I do some modest contesting and will often send out cards for new countries or new bands ciountries I need and usuall get back about 90 to 95 % of them  I think I am currently at 229 worked and 220 recievd back, so pretty good.  I do send the cards off promptly after the contest, and if USA card send a sase and my card, if Canada or Mexico I send a self adressed envelope and a buck and for the rest of the world I send the self addressed envelope and 2 bucks.

if it is a DXpedition or something unique I will send a 5 dollar bill with a note to donate the excess to the dexpidition.

and then sometimes I will just run a bunch of labels off the logger and send a bunch via the buro, , and get those back some day.....

I used to use IRC's and by special stamps, but now I can send to Mexico or Csanada for 2 stamps ( what ever the letter rate happens to be) and use 3 stamps for the rest of the world.  

I never put a hams call on the envelope, and have had good luck this way.

it works for me, Your Mileage May Vary

glad you got one in the mail, mine has not arrived yet..

it will be here when it is, and no sooner..

I learned to not get in a hurry for QSL cards..

tom N6AJR

 I would spend my $8,000 this way,

used original orion $2500

2 or 3 element steppir beam ( 6m to 20 m) either $995 or $1400

home brew 40, 80, 160m wires ( 25 bucks for wire)

build an desk to hold it all $400 for cabinets and countertops for a big desk

and buy a decent amp, at least 500 watts, like an als 600 ($800 used 1300 new) 811h ($800 new) or good used amp for 160 to 10 m including warc, that uses cheap tubes ( 300z's or 572's or 811's) or solid state.

solid state is better because you just band switch and don't have to tune the amp, hand in search and pounce.

call it a grand for a good medium amp.

and about $100 + or - for a good logging program,

a couple of hundred bucks for cable, connectors, jumpers etc, voice keyers, key and keyer.

and $700 for a good desk top computer with a flat screen monitor use with the rest of it for contesting.

I have 11 hf rigs and 3 big amps and other antennas ( ma5b , dipole, 5btv, solpers etc) but for contesting I use basicalliy an automatic station.

I use the orion and a computer with a logging program and the 3ele steppir and a gap voyager, a voice keyer a bencher key in the orions keyer, and an alpha 87A.

so I see a spot on the logging program, and click on it , which prefills some of the information, and turns the steppir to that frequency, them moves the radio to that frequency and kicks the amp there too. first dit or word autotunes the amp and I make the contact. tab tab , enter and its in the log and click on another spot.

I usually only run 15 or 20 hours on a 48 hour contest and have what you call a little pistol station, not a big gun by along ways. I usually run 350 to 800 contacts in a contest. I enjoy it.

but you can set your self up a nice station for about $6000 or so and save $2000 for new toys, or perhaps to treat the XYL to a day at the spa.. that will certainly help your station..

I have a few and use the orion for contesting, you can get one used from Ten Tec for about $2200 with a warrenty.

I have the original orion, a 746 pro ( my #2) , a corsair, triton IV, scout, TS 2000, omni d ft 101zd, ft 847 and 2 ft 857'ds.  

I use the orion.

I also agree the antennas are necessary, my best antennas are the 3 ele steppir and a gap voyager that I use mainly with the orion. I have other antennas but these are the ones I contest with. I say  a good antenna and a good radio and a good amp that all work well together with a  logging program. the less time you can spend tuning, the more time you spend on the air.

another point is the nomenclature folks use, I am an OF and used to run CB ( still do about once a year, then I remember why I left..)

ham amps put out power or watts, cb amps swing, ham amps use tubes and transistors, CB amps use pills... etc.


I find most hams are pretty decent folks, but there are folks that are not nice on ham radio, and folks that are extremely nice. Ham is like the rest of life, good and bad. but don't let some one who yells at you for a mistake, to sour you on radio. it really is a super hobby for a lifetime.

there is so much to do. ssb, fm am, and cw are all good modes, and amatuer tv is fun amd so is psk 31, rtty, hellschreiber, and other digital modes. There is EME, ( moon bounce) and satalites. you can use 5 watts or less or 1500 watts on 2 meter cw. so power is just one aspect. and then there is contesting...

The best place to spend your money is in antennas. gain from antennas not only gives you a stronger transmitted signal, but a stronger recieved signal as well.

so I have lots of amps and lots of power and still even have stuff that will do 11 meters, but I would rather get on 17 m or 20 m or 160 m and visit with folks on the air.

I have friends all over the world , I will probably never meet face to face, but totally enjoy my visits with them. Jim in south cook, the other Jim in norfolk island, Martii where ever he happens to be and so on.

I have local friends I work on uhf and vhf, and folks on the 40 meter swap net all over the state so I enjoy the radio.

I have amps on 6 and 2 m that do 400 watts, and an alpha 87a, als600 and ic2-kl for my day to day hf toys.

the alpha will probably do wellover 2000 watts but I find that I usually run it at about 1000 watts. with my antennas if I use more power, I end up making a ton of "esp" contacts, that being folks running qrp or 100 watts, and me reaching them loudly and them coming back at the noise level.

so a little less power makes it not so good of a signal, and I get stronger answers to my calls. In case of dx I can run it up to legal limit if needed.


go to ARRL.ORG and in the upper left click on exams, type in your zip code and hit enter. this will bring up a list of ham tests in your local area. most of these are sponsered by a ham club. they all have a contact person and phone number. call and ask about the next meeting, for an elmer , how do I ....

some one will take you under their wing. Please gice it a shot, and also try to learn the code (CW) its a great mode (G4FON.net is a good site) and you can do ham radio for your entire life. it is a good service to be in.

here is a link to my pile of stuff.

http://hometown.aol.com/catfishtwo/N6AJR.html

Ameritron sells 572's for $60 each, and probably it wont hurt to run 1 new one with the 3 old ones, especially if you don't run it at max smoke.

