to pass the time, we managed to arrive in beautiful Kazakhstan. Our computer/logging guru, Rusty Key, managed to be in country a full ten minutes before offending our hosts by observing that the Kazakh people were nothing like Borat. Rusty is a phone only operator and not the sharpest tack in the crew, but he does know his way around logging software, so we tolerate him. Rusty claims to be a distant relative of Francis Scott Key, author of the Star Spangled Banner, our national anthem and one of the most unsingable songs of all time. Rusty fancies himself a songwriter as well and we have to suffer his country ballads such as "Mommas don't let you babies grow up to be QRPers" and "Rhinestone Contesters".

Having spent all of our money buying new airplane tickets, we didn't have much money left for accommodations, since those arrangements were also made by Madoff-Ponzi Travel. Fortunately we found a very helpful cab driver named Nockmore who directed us to a very affordable bed and breakfast run by his sister and her husband. Only there were no beds, just mats on the floor, and no breakfast either. But, hey, we were here for DXing, not sleeping. Or eating.

We starting setting up our station in Nockmore's sister's garden. Since all our money had gone to buy new plane tickets, we didn't have money left to afford the extra baggage charges to bring the beams and amplifiers. But we did bring along some wire to make dipoles from. Unfortunately, we managed to leave behind the coax, too. Fortunately, zip cord is pretty universal and can be pressed into service as a feedline when needed.

With a dipole in the air and the rig ready to go, we were ready to put UP5LID on the air. That was when Rusty discovered we had also managed to leave the microphone behind, so he was SOL for the DXpedition, but the rest of us could still operate cw.

When UP5LID came on the air, it certainly stirred up a lot of excitement. We generated lots of on-air activity, but few of them seemed to be trying to work us. In fact, some of the responses we got when we called "CQ UP5LID "were down right rude. The pileups we did generate were exciting . The JA's were the most unruly, while the Europeans were gentlemanly and well behaved. Did I happen to mention that Kazakh vodka is amazing cheap and plentiful?

With the delays caused by our travel snafus, we had to cut our operating time short by several days. But when we shut down the UP5LID operation, we were happy with all the calls we had put in the log, and hopefully gave many a new one.

The circuitous routing to get to Kazakhstan was repeated on our return flights. But as luck would have it, we had a long layover in Morocco, which would allow us to play tourist for a few hours. For security sake, we had to carry all of our gear with us, which made things a little awkward, but we still managed to get out and see a few interesting sites.

During our site seeing trip, our log master, Rusty Key, made the mistake of eating some shawarma from a street vendor. About thirty minutes later, Rusty was in severe intestinal distress. In a fit of panic, he traded his laptop for a half roll of scratchy toilet paper. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Unfortunately, Rusty's laptop contained all of the expedition logs. Our QSL manager was all prepared to order cards and ready to upload the logs to LoTW as soon as we got back, but unfortunately we have no other records to QSL from. If someone is passing through Morocco and finds a fellow named Murkat with a nice laptop, he might be able to confirm a UP5LID QSO for you.

We have not heard back from the 4Q2LID crew, but last reports sounded like they were doing well. The last contact we had from them, they had managed to hook up with what I assume is some sort of Sri Lankan baseball team, as their name was the Tamil Tigers. The Tigers must be in spring training since the LIDS crew said they were staying at the Tiger's camp. Actually, they said they were "being held" at the Tiger's camp, but I assume the message was garbled during transmission. They are a little overdue returning, but we assume they have had travel difficulties similar to the UP5LID team. When they return, we'll share all the exciting details with the Fi-Ni Report.

Full Disclosure

2009-10-07T20:20:00.001+01:00

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has released new guidelines governing endorsements and testimonials which include blogs for the first time. Under the new rules, blogs that do not disclose "material connections" with the products they advertise or endorse can face fines of up to $11,000. What are "material connections"? Getting stuff for free or getting compensated for the endorsement.

To insure that we are in compliance with the new FTC rules, the Fi-Ni Report would like to disclose that, yes, we have received and used Dr. DX's Antenna Wax and Sunspot Salve, as well as McElroy's Key Grease. However, we have received no discernable benefit from any of these products. So take that as you will.

What stylish LIDS look like

2009-10-07T01:38:00.003+01:00

Doing what they do best....

Age Surveys

2009-09-30T18:26:00.002+01:00

Recently, CQ Magazine contest column editor and all around Big Gun, K1AR reported on an age survey of contesters. Although this was an admittedly unscientific survey, the results were pretty much what we all know - contesters are getting older. The average age for American contesters was 55; the average for European contesters was 45 years of age.

This has resulted in another round of collective hand wringing about how to get more youth into amateur radio in general and contesting specifically. Worthy goals, but we'll leave it to mo' smarter folks than us to figure out how.

From our vantage point here at Lost Island, we've taken a different perspective on the aging of our fellow amateurs. (Who woulda thunk?)

