July 2026
Volume 31 Number 7
Next meeting is scheduled for July 25th at 11:30am at the Round Table Pizza in Martel. Program is TBD. Find out more.
Thirty Years Ago, a bunch of local hams gathered for pizza at Mountain Mike’s Round Table in Martel, and the Mother Lode DX/Contest Club was born!
In this issue: Missives! – Club Biz – QSLs! – Points Generator! – state QSO parties – a look back 10 & 20 years – classifieds – DX – focus contests? – funny stuff! – Club Log updates – and more!
From the Prez
MLDXCC,
As you read this Field Day 2026 has come and gone. Did you participate?
I’ve heard reports that some the MLDXCC members were active at various locations. How did it go for you? I ran the solar / generator class from home and logged a number of new operators…..very encouraging.
If you were not able to attend the joint meeting of MLDXCC / NCCC, you missed a good one. Bob, K3EST gave a presentation on the how’s and why’s of propagation. His presentation answered some questions and then created even more!
Although the propagation forecast looks to be on a downward trend, it’s hard to tell by some resent activity. 6 meters in particular has provided frequent band opens into Europe and Asia.
For those of you looking for a different type of radio activity, the California State Fair kicks off Friday, July 17, and runs through August 2. They are always looking for operators who are willing get on the from home and operate using the call sign K6C. I recommend this event as it helps to keep you “up to speed” during the contest season lull. Here’s the link to sign up as K6C:
Also the WPARC Ham Fest will be held on Saturday Sep 19 at McBean Park in Lincoln. This swap meet has proven to be a good place to pick up more goodies for your shack.
How’s your DX and marathon contacts progressing? Speaking of DX, August 15–22, Henri OJ0JR and Anne OJ0YL plan to activate Märket Reef, bringing this rare OJ0 entity back on the air. 3YØL Also Peter I Island is scheduled for February 2027 and currently listed as #7 on Club Log’s most wanted list.
Breaking news – VK9WX Willis Island, #36 most wanted has been heard on the air the last several evenings on 40, 20 & 15 meters SSB. Check with the ANZA Net boys on 14.183; he’s been heard checking in there. Another rare one is now active!
If you’ve not yet paid your dues for 2026, please consider doing so. Cost yearly is $30 individual, $45 for a family. Thank you for your membership and participation.
MLDXCC is a premier DX/Contest Club, our continued success can’t be done without you. Thank you for your membership and participation.
For your info, here are good contest & DX web links –
Contest dates are listed at –
https://www.contestcalendar.com
DX operation announcements can be found at – https://www.ng3k.com/misc/adxo.html
73 & good DX,
Steve / NC6R
MLDXCC Pres.
From the Veep
No missive this month.
Treasurer’s Quarterly Report
1/1/2026 Opening Balance = $3,284.07
- Income = $0.00
- Expenses = $143.00
- NCDXCC – IDXC lanyards – donations = $200.00
3/31/2026 Ending Balance = $3,084.07
Dues are still due (we run our finances January – December), and at the November 2025 meeting those in attendance voted to increase dues to $30 per individual and $45 for a family. That’s a steal – only $2.50/month (or $3.75/mo for a family) – just 58 cents a week! Show your club some support and pay your dues today – you can pay them by:
- Sending a check payable to MLDXCC to our treasurer, Sue K6SZQ at 17610 Red Mule Road Fiddletown, CA 95642
- Paying through Paypal – motherlodeclub@gmail.com Make sure that you spell Motherlode correctly, and choose the “friends and family option” to avoid us having to pay fees.
- Best way: Bringing a check or cash with you to the meeting! Hope to see you there.
Secretary’s Report
Breaking News!
(Click here for the sound of a chattering teletype! Thanks to Bob W1RH.)
There is apparently an amateur radio specific AI assistant out there, now open to the public. Check out HAMgpt.
WRTC 2022 Champions take Gold again!
