Operating Position
Please click for a larger picture.
The N3BB station is located in our guest house about 30 meters behind our home. The shack is in a room approximately 8 meters by 4 meters, with continuous windows around three sides. Operators can see several of the towers from the windows.
The station can be configured for either SO2R (single operator-two radios), M/S (multiple operators single radio), or M2 (multiple operators two radio) contest classifications. The hardware consists of the following:
Station #1 FT1000MP and Alpha 76PA amp.
Station #2 FT1000MP and Alpha 87A amp.
Back ups TS940S (two) and BTI 3-1000 amp.
Any antenna can be switched to either station #1 or #2 with Top Ten Devices equipment. Dunestar six pack band pass filters are used to reduce inter station interference.
Contest software is used for contest operation.
NA by K8CC covers the main contests and supports single operator two radio operation well. I like the similar ergonomics to CT, and like CT, NA updates the network once an edit is made to any QSO.
CT by K1EA was my standard for many years, and it works well. However, the lack of support by K1EA during the past several years has resulted in numerous cool features which are available in NA and TR but not available in CT.
TR by N6TR is my current preferred contest program. It is popular with
SO2R enthusiasts and also because K5TR, the North America Distributor, lives in
the Austin area. Numerous contesters here have adopted TR because of George’s support. TR is different from NA and CT, and is very flexible.
I prefer the old fashioned ARRL paper logs for rag chewing, because I can take copious notes during the
QSOs.
Please feel free to contact me with any specific questions.