A good point, or TWO!, JU
A good contester also has the ability to glean bargains!
A note...those Flea Markets, not just the ham ones, are worth checking out.
Perhaps our most valuable tower raising device, the "porkchop" of "Chicago
Grip" for pulling guy wires was had at a "regular" flea market for 5
buckaroos....YES FIVE!
A good contester is not someone who only calls an 800 number, altho he may
get quite a rate going on "working" several of them for the best "report"!
zx
>From kl7y@alaska.net (Dan Robbins) Mon May 27 04:46:38 1996
From: kl7y@alaska.net (Dan Robbins) (Dan Robbins)
Subject: post-WPX
Message-ID: <9605270346.AB06485@alaska.net>
Post WPX observations:
1. There were many times when signals seemed loud but there was nobody new
to work.
2. KL7's are not used to hearing Thunderstorm static. We actually had to
shut down for about an hour because the corona discharge on the antennas
caused by an approaching storm. Lower 48 must have been having bad WX, too,
QRN from that direction was nasty. Maybe explains #1?
3. The AL3/N7DF call sign experiment caused some very minor problems, but
we also seemed to work a lot of NR 001 and other low numbers, even late in
the contest. Yes, AL3 is Alaska, make sure your contest program scores
accordingly.
4. Potential embarassment - I almost duped the ZS8 on 40. Glad to hear him
on so much - he did call a lot of CQs on 40 with ZERO answers.
5. Guys ought to use the dial lock feature when sitting on one freq. That
way they can't unknowingly bump the dial and come down on my relatively
clear freq and start calling me names for causing QRM. Either that or I
bumped my dial and the weak European that I was trying to work bumped his
simultaneously, in the same direction and with exactly the same freq shift.
Full GI0 callsign given upon request.
6. Middle of the day, right during the most intense D-layer absorption,
we're hearing Europe right over the pole on 40. In the winter, not
uncommon, but this is summer, dudes. Of course, the Europeans couldn't hear
us....
7. Over 2/3 of our QSOs on 20 meters. It was open 48 hours straight, if
you define "open" pretty loosely.
8. Well, at least we had a good time, and the locals are keen on the next
big CW contest, if we use a shorter call.
Dan KL7Y (operator at and station provider for, but NOT the QSL
handler of...AL3/N7DF)
|