Contest
DXpedition to Mali, TZ5A
Brief Description of Presentation #1: The VooDoo Contest
Group is a unique collection of contesters/DXers from the US and
the United Kingdom. This well-traveled contest team has participated
for twelve straight years in the CQWW DX contest from several
West African Nations. Once again in 2005, the team converged on
the dark continent moved their contest operation to Bamako, Mali,
a fascinating and engaging country in Central, West Africa. Ned
Stearns, AA7A, joined the operation in 2005 and participated as
a rookie on this team of renowned radio operators. Ned, to the
accompaniment of music by Mali-native Salif Keita and other African
artists, will provide a tour of this peaceful African nation while
also disclosing the methods of assembling a world-class contest
station in a remote part of the world.
Biography:
Ned was first licensed in August 1963 as WN8JWY in Warren, Ohio
at age 12. After college, he moved to Phoenix, AZ in 1974 and received
the call sign WB7AEB. He seriously caught the DX bug in cycle 21
and has remained incredibly "radio active" in every solar
cycle since then. He has maintained a very active presence on 160
meters, satellites, 6 m/ 2m/70cm Earth-Moon-Earth (EME) in addition
to HF contesting and full-court-press DXing. He has completed Ten
Band DXCC (160 through 6 meters) as well as DXCC on Satellites.
And, has completed 5BWAZ award and has eclipsed the 2500 milestone
on the ARRL DXCC Challenge. He has entered in hundreds of HF and
VHF contests in his ham radio career and has lost every one of them
except the ARRL CW sweepstakes in 1979. He is currently focused
on DXing on the WARC bands and is often found working either 6 m
or 2m EME. In 2005, he traveled to Mali, TZ, and participated in
the CQWW CW DX Contest as a member of the VooDoo Contest Team placing
second worldwide in the multi-transmitter / multi-operator category.
He has been employed at General Dynamics (previously
Motorola, Government Electronics Group) in Phoenix, AZ since 1974
where he is a systems engineer. He has been involved the development
of communication systems for both the US government and industry
for over thirty years.
He was elected as Vice Director of the ARRL Southwestern
Division in 2004. He enjoys the opportunity to promote amateur
radio wherever he can and accepts the challenge of offering guidance
to the hobby that has provided so much personal satisfaction and
professional support to him over the years.
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