ARRL DX Contest, CW
Call: VE7FO
Operator(s): VE7FO
Station: VE7FO
Class: SO Unlimited HP
QTH:
Operating Time (hrs): 10
Summary:
Band QSOs Mults
-------------------
160: 0 0
80: 0 0
40: 0 0
20: 134 83
15: 84 44
10: 62 28
-------------------
Total: 280 155 Total Score = 130,200
Club: Orca DX and Contest Club
Comments:
ARRL DX CW 2013 SOAPBOX
It's been quite a while since I entered a contest from home and wrote a story
about it.
This story actually starts with last weekend's CQ WPX RTTY.
I've had a number of challenges recently which have made it difficult to get on
the air but I vowed I'd get on for WPX RTTY.
Challenges?
A month or so ago we had a very uncharacteristic ice storm which resulted in
1/2" of radial ice on my 80 and 40 dipoles. Now you folks who don't have the
privilege of living here in Lotus Land (Vancouver and environs) aren't likely
to be sympathetic, but my dipoles broke.
Any self-respecting ham would have fixed them by the next day at the latest.
However, my wife has just had knee replacement surgery so a lot of my time is
taken up looking after her needs. (She's doing fine - walked around the block
today using Nordic Poles.)
The rest of the time has been taken up trying to get an old amp working - first
one I've ever had so I don't know much about them.
Some time before that the element to boom clamp on the driven element on my old
TH3 tribander got a little loose and the wind would rotate the DE in and out of
the plane of the other elements. Recently I noticed a strange clicking in the
receiver whenever I turned the antenna as if something was interrupting the
signals. Some time later, the clicking disappeared, as did the signals. I did
get a really good signal back from the transmitter though. Binoculars revealed
that wires connecting the balun to the DE and the Beta match were broken.
Well, I don't climb and the WX was such that I didn't want to ask any of my
buddies.
In desperation I could use my R5 Vertical for 20-10m for WPX RTTY except for
the fact that my FT-1000 MP MkV quit working. Tried my IC 706 MkII G along
with the amp. Noticed that whenever I keyed it there was a giant spike on the
leading edge of the output waveform. It was always there, regardless of the
power output setting. Subsequent research on the net told me that this spike
could be as high as 160W. Strikes me as being a pretty nasty thing to do to an
amp so won't ever hook it up to an amp again.
Also, my 706 has only stock filters - pretty wide for RTTY and wouldn't be a
lot of fun.
We've all been told by hockey and soccer announcers that how one meets
challenges is a true test of character so, dammit, I'm going to be on for WPX
RTTY.
So, need a radio and would be great if TH3 was fixed.
Radio is no problem. I'm very involved in the VE7UF M/M station and I know
that Duane has a TS-850 which has been retired from active service for some
time. He agrees to loan it to me. Not wanting to bother him with packing and
shipping hassles I went there to get it. This isn't trivial as he lives on an
island. Total travel time there and back is about 10 hours and ferry plus gas
comes to over $100.
Great - I've got a decent radio. Amp still isn't working properly. Never had
one before so, while it would be nice, it isn't an issue.
RW0CN, Mike, arrives on my doorstep a couple of days before WPX and says he has
allocated one hour to fix the TH3. 41 minutes later he's been up the tower,
replaced the broken wires and come down again. Travel time from RW0 makes the
VE7UF ten hours appear inconsequential. Ditto the cost. Well, not an issue as
Mike is living here now. He's also sporting the call VE7ACN. You may have
worked him in WPX RTTY as that's the call the VE7UF M/M operation was using.
Getting fed up with fiddling with the amp but have got used to the idea that I
absolutely have to have one so bought a used Alpha 9500 from a fellow club
member. This thing is quite terrifying. When you've got it in Standby mode
and send it some RF from the exciter it growls at you in a most alarming manner
as all the stepper motors adjust everything. I guess one gets used to this.
Hey, character overcomes all. I've got all the pieces.
OK, station integration time.
Oh no - more character building. While the TS 850 I borrowed from 7UF has all
the necessary cables and RS 232 converter for integration into his station,
none of the DIN sockets match the connectors which plug into my MkV. Things
like audio out from the Rx to the computer for decoding RTTY. So now I have to
check out the TS 850 manual to see what I have to do. While I found it on the
net, it isn't a model of clarity.
Oh, and figure out how to include the amp. Trivial if you know what you're
doing. Unnerving otherwise.
OK, here it is just before 0000 UTC, everything is working and I'm ready for
WPX RTTY. Unfortunately it's Monday and the contest ended on Sunday. Mike let
me know that he wasn't happy that I wasn't able to hold up my end and make a lot
of points for the Orca Club we belong to especially as, I'm sure, he probably
had to reschedule some things to fit my antenna work in. I'm finding it easier
nowadays to plead my advanced age when I screw up.
I love the WPX RTTY contest and have been #1 VE in my category a couple of
times.
Character (well, at least the sporting kind) requires that grown men don't
cry.
You might be wondering why I didn't just put all this into a WPX RTTY story. I
thought about creating a 3830 entry with 0 Qs and 0 mults where I could put the
story into the soapbox but worried that only a jerk would submit a 0 score
entry to 3830.
Besides, it's all about prep for ARRL DX CW.
After all that, I wasn't able to spend more than about 10 hours in ARRL DX.
TH3 worked well.
Dipoles have been pieced together again but SWR is way high. Didn't want to
risk damage to amp so no 40 or 80m Qs.
TS 850 worked well.
Alpha 9500 continued to intimidate me. I'm just not comfortable with something
that thinks it's smarter than me making adjustments which will affect the life
of a very expensive tube which it will deny any responsibility for paying for.
It was nice, though, to get through under circumstances where I know I wouldn't
have made it without the amp.
Only got in about 10 BIC hours. Spent all my time S&P as not really confident
about the current setup. Wasn't able to get on until 2300Z.
Lots of fiddling with gear as I get used to the TS 850 and Alpha amp. While I
used the 850 many times at VE7UF M/M I never felt that I had mastered it.
Gave up around 0600Z as 20 truly dead and low bands not available due to
aforementioned antenna issues.
Wasn't able to get back on until 1600Z. Hey, the morning opening to Eu is
happening, both on 20 and, to a much lesser extent, 15! Lots of fun "Hoovering
up mults" on both bands. (I'm indebted to VR2BG for this phrase - seems Sooo
descriptive) Sure notice the difference an amp makes. Lots of responses on
first call. One could easily get addicted to this QRO stuff.
Best 10 minute rate was 90 which I don't think is all that shabby for S&P. Amp
helped a lot, of course.
Worked about 92 DX entities altogether. 9 tenths of the way to DXCC in ten
hours. This also is is not something I'm used to doing from my modest home
station. Different from VE7UF, of course, where one routinely works DXCC and,
less commonly, WAZ on several bands.
I thought cndx were pretty decent on the high bands. Well, 10 wasn't that
great. Caribbean, Central and S Am, Oc, but no Eu. Still, I can remember not
that long ago making only 6 Qs on 10 from the big VE7UF M/M station.
All in all, I was quite happy. Fun to get on from my own station again. 280
Qs in 10 hours, including acclimating to the unfamiliar gear and hanging around
on almost dead bands because no access to 80 or 40, doesn't seem too bad.
Looking forward to getting everything functioning properly again and finding
out what I can really do before we start heading for the solar flux doldrums
again.
73, Jim VE7FO
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.hornucopia.com/3830score/
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