ARRL DX Contest, SSB
Call: VE7FO
Operator(s): VE7FO
Station: VE7FO
Class: SOAB LP
QTH: North Am
Operating Time (hrs): 31
Summary:
Band QSOs Mults
-------------------
160:
80: 6 4
40: 11 7
20: 136 49
15: 226 72
10: 357 68
-------------------
Total: 736 200 Total Score = 427,800
Club:
Comments:
ARRL DX SSB
PREPARATION:
I decided that it was time to delve into all the commands you can put into a
TRLog config file, try them out and decide which ones I want to use. Those of
you who have used TR know that there are pages of commands available to
customize TR to the way you want it if you want to use them. TR allows you to
create a standard config file which will be loaded for every contest as well as
specialized config files which can also be loaded to do whatever it is you want
to do. Also, I have been operating contests out of a directory I called LOG and
then, after the contest, moving all the files to a directory set up for that
contest. Time to learn how to run TR out of the particular contest directory
and have it find the config and DVP files appropriate to the contest. As well,
I wanted to document how to set up sbdvp and record files. Also, my TRMaster
data base is all messed up so wanted to decide how many of these I need i.e. no
point in having a bunch of DX calls online in NAQP or a bunch of NA calls in
ARRL DX so more than one database makes sense. Having decided this, the next
thing was to decide which contest logs should be fed into which data base and
then do it. Also wanted to do a bunch of station tidying and minor
improvements. Oh, also print a bunch of propagation predictions.
I laid out a plan for all this and put some time estimates on the tasks.
Hmm.... 20 hours and it's 0430Z Mar 1. Better get moving. What's first?
Really want to get the TR stuff done properly so I understand it, have it
documented, and don't have to mess around moving files all over the place for
every contest. Allocated 3.6 hrs for this
0940Z Still working on TR stuff but it's 0140 local time so went to bed
1900Z Back at it. Man, there's a lot you can do with TR. Just for fun, set it
to give me a beep at every tenth Q.
2000Z Don't have TR stuff completed yet and getting nervous. It only takes me
2 minutes to do a minimal TR setup for any contest so better start dealing with
DVP.
How did I have everything hooked up last time I used it? Oh yes, mike into
soundcard Mic In and Line Out into Patch input on MkV. Start up Goldwave to do
sound recording and editing. (I really like Goldwave. You can snip blank
spaces out of sound files with a couple of mouse clicks and one keystroke. You
can also normalize a bunch of sound files so they all have the same loudness.)
Why don't I get any indication of output from the Mike? Check Windows Volume
Controls, nope, mike not muted, level all the way up, what's going on? After
much reading of Goldwave documentation and can't find what's wrong I try running
the Line Input level up to max. Hmm... now getting something out of the mike
but level very low. How could this be? Must be some kind of leakage between
Mic and Line inputs on soundcard. Hunt everywhere in the house for the little
30 dB amp I used to use so I can plug mike into Line In. Can't find it
anywhere. Running out of time so make some recordings even though the level is
way too low. Use Goldwave to normalize the files. Now the level is fine but
they are very noisy. Apply the Goldwave noise filter to them. Now I sound like
DSP DX and not even at RF yet.
2330Z Give up on DVP. Guess it's going to be an S&P effort for me. Set up a
directory for the contest, move config files into it and set up TR. No TRMaster
files done. Station still a mess
0000Z Listen around and settle on 10. Mostly Central and South America and a
lot of JAs. To my surprise a TI said, "Hi Jim, how are you doing?" Mind you,
it was TI5/VE7CC. It was pretty neat to, amongst all the JAs, find JT1CO at
0114 and, 12 minutes later, BD5RI.
0242Z 81 Qs 17 mults Switch to 15. Lots of JAs. Tried a little running but
not much response. Worked JT1CO again, which was nice, also EX8AA and PW0T
(finally).
0530Z 158 Qs 52 mults Switch to 20. Some Europeans, lots of Russians, JT1CO
again, 9K2K and a very exciting YA0AM. I still remember a contest in 1958 or
59, when I was VE8FO, hearing this loud, gravelly voice calling me and signing
9K2AZ. Prefix wasn't even listed in the DX list I had and he was gone before I
could ask him what country 9K2 was. Made quite an impression on a young
contester.
0730Z 197 Qs 65 mults Switch to 40. I usually don't do well on 40. Grab some
mults, Caribbean, KH6, JA and TI5/VE7CC. No JT1CO.
0820Z 204 Qs 70 Mults Try 20 again. Pretty slow
0845Z 209 Qs 70 mults Try 40 again. Pretty slow
0855Z 211 Qs 70 mults Try 80. I usually don't do well on 80 either, but do
get some surprises. 8P5A, TI5/VE7CC again, KH7R, and a very nice TI9M. No
JT1CO. What could be wrong?
1000Z 217 Qs 74 mults Back to 40. Work VK5GN. I liked that.
1020Z 220 Qs 75 mults 220 Qs in 10 hours. Not very good even if it is all
S&P. Lack of DVP is really bugging me. Fool around trying to get recording
working. Look some more for 30 dB amp. No luck.
