The Director of the CQWW VHF Contest, John, N2NC, has announced a change to the VHF contest starting this year. Previously, all modes could be operated in the contest. Beginning this year, there will be two separate contests. SSB/CW will take place July 5-6 and Digital will take place July 19-20. The time slot was also moved up to 1200Z Saturday through 1200Z Sunday "to make the operating period more equitable for a World Wide VHF contest." Updated rules can be found here.


The 76th annual International DX Convention in Visalia is coming up April 11-13. They have announced that they are waiving the registration fee for all youth under the age of 18 this year. This allows for free access to the Convention programs and forums as well as the Exhibit Hall. Meals, raffle tickets and the bus tour are not included with the free registration. You can find out more on their website and their Facebook page. The theme this year is "Back to Basics."


The World Wide Radio Operators Foundation (WWROF) is now managing the Contest Hall of Fame. WWROF has built a new website at contesthof.com that contains info about the inductees. They are also seeking photos, especially those before 2001 when digital photography became more common.

I couldn't but help notice that Ham Radio Outlet is looking for "candidates to join our incredible team!" Gosh, what a fun job it would be to work at a ham radio retailer! If that is for you or someone you know, check it out! (SCCC has no pecuniary interest in HRO nor do we receive any sponsorship dollars from them...though we would love to have them as an SCCC sponsor!)

Strange but true...
Southern Californian Leo Fender, of Fender Guitar fame, was an amateur radio operator when he graduated from high school in 1928! His callsign W6DOE is now licensed to someone else. You might be surprised about some other famous folks that were hams. Ray Dolby, founder of Dolby Labs was F5VBY. Bob Moog, inventer of the Moog Synthesizer was K2AMH. Howard Hughes was W5CY. David Packard, co-founder of Hewlet-Packard (aka HP) was 9DRV. Walter Cronkite, long time TV news anchor was KB2GSD. Paul Tibbets, the pilot of Enola Gay (the aircraft that dropped the first atomic bomb) was K4ZVZ. Priscilla Presley was NY6YOS. Marlon Brando (actor) was KE6PZH and FO5GJ. Donnie Osmond was WD4SKT. Tim Allen (actor) is KK6OTD (and he has a callsign plaque occasionally appearing on his current TV show, "Shifting Gears") and Joe Walsh of the music band The Eagles is WB6ACU. Did you know that you had something in common with all of these famous people?

73 for now,
--Dennis NE6I

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Our January, 2025 poll was a two part one. "Are you for or against self spotting in HF contests?"
  61% said they were against it. 17% said they were for it and 22% said they had no opinion.
  "What about VHF contests where propagation is very different, and QSOs are often few and far between?"
  67% said they were for spotting. 6% said they were against it and 27% had no opinion.

Our December, 2024 poll was "Once upon a time, you lived close enough to another ham to regularly 
  get interference from him/her. Maybe you still do.
  60% said "No, I've been very lucky." The other 40% said "yes."

Our November, 2024 poll was "A genie will grant you one wish from three choices. Everything you already
  own will vanish. Thus you are starting from scratch.  You choose:
  38% said a hilltop QTH. 29% said W6AM's rhombic farm back when it was at its peak. Another 29% said a QTH 
  overlooking the ocean. The rest said   a flat-for-miles QTH. (No one selected "a top of the line rig and 
  amplifier.">

Our October, 2024 poll was I currently have ____ antenna supports (towers, masts, etc.).
  40% said one, 25% said two and another 25% said three or four. 10% said fiver or more!

Our September, 2024 poll was The tallest antenna tower/structure I have ever climbed is:
  29% said greater than 100 feet! 24% said they don't climb towers. 19% said 76-100 feet. About 9% each
  for heights at 51-75 feet, 31-50 feet and 20-30 feet. 

Our August, 2024 poll was The tallest antenna tower/structure I have ever had is:
  27% said 100 or more feet! 18% said 50-59 feet and another 18% said 20-29 feet. 14% said 60-75 feet and
  another 14% said 30-39 feet. 5% said 76-99 feet and another 4% said 40-49 feet. 

Our July, 2024 poll was How many computer monitors do you use in your ham shack?
  Forty percent said two and another forty percent said one. 10% said more than four and 5% said three. 
  Another 5% said none.