Age is a numerical counting of the time we've spent on this spinning rock making laps around Ol' Sol waiting for sunspots to open up 10 and 15 meters again. They say a man is only as old as the woman he feels, but we try to keep this a family friendly blog so we won't pursue that line of thinking.

Nevertheless, our point is that numerical age is but one way of counting. Perhaps a more important measure of a man, and a woman, is a measure of their maturity and growth as a human being.

With this in mind, we decided to conduct our own highly unscientific survey of our fellow amateurs by turning on the radio and seeing the current state of ham radio, judged through its own medium.

After spending an evening listening to the pileups for FT5GA, we tuned down to the upper ends of 40m and 75m SSB.

The good news is that the reported aging of amateur radio appears to be premature.

Our best guess is that the average age of the operators we heard on the air is about four.

Interview with a Privately Disqualified Contester

2009-09-29T13:31:00.000+01:00

The intrepid reporter over at radio-sport.net has provided excellent coverage of the disqualifications and controversy around the CQWW results for 2008. One of the more troublesome aspects of the CQWW scoring is the rumored "private disqualifications" of certain operators. Certain operator scores posted on 3830 or in the CQWW log database mysteriously disappear from the final results. While some instances might be attributable to human error, others may not be, as some high profile entries have been known to disappear. Officials with the CQWW Contest Committee have to date refused comment.

The Fi-Ni Report has exclusively managed to locate a contester who claims to have actually been privately disqualified from the CQWW contest and is willing to go on the record with his story, as long as his identity is protected. We will refer to him only as Deep Key. We have no way of confirming the details of Deep Key's story, but leave it up the reader to decide if he is believable.

Deep Key is an experienced contester who has entered the major contests for many years. He is not a Big Gun and does not consistently appear in the Top Ten Boxes. Two years ago Deep Key had an exceptionally good year in the CQWW CW contest and submitted his score with hopes of perhaps earning a certificate.

"I thought I ran a clean contest, really I did," claims Deep Key. He submitted his score as usual and forgot about it knowing the results would be out in the usual eleven and one-half months time frame.

"One night in June, I went outside in the dark to switch the matching section on my vertical over from 160m to 80m. It was dark out, no moon. Suddenly I was jumped from behind. Someone threw a bag over my head and I was hustled into a van. No one said anything. I was held down on the floor and my hands tied behind my back. We drove for what seemed like hours, but I really couldn't tell you how long it was."

Scared for his life, Deep Key expected the worst. Finally, the van stopped and he was hustled into a building, the bag still over his head.

"When they pulled the bag off, I was seated in a darkened room with a single overhead light above me shining in my face. In front of me was a table with three people seated at it. All of them had on black robes with hoods and they all wore black masks and had black gloves on their hands. It was just like some star chamber movie set or something."

"No one would talk to me. The people at the table each had a paddle in front of them and they would send me questions in CW. They kept asking if I had used packet during the contest. I told them no, but they kept asking. They said they had proof I was cheating with packet. I kept denying it. It was nerve wracking. One of the guy's fist was so bad, I could barely understand him. He had this weird spacing thing going on. I had to keep asking for repeats. Another claimed that was proof I was a cheater since I couldn't copy CW very well. They keep pounding away at me, all sending on top of one another, over and over again accusing me of cheating with packet."

"Finally, I couldn't take it anymore and I broke. I told them, yes, I looked at the packet cluster. I would have done anything to get them to stop. But I didn't cheat. I just wanted it to stop."

"After I confessed, they told me that I would be privately disqualified. My score would just disappear. They said if I ever told anyone about it something much worse would happen to me. Someone mentioned pins in the coax."

"The next thing I knew, someone threw the bag back over my head and I was hustled back out to the van. Again, no one said a word to me as we drove. The next thing I know, the van screeches to a halt and someone pushes me out the door. I hit the ground hard as the van sped away. I picked myself up and took off the hood. I was standing in front of my own house and the sun was just coming up."

"I've never told anyone about what happened that night, until now. I still operate the CQWW contests, but I haven't sent in a log since then. I can't even think about looking at the packet cluster, not even during the week when not contesting. It's really hurt my DXing. Honestly, I didn't cheat. OK, maybe during one of my breaks I glanced at the cluster briefly, but that was just to check the propagation conditions, honest!"

Deep Key has the look of a broken man. His eyes wander constantly, looking at nothing and everything at the same time. Whether this is the result of his experience is difficult to ascertain. Is his story true? Is there a CQWW star chamber working behind the scenes to keep the contest clean? We can't say for sure. Perhaps the mere possibility is enough to give those who would push the limits a little too far pause. But come this fall when the DX begins to fly through the air, at least one operator is sure to be keeping his nose clean, very clean.

