Très agréable WE en effet à VE2TZT où nous opérions sous VC2T.
Cela m’a rappelé mes débuts dans le contest il y a une dizaine d’années où j’avais eu la chance d’opérer plusieurs fois en multi-single à TM2Y pour le WPX et le CQWW CW.
L’ambiance 48h à tout oublier et à ne penser que radio avec du monde qui partage la même passion est vraiment unique. Il n’y a pas meilleure façon de vivre un contest : nous devenons le contest.
Cela fait donc plusieurs années que je songe à reproduire cela en organisant un multi op. Les années passent et chaque fois je reportais car la station n’était pas prête alors j’ai décidé de faire le contraire : Lancer l’invitation et ensuite courir pour réussir à être prêt à temps.
Le plan : Faire le concours en multi-single et en phonie (car je ne suis pas sûr de pouvoir dans la région trouver suffisamment d’opérateurs contest CW capables d’encaisser des pointes instantanées à 400 QSO/h). Cela nécessite au minimum une station run, une station multi et une station d’écoute pour remplir le band map et surveiller les ouvertures.
Les 4 opérateurs à qui j’ai proposé ont accepté immédiatement, sans la moindre hésitation et même avec beaucoup d’enthousiasme. Cela m’a d’autant plus mis la pression.
Pourquoi 5 opérateurs ? C’est simple : 48hX3 stations= 144 heures de radio à assurer.
1 opérateur qui se repose raisonnablement 9h dans la journée peut fournir 24-9=15h en 24h donc 30 heures en 48h. Donc 144/30=4.8 opérateurs.
Dix jours donc pour réparer les beverages et la 160m brisées par les chutes d’arbres et de branches, installer un dipôle 40m à 18m de haut pour la station multi, toujours pour la station multi sortir des cartons et monter la Spiderbeam , son mât avec haubans et un rotor, démonter la station SO2R pour la reconfigurer en multi-op, repenser le câblage en conséquence et rendre cela facile à utiliser pour les opérateurs qui ne connaissent pas la station. Réception du deuxième ampli trois jours avant le contest, fabrications des câbles, programmation, mettre en réseau WINTEST 3 PC, gérer la demande d’indicatif spécial 10 jours avant alors que le délai normal minimum est de 60 jours (Merci à IC pour leur compréhension) et bien sûr la logistique : couchage, courses et menu pour 5 personnes pendant 48 heures (3 soupers, 2 diners et petits déjeuner).
Jean VE2JM, arrive le premier vendredi à 14H pas le temps de chaumer il y a plein de choses à terminer, ensuite Victor VA2WDQ arrive avec sa radio et des filtres en secours. Les deux derniers Cliff VA2UTC et George VE2NGH qui vient directement du travail arrivent 10 minutes avant le top départ. La première heure de run est toujours mouvementée, c’est Victor qui s’y colle et Jean attaque les multis. Pendant ce temps, je nourri et instruit les derniers arrivants sur l’utilisation de la station.
Difficile de faire un planning, je ne connais pas assez bien les opérateurs, les choses s’organisent très bien d’elles même : vers 1 heures George et Cliff montrent des signes de fatigue, il faut les pousser un peu à aller dormir tellement ils sont excités par le concours mais ils comprennent bien que le lendemain à 8 heures il va falloir du monde pour prendre le relai. George me confira qu’il s’est endormi comme une masse à peine dans son lit, après une journée de travail il en avait vraiment besoin. Peu de temps après Victor a le coup de barre et vas dormir. Pas de problème c’est Jean et moi qui assurerons les nuits.
Délicat le run de nuit en contest, il faut se battre sans cesse pour ne pas avoir un rate trop ridicule, changer de bande souvent , appeler avec enthousiasme alors que personne ne répond quand aux multis ils se font rares et pourtant il faut scanner sans relâche les bandes. Nous réussissons tant bien que mal à maintenir une moyenne au dessus des 60 QSO/h.
