Here comes the CQ WPX CW contest! The last full weekend of May, the bands will be full of CW contesters working anyone and everyone. The multipliers are prefixes regardless of country. This makes this contest a lot of fun for adrenaline junkies even without a ton of sunspots. Hopefully, conditions will be good and there will be plenty of DX to be had though. But during any slow DX times, it's easy to keep the rate up by working a lot of USA, VE and XE stations. This one is a lot of fun! Full rules can be found here.

Congratulations to Marko, N5ZO who placed 3rd in the Single Op Unlimited High Power category of the ARRL November Sweepstakes CW contest! George, W6AYC finished 4th in the Single Op Low Power category. And SCCC finished 2nd in the Medium Club category!

Congratulations to Axel, KI6RRN are also in order! Axel took the top spot in the January NAQP CW contest using the NO6T club call sign and the WA6TQT super station! Dan, N6MJ used the N6WIN Arizona station as ND7K to take 3rd place and Marko, N5ZO finished 8th. The SCCC #1 team finished 4th, just behind FRC Team Uranus.

Our own Wayne, N6NB has an interesting article in the May, 2021 issue of QST entitled "Green Roving in a Red Rover." It is the magazine's cover article in fact and describes his 6 meter through 10 GHz Chevy Bolt EV set up. He says that it "can do jsut about everything a gasoline-fueled rover can do, but with zero pollution and dramatically better energy efficiency. No more 14 mpg or less trucks!

Also in that issue of QST is an article by Frank Donovan, W3LPL discussing what we can expect during the coming rise of Solar Cycle 25. Frank states that at least 70 forecasts have been published in various scientific journals, predicting everything from a very weak to a very strong cycle. He notes that most predict that it will be similar in strength to that of Cycle 24. The first quarter of this year has been unimpressive, with an SFI at or below 80 the vast majority of the time. He expects 30 meters through 10 to begin to improve this fall. He reminds us that now is the time to begin adding to and/or improving out antennas for these bands in order to be ready for the better days ahead in this new Cycle.

The FCC announced some rule changes to its rules on RF exposure standards. These will go into effect on May 3, 2021. Of note is the requirement to evaluate amateur radio stations against existing limits. Amateur radio stations were previously exempted from this requirement. More information can be found on the ARRL web site.

ARRL has announced that Field Day rule waivers that were implemented last year due to the COVID pandemic will again be in place this year. Thus Class D home stations may work all other Field Day stations including others in Class D for points. New this year is a 150 watt PEP limit on Class A and E stations. An aggregate club score will be published after the contest as was done last year. We all know that Field Day is technically an operating event rather than a contest, but many SCCCers treat it like a contest and put in big scores. This year's event will take place June 26-27. More info on the ARRL Field Day web page.

And let's not forget about Kid's Day. This one is sponsored by the Boring Amateur Radio Club and is a great way for youngsters to share the excitement of amateur radio. In fact, it's a great way for you to open your shack to some neighborhood kids that might one day populate the contesting ranks! If you don't host though, I encourage you to spend some time on the air working the youngsters around the country. It's a lot of fun to hear how much fun they are having! This year's event is on Saturday, June 19 at 1800Z. More info on the Kids Day web page.

Contest University has announced its 2021 course outline and list of speakers. And it looks like a great lineup! Normally held concurrently with the Dayton Hamvention, this year's CTU will be held on Thursday, May 20 via Zoom and there is no cost to attend. You must pre-register in order to attend. Note that four ICOM radios will be given away at random times. You must be registered in Zoom and present during the random give-aways to win. Even if you don't win a shiny new ICOM, you will be a winner attending these presentations! More info on the CTU web site.

The 72nd meeting of the International DX Convention is now open for Registration. The *virtual* two-day meeting will be held Saturday, May 15 and Sunday, May 16, 2021 via Zoom webinars.

What you can expect from IDXC 2021:

- A safe, front-row seat without having to leave your QTH
- 8 - DX-related webinars on Saturday, May 15, 2021
- 8 - Vendor webinars on Sunday, May 16, 2021
- Some great door prizes (including over $5,000 in cash awards from NCDXC)
- Pre-Registration is required but it is Fast and *FREE*
- All Zoom Webinars will be recorded and posted to the NCDXC website at a later date


Click here for the conventions program.

IDXC has always been the premier DX Convention in the United States, attended by hundreds of avid DXers looking to improve their skills, their stations and their connection with fellow Hams.

Although we can't meet in person this year because of COVID-19, we intend to make IDXC 2021 a memorable DX event, and hope you’ll be able to join us.

Please register now: http://dxconvention.com/pages/registration.html

73,
John Miller, K6MM
Rich Seifert, KE1B
IDXC 2021 Co-Chairs

As you have previously read here, the SCCC once again won the Medium Club category in the 2020 California QSO Party, setting a new record in the category with just over 5 million points. Bruce, WA7BNM accepted the plaque and provided a picture. See it here. Way to go, everyone! The 2021 edition will be the first weekend of October.

Strange but true...
Your heart beats over 100,000 times a day!

73 for now,
--Dennis NE6I

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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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WANTED: SteppIR CrankIR, preferably with 80 meters. Contact John, NS6X ns6x [at] arrl dot net Posted 2 August 2020 WANTED: Johnson Invader 2000 Power Supply. I recently acquired an Invader 2000 but without the power supply and missing all the cabinet-mounting hardware, including the two long bolts from the back to the front panel common to most Johnson rigs. WANTED: Kaar KE-23A or KE-23AT communications receiver. Contact Steve, K0XP k0xp (at) k0xp dot com Posted 19 June 2020 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 30 Apr 2020

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