Xtreme Contester in Training

2009-09-24T01:03:00.007+01:00

Investigative journalists for the Fi-Ni Report (stop laughing!) have obtained video of Xtreme contester Macho Cuesew in his secret lair training for the CQWW contests. It is rumored that Macho's lair may be near the North Korean border, thus this video was obtained at great risk. Bill Clinton was standing by, just in case. Informants tell the Fi-Ni Report that Macho spends hours a day working out as shown in the video, getting in tip-top shape for the upcoming contesting season. These secret training techniques used by Big Guns all over have never been captured on video before.

A Cure for the Sunspot Blues

2009-09-23T00:43:00.003+01:00

Are your sunspots faded and weak? Is your flux flagging? Then you need Dr. DX's Old Dotty Disk Sunspot Salve!

Applied topically, Dr. DX's Sunspot Salve will help revitalize your slow and weak cycle and give you strong, frequent sunspots . Dr. DX's Sunspot Salve stimulates the development of new sunspots and encourages new cycles by increasing magnetic activity and inhibiting convection. With Dr. DX's Old Dotty Disk Sunspot Salve you can again experience the frequent, vigorous sunspot activity of your youth.

Occasional declines in sunspot activity are normal and natural. However prolonged periods of sunspot inactivity may be caused by stress or more serious factors. While Dr. DX's Sunspot Salve cannot correct fundamental causes of sunspot dysfunction, it can stimulate the creation of new sunspots and shorten periods of inactivity.

Warning. If you experience sunspots lasting for more than 28 days, consult … someone. May cause coronal mass ejections and increased solar flares.

Sporadic Pee - A New Propagation Mode

2009-09-22T14:24:00.002+01:00

It appears there's a new way of bouncing radio signals around to work DX. Thanks to the eagle eye of W4KAZ who spotted this prime opportunity for turning pee into propagation. Now we'll have to start tracking the space shuttle's dump schedule to look for DX. Who'll be the first to work VUCC-P? DXCC-P?

Where, oh where, are the sunspots?

New Cheating Accusations Surface in Radio Sporting

2009-09-18T09:58:00.003+01:00

The summer of 2009 has been a difficult one for the amateur radio radio-sporting (i.e. contesting) community. After years of rumor and innuendo, the CQWW contest committee has publicly lowered the boom, disqualifying a number of top stations and operators. First the CQWW SSB contest saw several top multi-two stations disqualified for apparently being unable to count to ten. Then just a month later, with the results of the CQWW CW contest announced, comes word that the top claimed single op score was disqualified along with several others. While CQ Magazine has remained extremely terse in their announcements of the disqualifications, the website radio-sport.net has provided excellent coverage and commentary.

On the heels of the CQWW controversies comes accusations of contest cheating by another world class top operator, i.e a Big Gun.

The Poisson d'Avril contest was started in 1992 and is held every year on April 1. Every year since its inception the contest has been won by K1DG. While K1DG is an acknowledged world class operator, having won the World Radiosport Team Championship, albeit with family help, the string of 18 consecutive top finishes in any contest is simply beyond credibility. In no other contest has a single operator been able to finish in first place more than a handful of times. Yet, K1DG has won every running of the Poisson d'Avril contest since its inception.

A careful examination of the rules for the Poisson d'Avril contest, which is difficult given that they are published in such obscure languages as Esperanto, l33t, redneck, and pig latin, shows that the contest is not only sponsored by K1DG, but that he also is responsible for all log checking. How such blatant bias has been allowed to continue for so long is certainly a question that senate investigators should ask when this scandal finally receives the attention it deserves.

In what may have been the height of arrogance, back in 2006, K1DG preemptively declared himself the winner of the contest from 2006-2009.

But there is a glimmer of hope that respectability may be restored to this contest. The rules for 2010, which were announced back in 2006, provides new categories and much needed reform. However, like most government reform, a careful reading of the rules exposes loopholes large enough to drive a truck carrying a Big Bertha through.

Will the 2010 Poisson d'Avril contest finally have a winner other than K1DG? We will have to wait and see if legitimate competition will finally be allowed to occur. But we have all suspicions that if K1DG's call doesn't top the winner list, it might well be K1AR, in which case charges of nepotism will likely follow.

Dr. DX's Double Zepp Antenna Wax

2009-09-12T02:13:00.003+01:00

The cry from across the land has been heard! Those desiring their own sticker, mousepad, coaster, or magnet of Dr. DX's Double Zepp Antenna Wax can now get them here. The talented artist responsible for the good Dr.'s logo, Jeff, K1NSS, is making them available for a limited time (lim t -> infinity). Also check out Jeff's Dashtoons site.

We now return you to your normal radio silence while we wait for sunspots to appear.

Op-Ed: Government Funded Heath Care

2009-09-10T20:06:00.001+01:00

Have you seen the TV news lately? With the bands in such bad shape and the late summer thunderstorm season in full swing, I've spent more time than usual with the Idiot Box on to give me something to listen to other than bandnoise. I swear, some of that stuff on TV almost makes the shenanigans on 75m phone sound like intelligent conversation.