1130Z 220 Qs 75 mults Give up and go to bed (0330 local time)
1854Z (1054 local) Back at it on 10. Mostly eu. Was happy to work SV7UN. I
don't do well into the Mediterranean and despair of ever working ZC4DW except by
e-mail. VP5 and HI3 both asked me to QSY to 15. Glad to. (They were both
mults on 15)
2345Z 339 Qs 114 mults Same lousy rate, mult production dropping off. Switch
to 15. Mostly eu and some Caribbean. Worked TI5/VE7CC again. A while later I
realized that if I got him on 20 it would be a 5 band sweep (don't have anything
useful on 160) so I called him and asked when he was going to 20. He said, "How
about right now?" So he left his run frequency and we met on 20. Thanks Lee.
0120Z 372 Qs 130 mults Switch to 20. What a zoo. Did work another SV, which
was pleasing. Mostly eu.
0245Z 413 Qs 143 mults Can't stand 20 anymore. Switch to 10. Try running
JAs with some success but voice gets scratchy pretty quickly. Sure do miss the
DVP.
0330Z 452 Qs 146 mults Switch to 15. Rate is better but mults aren't.
Mostly Asians.
0504Z 480 Qs 153 mults Switch to 20. Mostly Asians but some Eu starting to
show up.
0645Z 520 Qs 154 mults Should go to bed so as not to miss the dawn flood of
Eu but try again to sort out DVP. Look some more for 30 dB audio amp. No luck.
Consider moving stereo from front room to shack so I can plug mike into that
and feed line out into sound card line in but it would be a big hassle and I'm
tired. Pull the computer away from the wall and look closely at the sound card
I/O jacks. Pull mike plug out of Line In and plug it into Mic In. Try
recording with Goldwave. Hey, now everything's working. I record a bunch of
DVP files and try a couple out on SM2KM. (Log says SME2KM, but that can't be
right. It doesn't say it any more.) He responds as if everything is normal so
I guess it's OK.
0830Z 521 Qs 154 mults I don't know whether to be mad or glad about the DVP.
I elect to be mad now and glad tomorrow and go to bed. Lie there thinking that
if I'm back by 1500Z I'll still have 10 hours. Now DVP is working I'll be able
to run. 50 Qs/hr will put me over the elusive 1000. I fall asleep, happy.
1520Z Back at it. Try a little 10 and move to 15. Switch to run mode and
confidently start auto cq with now functioning DVP. Having generated a rate of
1 Q in 10 minutes I go back, crestfallen, to S&P. What the heck was that beep
sound I transmitted when logging Q 130? Same thing at 140 and 150. Oh yes,
computer audio now connected to radio. Turn off TR Beep Every 10 Qs. Somehow I
also managed to transmit a fanfare. As I desparately hit the VOX button to shut
off transmission I heard someone say something like, "Gott in Himmel, vass is
das?" Was nice to work E15ZS, VQ9MR, EW1WB, and ER3ZZ. Thanks guys.
1745Z 581 Qs 182 mults Switch to 10. Oh goody, a bunch of eu mults. Actually
managed to get a 40 min run going yielding 45 Qs. Best rate so far. However,
6 of them were Ws so don't count. I used to try to explain to them but now I
just work them and move on. Heck, maybe they need a VE7. Goodies here were
TK5MH and IS0ECN.
2008Z 671 Qs and 186 mults. Worked a WA4 and escaped to 15. Hard to find a
hole to call CQ. Found one, did the voice equivalent of QRL? 3 times and
started CQing. Somebody immediately started bitching. I told him he had had
his chance to complain and kept on, but gave up after a short time and back to
S&P. Found another hole and listened for a few moments to see if it was QRL.
That was a mistake. While I was listening, someone came on, asked if the freq
was busy and started running. I think it was during this time that I found
another hole and, without waiting to see if it was busy, asked if it was. VE1OP
replied with, "Nah, I'm just sitting here talking to myself, go ahead." Broke
me up, went searching for another hole. Bounced around between 10, 15 and 20.
I don't think the S meter dropped below S9 anywhere on 20. I hate to think what
it's going to be like in a few years. Managed an hour long run (walk?) on 10
yielding 29 Qs, 14 of which were Ws. Sigh.
2359Z 736 Qs and 200 mults. 427,800 pts. Worked DXCC. Got up out of the
chair, stumbled over a pile of papers on the floor, sending them flying. Oh,
there's the 30 dB amp I was looking for.
This is my 2nd ARRL DX SSB after having been away for 30 yrs or so. Had a look
at the story I put on 3830 about the last one and am pleased to see progress.
Last one was 505 Qs and 149 mults for 225,288 pts. Let's see now... 736/505 =
1.46 and 200/149 = 1.34. So, next year, if I can keep up the same rate of
improvement (and propagation is OK), I should get 1073 Qs and 268 mults for a
score of 862K. If I can achieve that, there'll be no living with me. I'll be
stopping people on the street and telling them about it.
In the meantime, going to document the DVP setup, finish tidying up the TR
setup, get the TRMaster.dta files the way I want them and do the station tidying
and improvement.
The sound card experience has got me thinking of how to handle all the audio I/O
stuff in the shack. Starting to look like I'll be installing a small audio
patch bay and multi-channel mixer so I can get all the connections and levels to
the point of connect, set, document and forget.
73 and thanks for the Qs
de Jim Smith VE7FO
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