ARRL 160-Meter Contest - 2020
Call: WF7T
Operator(s): WF7T
Station: WF7T
Class: SO Unlimited LP
QTH: TN
Operating Time (hrs): 22.5
Summary:
Total: QSOs = 810 Sections = 77 Countries = 5 Total Score = 134,562
Club: Tennessee Contest Group
Comments:
I'm grateful to all for the contacts. Thank you for your patience with my
typical puny signal from my small lot, just a mile from downtown Nashville. It
was great to ping old friends and to meet a few new ones. Also, I am grateful to
my wife who managed to keep all of the daily annoyances away from me so I could
have maximum focus. She's awesome!
I had great plans to revamp my 160M antenna situation before the contest. In my
typical over-extended fashion it DID NOT pan out, except I did put up a quick
albeit small VE3DO loop hidden in the front yard foliage. Jury is out whether it
had utility on 160, but it was at least quiet during times when I needed it.
Other than that, I run what I brung: Crappy the old G5RV (my typical 80M
antenna,) voltage-fed at the transmission line using an equally crappy
auto-tuner, over a decrepit radial field of approx. 1500' of THHN and whatnot.
I'm positive it could be better, but I am always surprised when it works at all!
Friday night and Saturday morning seemed the best here. Only managed to work TF
but no farther into EU. Heard but did not work CT3. Seemed propagation stopped
for me someplace in the Atlantic. Strong to Caribbean, but only so to the
leeward islands and no further south. A strong but very brief opening to PAC
when I worked my only KH6, alerted to by a similar early opening to CA. Had a
fleeting hope of hearing, dare I say working, in to JA, but not for me this
time. Did not hear KL7. Stateside was typically strong in all directions.
Sunday...yeah. None of that. It was a slog through a noisy and weak band. Things
DID pick up to to the PNW very early Sunday morning. Ended up missing the
following sections: AK, NV, BC, MAR, MB, NL, NT. Not including K/VE and
islands, I worked only C6, TF, V3, XE and ZF for DX entities.
That was my experience anyways. I'm interested to read other's experiences. By
Sunday morning, brain fried as expected, I think I worked mostly everyone that I
could hear me. That was the strategy of course; leave nothing on the table
employing maximum butt-in-chair time using the kit I gots.
So, thanks again to everyone. See you in another soon, and until I wish you
happiness and health.
Log confirmation: 21u5qr5j.arrl-160.
---
73 Brad WF7T
Nashville TN
Icom IC7600/IC756p2 @ 100W (more like 79W)
Voltage-fed Marconi, 10M tall, 30M top-hat (decrepit)
VE3DO RX loop (too small, hastily installed)
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.3830scores.com/
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