Small Pistols of Ham Radio Contesting: Stuart VE3RGO
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- Опубліковано 8 лют 2025
- Stuart Hayes, VE3RGO, is living proof that you don’t need a "big gun" station to thrive in the world of amateur radio contesting. As a "small pistol" operator with modest equipment, Stuart shares how resourcefulness, persistence, and club camaraderie can lead to big wins and rewarding experiences. Despite having a simple setup, Stuart’s commitment to learning and competing has earned him remarkable contesting achievements.
A central theme of this conversation is Stuart's deep connection to the Kitchener-Waterloo Amateur Radio Club-a century-strong community that embraces all aspects of ham radio and fosters a supportive environment for operators at every level. Whether it’s running a virtual licensing course or encouraging members to dive into state QSO parties, the club’s leadership excels at turning newcomers into lifelong enthusiasts.
Stuart’s journey, from QRP beginnings to national contest wins, illustrates how participation and a willingness to try can make contesting a fun and attainable goal. His story also highlights how activities like Parks on the Air (POTA) provide valuable practice for handling pileups and improving operating skills.
Join the conversation and let us know about your contesting experiences! And don’t forget to subscribe to W1DED Worldwide Ham Radio for more inspiring stories from the amateur radio community.
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Great interview. Thanks Stuart!
I am so thankful to have found an active, supportive, and welcoming club.
VE1RGO won the Top New Contester plaque in the 2024 California QSO Party. It was great to watch your interview!
Great work, Stuart, It is always a pleasure to get you in the log on POTA or a contested. Stuart > VE9CF
I very much enjoy all you episodes. However this one was great. Having more modest staions, espceially rookies was appealing to me. I'm currently studying for my Canadian license. Actually I updated a great study guiide from a Vic- tied to the U of Waterloo that I think was the Vic referred to in the podcast. This guide is very well wrtitten . Thanks again.
Regards,
Paul - Nova Scotia
Lots of great ops in VE
Maybe I miss read the title, I was hoping this was more technical, antenna, setups for "Small Pistols" ... This is more an interview of the operator.
Maybe next time, we could have something more technical for smaller contesting stations.
Fair point. And, noted for the future. 73, Kevin
My setups are all Single Operator One Radio, limited antennas. One QTH has an FT-710 MFJ 1984 EFHW and an 6BTV I use only for 80m. The other QTH has a home brew EFHW for 80-10m, I have just purchased an FTDX10 for this QTH but not used it yet in a contest. My goal was similar radios for possible SO2R in the future, but all SO1R ops to date. An FT-710 since December 2022.
In VE3 I am in a suburban setting with some noise. Less noise in a more rural setting in VE1, but still have a few neighbours but way more space. In my opinion I have little technical advantage. I spend a lot of time in the chair, and in contests I am able to pick out signals others may miss. I frequently compete in Assisted categories and try to work the mults. I can quickly move through the available mults and QSOs window in N1MM. I need to better understand when openings occur and how to recognize them. I try not to sit in pileups too long but come back frequently. I try to listen to how the calling station picks his calls and tail end or if they are open front load my call.
Biggest contest muscle is staying on as long as I can make to QSOs. Not a whole lot of magic unfortunately mostly repetition. I have started reviewing previous performances to see how I did and how it went to give me an idea for this year. Hth. De VE3RGO lots to learn yet.
@@VE3RGO similar here in Ottawa, lots of seat time to get the QSOs, and my rates are pretty low, but I do pretty well in IARU and some CQ and ARRL DX contests. But itis a lot of time.... I know Roger S (VE3RKS) in KW from my days in rallying.
@@Roddy1965I saw Roger last night at our KWARC club meeting. He’s up to some interesting projects.
I love all these interviews. This one was at times difficult. Stuart is a great operator. Next time Kevin interviews him I hope he gives more succinct answers. Too many long, spurious details offered
There is a lot of qrp stations to in contesting. 73
Not all low power contesters are beginners as was inferred. Some choose to stay low power.
In some countries that’s all that’s allowed.
I've been doing low-power contesting for 27 years. In fact, it's the only kind I've EVER done. I also live in an HOA, so I use a field-portable vertical antenna, similar to many used for POTA, as my main antenna. I prefer to use CW and digital modes for contesting, as I tend to have higher scores when using these modes. de Larry, K3LT
Hello XE2ZZ 73s.