Group: mm
QTH: Qingxu Village, Taian, Shanxi Province
Using call sign: bd3sx
Operator: bg3uda, bh3scc, ba3ww, ba3se, bh3sla, bh3xzt, Zhang Meng (guest)
Logistics support personnel: ba3ss, bh3wtw, ba3ty
Equipment: Yeasu FT-710, ICOM-7300, /ICOM7300 (spare, not used during competition)
Antenna: 6-band hexbeam spider web antenna, 7-band cobweb spider web antenna, 80-meter inverted V antenna, /3-band 7-element quad loop antenna (spare, not used during competitions)
Amplifier: HF2014DX, Amptec 1200T
Device photos
Background:
This "Mulan Circuit" event was the first large-scale competition organized by the Shanxi Provincial Radio and Electronics Society after the pandemic. Due to the impact of the pandemic, there were disruptions in the province's radio and electronics competitions, leading to a situation where participants were unable to connect with each other. Therefore, the society decided to organize this event using a "old-to-new" approach, with multiple teams competing on different machines, emphasizing team collaboration and familiarizing participants with the competition process, while also promoting open participation and observation. The goal was to strengthen the cohesion of the competition teams, improve their understanding of the competition procedures, and cultivate new talent.
Pre-event coordination and venue selection:
During the coordination meeting held on March 31, 2023 in the afternoon, the issue of equipment transmission was resolved. However, regarding the venue selection, two options were considered: using the existing Xinzhou competition site, and utilizing a disused microwave broadcasting station in Qingxu West Valley Village, Taiyuan City. At this time, the official location for the competition, High White Village, had not yet been determined. After the meeting, the competition team began exploring multiple potential locations over several days, and they discovered that the original Xinzhou competition site was too far away (due to crossing city boundaries).
Xinhu Site
The base in Xigou Village, West Valley, Taiyuan City, was also poor due to its small area.
West Valley Village, Qing Xu County
Both of the proposed sites were not ideal. However, after learning about them from ba3ss and bg3uda, I went to Zhonggong White Village in Qingxu County. Upon arrival, I found that the site's size and environmental noise levels were ideal, and the site also had complete infrastructure. In fact, this site was actually the factory of bg3uda.
Satellite map of the location
Topography to the north of the site location.
Topography to the south of the site location.
After on-site confirmation, the match was held here.
Competition equipment setup and personnel configuration
Station: Yeasu FT-710, HF2014DX, 7-band Cobweb antenna, 80m inverted V antenna. Responsible operator: BH3SCC, BH3SLA
(The main station can transmit over the entire frequency range and in all directions, but the bandwidth within the range is narrow.)
Auxiliary station: icom7300, amptec 1200t, 6-band hexbeam spider antenna. Responsible operator: bg3uda, bh3xzt
(Directional transmission of 20 MHz and above frequency bands)
Match process:
Let's start with the image first.
Because the logs are imported from an external source (n1mm), the original call sign information is not displayed, and only my own call sign is shown. Please refer to it accordingly.
Although we were competing in the MM category this time, unfortunately, there weren't enough operators available. The competition requires operators to be online at all times, so we developed a personnel rotation plan. Of course, the technical support team members, ba3ww and ba3ty, are both experts, and they can also fill in for the operator role in emergencies.
First team: with bh3scc as the main caller, and bg3uda as the supporting caller.
During this period, the main coefficients were acquired. The primary frequency band for this shift was concentrated in the 15-meter and 20-meter bands. One hour after this shift, due to the opening of the 10-meter band, the bh3scc on the calling station acquired a series of coefficients.
Second Class: Main station BH3SCC, Auxiliary station BH3XZT
During this period, the 10m, 15m, and 20m bands were all open, with the 40m band slightly more active. In the previous hour, the auxiliary station operated on 10m, while the main station maintained a position on 15m, continuing to focus on signal strength. This was the hour with the most QSOs on 10m in a single hour. In the subsequent hour, the auxiliary station continued to leverage the advantages of its eight-element antenna, establishing communication on 14 MHz (I've also forgotten whether I was setting up or sweeping at this point due to the long duration). The main station continued to maintain its position on 15m.
Third Class: Main station BH3SCC, BH3SLA, Auxiliary station BG3UDA, BH3XZT
The main station had been operating for 5 consecutive hours without personnel rotation, and during this period, the signal gradually moved to lower frequencies. The 10-meter band transmission was closed, while the 15-meter and 20-meter bands experienced increasing strength. In the previous hour, the main station was still operated by bh3scc, while the auxiliary station delayed its rotation due to an issue with bg3uda. The main station remained on the 15-meter band, while the auxiliary station continued to utilize its eight-element antenna for QSO on the 20-meter band. In the subsequent hour, the main station's operation was taken over by bh3sla, and the auxiliary station also rotated earlier. During this hour, the main station moved down to the 40-meter band, while the auxiliary station remained on the 20-meter band. Due to a visit from the provincial radio regulatory authority, there were some disruptions in communication during this session.