I keep hearing the Idiot Box talking about National Heath Care and the government taking it over. Now, I'm not a big boat anchor fan , but Heathkits were still a staple of many shacks when I were a snot nosed Novice. I admit there was a day when I would have welcomed an SB-line in my shack. I still stop and have a gander when I pass an SB-220 at a hamfest. They are still fine amps after all these years. I even owned a Benton Harbor lunchbox at one point in my ham career, but never did work anybody on it.

Why the government would want to worry about maintenance and repair of Griefkits is beyond me. They were decent rigs in their day, and anyone who enjoys nostalgia has every right to preserve and enjoy their green boxes all they want. But why should the government spend our tax dollars to help keep these boat anchors running?

What makes Heathkits more deserving than Hallicrafters or Collins or National rigs? They were all American manufacturers of fine radio equipment, in their day. Shouldn't they, and their fans, deserve the same support?

No sir, the LIDS do not support government funded Heath care. If you want to keep your Heathkits running, that's all well and good, but do it on your own dime!

73, Cousin QRM

New Tools (Toys) for the Contest Season

2009-09-07T21:17:00.008+01:00

The LIDS just got back from a road trip to the Stinkbait Hollar Hamfest and Contest Symposium last weekend. All of the new products for Big Guns are introduced there. Dayton is too far a trip and too many Shack-on-a-Belt wannabe Squirt Pistols for those catering to Real Big Guns. No, the Stinkbait Hollar Hamfest is the place to go to get the real lowdown. If you've never been, put it on your calendar for next year. To get there, just head south on the big interstate until you hear banjos. Then you're getting close. Look for the signs. Or stop and ask directions. If you dare.

Below is a short list of must have items for the new contest and DX season. Without them, you'll be hard pressed to maintain your Big Gun status as the pileups will be fierce. With no sunspots, we all may be CQing on 160m during the day trying to scare up Qs. Don't say we didn't warn you. Ours are already on order.

Dr. DX's Double Zepp Antenna Wax

Do the bands sound noisier to you lately? Does your signal seem weaker than it used to be? It's probably not all due to the

lack of sunspots. As antennas age and weather, corrosion on the wire and tubing surfaces and result in decreased efficiency and increased noise.

Dr. DX's Double Zepp Antenna Wax can ameliorate those problems. Infused with state-of-the-art nanoparticles of room temperature superconductors, Dr. DX's Double Zepp Antenna Wax will coat and protect your antennas, cutting though the existing surface corrosion and providing a new layer of high conductivity coating while also sealing it from future corrosion.

Dr. DX's Double Zepp Antenna Wax can add dB's to your

dipole, varoom to your vertical and yowweee to your Yagi. To apply, use a rag and coat the entire antenna with a generous coat of antenna wax. While buffing is not required, it does add a shine and luster to your antenna making it sparkle like new.

McElroy Key Grease

CW operators, does your key make too many mistakes? Does your straight key stutter? Do you find yourself ditting when you meant to be dahhing?

It's not your fault!

Even the finest of paddles get rusty over time. Bearings and pivot points collect dust and dirt. Contacts oxidize, The result is erratic operation, resulting in Sloppy Fist Syndrome (SFS), characterized by missed dits and extra dahs.

McElroy's Key Grease can fix these problems and more. McElroy's builds upon the latest in tribological science and superconductivity research to create a key grease that combines a synthetic lubricant for the bearings and pivots with superconductive nanoparticles to lower the resistance of all electrical contacts. McElroy's Key Grease is the secret of success of top cw ops the world over. Periodic application to all mechanical and electrical connections of your key will ensure it stays in competition condition.

No animals are harmed in the production or testing of McElroy's Key Grease although several were very annoyed. Not responsible for excessive QRQ operation or carpel tunnel injuries resulting from the application of McElroy's Key Grease

M2Timer

Do you run Multi-2 in CQWW? Do you fear the dreaded DQ for accidental 'rubber clocking'? The new M2Timer will eliminate those worries. The M2Timer is an advanced hardware/software product that monitors for adherence to the CQWW Multi-2 10-minute rule and GUARANTEES* that you won't ever rubber clock, even accidentally.

The heart of the M2Timer is a GPS disciplined Cesium clock to insure timing accuracy to within 0.1 ns. The clock interfaces with your logging computers and all major contest logging programs (CT, N1MM, Writelog). The M2Timer software monitors the logging of both the run station and the multiplier station to insure compliance with the 10-minute rule. The basic version of the M2Timer locks out the PTT of the multiplier station if it tries to violate the 10-minute rule. The advanced version of the M2Timer attaches the amplifier HV supply to the multiplier station operator chair seat. If the multiplier operator attempts to violate the 10-minute rule, the amp HV is switched to the chair seat. No operator will attempt to violate the 10-minute more than once. Ever.

