It appears that my submission yesterday did not arrive at 3830,
and today's did but I forgot my comments.
Thanks to the generosity of Dave Robbins K1TTT, this was my first
opportunity to be a single op at a super station. Dave and his
dog Sammy were both great hosts, and I immensely enjoyed operating
at his hilltop location and with his awesome set of antennas.
I chose to operate low power because that is what I usually do at
home, and I felt it lessen the learning curve if I kept to LP.
Also, with the radios and operator remaining constant, I felt it
would give me a real comparison of the difference made by superior
antennas. This year's conditions seemed a little less favorable
than last years, but my score was 33% higher. So, the advice to
concentrate first on antennas is correct. (Did I say that Dave's
antennas are awesome?) Unfortunately, I am limited by property
size so I will not soon be putting up anything comparable to Dave's
antennas.
Last year I finished #6 US/VE in SO LP CW. I felt that #1 would be
possible this year, due to the difference in antennas. (Did I say
that Dave's antennas are awesome?) When the contest ended, my score
exceeded last years #1, so my hopes were high that K1VUT @ K1TTT
would be on top. Unfortunately I was beaten by some guy in Florida.
K1TO - has anybody ever heard of that guy? (DO NOT send me any
answers to this question. I've heard of him.) Anyway, I was upset
until I thought about it again. FLORIDA! I can demand a recount.
(Maybe Dan's middle name is Chad?) Besides, although I lost the
popular vote (Qsos), I did win the electoral vote (mults). But alas,
I can't afford to pay dozens of lawyers to fight this out in court
for the next few months. I could also hope for the log checkers to
decertify his log because of too many hanging chads (broken Qsos),
but the truth is that his log is probably cleaner than mine. And
like I've told a few friends, better operators than I have been beaten
by Dan. Good job Dan.
Thanks again to Dave K1TTT. It was a special experience which I will
not soon forget. (Did I mention that his antennas are awesome?) This
old country boy contester finally got a ride into the big city, and
it sure was a sight to see.
73, Dave Clemons K1VUT
Dave Clemons
dave@egh.com
Evans Griffiths & Hart, Inc.
55 Waltham Street, Lexington, MA 02421
(781)861-0670, (781)860-9321 (Fax)
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