I always tuned my clippertons up to max output, check the dip, the dropped the input power a couple of watts.  I ran a big assortment of tubes in several, for quite some time and never had a problem. I now run an alpha 87a, I enjoy the no tuning, but I really enjoy not hearing the big Clang when ever you keyed the clipperton L

you won't get any more power as the high voltage is 1600 volts in the 811 and 811 h and I think the 572 amp runs at 2200 volts.  by the way a set of 811's ( 3 of them) is $60 from ameritron, and 1 572 b is $60 from ameritron.  so 3 sets of 811 will cost the same as 1 set of 572's.

I have yet to wear out a tube befor I sold the amp. I still have a dozen or so 811's and the same  for 572's and even 6146's and 6lq6's that I bought for backup for different amps in the past, and never needed. they are in a box in the closet.

some folks say the 572's last longer, but I have never seen anything to prove it one way or another.  but save your money, run 811's and realize that a few watts for the last bit of smoke in your amp means nothing.

have a friend with an amp call you on the air and listen to his signal at 800 watts, then have him drop it to 700 watts, you can't hear the difference. if he drops it from 800 to maybe 350 or 400 watts you "might" notice the difference.


 The point is tune your amp for max output then drop the input a couple of watts and your tubes will last for ever.   going for every last bit of smoke all the time just makes the tubes run hot and splatter your signal all over the bands.and you can't hear the difference in a few watts.

also the folks at elecraft are comming out with  an 800 watt and a legal limit amp sometime in 2007, they are in FCC cert now. they will also be sold in kit form, so says the literature.around $5000 for the big guy

I always tune up in cw or fm.  On side band if you don't make a noise, there is no output. ( no carrier in SSB) so the best you can do is helllllllloooooooo or a whistle.

this will allow the meter to catch up with the signal being produced and give you a more accurate reading.

also most amps will dip the plate and peak the load at the max output of the amp.  In other words I tune for max output and then check the dip and tweek the plate to be sure I am ok.

 I also back the power down by a couple watts of input, and then the tubes last for ever.  When you have to pay $500 to $600 per tube, you get careful..any how, you need to tune up in a mode ( cw, fm or some rigs have a tune mode) that produces a carrier.

the truth is that if you buy a tentec radio, with their 30 day return policy and return the radio, the will not sell you a second radio.

reason for this is that you and I know folks that would buy an orion for this or that contest, then return it and then "buy" another rig, say a jupiter for an rtty contest and return it. etc.

so if you decide you want a ten tec, the talk to folks in sales and talk to friends and such and be sure you really want one.

Ten tec supports their rigs vewry well, and they answer their phones and will help you. give them a call and get it straight from the horses mouth.

I have no problem walking a non contester through the exchange. I think this may be how you get more folks into contesting too.  I only takes a minute for you to explain the exchange.. so yes, please call me if you hear me.  

two things,

alot of times I can hear a kh 7 on the back of the beam and a w1 talking to europe on the front and neither can hear either and I get both.

the other item is think of the fellow on Guam or south cook or even hawaii. every time they get on the air they are "DX" and get spotted and off they go. Some would love to move to 6 land because who ever needs yet Another 6 station in the log ( Except for CQP and WPX) so every time you get on to visit with a friend, you get a pile up.  It could get old after a few years.

yes, they are sending them now. got to their web site, and you will see the extensive update.

its all about the current.  11 amps on 220 is much easier on the power drop than the 22 amps on 110 volts.  the lights don't dim and the power in the amp is more solid.  I had an electrician run in 1 220 and 2 new 110 circuits into the shack along with the 2 existing 110's

and 22 amps on a 15 or 20 amp circuit can be a fire hazzard.  switch to 220, it will work easier

my first thought is to try it into a dummy load. see if it does it there.  I have a Ma5b up and you should realy put up a better antenna, look at the 3 or 4 element steppir, I compare them directly and the ma5b is usuall 2 or 3 sunits down from the steppir 3 ele I have up.  the ma5b is a good little antenna but with the pw 1 ( I have the 2-kl) and they are a pleasent to use amp.. but you are using a brime rig setup into a hamburger antenna. put up a small tower or a roof tower and get on the air.  I used my ma5b for a while and now with the steppir I only use it for my back up radios when I have a visitor on the second rig.  take a look at the antenna on the roof tower here..

http://hometown.aol.com/catfishtwo/N6AJR.html

I dont't climb ( disabled ) so this was all done by friends. but my first cal on the steppir ( barefoot) was to honduras, and my second call was to a ham in japan, toyoko, in his car, on a hamstick, mobile in down town toyoko... yea it works.

back to the problem, try the dummy load first and see if it is radio or coax /antenna.  then if that works try a new coax ( rg8 or better, I reccommend lmr400 for good results.) and I doubt if it is antenna. it sounds like a relay hanging up.  do you run an ALC line, if so try running with out that. and manually verify you dont't over drive it.

good luck