WO1N Single Op, Low Power
HRS QSO QSO PTS STATES COUNTRIES
Totals 27 613 1693 51 27 = 132,054
Equipment: FT1000D, Inv. L @ 55', Mag Loop
Story
I took Friday off from work. The Northeast was experiencing a moderate
snow storm. I needed to adjust the Inv. L a bit. This turned into a 3 hour
saga and at one point I had a 3 LB hammer stuck up about 30' in the trees
(don't ask) and several hundred feet of various ropes lying about. Sanity
prevailed and I got the L positioned just right (so I thought).
CT ready. Quick trip to the RS for stereo plug, wired up the DSP (not
needed). Nap.
Open with a run. N8EA first in the log. After 10 min, did a sweep up
the band to judge participation, listen for DX and look for a new freq.
to run. The first hole was found at 1.843 MHz. The first hours produced
the best rates with a 48/39/39/11/53 hrs. First DX in the log was
GM3POI at 0022Z. I fell into a pattern of running for ~45 min and then
would sweep up the band / concentrate on DX window, with out
getting sucked into the pileups for any length of time. They thin out over
the course of the test and the DX is usually easily workable later on.
This strategy worked fine with one exception, VP2EZ, heard him the
first night only.
I involved the family by making sure they all were aware of my goals
and this helped quite a bit. Only one interruption (resulting in the 11
hour) in prime time to help get the kids off to bed. Of course it helps
when you can run at 40-50 an hour and still install new games on the
PC/give your 6 year old instructions on how to use it without breaking
stride. I made it very clear I was going for 600Q's and 450 was my previous
high, so this was going to require a lot of time. When they would stop
by I would point out my progress by pointing to the total on the CT
screen. By the end of the test they were cheering me on. They are still
learning about contesting, just as I am ;-)
I made the first night with only one 45 min sack out on the shack floor
around 0900Z. The sunrise opening held nothing special, I haven't heard
a JA all season (no beverages here). Pulled the plug at 1300Z with 350Q's
in the log.
Back in the shack 1900Z trying to scare up some Canadian provinces
and locals. This was fairly unproductive, a 3 hour followed by a 2 hour.
The rate picked up around sunset, but was still slow. 0100Z resulted in
an 11. This turned out to be a defining point in the contest for me. I
took a break, slightly frustrated, with the thoughts of sacking out for
1/2hr. I didn't and when I sat down again I dug out a tenuous grip around
1.820 MHz and CQ'ed my brains out. Slowly you all came, peaking with a 28
hour at 0600Z.
This contest would not have been possible without the rotate-able Mag loop
I've been working on for a couple of years. I did about 95% of the test
listening on the loop. I was able to work Utah qrp (NC7W). The
loop provides two huge benefits, it is extremely quiet and for close in
stations (~300-1000 MI), at the noise level, I could usually find a peak
by rotating it, to help complete the Q. An intense electrical interference
started the 2nd night and lasted from 0000-0500Z. I suspect it was
the sodium vapor lamps about 50' from the Inv. L acting up possibly due
to rain water infiltration. Plain and simple, the test would have been
over for me had I not had the Mag loop. I'd appreciate reports from
those of you I didn't hear.
The second night European sunrise was terrific. I had a brief run of
a 1/2 dozen Europeans right around 0630Z. That was a gas. Perhaps I
got spotted on a European DX cluster? By 0900Z the second night I had
585 Q's. I was confident 600 was doable. I took a 2 hr break at this
point since I usually struggle to keep awake through 0900-1000Z, I was
starting to have difficulty both sending and receiving and it was
important for me to be able to function as a human being the next day.
Back at it at 1100Z and Q# 600 was in the log at 1204Z (Thanks NG3K).
The 2 hr break turned out to be a high risk move because as the rain storm
finally cleared out, the winds picked up, causing the Inv. L to become
intermittent as the tree tops whipped around. The rate was below 5 hr
so I pulled the plug with 658 Q's. 45 dupes, for 613 countable.
One new country (YS) and a lot of fun.
CU in the next one,
Ken
WO1N
Continent Breakdown:
North America CW 609 92.7
South America CW 1 0.2
Europe CW 43 6.5
Asia CW 0 0.0
Africa CW 2 0.3
Oceania CW 2 0.3
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