Our June, 2024 poll was "Periodically, I run an antenna analysis program such as EZNEC (or other) looking 
for ways to improve my antenna system."
  79% said no and 21% said yes.

Our May, 2024 poll was "Has the digital revolution affected your operating in contests or DXing?"
  46% said yes, quite a bit. 23% said not at all. 15% said that they hate digital (hi hi). And 16% said
  somewhere in between.

Our April, 2024 poll was "This one is off the beaten path but should be fun. How many TV channels did you 
  have on the living room TV when you were a child?
  40% said 7-12 channels. 33% said 4-6 channels. 20% said 3 or less and 7% said 13-30 channels. 

Our March, 2024 poll was "I have or have used for amateur radio use a Raspberry Pi computer."
  64% said they have never used a Pi computer. 29% say they use one today for amateur radio. The remaining
  7% said they own one but don't use it for amateur radio.

Our February, 2024 poll was "After every contest, I run my log through an analyzer or look at the data 
  analysis in my contest logger in hopes of improving my next go round in that contest.
  76% said no. 19% said sometimes and 5% said always. 

Our January, 2024 poll was "After every contest, I upload my contest log to:"
  The options were LOTW, eQSL, QRZ, ClubLog, Two of these, Three of thes, All four of these, or None of these.
  30% said two of these. Another 30% said eQSL. 20% said three of these and 15% said ClubLog. 5% said LOTW.

Our November, 2023 poll was "I took at least one of my amateur radio license exams at an FCC office back 
  when they conducted such things there."
  A stunning 82% said yes! Only 18% said no. Guess that shows that we have an aging club membership!

Our October, 2023 poll was "I started on CW using a:"
  79% said hand key (wow!). 11% said iambic type electronic keyer. 5% said they have never done CW and 5% said
  paddle type electronic keyer.

Our September, 2023 poll was "Have you ever listened to a ham radio podcast? (That is, one where the subject 
is ham radio related.)"
  74% said yes and 26% said no.

Our August, 2023 poll was "I first found out about contesting:"
  44% said they stumbled across one on the air. Another 44% said they found about contesting from a magazine. 
  6% said they learned about it from a friend and another 6% said Other.

Our July, 2023 poll was "My hamshack computer runs:"
  90% said Windows (no surprise there). 5% said MacOS and the other 5% said DOS.

Our June, 2023 poll was "My ham shack computer is:"
  39% said 8 or more years old. 35% said newer (3 years old or less). 26% said 4-7 years old. 

Our May, 2023 poll was "My ham shack computer is a:"
  67% said a desktop and 33% said a laptop.

Our April, 2023 poll was "My first amplifier was a:"
  27% said it was a Heathkit. Another 27% said Other (I wonder what those were?). 13% said VHF/UHF os some
  flavor. 

Our March, 2023 poll was "My first transmitter/transceiver when I received my license was a"
 A whopping 42% said Heathkit! 11% said homebrew, 8% (each) said Yaesu, Kenwood and Hallicrafters, 4% said 
 Johnson and 19% said Other. 

OurFebruary, 2023 poll was "My first antenna when I received my license was a:"
 64% said it was a dipole. 6% said it was a doublet and another 6% said it was a longwire. Another 6% said it 
 was a G5RV and another 6% said it was something else. 12% started with a vertical. The rest was split between
 Alpha, Henry, Yaesu, Ameritron and "I have never owned an amplifier."

Our January, 2023 poll was "My first amateur radio license was a(n):"
 80% said Novice. 13% said Technician and 7% said Conditional.

Our December, 2022 poll was "Of the amateur radio magazines to which I subscribe, I read one or more of
 them online rather than the printed version."

 20% said all to which they subscribe. 27% said one or more and 53% said none.

Our November,2022 poll was "I subscribe to one or more amateur radio magazines."

 28% subscribe to one, 33% subscribe to two, 17% subscribe to three, 17% subscribe to more than three and 5%
 don't subscribe to any.

Our October, 2022 poll was "My ham shack computer is:"

 72% said shared with other tasks (I.E., email, web browsing, spreadsheets, documents, etc.). 24% said it was
 dedicated to their ham radio activities. 6% said they don't have a computer in the ham shack. 

