ARRL DX Contest, CW
Call: W4ZV
Operator(s): W4ZV
Station: W4ZV
Class: SOSB/10 HP
QTH: NC
Operating Time (hrs):
Summary:
Band QSOs Mults
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160:
80:
40:
20:
15:
10: 1324 114
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Total: 1324 114 Total Score = 452,808
Club: Potomac Valley Radio Club
Comments:
After the band folded Saturday night, I spent some time looking at the weather
forecast on the Internet. The outlook was not good...22 hours of freezing rain
was forecast for Sunday with winds of 15-20 MPH from the Northeast (toward
Europe). Antennas can survive either ice or wind fairly well but the
combination can be deadly. In Colorado, I learned that antennas will
self-destruct when wind causes severe oscillations in ice-laden elements facing
the wind. Solution, turn the antennas with element tips into the wind, but that
will not be so good for working Europe on Sunday, hi.
I awoke Sunday morning to find that we are getting only light rain and some
icing. The freezing zone apparently moved south before we got heavy icing. By
the time the heavier precipitation moved in, it was sleet and not rain! The top
Yagi in my 3-stack iced most heavily, and around 1430 UTC I had to turn it away
from Europe. Fortunately I can see my antennas from the operating position and
the first director was wildly flapping like a wounded goose! Had I left it to
the Northeast, I am sure it would have self-destructed. Oh well, I don't use
the high antenna much after that time anyway since the takeoff angle goes up
about that time anyway.
We were lucky to have sleet instead of freezing rain, but that created another
problem...precipitation static. Fortunately the top Yagi took most of that and
I could still use the bottom 2 antennas in the stack!
I still had to visually watch the middle antenna since it also would start
flopping wildly whenever the winds picked up. When it did, I would rotate it
Southeast and use the bottom antenna only until the wind dropped enough to
rotate the middle antenna back toward Europe. Again I was lucky to be able to
observe the antennas from my operating position.
I made it through the European run OK and spent most of the afternoon tuning
since it seemed the band had been worked out and CQ's were not productive.
Japan never really came in solidly but I was lucky to get a little break from
the sleet (and static) from about 2200-2330 when I could use the high antenna
toward Japan. At 2330 it started up again so I transmitted on all 3 to Japan
and listened on the bottom 2 only.
Quite a stressful second day but it was fun anyway. If you ever experience
icing and wind together, please remember my story and turn your antenna with
element tips into the wind, not broadside! That's where they are parked tonight
as we continue to get sleet and gusts to 20 MPH...hopefully no more freezing
rain until this mess moves out tomorrow.
73, Bill W4ZV
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