Articles by W7CF Dave

QTTF  combines operating a radio (yeah) with being outside and enjoying company of fellow amateur radio operators (double-yeah). Sounds almost like field-day? Yes, except, no noisy generators and we truly set up antennas and radios in an adhoc manner. This is a great low-key contest that can accomodate anyones CW skills, beginner or expert. The audiences on site and on the air are always very supportive, so give it a try and either come join us at Beaver Lake or operate from home.

The RTKCC will be again at its traditional QTTF site in the Beaver Lake Park in Sammamish. We’ll begin setting up around 7am, hopefully we’ll be ready by 8am when the event starts. Look for us in a clearing somewhere around the Pavilion/Shelter near the lake.
Around noon we’ll eventually get too hungry, so we pack up and transfer to the Mexican at the Pine Lake shopping mall.

More QTTF details, background and the contest rules can be  found here.

Directions to our radio site: From Sammamish’s main drag, 228th Ave SE, turn East on SE 24th St and follow it E for ~1.5mi. As the round starts to turn N, look for road signs to the Beaver Lake Park parking lot.

Fellow radio enthusiasts,

our web site can now be reached both under http://n7ke.net but also new under http://rtkcc.net. Both web addresses are equivalent, feel free to use either one.

I’ve also started a member page which is intended to hold member-only info and is not publicly accessible. You’ll have to enter a password that we’ll send around via the reflector.

Lastly, I’ve added a plugin to this web site that allows club members to login to this web site using their existing Windows-, Google-, Yahoo-, Open- or Facebook ID. See an article in the member pages for more details.

as last year, RTKCC is joining RedmondARES and Microhams in this year’s ARRL Field Day, a weekend full of operating radio outdoors & off the grid, trying new modes and certainly visiting with fellow and future OMs.

More details and location: http://www.microhams.com/fieldday

Paul NG7Z introduced us to the annual QRP Fox Hunt at our last Saturday breakfast. The QRP Fox Hunt Comittee is recruiting foxes for 40m and 80m.

A QRP Fox Hunt is a series of 90 minute Amateur Radio events during which low-power (QRP) stations, or “Hounds,” attempt to make contact with specific QRP stations designated as “The Fox.”

See http://www.qrpfoxhunt.org/ for more details

next meeting, one week early!!, this Saturday 9/13, same place, same time (8am), see you all at:
the Panera Bakery
17262 Redmond Way

Agenda:

1. Around the table. Visitor introductions.
2. How about operating at N7KE during the Salmon Run?.
3. NAQP SSB Results? How did our RTKCC team do?
4. What is the best band for summer time DX? Work any DX on 40M lately? How about 30M?
5. Up coming operating events:
   • WA Salmon Run: Sep 20 (1600-0700UTC) & Sep 21 (1600-2400UTC).
     Rules see WWDX site; also see “WACYA Award – Worked All CountY Award”
     Spend all your time on 75 M to work all 39 counties over the weekend. Be sure to work N7KE on all bands. Be sure to put “Redmond Top Key Contest Club” (RTKCC) on your SR entry.

next meeting this Saturday 8/16, same place, same time (8am), see you all at:
the Panera Bakery
17262 Redmond Way

Agenda:  

1. Around the table. Visitor introductions.
2. How about joining the RTKCC NAQP SSB Team this weekend? We can sign you up at the meeting, using WiFi. Bill, W7GKF, is the team leader. Up to 5 members. Do we need a second RTKCC SSB team?
3. NAQP CW Results? How did our RTKCC team do?
4. What is the best band for summer time DX?
5. Up coming operating events:
   * NAQP SSB this weekend. 1800Z 08/16 to 0600Z 08/17, 2008  (11am to 11pm PDT)
   * WA Salmon Run in September, 9/20-9/21.

Agenda:

1. Around the table. Visitor introductions.
2. Where is the DX?
3. Field Day reports. What did you do for Field Day?
4. Really, where is the DX?
5. How did you do in the RAC Canada Day Contest, FISTS Summer Sprint, and the IARU HF World Championship?  Did you send in your log yet?
6. Coming operating events:
   • North American QSO Party, RTTY   1800Z, Jul 19 to 0600Z, Jul 20 (this saturday)
   • North American QSO Party, CW 1800Z, Aug 2 to 0600Z, Aug 3
   • WAE DX Contest, CW 0000Z, Aug 9 to 2359Z, Aug 10
   • North American QSO Party, SSB 1800Z, Aug 16 to 0600Z, Aug 17
7. Anyone interested in teaming for the NAQP contests? How about RTTy, CW, and SSB?

next meeting this Saturday 2/16, same place, same time, see you all at:

the Panera Bakery
17262 Redmond Way
Redmond, WA 98052

Welcome to the new N7KE site of the Redmond Top Key Contest Club!

The site is mostly ready and it has the content we had on our previous site. Please add comments and suggestions by adding comments to this post.

Here the links I mentioned at today’s breakfast:

Practice exams online:
http://www.qrz.com/testing.html
http://www.eham.net/exams/
http://www.aa9pw.com/radio/

call sign lookup with some history; note that both sites have a database that only includes ULS system history, reaching back to mid/late 80s only
http://www.ae7q.com
http://www.vanityhq.com/

This year’s first breakfast will be this Saturday Jan 19 at 8am.

as usual, see you all at:
the Panera Bakery
17262 Redmond Way
Redmond, WA 98052