Got news? Send it to me for inclusion in the next issues of The Nugget! – ed.
Recently Posted Articles
Write something for The Nugget!
Points Generator!
New Feature! Each month we will try to feature a Points Generator member profile. (Here’s how to submit your own profile.) Here’s a hand written profile by Rich WC6H.
Videos!
Subscribe to our YouTube channel!
DX…
DXpedition Timeline (updated regularly) – Via DX-world.net
Upcoming Contests
Focus contests for 2026-2027 should be on the agenda in the next couple of meetings – think about which contests you’d like, and contribute to the decision!
Other contests of note coming up in the next month or so, via contestcalendar.com:
- July 25-26: RSGB IOTA Contest (CW, Phone)
- August 1-2: North American QSO Party, CW
- August 8-9: WAE DX Contest, CW
- August 15-16: North American QSO Party, SSB
- August 15-16: SARTG WW RTTY Contest
- August 29-30: WW Digi DX Contest (FT4/8)
State QSO Parties (via statesqoparty.com) – We have several State QPs for August:
- August 8-9: Maryland-DC QSO Party (CW, Phone)
- August 22-24: Hawaii QSO Party (CW, Phone, Digital including RTTY and FT modes)
- August 22-23: Ohio QSO Party (CW, SSB)
- August 29-30: Kansas QSO Party (CW, SSB, Digital including RTTY and FT modes)
Classifieds
C’mon folks, buy this stuff! Make offers!
For sale: Rebuilt AL80B w/ W8JI mods. Testing on 40 SSB. New 3-500 tube, new soft start resistor, glitch resistor and bias transistor. Amp currently wired for 240 VAC. $1,050 or offer. Steve – nc6r4dx@gmail.com
For Sale and Wanted: Skip N6NFB is selling a US Tower TX-455 (used, very good) with tilt fixture, Yaesu 800 rotor, and 15 foot mast tube $1100. And also selling a US Tower MA-40 tubular tower. New old stock, still on shipping pallets. $250. Skip – N6NFBskip@gmail.com
Humor!
Send more funny stuff for the next issue! – Ed.
ClubLog DXCC Standings
Standings for 2026 as of 19 July. You can see complete MLDXCC standings on ClubLog here.
Overall
| 1 | W1SRD | 210 |
| 2 | N6NFB | 195 |
| 3 | K6YK | 184 |
| 4 | W6DR | 180 |
| 5 | WU7W | 177 |
CW
| 1 | K6YK | 161 |
| 2 | K6RIM | 138 |
| 3 | W6DR | 109 |
| 4 | K6OK | 80 |
| 5 | NA6O | 62 |
Phone
| 1 | WC6H | 121 |
| 2 | K6YK | 106 |
| 3 | K6TQ | 72 |
| 4 | NC6R | 58 |
| 5 | W6RKC | 49 |
Data
| 1 | W1SRD | 207 |
| 2 | N6NFB | 193 |
| 3 | WU7W | 164 |
| 4 | W6DR | 160 |
| 5 | NJ6G | 128 |
20 and 10 Years Ago in The Nugget
July 2006
The June 2006 meeting was once again held at Senior Services Center in Jackson. This was a joint meeting with NCCC, and guest speaker Alan Eshleman, K6SRZ presenting “The 2005 K7C DXpedition”. It was also a potluck! Do you remember what you brought?
- A-G – Chips/dips/salsas
- H-N – Salad (potato, macaroni, fruit, green, etc.)
- O-U – Relishes (assorted pickles, olives, carrot sticks, veggies w/sip, etc.)
- V-Z – Desserts (simple desserts, cookies, fresh fruit, etc.)
President Rich NU6T: “Field Day and IARU, from cacophony to hush. What a contrast. I’m looking forward to more sunspots. I thought I’d do better with WRTC stations since I usually do well with SA stations. Only managed two: one phone and one CW. I found N1MM CW easy to set up and the automation was a lot of fun. I’m sure the ops I worked preferred the N1MM 20 wpm sent code more than they would have my still shaky 20 wpm hand code.”
