how I operate the contest using the K2

[DOUGLAS ZWIEBEL]

For those of you with no interest in QRP contesting, delete now.

When I'm qrp, I frequently (almost incessantly) sweep the band over
and over and over looking for new contacts.  My method is to start at
the bottom (say, 14000) and tune up towards the top.  At some point, I
decide it's time to go back to the bottom.  With other rigs, this is
pretty easy (memory recall with the push of one button).  Not so easy
with the K2.

I've tried pushing the RATE button and tuning back down at the 1kc
rate; fast, but not precise (I often overshoot).  I've tried direct
data entry; too many pushes.

So the method that I've settled on (which I bring up now since "vfo b"
has been in the news here) is to set VFO B to the bottom on every band
(28000, 21000, 14000 etc).  I use VFO A to tune the band.  When I get
"to the top" or otherwise decide to get back to the bottom, I push A/B
(to get to VFO B), then A=B, then A/B (to get back to VFO A).  I can
do this really quickly (I don't wait for the display...I just push
three times as fast as I can); certainly less than one second total
duration.

This works really well for me and is probably "as fast" as any other
method on any other rig.  Certainly, it is much faster than the other
methods I've tried on the K2.

Give it a try!

Of course, I only do this during a contest.  Otherwise VFO B is kept
functioning as a 2nd vfo.

de Doug KR2Q

back to the 10m contest (at least they say it's a contest this weekend)
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[Craig Rairdin]

Next time you're at the low end of the band, press and hold Band-/Store,
then press one of the 0-9 buttons. When you want to get to the bottom of the
band, press and hold Band+/Rcl then press the digit you pressed above.

Or you can do it the way I do: Press Band+ and Band- at the same time, then
enter the frequency directly.

You must scan the band pretty fast if this is the thing that's really
slowing you down. On a busy contest day it takes me an hour or more to work
my way up the band. Manually retuning by spinning the knob is a welcome
break. :-)

Craig
NZ0R
K2/100 #4941
K1 #1966
KX1 #1499


-----Original Message-----
From: [hidden email]
[mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of DOUGLAS ZWIEBEL
Sent: Saturday, December 09, 2006 3:06 PM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: [Elecraft] how I operate the contest using the K2


For those of you with no interest in QRP contesting, delete now.

When I'm qrp, I frequently (almost incessantly) sweep the band over
and over and over looking for new contacts.  My method is to start at
the bottom (say, 14000) and tune up towards the top.  At some point, I
decide it's time to go back to the bottom.  With other rigs, this is
pretty easy (memory recall with the push of one button).  Not so easy
with the K2.

I've tried pushing the RATE button and tuning back down at the 1kc
rate; fast, but not precise (I often overshoot).  I've tried direct
data entry; too many pushes.

So the method that I've settled on (which I bring up now since "vfo b"
has been in the news here) is to set VFO B to the bottom on every band
(28000, 21000, 14000 etc).  I use VFO A to tune the band.  When I get
"to the top" or otherwise decide to get back to the bottom, I push A/B
(to get to VFO B), then A=B, then A/B (to get back to VFO A).  I can
do this really quickly (I don't wait for the display...I just push
three times as fast as I can); certainly less than one second total
duration.

This works really well for me and is probably "as fast" as any other
method on any other rig.  Certainly, it is much faster than the other
methods I've tried on the K2.

Give it a try!

Of course, I only do this during a contest.  Otherwise VFO B is kept
functioning as a 2nd vfo.

de Doug KR2Q

back to the 10m contest (at least they say it's a contest this weekend)
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[Mark J. Schreiner]

Hi Doug,

I'm not a super contester, and I'm just starting to hone my abilities as
such, but I've found that by clicking on the bandmap to either a
specific frequency (such as the bottom of the band) or a callsign of a
station that I hadn't logged on my previous run through the bands (and
maybe a new multiplier) is a pretty quick and efficient way to change
frequencies without using rig memories or changing VFO or anything like
that.  I use N1MM Logger but I'm sure other programs likely have similar
functionality.

Mark, NK8Q


DOUGLAS ZWIEBEL wrote:

>
> This works really well for me and is probably "as fast" as any other
> method on any other rig.  Certainly, it is much faster than the other
> methods I've tried on the K2.
>
> Give it a try!
>
> Of course, I only do this during a contest.  Otherwise VFO B is kept
> functioning as a 2nd vfo.
>

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