Our September, 2022 poll was another two parter. "When the FCC discontinued the Morse Code requirement for 
 amateur radio licensees, I:" and part two was "Now that it has been many years without the Morse Code 
 requirement,"

44% of respondents didn't care either way. 38% disagreed with the decision. 13% were worried that amateur 
radio would become like the CB channels. To the second question, 63% have no opinion either way. The other
37% think it was a good decision.

Our August, 2022 poll was a two parter. "Do you have/own an HF amplifier? If so, which brand. And, is it 
 a tube or solid state amp?"

50% of respondents said they have an Alpha amplifier. 30% said Elecraft. 11% said OM Power. 5% said Heathkit 
and another 5% said Acom.  56% said their amp uses tubes and 33% said their amp is solid state. 11% do not have 
an amplifier. 

Our July, 2022 poll was "A must do contest for me is"

A whopping 30% said CQWW DX CW! 14% said Sweepstakes CW. The balance was divided equally amont the rest 
of the contests lin the poll.

Our June, 2022 poll was "I will be operating Field Day this year"

39% said with a club at a park or other location away from home. Another 39% said from home said from home.
22% said they wouldn't be participating this year.

Our May, 2022 poll was "My first contest was:"

22% said the Novice Roundup. 17% each said ARRL Sweepstakes, a state QSO Party, CQWW DX, or another contest. 
 10% said the ARRL International DX Contest. 

Our April, 2022 poll was "Your top QSOs per hour rate over a full 60 minutes is:"

47% said 61-70. 18% said 41-50 and another 18% said 81-90. 17% said 41-50. 

Our March, 2022 poll was "In a single contest weekend, you have worked 100 DXCC entities."

36% said yes and 64% said no.

Our February, 2022 poll was "You are only allowed to contest on one band, the band of your choice. Which one 
would it be?"

42% said 40 meters, 27% said 20 meters, 15% said 15 meters, 8% said 10 and 4% said 160. 4% said 2 meters or 
above.

Our January, 2022 poll was"Continuing with last month's typing subject, for those of you that touch type, 
did you learn to do so in a class, on the internet (including a typing app or program), or are you self 
taught?"

50% said in a class. 19% said self taught and 31% said they use hunt and peck instead.

Our December, 2021 poll was"When using contest software, do you touch type or hunt and peck?"

61% said hunt and peck. 39% said touch type.

Our November, 2021 poll was "Have you ever owned a Heathkit Radio transmitter, receiver or transceiver?"

70% said yes, in the past. 18% said they own one or more now and 12% said no.

Our October, 2021 poll was "Have you ever owned a Collins Radio transmitter, receiver or transceiver?"

11% said yes, in the past. 17% said they own one or more now and 72% have never owned one. 

Our September, 2021 poll was "I plan on purchasing at least one new station accessory in the 
coming year."

80% said yes and 20% said no. Are you listening, vendors?

Our August, 2021 poll was "I plan on installing at least one new antenna in the coming year."

64% said yes and 36% said no.

Our July, 2021 poll was "The last time I visited a brick and mortar ham radio store was"

47% said in the past two to four years. 37% said in the past year. 16% said five or more years ago.

Our June, 2021 poll was "My career (or former career if retired) is/was in the electronics or 
telecommunications industry."

53% said yes and 47% said no. 

Our May, 2021 poll was "I have a family member who is also a licensed amateur radio operator."

44% said yes and 56% said no. 

Our April, 2021 poll was "My significant other_____in contests."

60% said tolerates me participating. 15% said encourages me to participate. 10% said doesn't care if I 
participate and another 10% said sometimes participates with me. 5% said they don't have a significant 
other.

Our March, 2021 poll was "Keeping with the theme of last month's poll, my favorite 
type of contest is:"

47% said DX. 33% said stateside. And 20% said both.

Our February, 2021 poll was "My favorite contests are (those in duration):"

28% said 48 hour contests, 11% said 30 hour contests, 5% said 24 hour contests, 17% said 
10 hour contests, 5% said 4 hour contests and 5% said 1 hour contests. 22% said all of
the above! One respondent said all of the above with the exception of Field Day and 
those with other complicated exchanges. 

Our January, 2021 poll was "Do you prefer hard copy QSLs or electronic ones?"

