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Subj: Jims Gazette 139
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Jim's GAZETTE
Newsletter #139
5 February 2003
Please feel free to forward this newsletter to any and all interested parties, or to reproduce it in
any publication. All we ask is that you give credit where it is due.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
SHORT NOTES: Contests are always fun. Right? Don AA5AU says, Up at 1200Z, no signals. Up at 1300Z, no signals. Up at
1400Z, no signals. Hard work. Must have been a big one!
.>>>
But, Bill W9OL created the best story of the latter days of January. Claiming to be a bit on the lazy side, Bill invented a new
category, SO1R: Single Op One Recliner. Bill, you see, eliminated his direct connection with computer and rig by going wireless
with his mouse and keyboard. So, off to the recliner he went and ran the whole thing from there, at least during those hours he
resisted the very strong urge to doze off!
>>>>
Its all a numbers game. Somehow the question of Who has number one DXCC? cropped up the other day. No one seemed to
know until Glenn K3SWZ popped in with a fascinating tale. His good friend Dusty K3WC (then WA3IKK) was numero uno.
Another friend Hop W3DJZ (now SK) was #2 and says Glenn, had I not taken time off to get married and build a home, we
maybe would have been 1, 2 and 3 (which would have been a clean sweep for the neighborhood)! Anyway, having put first
things first, he settled for #8. Glenn is still chugging away and now has 297 countries piled up!
>>>
The FCC has started up an Email program for consumers. According to the ARRL newsletter all you have to do is send an
e-mail to subscribe@info.fcc.gov. On either the subject line or in the message body, type ''subscribe cc-consumer-info <first
name> <last name>''. If you encounter difficulties subscribing, send an e-mail to lneely@fcc.gov. Then stand back for FCC
Spam! Hi.
>>>
If you are in need of yet another new mode, there are two to view. Both are experimental, both are designed to dig deeper into
the noise than PSK31. Patrick F6CTE authored PSKAM and PSKAM10. If you wish to join in the testing and evaluation of
new software go to http://members.aol.com/f6cte. Patricks Email address is f6cte@aol.com.
The objective for PSKAM is to reduce the error rate even in bad conditions while maintaining a throughput of about 30WPM
and equaling the stability of PSK. PSK, remember, assures communication down to about 9dB. PSKAM plans to work down
to 11dB. There are trade-offs, of course.
PSKAM10 is of slower speed but a higher order of performance. The aim is to maintain communication with a S/N down to
19dB. That means the signal is 100 times less powerful than noise! What a promise that is.
From the sound of it, there is still a fair amount of work to be done. And, no, there is no discussion yet as to the location of
calling frequencies. But, rest assured the product will ultimately be available and will be free to all users.
>>>
Dayton looms! Jay WS7I says: I have it on rather good authority that we are not having a SO2R discussion this year (whew).
But it does sound like the plans are being made for a forum (not by me).
Room and dinner reservations (via http://www.rttyjournal.com) are starting to trickle in. Don't forget to find those cheap flights,
visit the RTTY Journal Page and sign up for rooms and the Saturday night RTTY Dinner.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Will the SO2R issue ever go away?? Apparently not, a view confirmed by the recent explosion of electronic commentary from
both sides of the aisle. The brouhaha began anew after the ARRLs January board meeting. Their Membership Service
Committee decided to include club competition for the RTTY Roundup. Then, at the same meeting, the group decided NOT to
study the possibility of making SO2R a separate category in ARRL contests.
The reaction was instantaneous, heated and prolonged. Surely the Internet suffered from a challenged capacity during this flurry
of missiles. To recap, the issue first hit the fan at Dayton 2000. A forum on the subject of SO2R resulted in an overwhelming
vote for a separate category for the 2R group. Nothing happened. Dayton 2001 allowed no discussion on the subject. Dayton
2002 held a workshop to show everyone how to operate SO2R but allowed no discussion on the category issue. Neither the
heat nor the argument went away, however. And only BARTG has made a move toward more equality.
Long statements and terse comments flood the reflectors every time the subject arises. Quotes, far too many and far too long to
sample many of them, range from the dismal to the sublime. Examples: So, the ARRL once again closed the door after the horse
got out of the barn. A more aggressive approach, If the SO1Rs want a new category, go ahead and create a new one. Dont try
to kick the SO2R ops out of their category. (hello!) Yet another point, I admire the multi-rig guys but I dont think they should be
in the same class. Its like racing Indy cars against the family sedan,
To the contrary, Its just like and unfair as the contest between two SO1Rs, one op with a dipole and the other with stacked
beams. But thats life! A well stated and quite opposite philosophy, To me the fun of contesting is about the competition, the
brainwork, the knowledge of propagation, strategies and tactics. It should not be about the acquisition of more and more
hardware. Or, finally, I am of the opinion that no matter what happens Ill never be in the top ten. Those days are gone. But I
will continue to enjoy contesting by setting personal goals.
Perhaps the most interesting argument was that there is no way, no language available to set up a new category. To which, Jay
WS7I responded, As to the original argument, rule writing is easy. If you can tell the difference between high power and low
power you can tell the difference between multiple radio's and one radio. Thats a clincher, if I ever heard one.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
It should be noted that the Tampa Bay Bucs trounced the Oakland Raiders to become the Super Bowl Champions. The triumph
received its due as to celebration and revelry . . . just as it should have in order to compensate for long, long 27-year, frustrating
wait. Go BUCS!
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Then came the weekends horrible news. I came home from a breakfast meeting and discovered Gen glued to the TV set. I
joined in the instant I discovered what it was all about. It was a disturbing and complete disaster, particularly for this pair of true
space addicts, a pair with a long link to NASA. Our dear friend, now retired, was the head of Space Science for several years. I
did some consulting work for NASA and even made a few presentations to major companies about potential joint space
activities. Together, we watched an Apollo flight launch at the Space Center in a Florida downpour, and gasped as some
extraordinary lightning threatened the spacecraft when it passed through the low storm clouds. We lost countless hours of sleep
when a disabled Apollo looped around the backside of the moon and we held our breath as it returned to earth.
And, together we mourn the loss and weep for their families but in the end, agree that we cannot stop the exploration. The world
must go forward into space, and if I was at the dawn of my adulthood, I would be trying like mad to get on the next flight.
May God Bless them all for helping to blaze the trail!
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
73 de Jim N2HOS
jem@n2hos.com
GAZETTE at
www.n2hos.com/digital
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