Having one of these insures you'll pass that CQWW committee inspection!

*Guarantee requires use of the advanced version of M2Timer.

EST-Detector

If you are a serious contest Big Gun, you know that you now have to worry about that dreaded station inspection from the CQWW contest committee. The EST-Detector (K3 model) is a new device that detects the presence of CQWW officials, providing needed warning before the dreaded knock on the door. Based on proprietary technology developed by water dowsers and psychics , the EST-Detector can detect a CQWW committee representative from a distance of 500m or more. It provides a visual alarm in the form of a flashing red light and an audible warning in the form of a 110 dB buzzer. With sufficient warning, you can have a hot cup of coffee waiting for the CQWW cop when he appears at your door.

Cousin QRM on Rubber Clocking

2009-08-28T14:15:00.002+01:00

The recent spate of DQ's from the CQWW's has raised the topic of rubber clocking again, especially in the Multi-Single category. Most of us thought rubber clocking had gone the way of the #2 pencil and rubber erasers when everyone starting using computers to log contests. Computer clocks are pretty accurate, and while you might fudge your clock, it's a lot harder to fudge the other guy's clock.

The real crux of most these DQ's was a failure for multi-single stations to adhere to the CQWW 10-minute rule. From discussions online after the fact, it became obvious that many contesters feel the 10-minute rule is about as convoluted as MLB's infield fly rule. I think the problem is a lot simpler.

The other day I was visiting my local Chinese take-out, getting my usual order of General Tso's and Broccoli and Beef, when I had an epiphany. You see, no matter when I go in and order at this Chinese take-out place, they always tell me my order will take the same amount of time before it is ready - ten minutes. It might be at 4:00 on a weekday afternoon and the place is as dead as 10m, or it can be at the peak of the dinner rush on a Friday night when they're as busy as 20m at 0005Z Saturday of CQWW. It's always ten minutes.

I've never actually timed them to see how long it takes for my food to come up. I'm usually reading the free local independent rag they toss over in the corner near the door. It's eye opening to read some of the classifieds for "alternative services" and checking out the bands playing in the local clubs is as close to being culturally relevant as I usually get. I can pretty much guarantee that they rarely, if ever, actually get my food up in exactly ten minutes. Most times it's more, sometimes it's a little less.

The point is, this restaurant can't stick with their own 10-minute rule (well, maybe it's not a rule….). They prepare hundreds of dishes a day, thousands a week, and their best guess is that it's going to take 10-minutes to fix my General Tso's. Most of the time, they're pretty close.

I figure these Multi-Single stations sort of operate like a Chinese take-out. The multiplier guys has a list of hot multipliers he wants to work on another band from the run station. The run station says, "Ok, you got 10 minutes to work them and then I'm going back to the run band." Just like the cook at my Chinese take-out with his smoking hot wok, the multiplier guy hits his hot new band and starts sweeping up multipliers, the metaphorical steam rising from the radio as the tally wheels spin on the score with each new multiplier.

Most of the time the multiplier station takes a bit longer than ten minutes before the steam starts to settle from the new band and he can toss it back to the run band. Those extra minutes spent on the multiplier band adds a little extra spice to the score and are well worth the time. But once in a while, the multiplier station runs out of steam a little early. His ten minutes might only last nine minutes. When I'm waiting for my Broccoli and Beef, I don't mind getting it a minute or two early, but in CQWW, it's a big no-no. On the average, these Multi-Single stations are following the 10-minute rule. In fact MOST of the time they probably easily exceed their 10-minutes before the band change. But most of the time don't cut it. It's got to be every time, all the time. That's why there are new rules and station inspections being implemented.

Cousin QRM is still anxiously awaiting the notice for his station inspection from the CQWW cops. We haven't been able to break into the Top Ten boxes, but if we can get that station inspection, then EVERYONE will know that we're real Big Guns. We plan to video tape it and post it on YouTube, just to document our Big Gun status. We don't mind putting black bars over the faces of the inspectors if they want to preserve their anonymity.

Big Gun Cloning Coming Soon

2009-08-24T13:47:00.000+01:00

It's no secret that the average age of the ham radio population is increasing, and particularly so in the elite world of Big Gun contesters. Almost all Big Guns today are members of the Baby Boomer generation. The question is often asked "Where will the next generation of contesters come from?" The answer may be cloning.

A new venture called BigGun Cloning has been launched with the express intent of offering Big Gun contesters and DXers the chance to clone themselves. The capability to generate a genetic duplicate of oneself creates the opportunity to pass on the highly honed skills, not to mention the impressive station, of top notch contest and DX operators to a new generation.

