Radio geekicity

[cid]

Dayton Amateur Radio Assn club station W8BI

Total contacts in log -- 43,100

Single year record broken today 7/6/2014.
Previous record (2010) -- 9213 contacts
Year-to-date for 2014 -- 9242 contacts, with almost six months to go. Projections include several BIG contests.
We might break 20,000 contacts for 2014.

Yee haw!!!!!

[Swift]

That's cool. I'm completely ignorant on the topic, but I would think that Ham Radio might be one of those hobbies that was dying out (these darn kids now a days). I'm glad to hear you guys are setting new records.

[FZR1KG]

It's all about the internet now.
Typical day you contact thousands of people and at least two are sane.

[Rommie]

Wow good job CiD! I take it those are all contacts? Any particular format that's the most popular? Just curious.

Regarding Ham radio... well it's definitely fewer people than the pre-Internet days, but I don't think it'll die out altogether. One of those hobbies that always has had more older men in it but that's partly just because people tend to discover it when they're older (think your average star party in amateur astronomy).

Myself, I've realized I really like doing contacts every once in awhile but have absolutely no place to do it here- I'm really not interested in knowing enough in the technical to set up my own rig (or the space for it really) and I wasn't too successful in my Googling to find a club in Amsterdam. Pity as I really miss contests and was really good at them- I do voice, and maintained 100 contacts/hour for good long stretches during Sweepstakes and Field Day. Sigh! I definitely saved my license from expiring a few years ago when it came up though (a kinda proud moment, as not many people have to renew a 10 year old license at age 26) so it's waiting for me when I go back to it.

[cid]

Covering variouses as I recover from the strain of mastering DB Normalization...

There were some concerns that Ham Radio might be dying out awhile back. Its age cross-section goes up and down cyclically (exact cycle determinants to be determined). But (usually) some new mode/rules change/whatnot pops up, and the young whippersnappers (and some old codgers with time on their hands) discover the hobby.

Yeah, you've got the young'uns who text each other across the table to pass the butter (saw a couple of those the other night), but with the various ways to communicate, a sense of wonder creeps in, and off they go...and Morse Code is far from gone. Now that it's not a requirement, the more casual attitude toward it seems to draw in those with the urge to learn. We may not have as many new code types, but the ones we get are more diligent. And since 99+% of the new modes are computer software playing through a standard sound card into the radio's mic jack, simplicity is the new keyword. I am never short of amazed what can be done with a beginner-grade radio (Kenwood 570D, Yaesu FT450), a laptop, a RigBlaster interface, and a mag mount antenna. It all sits in the passenger seat of the car and runs off 12 volts. Used to be that the equipment in question was the size of a chest freezer, and ran at various voltages from 12vdc to 400VAC and more.

The other night we broke 9250 contacts for the year/43100 in the electronic log. Those are all separate contacts. Right now, it's the ARRL's 100th anniversary, and there are points given for contacting various levels of League hierarchy (individual members, former national officers, volunteer examiners, etc etc). Over the years, DARA has been generous with its time and donations to the league, so we qualify as members of the Maxim Society -- and a contact with us is worth 50 points. That makes us popular -- Rob&Co fire up The Box Of Maximum Smoke (our 1500 watt amplifier) and can easily knock out 150+ voice contacts in a couple of hours. We have a few members who specialize in the digital modes, and I'm a Morse Code devotee. I operate a tad more casually (a quick exchange of the required, plus maybe name and rig) and can knock out 20 - 25 an hour (doesn't sound like much, but you can twitch yer jaw faster than I can twitch my fingers). It's yer basic cheap geek thrill...

Hope to work ya on 20 someday, Rommie!!

cid aka KA8OQF

[cid]

We did it...broke the 10k mark for contacts -- and we still have five months to go in ought-14...

#10,000? A contact in the NAQP RadioTeleTYpe contest -- for our class, 10 out of 12 hours, max power output 5w.
Ran this one all by myself. Contact 10k was down Texas way on 20 meter (14 mHz) RTTY...and I done dood it...

Yee haw!

[FZR1KG]

Congrats there mate!
That's a lot of contacts.
Reminds me of dating in my mid 30's