What better way to practice using the K1EL WinKeyer USB than to dive right into a big contest?
I recently purchased a WinKeyer USB with the intention of getting more involved in radiosport. I connect the WinKeyer to my laptop and to my FT-710 and started to configure it to automatically send Morse code through my radio. The configuration I ended up with is probably a common one–N1MM+ using the WinKeyer to send Morse through the FT-710.
I could not be more happy with this setup. If you’ve been here long, you’ll know that I’m a macOS user and was trying to resist having to buy a new computer just to use with amateur radio, but I finally got so fed up with the ham radio software for macOS that I bought a relatively cheap Windows laptop and loaded it up with all the most popular ham software. N1MM+ was top of the list since I had been looking for a good purpose-built contest logger and the macOS solutions I had been testing out just weren’t cutting it. I wish I were a programmer so I could help usher in more macOS applications for ham radio.
I wasn’t planning to spend all weekend at the radio. I was more interested in using the CQ World Wide DX – CW contest as a way to hone my operating skills using the new software and hardware that I’d recently acquired.
The CQWW DX CW contest began at midnight (UTC) on Saturday November 29th and ran until 11:59pm (UTC) on Sunday. Out of that near 48-hour period, I worked about 4 hours searching and pouncing and managed to work several DX stations, which is always a nice thing since most of my contacts are confined to stateside ones. I ended up working for short spurts in between doing some chores around the house on Saturday. I did not operate at all on Friday evening nor on Sunday morning. At the end of it, I captured 50 new QSOs for my logbook. This was also my first contesting activity as a full member of the Potomac Valley Radio Club.
Callsign: K2MAS
Contest: CQWWCW
Band QSOs Pts ZN Cty Pt/Q
14 14 24 8 9 1.7
21 11 29 7 10 2.6
28 25 69 11 17 2.8
Total 50 122 26 36 2.4
Score: 7,564
1 Mult = 1.0 Q's
The ARRL 10-Meter Contest is coming up this month and I’m getting ready for it! I may not run, but I’ll be expecting to hunt for as much of the contest as I’m able.
73 all,
Matthew, K2MAS
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