January VHF Sweepstakes Results - QRP

The results for the 2006 ARRL January VHF Sweepstakes were published in the July 2006 issue of QST. I've listed the Single Operator Portable (AKA QRP) scores below. My totally wimply score of 544 gave me 10th place in the overall contest. Of course, I dominated the Colorado section, which is easy to do when you are the only contest entry. The important thing is that I had a good day playing radio in the mountains. See my previous posting about this QRP backpacking contest effort.

Take a look at my soapbox comments (and photos) at the ARRL web site.

73, Bob K0NR

#	Call	Score	Section
1	KA1LMR	45,504	NH
2	K6MI	36,427	SCV
3	W9SZ	4,875	IL
4	KI7JA	3,040	OR
5	W6DWI	2,106	ORG
6	WB2AMU	1,577	NLI
7	N8XA	1,156	OH
8	KG6TGI	736	ORG
9	KQ6EE	728	LAX
10	K0NR	544	CO
11	N7IR	192	AZ
12	N3TEP	160	WPA
13	KC2JRQ	108	NLI
14	N1ZGY	45	EMA
15	NU0C	36	NE
16	WA7VHF	20	AZ
17	VE7VIE	18	BC
18	WB0IWG	16	WPA
19	KC9FVW	15	WI
20	W6NCT	6	SB
21	KZ1AMY	1	VA

2006 Colorado Section Amateur Radio Operator of the Year

I received this honor at Hamcon Colorado at Estes Park. Thanks to the Technical Specialist team in Colorado for all they have contributed. See http://www.k0nr.com/ts.html

- 73 Bob K0NR

From: 'ARRL Web site' To=memberlist@www.arrl.org>
Sent: Thu, 15 Jun 2006 15:54
Subject: Bob Witte, K0NR: 2006 Section Operator of the Year

Bob Witte, K0NR of Monument has been named the 2006 Colorado Section Amateur Radio Operator of the Year. The announcement came at the Saturday evening banquet during the HAMCON 2006 Convention in Estes Park on June 10th. Bob is currently the Colorado Section Technical Coordinator and has been instrumental in building the cadre of Technical Specialists to over 20 individuals who are available to assist League members resolve technical problems. Bob also leads the Colorado BPL Team which keeps an eye out for any mention of BPL depoyment throughout Colorado. A well-known VHF contester, he currently writes a columns for CQ VHF and QRP Quarterly.

Please join me in congratulating Bob on this well-deserved achievement.

73,
ARRL Colorado Section Section Manager: Jeff Ryan, K0RM k0rm@arrl.org

Ten Uses of a Digital Multimeter in Ham Radio

The handheld digital multimeter (DMM) is a basic tool for ham radio applications. Here is a list of 10 things you can do with a DMM.

1. Check the power supply voltage on the new power supply you just purchased.
2. See if your HT battery pack is fully charged.
3. Measure the current that your transceiver draws to estimate how long your emergency power system will last during a blackout.
4. Sort the bag of resistors you purchased at the swapfest.
5. Check a fuse to see if it is blown.
6. Troubleshoot your broken rig by checking the bias voltages against the service manual.
7. Figure out if the AA batteries the kids left for you are dead.
8. Verify that your coax is not shorted between the shield and center conductor.
9. Check the level of the power line voltage in the ham shack.
10. Check for good DC continuity between the ends of the TNC cable you just soldered.

Let me know your ideas to add to the list.
73, Bob K0NR