N6DE (+K6ENT)
California QSO Party expedition to Mariposa County
M/S HP
BAND CW QSOs SSB QSOs
80m 47 46
40m 89 41
20m 170 271
15m 142 310
10m 71 278
---------------------------------------
TOTAL 519 946
1,465 total QSOs, 58 multipliers
200,042 total points
Equipment:
(2) Kenwood TS-850
Alpha 87A, Heathkit SB-200
Force12 C3S @ 45' on West Valley ARA tower trailer
Force12 C3S @ 35' on Force12 LPT1242
Inv-Vees for 40, 75m SSB, and 80m CW @ 45-60'
R7000 @ 10'
WX0B SixPak antenna switch
(2) Laptops networked running Writelog
Summary:
We went up to Mariposa County for the third year in a row,
and had a lot of fun again! We set up at Fish Camp, which is
off of Highway 41 just 2.5 miles south of the entrance to Yosemite.
We remembered again how difficult it is to erect antennas and
dipoles on a sloping property in the middle of a forest! The
towers were a considerable help this year. Thanks to the
West Valley ARA for allowing us to borrow their tower trailer.
We were thrilled to make 132 European contacts!
I almost didn't believe that HA1AG was really calling
us on 40m CW... great signals from him all weekend.
Finally, our first sweep! Where was everyone in Rhode Island?
Thank goodness Kent decided to stay up late, because our
only Rhode Island contact came at 2:25am on 40m SSB!
Our goals were 200,000 points, 1,500 QSOs, and a mult sweep.
We achieved two of the three. The Mariposa County S/O record
of 199,288 was set back in 1982, so we were pleased to beat
this record, even though it won't count since we were a M/S.
Please accept our apologies for not immediately QSYing for other
band-mode requests. Because we were a M/S operation, we had
to abide by the 10 minute rule. In almost every case, we agreed
to go to the requested band in x minutes, and did go there.
We hope this was a reasonable compromise.
Congrats to all the school stations that participated this year:
W6YX, K3CR, N9UC, W7UQ, K4UCF, W0EEE, N5XU, W1AF, and
any others we missed. We heard some huge numbers from many
of them!
Kent and I have managed to build an arsenal of expedition
equipment over the past few years for CQP. In addition to our
list above, we didn't even use our other three tribanders,
10m monobander, or two backup rigs. We have outgrown our
current location, and likely will be looking for a different spot
next year. Anyone interested in joining us for a M/S or M/M
CQP expedition?
Lastly, here are some helpful tips to the county expeditioner which
we learned the hard way:
-Do not attempt to bend your Force12 C3S elements around
trees. You may snap a few element tips. (Tom N6BT: we are going
to need some replacement tips!) In case you have the misfortune
of mangling your elements, electrical tape and zip ties will get you
through the weekend.
-Avoid intermittent, nagging problems with your antenna by
ensuring that a) the balun leads are tightly fastened to the driven
element, and b) your PL259 coaxial connector is snugly screwed into
the balun.
-Be careful when transporting your amplifier and test it before
the contest. This will help reduce the probability of being scared
out of your wits when you see blue flames rising above your
amplifier when it is keyed. (anyone ever seen this on an SB-200?)
-Make sure you have all the appropriate boom/mast/tower
mounting hardware before you begin. Try to avoid the following
scenario: two people walk a beam up their ladders, stand on the
top step, reach and hold to mount the antenna and special mast
mounting piece to your portable tower, only to realize the bolts
you purchased were too large and will not fit. Force one bolt to fit,
run down the ladder to your truck, race to the nearest town's
hardware store, and arrive 5 minutes before they close.
Scramble through the bolt/nut/washer section to find the right
size hardware while the store has already turned off the lights
indicating they want you out ASAP. Grab a bunch of different
sizes, check out, race back to your antenna location, climb
up the ladders again, mount the antenna to the tower with the
right hardware this time, climb down the ladders, and crank up the
tower just before darkness.
-Bring extra arrows for your bow when shooting up fishing
line for Inv-Vee placement. It is undesirable to impale trees
with arrows.
-Extra note on Inv-Vees: don't try to get fancy by attempting
to perfectly position each end of the dipole. If an end is touching
or bends around branches, and the antenna has decent SWR,
leave it. If you try to brute force the offending dead branch loose,
you might actually break the branch upon which the apex of your
Inv-Vee is supported, and watch the antenna tumble down to
the ground. Even if the antenna does not fall down, you will
give your worrisome team member a heart attack in the process.
See you next year!
73...
-Dean - N6DE
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