K3NA notebook

Like many active contesters, I discovered ham radio and contesting as a young teenager. Although I did a few years of CW traffic handling (and 15 years of RTTY traffic work with Navy MARS), contesting captured my interest right from the start. Howie Mann W2FR spent many hours on the telephone coaching me to become a better operator. After moving to the Washington DC area the Potomac Valley Radio Club's members also helped me expand operating skills and technical understanding. I operated a small SO2R mountaintop station near Frederick MD for many years (with dreams curtailed by extensive travel for work), but learned much more working/operating at W4BVV, W3ABC and W3LPL. I operated 4U1ITU regularly while working with ITU technical standards committees.

While not a very diligent DX chaser, I have operated with or organized some DXpeditions (and contest expeditions) to fascinating locations: FO0XX (Clipperton), 3D2XX (Rotuma), AH3C/KH5J (Jarvis), YK0A, VK9LT (Lord Howe), VK9NT (Norfolk), VK9ML (Mellish Rf), 3B9C, 3B7C, and most recently co-led VP6DX (Ducie I). Engineering and managing a successful DXpedition has its own intriguing challenges; I've learned a lot from my fellow DXpeditioners. DXpedition issues inspired more than a few of my lab notebook projects.

During 1997-2001 I lived in downtown Moscow, Russia (R3/K3NA), close to the Kremlin and just around the corner from the Russian Federation's equivalent to the USA FCC headquarters. Now I live in central Cambridge, Massachusetts, midway between Harvard University and MIT.

I am not an RF engineer. My degree work was in atmospheric physics (tornado and hurricane research). But I have spent most of my professional career working on international data communications networks: system software, protocol design, product management, and sales management. Eventually I spent five years (1995-2000) of indentured servitude at UUNet Technologies as vice-president, International Development; my group built the first worldwide commercial Internet backbone and I "enjoyed" many long hours crafting international mergers & acquisitions.

Here on the Contesting Compendium I edit the antenna/support structures section (which mostly involves recruiting good contributors - help!) and help develop the category structure used to organize its content.

Exploring more effective ways of solving problems, ways that differ from the standard approaches, particularly intrigues me. You'll probably see that inclination in my notebook.

My station: My city home site, with its urban QRN levels, does not encourage a large antenna farm. Fortunately, when I first joined the Yankee Clipper Contest Club, Greg Cronin W1KM invited me to work with the small team at his station. In hopes that others can both benefit from our experiences, and suggest/implement further improvements, information about the design of this contesting station is found here.

Eric K3NA 12:42, 2 December 2009 (UTC)