La relève arrive vers 8H00, en fait il a fallu préalablement les réveiller… L’équipe de nuit vas alors dormir jusqu’à 15h/16h pendant que les gros run avec l’Europe commencent sur les bandes hautes. Le 10m est exceptionnel, de 14H à 15H TU Victor ajoute pratiquement 200 QSO dans le log. Le record de l’heure est battu à 19H TU par le trio Victor, George et Cliff avec 210 QSO majoritairement sur 15m.
Les 5 éléments sur 10,15 et 20m (et 3 éléments sur 40m) de la SteppIR DB42 à 22m et la puissance ``full legal limit`` de l’ampli y sont un peu pour quelque chose aussi.
Pendant tout le WE nous sommes gênés par un arc électrique à S-6 sur toutes les bandes ,la position de l’arc (700m à l’Est du QTH) a été parfaitement déterminée et signalée à Hydro depuis 2 semaines mais toujours aucune intervention.
La deuxième tranche de 24h se passe très semblable à la première.
Jusqu’à la fin nous gardons l’espoir de rejoindre les 5000 QSO, mais il nous en manquera 65 pour cela.
Pas si mal tout de même pour une équipe qui n’avait jamais concouru ensembles et dont la station montée à la hâte était loin d’être parfaite. Mieux encore, aucun écart à la fameuse règle des 10 minutes qui fait l’intérêt et la subtilité de cette catégorie. Bravo Messieurs pour votre sérieux et votre rigueur dans la bonne humeur.
Le but principal a été atteint : enfin un multi-single, enfin cette ambiance unique, enfin cette frénésie pendant 48h, des beaux moments de camaraderie et des beaux moments de radio, voir d’ivresse quand l’indicateur ``10 last QSO :`` passe au dessus des 400 qso/h.
Alors à l’année prochaine si tout va bien.
CQ Magazine a publié sur son site les ''Raw scores as calculated before log checking. Last update: 2012-12-02''
L'équipe VC2T serait donc tout de même dans le top 10 N.A.
We've finished very close to a planned target: 5K QSOs and the score over 10M.
The propagation was beautifull except 160-80. The every DX QSO on 160-80 reqiured some special effort.
Many thanks to Gilles for his generous hospitality and a great chance to use his outstanding set up. Thanks to everyone who was in the VC2T. Everybody worked hard to get VC2T participation great! I think that was an excellent experiance for all of us!
CQ's World Wide DX contest is one of the premier contests to work. Each October the ham world really gets a good idea of what kind of shape the bands are in, just as is the case in the winter with ARRL DX, spring with the CQ WPXand in the summer with the IARU championships. This year was no exception operators from many different countries took 48 hours of their time and played radio. Just scanning the logs received section of the CQWW site I see that dozens of countries are well represented from all four corners of the planet.
Canadian hams jumped into the fray including many from Quebec. This year George VE2NGH and I had planned on doing the contest just to see how a two man team would do in such a situation. That changed when Gilles, VE2TZT sent an email inviting George to join him in the test and George in turn asked if I would like to come along. I could not say no to the opportunity to work alongside one of the most well known contest/DX operators in the world. Also on the team were Victor VA2WDQ and Jean VE2JM.
The station was setup with 3 stations, as a mult-one assisted all band. The configuration was a K3 for the run station, the FT100MP Mark V for our multiplier station and as a listening post we had a TS-590 on the operating table. Antennas included the famed StepIR DB42 MonstIR, beverage antennas plus a loop for 160 and a Spider Beam. I hope I have that correct. I am surprised Gilles has not put a sterba curtain antenna up, maybe next year.