Leaders from Shanxi Province's Department of Transportation inspect a project.
Class Four: Main station bh3sla, auxiliary station bh3xzt
During this period, propagation further decreased, with the 20-meter band gradually weakening. However, the 40-meter band remained very strong, and in the latter half of this session, the 80-meter band opened up. In the previous hour, the main station utilized its cobweb antenna's near-omnidirectional characteristics to aggressively harvest QSOs on the 40-meter band. The auxiliary station maintained a presence on the 20-meter band (which at this time was approximately equivalent to the propagation from the previous session one hour ago). This hour also saw the highest number of QSOs in a single hour during the entire "Mulan" contest; In the subsequent hour, the main station continued to descend in frequency, and after switching to an 80-meter inverted V antenna, it began working on the 80-meter band. The auxiliary station briefly scanned the 20-meter band to clear remaining QSOs before following the main station's descent into the 40-meter band.
The 80-meter band had the highest coefficient during this period, with a single PSO contributing a value of 4.0. This was also the time period with the most PSOs in the 80-meter band.
Fifth Class: Main station bh3sla, auxiliary station bh3xzt
During this period, the band was experiencing low propagation activity. The 20-meter band was closed, while the 40-meter band had stable propagation. The 80-meter band experienced fading propagation. In the previous hour, after the auxiliary station completed its last QSO on the 20-meter band before it was shut down, it moved to the 40-meter band. Meanwhile, the main station was moving between the 40-meter and 80-meter bands, while the auxiliary station continued to operate on the 20-meter band. After another hour, the 80-meter propagation decreased, and the main station continued its work on the 80-meter band. At this time, the 40-meter band experienced a recovery in propagation, and the auxiliary station was operating on the 40-meter band while also performing an operator rotation. This hour was also one of the hours with the second highest number of QSOs on the 40-meter band.
Class 6: Main station bh3sla, ba3ww, auxiliary station bg3uda
During this period, the propagation in the low band also began to weaken. The 80-meter band was closed during this time, and propagation on the 40-meter band decreased significantly. In the previous hour, the main station managed to obtain as many QSOs as possible before the 80-meter band was closed, but the number was still small. The auxiliary station briefly operated on the 40-meter band. In the subsequent hour, the 80-meter band was completely closed, and only a small amount of propagation remained on the 40-meter band. Since the auxiliary stations were primarily focused on 20 meters and above, and the 40-meter band had previously been used for strong CW operation with forced antenna changes, we chose to close the auxiliary stations so that the main station could operate on the 40-meter band. During this period, the main station rotated operators, with BA3WW taking over, and after clearing all remaining QSOs on the 40-meter band, the main station was closed.
Class 7: The main station and the auxiliary station are turned off and go to sleep.
Class 8: Main station BH3SCC, auxiliary station powered off and sleeping.
During this time window, the 40-meter band was opened. The previous hour had been spent sleeping, so we decided to start working on the main station in the following hour.
Class 9: Main station ba3se, bh3scc, auxiliary station bh3xzt
During this period, the 40-meter band showed signs of recovery, the 20-meter band was opened, and both bands remained stable. The calling station switched to ba3se. Yes, it seems like the operator is getting restless.
In the previous hour, the auxiliary station returned to the 20-meter band, while the main station moved to the 40-meter band. In the following hour, both stations maintained their original bands, with the main station switching to bh3scc.
Class 10: Main station ba3se, bh3scc, auxiliary stations bh3xzt, bh3sla
During this period, propagation on the 40-meter band was present, but higher bands were also opening up. Propagation on the 20-meter band was excellent, and 15-meter and 10-meter propagation was about to begin. Therefore, the team decided to abandon the 40-meter band and directly target the higher bands. In the previous hour, the main station rose to 15 meters, preparing for the opening of the higher band propagation. During this time, the main station rotated operators, while the auxiliary station remained at 20 meters. A short operator change occurred during this period, followed by a return to the original operator. In the following hour, the main station targeted both the 20-meter and 15-meter bands, but due to the weak propagation on the higher bands, they harvested fewer contacts. The auxiliary station, however, was able to take advantage of the situation because it was required to remain at 20 meters. When the propagation began, the auxiliary station went into overdrive, making numerous contacts and achieving the highest number of 20-meter QSOs in a single hour.