BigGun Cloning said it is focusing on Big Gun contesters and DXers as they are the most likely segment of the ham radio population to have the resources to devote to the endeavor. BigGun Cloning is working with scientists from the South Korean Institute of Cloning Sciences and Advanced Cosmetology to perfect the cloning process. A scientist from the institute explained their breakthrough.

"We have been able to clone sheep, dogs, and cats for over a decade now. But there is no market for cloned sheep, not even in New Zealand. Our breakthrough came when we were able to clone a parrot. The original parrot knew five simple phrases he could say on command. When the cloned parrot was born, we discovered he already knew the five simple phrases. My thoughts instantly went to ham radio contesters. I knew this was a market for this technology."

While the possibility of creating cloned contesters is seen as an exciting step forward in technology by some, others see problems. If a station owner and his clone enter a contest together, could they actually enter in the single operator category since they are genetically identical? The CQWW contest committee refused to rule on any hypothetical situations, but did say that genetic testing may be included in the new station inspection regime if deemed necessary.

BigGun Cloning will be offering group discounts for multi-op stations and contest clubs. No word on price or expected availability at this time.

Contest Ruling

2009-08-16T20:37:00.002+01:00

Here's a new topic for the contest lawyers to discuss: if a contest operator has multiple personalities, does he enter as a single-op or a multi-single entity? Discuss among yourselves. Bonus points if you can provide examples.

Contest Cheats, New Rules

2009-08-14T17:04:00.002+01:00

The following is an editorial from Cousin QRM. It does not necessarily represents the views of the Lost Island DX Society, the Fi-Ni Report, NASCAR, or the AP Stylebook.

Recently the Fi-Ni Report MFWIC complained I haven't been pulling my weight around here. (For those who aren't familiar with the term, MFWIC, pronounced 'miff-wick', it’s a pseudo-military acronym for Mo-Fo What In Charge). As anybody who has seen the Cousin knows, it's quite a job to move my weight around, much less pull it. But I have been slack sharing my wisdom with all the Big Guns and Big Gun Wannabees that look to the Fi-Ni Report for all the news that ain't.

The big news in the world of contesting is that some stations cheat. Oh really? Color me surprised. No, the Big News is that some stations got caught AND punished for cheating. That is news.

I'm not one who believes that cheating among contesters is pervasive, but as the late great Dale Earnhardt was once quoted as saying, "If you ain't cheatin' you ain't trying." Frankly, I never was a Earnhardt fan. My hero growing up was Bobby Allison. Bobby never raced dirty and the only time he did anything on the track remotely unsportsmanlike was when he stopped his car and went over and punched out Cal Yarborough through the window of his car. Cal deserved it though for intentionally wrecking Bobby's brother Donny. But back to contesting.

Even before ole' cuz was a snot nosed Novice, there have been California Kilowatts and Italian "300 watt" amplifiers. Rubber clocking was easier in the days of handwritten logs with pencils. With the rise of packet clusters, self-spotting became the new way to drum up pileups. All are just wrong. For whatever reasons, contest sponsors seem to have been hesitant to DQ entrants, more so in recent years than long ago. I'll not speculate why.

But Cousin QRM is happy to stand up and cheer a loud "Well done!" to the CQWW contest committee for their recent actions. The rumor mill has it that more DQs are expected for the CQWW CW contest results due out any day now. Boy, that's gonna stir the hornet's nest up. The contest reflector will so busy discussing the CQWW, we probably won't get around to discussing cut numbers or Sweepstakes checks until mid-October at the earliest.

If I was a devious minded person, I would think this whole DQ business was publicity stunt by the CQWW folks. Think about it. The contest and DX world is all abuzz. Everyone is anticipating the 2009 contests to see who gets disqualified this year and what extraordinary lengths the Big Guns will go to avoid getting DQ'd. This is brilliant. No sunspots to create band conditions, generate interest and controversy by DQ'ing a few blatant offenders. Find a couple of belligerent competitors to complain loudly about their DQ and it will be a show worthy of WWF. Maybe Macho Cuesew can help out?

The CQWW contest committee has added a new rule for 2009 requiring competitors to allow "a scheduled visitation by a representative of the CQ WW CC during the contest ". Oh the howls from the peanut gallery. Some seem to think it is somehow offensive, an insult that someone wants to check up on them. Cousin thinks they doth protest too much.

Actually, Cousin QRM would welcome a visit by a CQWW contest committee representative during the contest. In fact, I encourage it. Please, please, please come check up on me.

I got nothing to hide. Plus, the way ole' Cousin views it, the CQWW committee isn't going to waste it's time on the little squirt pistols in the contest. They're only going to bother visiting the Big Guns. So you see, getting a visit from the CQWW committee is like a Big Gun stamp of approval, almost as impressive as being a member of the Lost Island DX Society. In fact, I'll go so far as to argue that you ain't really a Big Gun if you haven't been visited by the CQWW committee. Puts things in a different light, doesn't it? Once the big boys get their panties untwisted, they will see the light and be begging for a visit from the CQWW committee, just like Cousin.