Field Day coordinator Jim WX6V published the club results.
| Band | CW | SSB | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 80m | 146 | 115 | 261 |
| 40m | 635 | 322 | 957 |
| 20m | 476 | 730 | 1,206 |
| 15m | 50 | 19 | 69 |
| 6m | 0 | 59 | 59 |
| 2m | 0 | 47 | 47 |
| GOTA | 93 | 154 | 247 |
| Totals | 1,400 | 1,446 | 2,846 |
| QSO Points: 8,492 | |||
| Bonus Points: 990 | |||
| Claimed Score: 9,482 | |||
“Folks – that’s the highest Field Day score our club has made in the past four years! And – we did this with only 8 operators running four stations. Not too shabby!! Last year’s score was 8,902, which landed us in 13th place nationwide in Class 2A and third place in California in that class.”
In member news, Ken, K6TA/1: “We’re in Maine visiting grandkids but will be back in time for joint meeting. Our email service has been spotty at best. Kay promises to get minutes done this week. Before leaving California we both worked YT6AO phone and cw for new one; #370 mixed, #360 Phone and #344 CW for me.”
Also, a lenghthy auto-bio written by Bob W1RH. It’s good, you should just go read it.
July 2016
The July 2016 meeting was held at “Rockfield Corners”
in Fairfield, CA. There were two programs listed for July:
1) CQ WW CW Dxpedition 9K2HN (Kuwait) by Bob W6RGG (Operation was by a team of nine operators from Kuwait, USA, and the UK)
2) TX3X Chesterfield 2015 DXexpedition by Steve W1SRD
No word on why the TX3X show didn’t happen in June.
President Shirl AA6K updated his health issues, “I am going to have surgery to remove a cancerous growth from my right lung on Monday July 18th. The surgery will take place at the new(ish) Kaiser Hospital on Dale Road in Modesto.”
Update 7/20/2016: “Well I went into surgery about 2:30 on Monday afternoon. The procedure lasted about 5 hours. Things seem to be going well but with the big C you never know.”
Update 7/21/2016: “Well folk, thanks for your prayers. They worked!!! I was released this afternoon and my son Daniel drove me home. I do not yet know if chemo is in the cards but my surgeon seemed quite pleased with the result, so far. They have taken 4 X-ray’s post surgery and they are cautiously optimistic at this time. I’m supposed to get a detailed “way forward” tomorrow. In the meanwhile it’s nap time.”
VP Dennis NJ6G: “I really enjoyed our June meeting. The location, although a bit loud at times, had great food and friendly staff, and the presentation by Jim N6TQ was top notch.” (TX3X mystery solved?)
From the minutes: “Jim Coletto N6TQ, one of the operators on the recently completed VK0EK Heard Island DXpedition. He told about preparations, the 12 day trip from Capetown, SA to Heard and activities like launching buoys for measuring water temperature. Once there, he told about landing, setting up and the weather during operation. For me, one of the high spots was a roster of some MLDX/CC members contacting the expedition and the specific operator at the time. Jim said Braveheart charter fees were about $175,000 with the overall costs in the $600,000s. Money came from expedition ops, various foundations, clubs & other organizations plus contributions from individuals. Once the expedition was finished, it was another 12 days sailing to Fremantle, Australia.”
And Editor Rick W6SR, “OK I think I expressed my feeling on Summer radio conditions last month. So no more Corvette stuff this month.”
Did these snippets from years ago trigger any good memories? If so, please send them for inclusion in the next issue of The Nugget!
Resources
Check out the Resources menu up there at the top of every web page for useful DX and contest info.
Prepared for the MLDXCC by Editor and Webwookie Jeff WK6I. Please do send me any corrections, omissions, or material for future issues of The Nugget. It is much appreciated!