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[3830] OT8T in CQ WW Phone 98

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Subject: [3830] OT8T in CQ WW Phone 98
From: john.devoldere@innet.be (John Devoldere (ON4UN))
Date: Wed, 28 Oct 1998 12:03:51 +0000
                  CQ WORLD WIDE DX CONTEST -- 1998


      Call: OT8T                     Country:  Belgium
      Station: ON4UN                 Operator: RA3AUU
      Mode: SSB                      Category: Single Operator, High Power

      BAND     QSO   QSO PTS  PTS/QSO   ZONES COUNTRIES


      160      122      158     1.30      9      58
       80      412      828     2.01     21      83
       40      594     1542     2.60     30     122
       20      954     2353     2.47     39     140
       15     1143     2937     2.57     36     145
       10      297      758     2.55     29     137
     ---------------------------------------------------

     Totals   3522     8576     2.43    164     685  =>  7,281,024


This is the raw score. If there will be any change, it will be 
minimal. 

On the air time: > 46 hours.

Equipment: two FT1000MPs. one home made amp, one autro-tune/auto-switch amp
ACOM 2000
Antennas: 160: 11/4 wave vert
           80: 4-square, elevetaed rad
           40: 3 el full-size yagi at 30 m
               4-square , elevated rad
           20: 5 el (15 m boom) at 25 m
               KT34XA at 19 m
           15: 6 el, 11 m boom at 22 m
               KT34XA at 19 m
           10: 6 el, 11 m boom at 19 m
               KT34XA at 19 m
    Beverages: only 3 directions (instead of usual 12)


--------------------------------------------------------------------
The story:

This year I had not enough time to prepare for a multi-single. Been 
too busy with the new book. So we decided for a single op all band. 
Harry, RA3AUU flew over for our first single-op all band effort from 
OTxT.
 
This was a handicap contest though: no Beverages. The corn was 
planted about 6 weeks late this year (too much rain during spring 
time) and as a consequence it is still there, where the Beverages 
should be. So no Beverages, what is a great handicap for both 160 and 
80 m. Only 83 countries on 80 is definitely below normal standard. I 
guess these Beverages are good for about 20 countries. On 160 Harry 
could hardly hear some of the strongest W-stations, it was 
frustrating!
 
The station was set up with two FT1000MP's, one driving the old 
trusty home made amp, the other FT1000MP driving the new ACOM 
automatic tuning amplifier. The new amplifier was a great success. No 
need to do any tuning or bandswitching, just say "ah" on a new band, 
and you are all set. This was very esential to do what Harry planned. 
Work pile ups on the "hot" band, and tune up and down the other bands 
with the second radio, quickly looking for the pile-ups. This is 
where the rare ones are. The important thing was to be able to change 
bands continuously in order to catch those pile-ups before they grew 
too large. With the new amplifier this was easy.
 
This was one of the first contests where we did not get the visit 
from Mr. Murphy. That means, not "during" the contest. Of course, 
Murphy was involved in having the corn still on my Beverage field, 
and he also was responsible in sending the SWR of the second 10/15/20 
m antenna, a KT34XA skyhigh a few weeks before the contest. Anyhow, 
the KT34XA performed very poor on 10 and 15, ad SWR was way over 2:1 
on 10 meters. We will take it down in the next week or so, and hope 
to find the problem before the CW contest.
 
The lack of Beverages has been the reason why Harry did not get 100 
countries on 80. It would have been nice making a 5-band DXCC as 
single op. By the way, Harry slept just over one hour during the 
entire contest! I could not do it any more at my age... Single band 
jobs are just ideal for me...
 
Judging the score, it is clear that Harry laid emphasis on 
multipliers, which probably made him loose a few hundred QSO's, but 
the multiplier total is quite high, almost as many as we did last year 
as multi-single. Of course 10 was better than last year, although 
there was no opening at all on Sonday to the US and only a "mediocre" 
one on Saturday with no West Coast and only about 100 QSO's 
made with the US on 10m. 

CU in the CW contest.

John, ON4UN



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