Hey gang,

The ARRL Ten Meter contest starts Friday at 7:00PM local time (December 7th). If you have a chance to get on I hope you make a few contacts. Although we are still at the bottom of the sunspot cycle there will be many contacts to be made. The contest creates so much more activity you will be surprised at the number of stations you will hear.

The fun part of this contest is you can play and send in your own personal score as well as participate as a club. All you need to is put "Hampden County Radio Assn" in the club line on your entry form. You get your score and the club score is the combination of everyone that sends in a log with HCRA identified.

So, you are new to contesting and want to give it a try. This is the perfect contest for starting out. The band is not crowded, the pace is relatively slow and it's unlikely the band will be open for more than 10 to 12 hours out of the possible 48 hours. So now we know it won't be stressful, lets see how easy it is.

First off, it is worth a glance at the rules. Point your browser to: http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2007/10-meters.html and take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with them. It's not complicated, but can be a bit daunting when you first look at them.

Now that you've read them, lets see how easy it actually is. The whole idea is to work (talk to) as many different stations as possible on the 10 meter band. You get points for each station, each state (or country) and each mode (CW or phone). When all is said and done you add up all your QSO points (1 for phone contacts, 2 for CW), add up your states & countries and multiply them. That's your score. There are additional QSO points for different power levels and station types. I'm guessing most of us will be operating low power (up to 100 watts), and as a single operator. The contest runs for 48 hours, starting at 7:00 PM Friday evening and ending at 7:00 PM Sunday evening.

Where to operate? Most of the activity will be on phone, between 28.300 and 28.500 MHz. If the band gets really busy and crowded activity will creep higher than 28.500 - not likely unless the band opens up and DX starts rolling in! If you want to take a stab at CW then look between 28.000 and 28.060.

Who do you talk to and what to you say? The best way to start is to tune your rig to 28.300 and start tuning slowly upward. You will probably come across some loud stations calling CQ. These are the dedicated contesters and the best ones to make your first contacts as they have good stations and are competent operators. Here's an example of what your first QSO might sound like:

Sending station: CQ CQ CQ, this is K1KI calling CQ contest, CQ CQ CQ contest, QRZ

You transmit your call: KK1W

Sending station: KK1W you are 59, CT (charlie tango)

You transmit: K1KI you are 59, MA (mike alpha).

Sending station: Thanks!, QRZ contest...

And then the next station calls K1KI

That is the exchange. Signal strength (usually 59, even if it's not!) and your state. If you're not sure of the state be sure you ask the station to repeat so you don't make a mistake. That's all there is to it, write it down in your log and start tuning for the next station. Remember as you go up in the band if you are a Technician or Tech Plus you can only go as high as 28.500!

So that's it - not hard, lots of fun and a good way to spend time this weekend. You really didn’t want to go out and shovel snow or go to the mall, did you?

Thanks as always for your support of HCRA and don't forget, its all about the fun!

'73...

Jim, KK1W