19% said they prefer hard copy (paper) QSLs, 50% said they prefer electronic QSLs (IE, LOTW, 
eQSL, QRZ, etc.), 25% said they had no preference, and 6% said they do not QSL at all. 

Our December, 2020 poll was "I sometimes have conflicts between contest events and
 family events on holiday weekends preventing me from as much participation in one or
 both of them as I'd like.

17% said often, 56% said occasionally, 22% said contesting always wins out, and 5% said
 family events always win out. 

Our November, 2020 poll asked "Is your antenna system mostly:"

42% answered less than 5 years old. 16% each answered 5-10 years old, 11-15 years old 
 or 16-20 years old. 10% answered more than 20 years old.

Our October, 2020 poll asked "Is your current primary transciever:"

43% answered 5-10 years old. 30% said less than 5 years old. 17% said 11-15 years old and
 10% said more than 20 years old.

Our September, 2020 poll was two parts. "Are you an ARRL member?"

87% said yes and 13% said no.

Are you a paid member of any other club other than ARRL?

73% said yes and 27% said no.

Our July, 2020 poll was "Where do you typically operate Field Day from?

23% said from home, 6% said portable by themselves, 59% said with a club and 12% said they
 don't typically operate Field Day.

Our June, 2020 poll was "Did you discover amateur radio on your own?

35% said yes, 35% said that they discovered it via a family member and 30% said that they
 discovered it via a friend.

Our May, 2020 poll was "Have you ever built and/or used Heathkit amateur radio equipment?"

65% said they have both built and used Heathkits. 20% said they have used but not built them
 and 15% have neither built nor used a Heathkit.

Our April, 2020 poll was "Did you participate in the National Traffic System (NTS)?"

25% said yes and 75% said no.

Our February, 2020 poll was "What is your thought on the new digital modes as it pertains
 to contesting?"

27% said great! And another 27% said "not for me." 21% said "they are poisoning amateur radio
 contesting." Wow, brutal. 14% said they haven't tried them. 8% said "not bad" and 3% said
 "unsure / too early to day."

Our January, 2020 poll was "Have you ever operated in a RTTY contest?"

86% said yes and 14% said no. 

Our December, 2019 poll was "Have you ever operated in a VHF contest?"

86% said yes and 14% said no. 

Our November, 2019 poll was "Do you operate in very many contests just to have some
 fun / hand out some contacts?"

86% said yes and 14% said a few.

Our October, 2019 poll was "LOTW has revolutionized QSLing. How do you respond to
 hard copy QSLs that you receive after a contest?

87% said they send a return QSL the same way the incoming card was received (direct or via
 the Bureau). 13% said they send electronic QSLs only (IE, LOTW, eQSL, QRZ and/or other).

Our September, 2019 poll was "If you could go or are going on a Contest Dxpedition
 next year, where would you go?"

75% said to the Caribbean! 25% said somewhere in the Pacific.

Our August, 2019 poll was a two parter. "Do you miss (or wish we had) SCCC pizza meetings?"

20% said Yes, I really miss them. Another 20% said Yes, I hear they were a good time.
 10% said I could take them or leave them. Another 10% said No, I'm not that interested in
 attending meetings at this time. 60% said I probably wouldn't be able to attend many of them
 due to distance or other reason.

The second question was "If we had SCCC meetings, I would..."

10% said Attend as many as possible. 20% said Attend them if they were less than an hour's
 drive. 40% said Attend now and then. 20% said Might attend some of them, and 10% said Probably
 wouldn't attend any of them.

Our July, 2019 poll was "When was your first contest?"

16% said 2010 or later. 5% said 2000-2009 and another 5% said 1990-1999. 32% said 1970-1979.
 26% said 160-1969 and 16% said 1950-1959.

Our June, 2019 poll was "Have you ever operated a Dxpedition in a contest?"

25% said yes, as part of a multi-op DXpedition. 25% said no. 20% said yes, as a single op.
 Another 20% said no, but I would like to! And 10% said yes, both as a multi-op and as a single-op.

Our May, 2019 poll was "Have you ever operated mobile or portable in a contest
 (not a DXpedition)?

35% said both, 35% said no, 20% said portable and 10% said mobile.

Our April, 2019 poll was "For manual CW sending, what do you use?"

65% of our respondents said a keyer. 35% said contest software. 12% said a straight key and
 5% said a bug. 8% said other.

