ARRL INTERNATIONAL DX CONTEST 1996
Call: DL1IAO Country: Germany
Mode: CW Category: Single Operator / 80m High Power
Non-Assisted
BAND QSO QSO PTS STATES/PROV
80 520 1560 45 = 70,200
Equipment Description: TS-930, Alpha 78
386SX, CT v8.50
3el parasitic Vertical Array
bidirectional 600ft Beverage
For me, the contest already started one week before the actual event.
Hannes, DK1NO, and I were working on the antenna but didn't finish the
fine-tuning of the elements during the weekend. Decided to stay another
one or two days at the location to set up a little beacon in the fields
to adjust F/B. This array sure is an interesting construction, but the
most critical antenna I have ever seen! We use our 37m shunt-fed tower
as driven element with the switchable parasitic wire elements attached
1/8 wave away. I think we completely changed element lengths 4 or 5
times till we plugged the wires into variable C's for tuning.
After all I spent the whole week there, driving home Friday only to pick
up the computer and some dry clothes. Arrived at the shack in another
snow storm and found the 1000ft USA Beverage blown away. That's the
price for having a hilltop QTH 820m above sealevel! Fighted till 2345Z
and finally decided that the array's F/B wouldn't ask for any RX antenna.
Started my first-ever 80m single band entry totally exhausted but very
curious about how the array would work.
Giving up the Beverage certainly cost me about 100 QSOs. The 600ft
south-east Bev. used bidirectionally outperformed the array only a few
times. I heard a couple of stations calling me I couldn't pull thru.
Usually things went like this: Hear 3 weak stations calling, need
2-3 fills on the loudest one, the other 2 guys have tuned away. After
the contest I was told that several W6/7's called me at sunrise without
getting my attention.
Apologies for 'sitting on the ears', no more 80m contest without a
loooong Beverage here!! Anyway, never would change these adventure-
weekends at 1NO's against any warm shack anywhere. This location
is on a hilltop in the middle of some fields with the next small village
about a mile from there.
Only to add that I went to the next farmer on Monday who took my car
out of a snowdrift with his tractor.
73,
Stefan DL1IAO
dl1iao@sugarland.ampr.org
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