WHY I Do Radiosport - PT. 1 - Operating Skill Improvement

This is the 1st in a new WQ6X Contest BLOG series.
Having passed the 225-mark in posts to the WQ6X contest BLOG, in looking back over the
6 1/2 years of BLOG-Entry writing I give pause to consider why I play in radiosport events. 

During some event GiGs when things go wrong, if you were the [proverbial] "fly on the wall", you might watch me nearly tear-my-hair out, when equipment/internet failures set in and/or when other operators do things that are incredibly STUPID.  I became so incensed by these IDIOTs I began a BLOG series entitled: "The Role of Respect in Radiosport".  ([CLICK HERE] to read that)

Those frustrating periods aside, radiosport is one of the best things that has ever "happened" to me; getting a ham license at age 14 of course tops that.  It is through radiosport that I have been exposed to all different kinds of enhanced technology; not only in the radio world itself, but in the world of computer performance, software design, travelling and even writing, BLOGs like this.

As I became more interested in the idea that I might actually win section awards and division plaques in various radiosport events, I was inspired to leverage my love for software design into tools and accessories that can enhance my radiosport operations; be they fixed, portable or internet-remote. 

When I learn a new computer language or design technique, I leverage that knowledge into some piece of software that I can use in MY life.  As a semi-PRO Blackjack player, that is how the "Boris
for Blackjack" (BorisBJ21.Com) simulation software came about; since 1992, the software has evolved dramatically.

WQ6X Software" was created as an adjunct to radiosport activity.  For example, when I discovered the value of tracking the NCDXF propagation beacons, an APP was developed to assist that action.  Finding free space on the APP screen made it possible to also track space weather data as well.

Because the JIDX (Japanese International Dx) Contest is in my top-10 list, another software APP came about in the form of  the "WQ6X Prefecture Tracker" for inputting a JIDX LoG file to sort the prefectures worked on each band.  Using this data, I am now able to make an application to the JARL for a number of JA-related awards; a daunting challenge with or without the software.
If YOU possess software development talent, I encourage you to devise custom software for improving your own radiosport abilities.

Success with the JIDX tracker prompted me to write the "WQ6X CQP Tracker" for tracking CA counties worked - leveraging the underlying software platform .DLL's.  Because radiosport relies on the visual experience (similar to playing Blackjack), it became clear that I needed a screen capture application for snapping, documenting and organizing Blackjack/Radiosport activity. 

Taking things one step further, it became clear that a SnapShot application would be beneficial to my Introspection Therapy / Neurofeedback practice. I devised a separate design moniker aptly named "NeuroLogik Solutions" for producing this wide-reaching software APP.  Having a license to my own software designs, I have since embedded the SnapShot camera into most of the Boris & WQ6X software designs (as you can see with the above Beacon Tracker").
([CLICK HERE] to obtain your own copy of SnapShot Version 3.5.)

Several years ago, I wrote a custom Excel spreadsheet for tracking the various "flavors" of radiosport activity I engage in every year.  Producing graphs from those years brought me an astonishing look at WQ6X's operational breakdown.

Because I don't have an official "home QTH" running radiosport from portable locations has been my ticket to being on the air, sometimes under the most adverse of operating conditions.  For me, it has often been Field Day (FD) over a dozen times a year.

In recent years I have put together a semi-permanent operation from W7AYT's QTH in Concord California, in the East Bay (EB) ARRL section.  The Concord location alone has introduced me to a new bunch of operating challenges.  While I yearn for a conflict-free weekend, there is something to be said about encountering operating difficulties and then finding a unique solution to those maladies.

How about YOU?

Why do YOU do radiosport?
I would enjoy hearing YOUR Ideas.