Now, if you have been cheating, well, you'll get what you deserve. But, if like 99.5% of the contesters, you run up a big score using legal hardware, hard earned skills and old fashioned butt-in-the-chair time, you have nothing to worry about. Once word gets around that the CQWW committee visited you, and you got a clean bill of health, everybody will know that you're a serious competitor, and a good guy to boot.

So please, Mr. CQWW inspector, come visit old Cousin this fall. We need something to brag about.

73, Cousin QRM

MFJ To Acquire ARRL

2009-08-10T21:56:00.001+01:00

In the wake of their acquisition of Cushcraft antennas last week, MFJ Enterprises announced today that they have reached an agreement to acquire the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), a publisher of amateur radio literature. An ARRL spokesman stated that declining membership numbers coupled with increasing costs of printing and shipping have eroded the business of the ARRL to a point where a merger with the burgeoning MFJ empire was attractive. MFJ, a manufacturer of radio accessories and antennas, had few publishing products in its expansive portfolio. The acquisition of the ARRL, leaves only the manufacture of actual radios the only portion of the amateur radio market that MFJ does not dominate.

MFJ intends to continue to publish the full line of handbooks and other publications for which the ARRL is known. The ARRL membership journal, QST will continue to be published as an appendix to the monthly MFJ/Ameritron/Hy-gain/Cushcraft/Mirage/Vectronics catalog. Readers should notice few changes.

There will be some changes in the operation of the ARRL though. The world famous ARRL club station, W1AW, will be moved from it's historic Newington, CT location to a new home in Starkville, MS. The call W5AW is currently allocated to the Big Spring Amateur Radio Club of Big Spring, TX but negotiations are in progress for MFJ to acquire the club and its callsign, which can then be re-assigned to the relocated ARRL club station. The most noticeable change may be the replacement of the Connecticut Yankee accent with the Mississippi southern drawl on the voice bulletins.

The planned acquisition is expected to be completed by April 1, 2010.

Ham To The Bone Update

2009-08-07T18:21:00.003+01:00

Sad to say, still no entries on the Fi-Ni Report Ham To The Bone tattoo contest. This is one even a QRPer could win. Heck, get out a Sharpie and go to, take a pic and send it in.

We did find another pic online of a ham who is truly hardcore and shows COMMITMENT.

KL7FH obviously had no plans to change his call anytime soon. But about that worm..... must be the one at the bottom of the tequila bottle.

Correspondance Course To Be Offered

2009-08-04T21:06:00.001+01:00

Outside of on-the-air activities, a significant number of radio amateurs spend a majority of their time engrossed in "discussions" on the Internet regarding the interpretation of rules for activities ranging from basic Part 97 FCC rules to various contests. The majority of these "discussions" are unhindered by knowledge or logic. But they all involve activities common among lawyers, i.e. interpretation of "law" and arguing their cases.

Few in the amateur radio community are actually trained lawyers, and those who are usually have enough sense not to admit it. Lawyerly skills are missing in these "discussions" as well as the gravitas a law degree lends to the status of the arguer. Law school is a long and expensive endeavor not many are willing to tackle.

But a new correspondence course will be offered to give those back bench lawyers the training needed to argue their points successfully and a prestigious title to bandy about. The Amateur Radio Lawyers League (AR-double-L, not to be confused with the A-double-RL) is offering a multi-module course to meet this need.

The first module is Contest Rule Interpretation. Topics covered will include: strawman arguments, fallacious allegory creation, and sentence diagramming and butchering. After completing this module, you will be able to wade in on such meaty "discussions" as the CQWW 10-minute rule, choosing a check for Sweepstakes, and what constitutes a "single operator station" and be able to argue at least three positions for each topic.

The second module is FCC Part 97 Rules and Regulations. This module will prepare you to "discuss" such pressing rules as FCC identification requirements, the definition of third party traffic, and applying FCC rules to DX stations.

The third and most advanced module is entitled DXCC Entity Definition and Documentation. This module should only be attempted by those who have completed modules one and two due to its complexity and mind twisting logic requirements. This module will attempt to analyze the ARRL DXCC criteria for DXCC entities and the requirements for accepting operations from rare DX entities. Scarborough Reef will be used as a case study.

Amateurs successfully completing all three modules will be awarded an honorary Juris Doctorate Hamus (JDH) degree from the Dick Bash School of Law and Muffler Repair.

CQWW SSB Disqualifies Five

2009-08-02T14:37:00.002+01:00

First, a humble apology for the lack of Fi-Ni Reports recently. We've been off looking for missing sunspots and collecting bribes for friendly customs officers for the upcoming UP5LID/4Q2LID DXpedition this month. In our absence an alert reader/fanboy(?) tipped us off to the dramatic announcement from the CQWW SSB results, and a possible conspiracy.

