What defines a good contesting amateur radio transciever ?

[WECSOG]

What model Ferrari?

 

[TheBlaster]

Ha ha sorry I was just joking on the Ferrari, juxtaposing it with a £1.00 worth of copper wire.

Yes I bet it did well.... 1KW and a beam even low down will push some juicy RF energy where you want it whilst killing off some QRM, whilst everyone elses 100W into a wire is inverse squarely going all over the place.

 

[WECSOG]

Ha ha sorry I was just joking on the Ferrari, juxtaposing it with a £1.00 worth of copper wire.

Yes I bet it did well.... 1KW and a beam even low down will push some juicy RF energy where you want it whilst killing off some QRM, whilst everyone elses 100W into a wire is inverse squarely going all over the place.

Oh ok; I thought maybe you had one of those Ferrari two wheeled tractors or something!

 

[w9cll]

If you want to be a big contester open the wallet. If you're a part time one then it doesn't take much to have fun. My current setup is an old Yaesu FT-101zdmkIII with external vfo so I can run split and a scope to monitor the band. The antenna is a hex beam st 50'.

 

[binrat]

Or hit an mountain top with a KX3 or KX2. Adjust the filtering down, wire 2 element yagi and you are good.

 

[Hurricane145]

I bet a good idea is to type "amateur radio contest station in google" and see what rigs keep appearing. First then when you see the price.

You do have to beware of the marketing hype that the manufacturers use. They are happy to call their rigs contest rigs in the advertising. It really means little. it's like Kenwood's ads for "The Event Horizon of DX". Gimme a break!
Use the rig you already have and get in a contest and see what you can do. You might be surprised what you can work if you stick at it during the weekend. Just try to work some new stuff, have fun with it!

 

[Beetle]

As far as QRM goes, My early DXing experience was learning to live with the Russian Woodpecker, Duga 3. For a number of years it was completely wiping out my receiver at random intervals most of the morning and somewhat less as the day progressed on 20 meters. Being on the west coast (Seattle) it was particularly bad.
It was EVERY day for a handful of years back in the early 80s. I don't complain about QRM at all any more!!

If you have Google Earth, find Pripyat (it's where the ill-fated Chernobyl power station was/is located.) If you look about 5-1/2 miles south of Chernobyl, you'll see a straight line running about 45 degrees (with North at the top). This is the antenna system, or what remains of it, from the Duga-3. Transmitters and other equipment gone.

 

[Hurricane145]

If you have Google Earth, find Pripyat (it's where the ill-fated Chernobyl power station was/is located.) If you look about 5-1/2 miles south of Chernobyl, you'll see a straight line running about 45 degrees (with North at the top). This is the antenna system, or what remains of it, from the Duga-3. Transmitters and other equipment gone.

There's a few videos of Duga 3 on YouTube as well. Pretty interesting. Sure was a HUGE installation!!

 

[Beetle]

There's a few videos of Duga 3 on YouTube as well. Pretty interesting. Sure was a HUGE installation!!

If you've ever seen the movie "Divergent", wherein Chicago is where the "Non-Divergents" are imprisoned, you can see that array of towers in at least one scene. In the distance, it looks like a really serious fence. As I was pointing it out to my wife I heard voices in the audience: "There it is! That big antenna!" and others

 

[WECSOG]

Speaking of big antennas, it used to be a big deal to work Arecibo via EME on 432 MHz. It was only activated for ham radio on rare occasions. Unfortunately though, the window of opportunity has passed.

 

[w9cll]

If you've ever seen the movie "Divergent", wherein Chicago is where the "Non-Divergents" are imprisoned, you can see that array of towers in at least one scene.

They are not here

 

[Shadetree Mechanic]

 

[Shadetree Mechanic]

Documentary about the Duga program. The beginning is the background on the guy doing the film, then they dig in with interviews of former Soviet personnel that were on the project.