Next to working with George, NGH the only other experience I have on a team is when I have been on the Field Day contest team, the difference is notable. Field Day is more a test of skill in emergency communications and public relations. The NGH team is more or less mixed contesting with getting together with good friends. The feel at VC2T was different. Yes we chatted, ate good food and got our shut eye as needed but, the tone was decidedly different in the operating area. Here the game was on and each op knew this was not the area to shoot the breeze or munch goodies. All of us were of one mind, rack as many contacts up with multipliers and be as quick as you can doing it. QSO rates typically ran over 100 per hour anything less was considered too slow. We looked at bands plus propagation to see where the fish were, so to speak, then dove in to get the biggest catch possible. I enjoyed my time but, I also knew that I was playing with some serious guys, this was not a tea party and I must say I found it educational. That said working with the NGH team is just as fun as it was with Gilles and crew, it's just different not as social but, still fun. I know now what kind of contest operator I want to be.
For me it's a mix of fun with being serious about radio sport that I now know where I want to to be on a team. I love the run, seek and pounce works great for me at home when I am using my own call to do a contest as does the concept of a easy as you go style. Yet I still want to be serious enough to at least place well enough in the standings if not win my category altogether. When it comes to working on a team the interest is in running. For me the idea of seeking and pouncing when I have a station with a big antenna, power and other members around me who can do the seeking and pouncing affords me the somewhat selfish desire to do runs. In short I have a cannon and I want to play with it when I am on a team. Looking at QSO rates, where were on specific bands and other stats was educational. That said I could care less about them. My goal was work as many as you can and use the band to it's maximum potential, just a preference I have. Though it was good to learn when to move to find more contacts and keep the rates up, at least in a team setting. For my own personal contesting, I am more interested in seeing if I am able to top last years score.and if I win then that is a bonus. Though i must admit seeing the plaques and awards Gilles has did make me a bit green with envy. For me the only drawback was while using the run station I did find it difficult to read the screen. Green with a red cursor do not go to well together in my opinion. Win-Test is a good program for a team operation, though I do prefer N1MM and for home contesting Genlog32 is what I use and prefer.
The final outcome was 4914 contacts with over 9 million points as a raw score. This will be adjusted once errors and dupes are counted out. Overall I would say this was one of the best experiences I have had in the hobby. Despite having problems with my eyes I pressed on and actually did enjoy my time with the crew that made up VC2T. Will I be as hardcore as these guys, not really. I can't see myself using a bottle to pee in during a run, as one of the team members suggested has been done, eh that is a bit much. But, being more serious and dedicated enough to help a team succeed is something I would be and am looking forward to doing. There is something to be said for the two styles of contesting that I mentioned earlier. Each has it's benefits, and drawbacks. The contesting with socialization is a great way to interest new hams in another aspect of the hobby, to chat about the hobby or other topics of mutual interest. The drawback is that focus is divided between operating and socializing and if he goal is to win, it begins to get harder to do in this format. Contesting minus the socializing has the advantage which enables serious players the opportunity to hone skills and in a team environment allows for a drive to win. The drawback is that if one or more members on the team may not be up to the task or is at a different level, this can cause the team to lose it's harmonious feel. Anyone reading this considering the idea of working in on a contest team should take the time to think about what they want to do for the team and what they want to get out of being on a team. Once that has been hashed out then one would want to try one or possibly two contests with a team to see if the fit is right. Team contesting is not for everyone and I would suggest that anyone wanting to be a part of a team think it through before jumping in. I know that I have found the right team to work with re VE2NGH and most likely will also work with Gilles and the others mentioned above. How about that two contest teams, sweet. I also know that I am still interested in going it alone for other contests and probably would not want to work with a team. After all I want to have my name on the paper with my call, yes it's an ego thing.
The question then becomes rhetorical. Would I operate with these guys again? AT THE DROP OF A HAT you bet I would. They were all solid operators, respectful and courteous and willing to work as one to make success a reality. So Gilles, anytime you want to run a team same for you George, count me in. I would be delighted to do it again anytime.
If you have questions about working on a team during a contest or any others related to ham radio, drop me an email. I would love to hear from you the email is,
Until next time, see you on the bands DXing or in a contest.
