** S O A P O P E R A **
dr K has been analyzing my past couple years contest results
and has developed a new theory. He calls it QSO'nomics.
Basic QSO'nomics: Contest QSO's follow well defined laws of
Supply and Demand.
State of QSO'nomy: We are in a Recession (or Depression depending
on QTH). This evident as every year it has taken more equipment,
more power, better operating, etc to make same number QSOs. Think
of it an increase in the Cost of QSO Index (CQI).
Supply Side QSO'nomics: Every year more people start contesting, thus
increasing the propensity for a QSO. As more people enter the arena,
the competition for scarce resources (wood, paper, potatoes) increases
(demand). This further fuels the increase in CQI.
Practical Example: Theories are great, you say, but what about the
real world? Well, I can only speak for my own QSO'nomic situation:
In the '96 SARTG, I made same number of QSO's (as '95), but increased
power output by 10db (this is how we combat inhilation). Last year, the
QSO's were on more bands, so more QSO's were made on fewer bands this
year (hence verifying the increased supply of potential QSO's). Last
year those QSO's were good enough to obtain the necessary scarce
resources (paper -1st W7 Area). This year, I doubt it will happen again.
With all the new blood and inhilation-fighting mechanisms, demand has
increased greatly.
The increase in CQI has also driven some out of the arena, but this is
more than made up for by the Supply Side. This is QSO'nomic Replacement
Theory (QRT).
NOTE: The best known Leading QSO'nomic Indicator (LQI) is the sunspot
number (SN) or solar flux index (SFI). The confidence factor for this
correlation is the goal of future research.
Remember the QSO'nomy is cyclic.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
** S C O R E **
SARTG Worldwide
Call used: KE7GH
Location: AZ
Entry Class: Single Op, All Band
Band QSOs Pts Dist DX
80 0 0 0 0
40 99 960 14 5
20 215 2230 20 17
15 0 0 0 0
10 0 0 0 0
----- ---- ---- ---- ----
Total 314 3190 34 22
Claimed Score: 178640
Power Output: 1000
Club Participation: Central Arizona DX Association
Brian Short
1994 E Laguna Dr
Tempe, AZ 85282
------------------------------------------------------------------------
** S E R I O U S L Y **
Running 1000w (loafing) with the new amp was much nicer than running
150w (frying) with the old one. First couple hours had great rates,
but they fell fast for me. I could hear the US E coast working EU, but
most of the time they were not within reach for me. Due to other
activities, I was exhausted when the 3rd period came around and so I
missed out on about 7hrs of the contest. I heard zilch out here on 80m.
Maybe my antenna needs a tune-up? It was fun though, and a great test
for the amplifier (I have been totally barefoot for the LoPwr contests).
40m at night is strange:
1)a newbie (apparently) kept sending the F-9 buffer from the popular
WF1B program. I asked for his call repeatedly and explained the exchange,
but it was no help. He/she'll get it next time I'm sure.
2)my wattmeter "got RF into it" on 40m. Strange as it may sound, my Autek
WM-1 Computing Meter (simultaneous real time display of PWR avg/peak and
SWR) would vary from 100w to 1000w depending on the direction of the 40m
beam (actual power output did not change). I have checked the meter against
my Bird 1000w slug and it is usually close depending on band etc, but this
strange. Acts perfectly with dummy load, too. Can someone recommend a
solution or replacement wattmeter with simultaneous display of PWR and SWR
that requires no knob twisting or nomographs and is fairly accurate?
(Obviously this is a "radiated" RFI problem -my 40m beam is only 35ft due
to city edicts).
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks to each and every one for a QSO! Until Next Time...
73 de Brian ke7gh@primenet.com or http://www.primenet.com/~ke7gh/
|