Class 11: Main station bh3scc, auxiliary station bg3uda, bh3xzt
During this period, the 20-meter transmission decreased significantly, while the 15-meter and 10-meter transmissions were enabled. In the previous hour, the originating station continued to attempt calls on both the 10-meter and 15-meter bands, with the assisting station following closely. However, most of the time was spent on the 20-meter band. In the subsequent hour, the 20-meter transmission was disabled, while the 15-meter transmission increased significantly, and the 10-meter transmission remained slightly open compared to the previous hour. The originating station continued to make calls on the 10-meter band, while the assisting station worked on the 15-meter band and rotated operators. BH3XZT was also active on the 15-meter band. At this point, all frequencies were essentially in use, representing a period of high activity.
Class 12: Main station bh3scc, auxiliary station bg3uda, bh3xzt
During this period, the 15-meter range was closed, while the 10-meter range was opened and strengthened. The main station continued to operate on the 10-meter range for the previous hour, while the auxiliary station operated on the 15-meter range, with a brief handover of the operator (who needed to eat).）; One hour later, the 20-meter band was opened while the 15-meter band was closed. This coincided with the final stage of the competition, during which the main station continued to make frantic calls on the 10-meter band, while the auxiliary station reduced its frequency to 15 meters and made frantic calls. The auxiliary station successfully completed the last QSO before the end of the time.
The match is over.
Performance analysis
The total number of QSOs in this session was 336, with a total score of 4.0, and the repetition rate is unknown.
The 20-meter band had the highest number of QSOs, reaching 133, and also had the lowest signal strength; individual QSOs could only be scored as 1.1 points.
The 80-meter QSO (communication) has a minimum of only 20, but with the highest coefficient, a single QSO can achieve a score of 4.0.
10 meters, with approximately the same number of QSOs as on 80 meters, but with a ratio that is one-third lower, resulting in a score of 2.8.
With approximately 15 meters remaining, the 40-meter QSL contact was primarily for accumulating contacts.
Regarding provincial connectivity, excluding Tibet, Macau, Qinghai, and Hainan, all other provinces have achieved a certain level of connectivity. Henan has the most complete coverage, while Heilongjiang, Chongqing, Zhejiang, and Shanxi have the least. The frequency bands with successful connections are primarily in the 20-meter range, which indicates that our understanding of the antenna system is not comprehensive, and currently, the support for certain frequency bands (such as 80 meters) used in competitions is limited.
It is important to note that during the competition, we heard the signal from Hainan, but the Hainan signal was being interfered with by sweeping and setting up stalls on the main and secondary platforms. This interference caused the Hainan province's coefficient to be lost, which affected the final score.
Post-game summary
The primary purpose of our association's participation in this event was to implement the "old-to-new" program, emphasizing during coordination meetings that participants should focus on improving teamwork and mastering the competition process rather than solely relying on communication scores. However, I personally always aimed to achieve some notable results in this competition, as I carried certain expectations. With the support of ba3ss and bh3wtw before the competition, and with teachers providing antennas, radios, and even a complete amplifier, I am particularly grateful for their assistance and support.
Specifically regarding the scores in this competition, since this was the first provincial association team competition since the pandemic, the performance from 4 years ago is almost negligible. Furthermore, with the arrival of new blood like bh3xzt, it was unrealistic to expect high scores. However, the team still considered the scoring issue and initially estimated a score around 40,000. After the start of the competition, my personal prediction was that we could achieve at least 50,000 points, with the possibility of reaching 60,000. At the time, the teachers held a cautious attitude, expressing that achieving 40,000 points would be excellent. However, just two hours before the end, the score exceeded 50,000 and even showed signs of reaching 60,000. This prompted all the operators to frantically call, hoping to achieve success before the end. In fact, we succeeded. When the last QSO was obtained on the auxiliary station at 11:59, the initial score reached 60822. Without considering the subsequent removal of repeated QSOs and penalties for incorrect QSOs, our team's performance exceeded our pre-competition expectations. This can be considered a successful achievement in a situation with numerous loopholes.
From my personal perspective, in areas where amateur radio activities are less prevalent, the number of experienced and high-quality enthusiasts in Shanxi Province, particularly those at higher levels, may be relatively limited compared to those from other provinces. This is further compounded by the impact of the three-year pandemic, which has hindered efforts to attract new enthusiasts. The lack of a strong talent pipeline for amateur radio competitions in Shanxi Province has also been a challenge. However, this year's event, organized by the association, with technical guidance from instructors such as ba3ww and ba3se, and logistical support from individuals like ba3ss, bh3wtw, and bg3uda, has helped to alleviate the current shortage of talent within the province (particularly for bh3xzt, who was participating in their first team competition). This event has also introduced fresh blood into Shanxi's competitive amateur radio teams.
Furthermore, due to the lack of competition venues in Shanxi Province's associations, the association seems to have expressed its intention to establish a permanent collective venue at the current competition address. This may involve organizing activities such as exams, practical training, and lectures in the future. However, this is just preliminary information from the association; whether it is actually feasible remains to be seen.
Okay, here are the results for this competition. And finally, one more group photo from the event – everyone, 73!
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