Monday, July 27, the CQWW SSB 2008 results were unleashed. The joy of the Top Guns taking home yet another plaque and/or certificate to hang on the I-Love-Me wall of the shack was overshadowed by the almost footnote mention of the disqualification of five Multi-2 stations placed at the end of the telephone book style printout of the contest results. The reason for the disqualifications was explained in the terse statement as “Altering of QSL log times to conform with the 10-minute rule .“ At meetings of the Lost Island DX Society (LIDS) we strictly enforce the 5-second rule for dropped pizza, but we have never attempted to actually understand the 10-minute rule as it applies to Multi-2 operation.

For Squirt Pistols who've never had to worry about such rules, the practice of adjusting log times to appear to conform to off-time or band-change times when in violation of the contest rules is referred to as 'rubber clocking”. See the note following this piece for a historical perspective on rubber clocking.

The effect of the disqualifications goes far beyond the CQWW SSB contest. The operators of the disqualified stations are not only disqualified from the 2009 CQWW SSB contest, but they are now also ineligible for the 2010 World Radiosport Team Championship to be held in Russia. While we hesitate to take joy in the misfortune of others, this does improve the odds of some actual LIDS making the WRTC teams. However, the Vegas odds makers still put our chances of making a WRTC team only slightly above that of our scoring a Brazilian supermodel date for next year's Dayton Contest Dinner.

The buzz about the disqualifications in the contesting world was soon overtaken with discussion and arguments of exactly how the violations were discovered among the entrants' logs. The lack of actual knowledge about the techniques and methods used by the CQWW Contest Committee to adjudicate the contest results did little to quell the discussions. It actually fueled the fires in some cases. The CQWW Contest Committee is notoriously secretive about the tools and techniques used to cross-check and score logs. The contest results are issued as if carved in stone and carried down from the mountain by Moses, with about as much explanation of how they are obtained. The Fi-Ni Report has been informed by a knowledgeable insider that the preparation and adjudication of the CQWW contest results involves high level statistical analysis run on donated supercomputer time and the tossing of runes and reading of chicken bones. However, no chicken blood is spilled, unlike the preparation of the ARRL DX Contest results.

Overlooked among the buzz about the disqualifications is an oddity of how the results leaked out to the contesting world. The first appearance of the results on the internet occurred on a Croatian website with an electronic copy of the results listing from the Spanish language edition of CQ Magazine. Such a confluence of international connections can easily lead to conspiracy theories involving the cognoscenti, the Freemasons and the IMF, but as responsible journalists we refrain from any such suggestions. However, contributions from readers are welcome.

What will be the ultimate result of the 2008 disqualifications? Will the 2009 CQWW contests be run with contestants walking on egg shells in fear of the dreadful DQ? The Multi-2 category will be a little more open with five major competitors gone. If the sunspots don't return, will the whole event be red-flagged until Monday? But this isn't NASCAR. The only prediction we can confidently make about the 2009 CQWW contests is that Macho Cuesew will dominate the Xtreme contesting category. We stake our reputation on that.

Now that the CQWW Contest Committee has taken a definitive stand on the practice of rubber-clocking, we only hope they will begin to address other dubious practices in the contesting world.

A Brief History of Rubber Clocking

Rubber clocking is the practice of altering QSO times in a contest log to make it appear that all contacts occurred during the legal contest period. As an example, if a contest requires a minimum of 30 minutes of off time, an operator might start operating after only 25 minutes of off time and then 'fudge' the log times to make it look like he actually did take a full 30 minutes of off time, giving him an extra five minutes of operating time. Needless to say, this practice is frowned upon. More so when someone is actually caught doing it.

To understand the origins of rubber clocking, we have to go back to the days of paper logs and mechanical clocks. In those days, operators had to actually copy the contest exchange off the air without the aid of a supercheck partial database and manually write it on a piece of paper. They also had tubes in their radios. The time of the QSO was manually noted as well, usually from the shack clock or operator's wrist watch. Back then, men wore watches on their wrists rather than using their cell phones to keep track of time. Blackberries of the time occupied an entire desktop.

A very popular clock of the time was an MFJ 24 hour wall clock with a large dial and hands. In an MFJ cost saving measure, the arms of the clock were outsourced to a low cost overseas manufacturer. The manufacturer produced a large quantity of minute hands using a faulty plastic compound with an extremely low melting point. As a result, when exposed to a hot environment, such as the exhaust of a two holer Alpha 77 running at full bore, the minute arms would soften and sag. The sagging or “rubbering” of the minute arm would result in an incorrect time begin logged. Thus, some Big Guns would accidentally record QSO times that were several minutes off and could potentially result in rule violations. This became know as rubber clocking.

(The preceding was relayed to the Fi-Ni Report by an old timer Big Gun who swears that this happened to him.)