CQ 160-Meter Contest, CW
Call: W2GD
Operator(s): K2SG, K2TW, N2HM, N2OO, W1GD, W2CG, W2USF, W2GD, W2OB, W2RQ, W2NO
Station: W2GD
Class: Multi-Op HP
QTH: NJ
Operating Time (hrs): 47
Summary:
Total: QSOs = 1522 State/Prov = 59 Countries = 72 Total Score = 819,667
Club: Frankford Radio Club
Comments:
The station is located on a salt marsh adjacent to Barnegat Bay, about 20 miles
north of Atlantic City, NJ. We install the TX antennas in the fall and
dismantle them come spring each year.
A 300 foot tall tower in the marsh supports our primary gain TX antenna (2 el,
6db gain array). The site is isolated and fortunately for us has been
electrically quiet for the past year. A proven set of beverage antennas makes
it possible to hear well in all directions. Our team is experienced and has
been operating together for 20+ years.
STATION DESCRIPTION:
Run Position - IC756ProIII, Alpha 99, IC746 slave receiver
Multiplier Position â?? FT-2000 + MTU-160, AL 1200
TX ANTENNAS:
3 element Vertical Wire Array firing NE/WSW/Omni, apex at 185' surrounded by a
tidal salt marsh for a minimum of 550 feet.
Vertical Dipole (60â?? vertical) on edge of salt marsh
RX ANTENNAS:
Phased pair of 935' beverages Northeast/EU
560' unterminated beverages Southwest, South, and East
560' staggered 2 element beverages West (terminated) and NW/SW (unterminated)
WEEKEND SNIPPETS
The weather cooperated nicely this year. Upon arrival Friday morning
conditions were cold and there was an inch snow on the ground, but no wind to
speak of. With no major storms on the weather map, the band was exceptionally
QRN free all weekend.
Five of us were on site to set up the station. This takes a few hours, to
connect and test 3 radios, 2 amps, 3 computers, interfaces, power supplies,
contest software, the maze of wires is formidable.
Once again we were pleasantly surprised to find all of our antennas mostly
intact upon arrival, even after numerous big windstorms that have occurred
since the Stew Perry contest last month. Not having to make major antenna
repairs saved time and reduced the fatigue factor.
The most critical antennas (both TX antennas and the NE beverage) were tested
first. Its always a kick to hear WBZ on 1030 in Boston over 250 miles away on
the NE beverage at high noon local time coming in S9+20, and then switch to the
west beverage and observe their signal nearly disappear. Did someone say a cone
of silence?
Pre-contest testing revealed the T/R relay in our aging AL-1200 wasnâ??t
keeping up with the FT-2000 which along with the optional MTU-160 accessory
filter unit was being tried for the first time in the mult station position.
Changing some delay settings on the XCVR helped greatly, but as a backup we
installed a foot switch in the PPT line. During the contest this turned out to
be an asset, since the foot switch allowed the mult station op to override the
lockout box and immediately call stations. So if you noticed our run station
suddenly disappear or a long pause before responding this was probably the
reason.
We had a few semi-anxious moments Friday afternoon. Away from the marsh the
station site is heavily wooded. Dan, W2NO, went out to walk the west beverage.
When he got to the end of the antenna about 1000 feet from the building,
apparently he decided to take a short cut to get back. Unfortunately Dan
hadnâ??t kept adequate track of his â??bearingsâ?? and ended up lost in the
woods for about 20 minutes, ultimately walking out about a mile away. Of
course we all had a great laugh at Danâ??s expense, but plan to make sure he is
GPS equipped when travelling in the woods next year.
A number of EU stations were worked before our local sunset. Unfortunately
what sounded like good conditions didnâ??t hold up very well when the event
started 2 hours later.
With a DSL connection available, we decided to stream our score live. It was
fun watching the updates and the other scores, until our DSL connection failed
mid-day on Saturday. More on this later.
Started the contest CQing on 1811 and essentially stayed put on or near the
same frequency the entire night. First hour rate was our second best start
ever, 142 QSOs with 11 ten pointers. Conditions to EU seemed only fair at the
start, and would steadily decline over the next few hours. It was obvious
watching the callouts the stations to our west and south were enjoying terrific
conditions to EU. It was just one of those weekends were the NE USA had strange
conditions, weird signal arrival angles, etc. At times we thought the west
beverage was broken, especially when W9s and W0s were loudest on the N/S
beverage.
But the pendulum swung back in our direction with a vengeance about 0430 and it
was off to the races. The EU pileup was huge and undisciplined, requiring
numerous repeats. Over then next few hours the rate hovered around 100, and
most of the callers were from EU. This was clearly the defining point of the
contest for us, when we either made it big or would have to make up excuses
later.
The great EU run pumped up the score by nearly 200K, and we ended the first
night with 242 ten pointers (compared to 114 in 2006).
After EU sunrise, the rate dropped, but our spirits were buoyed when 7X0RY and
YV1DIG called in for new mults. The Saturday morning sunrise opening was
unfortunately a non-event, we didnâ??t hear any VK, ZL, KL7 or JAs.
At breakfast we discussed the strange conditions and how the West beverage
didnâ??t seem to be working normally. We decided to run some tests using
reference BC stations and decide what changes to make. Otherwise the hardware
situation was completely under control.
Several South Jersey DXA operators keep the station on the air all day
Saturday. Itâ??s a slow grind but over 100 daylight contacts make it into the
log over the course of the weekend.
About noon local time we lost our DSL connection. Calls to the service
provider were for naught. Fortunately we had a TNC and 2M radio in storage.
K2SG set up a DX Spider node at his home QTH about a mile away, and within an
hour we had packet spots flowing again.
We did some tests on the staggered beverages and determined the matching
network used had a 5 db insertion loss. Decided to use a single beverage and
compare performance. Small risk, potential high reward.
Worked our first EU right at sunset but we were disappointed no sustained
opening to EU developed at anytime during the second night. So we made an
extra effort chasing new mults, which helped keep the interest level high. The
pileup on TF3CW was particularly memorable.
Once again after EU sunrise the action slows down, and we work mostly Wâ??s
with the occasional mult calling in, including VO2FF in LB and W3DQ in DC
(TNX).
Much to our surprise near sunrise we had a run of ten JA stations this year,
which is 8 more JA stations than weâ??ve worked in the last ten years combined!
And to top it off a VE5 called in nearly 30 minutes after sunrise. You just
never know what will happen on Top Band.
At breakfast we review the weekendâ??s events and document the station
improvements that should be considered for next season.
Throughout Sunday, members of the SJDXA continue to keep things rolling, adding
many more daylight QSOs, including several five pointers.
Conditions to EU the last two hours are quite good, and we added an additional
20 ten pointers to bring the score within 10K of our 2007 effort.
At the final bell, we have 31 fewer QSOs and 5 fewer 10 pointers compared to
2007, and about the same score as the past two years. No complaints, we did
the best we could and had a great time working together as a team.
Congratulations to the teams at KC1XX and W1UE(@W1KM) for their great scores
and keeping the competitive heat turned up all weekend. And to the W8JI team,
we applaud your score - a tremendous achievement. Maybe next year all of the
competitive M/S entries will be posting on the W1VE scoreboard in real-time.
Our log will been loaded on the ARRL LOTW system during the coming week.
Special thanks go to the owners of WYRS-FM for allowing us to use and enjoy
this wonder radio facility, and also to members of the SJDXA for their
continuing support with station construction and maintenance.
Be sure to look for the SJDXA entry in CQ160 PH next month. Their call will be
N2CW.
73,
John, W2GD - for the entire 160 TEAM
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.hornucopia.com/3830score/
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