NA Sprint CW Contest
Call: W6UE
Operator(s): W4EF
Station: W6UE
Class: Single Op HP
QTH: CA
Operating Time (hrs): 4:00
Radios: SO2R
Summary:
Band QSOs Op Time
---------------------
80: 46
40: 119
20: 128
---------------------
Total: 293 Mults = 51 Total Score = 14,943
Club: Southern California Contest Club
Team: SCCC #1
Comments:
I think I need to go to SO2R-Holics anonymous.
Back in the old days when I was logging by hand
and running a Drake C-line with a low dipole, I
could easily muster a 90 hour in the Sprint (at least
on 80 meters). Now I have big antennas, computer
logging, and SO2R, and the best I can do is a 76
hour. I think managing two-radios is just beyond the
limit of my puny cognitive bandwidth. Only for a
brief-time during the third hour, did I get that
transcendent feeling, where I felt like a Sprint
Machine just cranking out QSOs without any awareness
of time or space. The rest of the time I felt this
desperate helpless feeling as if every single
Sprint participant was timing the start of his or
her exchanges so that I would tune by just in time
to realize that I would have to wait for two
full exchanges before I could figure out if there
was a possible QSO on frequency. And every time I
started tuning on the main rig, I felt this horrible
conflicted guilty feeling that I should somehow be
CQing on the other rig even though I didn?t know
it it was tuned to a clear frequency or not.
I spent the first hour cussing at the radio and
pounding the operating desk in vein hope that this
would somehow shock me into synch with the rest
of the world. The only thing it accomplished however
is that KA6SAR who had dropped by the shack to
pick-up his laptop, now thinks I am a total head
case. Actually, I now think that I am a total head case.
The final straw came in the fourth hour with about
5 minutes to go. Determined to make 300 QSOs, I
started CQing on 80CW while tuning desperately on
40 meters for a new QSO. Why is no one answering
my CQ? I am pretty loud on 80. Output power looks
okay, SWR is good. Oh, I am just out of synch -
hit the F2 key again. After two minutes of this,
I finally realized that I was in S&P mode. I
had the sidetone disabled on the SO2R box so I
could listen to the second radio with undivided
attention while CQing on the main radio. God only
knows what I was sending on Radio 1. Let's see F2
in S&P mode, I was probably sending a Sprint
exchange over and over again. Dohhhh! So much
for 300 QSOs. Someone please disconnect the SO2R
controller before my head explodes!!!
Thank god for multipliers (the 2nd radio actually
helped with this). Looking at all the reports
I think at least 56 were active. I worked
51 and heard but didn't work VE6. Others reported
VE7, DEL, SD, and AZ which I neither heard nor
worked. Interesting to note that my Qbasic Sprint
Check program counted 197 unique calls in my log
(I only worked 12 people on all three bands).
This is tremendous activity. Kudos to all the
folks organizing teams and encouraging
participation.
Even though I shouted "I hate this contest"
several times during the first hour, the
Sprint is still the best contest going. Those
few minutes of transcendent "groove" were worth
the 3:50 of mental anguish. If I am not in the
mental hospital drooling on myself from a total
SO2R breakdown, I'll see everyone in February.
73 de Mike, W4EF..........................
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