Our March, 2019 poll was "What logging software do you use in contests?"

75% of our respondents said N1MM+. 10% said Writelog and another 10% said N3FJP. 5% each said
 TRLog/TR4W, Win-test or other.

Our February, 2019 poll was "Do you use high, low or QRP power in contests?"

56% of our respondents said high power. 21% said low power and 13% said QRP.

Our January, 2019 poll was "What brand of radio to you use primarily in contests?"

25% of our respondents said Yaesu. 18.75% said Kenwood. 12.5% said Icom. 6.25% said Flex, and
 43.75% said Other. We should have included Elecraft! 

Our December, 2018 poll was "Have you ever hosted a guest operator at your station?"

11% of our respondents said yes. 89% said no.

Our November, 2018 poll was "Have you ever operated multi-op in a contest (home or away)?"

80% of our respondents said yes. 20% said no.

Our October, 2018 poll was "What is your favorite contest mode?"

76% of our respondents favored CW. 12% favored SSB and 6% favored RTTY. 6% had no favorite mode.

Our September, 2018 poll was "What is your favorite contest?"

CQP took the top spot. CQWW DX, WPX, NA Sprint and Sweepstakes all tied for second.

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DB-18 antenna for sale Contact Sherman, W6AFA w6afa at hotmail dot com Posted 02 July 2024 You are looking at 3 Monster HF antennas that I just purchased with a tower. $3825 obo - or trade for a K3S K4 7610 ? I have been asked if I would split up the antennas..and yes I will..If you want 1 or 2,that is fine. Please see my ebay ad for more pics. They are all M2 antennas ,which are pretty darn good. 10m = 10M7DX 7 elements on a 45 foot boom ! $3350 new 15m = 15M6DX 6 elements on a 44 foot boom $2295 new 20m = 20M5 5 elements on a 44 foot boom. $2295 new That's over $8000 new,plus shipping and tax. Pickup only in Fallbrook CA...North San Diego County These look be be in very nice condition. You can download the manuals on the M2 website. Please see pictures for more details. Local pickup only in Northern San Diego County CA. I can be reached through email if you have questions about these fine antennas. Larry K6RO Posted 16 June 2024 Renewed 02 October 2024 FOR SALE: SPE Expert 1.5K-FA Series 3 fully automatic LDMOS amplifier. Latest hardware and firmware. Works perfectly. $4000. https://expertlinears.com/1-5kfa FOR SALE: 2. KT34M2 4-element tribander. Latest design. Upgrade with DX Engineering balun, custom boom-to-mast mount by Hector Garcia. $400. https://www.m2inc.com/FGKT34M2 Contact Paul, K6PO paul dot kube at outlook.com Posted 27 February 2024 FOR SALE: Elecraft K3/100 Transceiver 100 watts, 2.7 kHz SSB filter KXV3 I/O transverter KIO3 RS232 Great entry level radio Power cord and manual $1195 Same as above with a built in tuner $1495. If you want custom options, please email. I have many options available that are not being made by Elecraft. Filters KSYN3A upgraded SYN board. DVR's Sub Receivers P3 Panadapter $625.00 Add VGA $850 Contact Larry, K6RO k6ro54 at gmail dot com 310-710-2869 Posted 20 Oct 2021, Revised 17 June 2024 - Renewed 02 October 2024 - Perpetual ad FOR SALE: I have a two year-old SteppIR DB36 with 80 M dipole option for sale. The stepper motors, controller, etc all work perfectly, and the boom and trombones/straight fiberglass poles are in good shape. You will likely need to replace some of the small parts (some bolts and Nylock nuts), but can have a working DB-36 for less than half of what it cost new. I'm selling the antenna because the trees near the antenna became so large that tilting it over was becoming impossible, and I purchased a DB-18E to replace it. I have some extra fiberglass poles that I will include, and I guarantee that the antenna will work (motors, etc.). Due to the weight and size, I'm thinking it's going to have to be a pickup in the San Diego area. I might be willing to remove the heat shrink couplings and try to box it if the buyer covers the shipping charges (FedEx ground). Asking $3500 for everything. Seller: Eric, NC6K egruff [at] cox[dot]net Posted 9 Oct 2018, renewed 27 November 2023

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