NA Sprint SSB Contest
Call: VE7FO
Operator(s): VE7FO
Station: VE7FO
Class: Single Op LP
QTH: BC
Operating Time (hrs): 4
Summary:
Band QSOs Op Time
---------------------
80: 24 0:39
40: 35 1:36
20: 69 1;45
---------------------
Total: 128 Mults = 37 Total Score = 4,864
Club: British Columbia DX Club
Team:
Comments:
The first time I've entered 3 contests in one weekend. In descending order of
seriousness - Sprint, ARRL VHF, WAE. I've done well in WAE in the past (i.e.
wallpaper) but too much going on this weekend to put my all into contesting.
This appears to be my fourth Sprint. I looked back at the earlier ones,
expecting to see some progress.
Feb 2001 - SSB - 130 Qs, 37 mults
Mar 2001 - RTTY - 18 Qs, 14 mults
Mar 2003 - RTTY - 127 Qs, 35 mults
Aug 2003 - SSB - 128 Qs, 37 mults
Hmm...
I really thought I should be able to get way more Qs on SSB than RTTY.
Thought I'd start on 40 like some of the big boys seem to. Checked out 20, made
1 Q and switched to 40. Hah. Where are all those loud W7 mults? No Qs. Back
to 20. Good grief, I lost 20 minutes fiddling around on 40.
Signals aren't all that strong on 20. Usually takes 2 or 3 calls to attract
anyone's attention. Kind of irritating to be sitting on a frequency, calling
everyone who shows up and watch 3 guys cycle through before one of them notices
me. But, now the frequency's mine. Big deal, no one notices. Often give up
calling CQ and go find someone to call. This contest sure exaggerates the need
to be LOUD. Too bad I'm not. In most contests the HP guys get really good
rates and the LP guys can get respectable rates. Here, you get one crack at the
mult at any one time. Not loud enough? He's gone.
Oh well, drop down to 40 to try again to work close in W7 mults. Who is the
only mult I get? KK1L in Vt (who very patiently stuck with me until we made the
Q. Thanks Ron). No rate. Back to 20.
Things did get better in that people actually called me when the frequency
became mine and it was fun to pick up mults heard earlier but out of synch. I
even had the occasional pileup.
Bounced around between the 3 bands with no particular strategy (other than
forget 20 in the last hour or so - it's open but empty) until the end. Didn't
have the third hour motivation problems that others speak of. Just kept
chugging along. Then again, if they had had any of my hours they would probably
have gone and done something else.
Man, you sure have to pay attention. More often than I'm comfortable with, my
attention drifted while waiting to call someone. All of a sudden, he's gone and
now I'm calling the next guy.
I never was able to get into that magical (I'm told it's magical) state of
alternating between two frequencies and making Qs like there's no tomorrow.
Just not loud enough (Sniff, snivel).
It was fun to see all the calls from other contests distilled into the
contesting hard core. i.e. in other contests there are lots and lots of calls I
don't particularly recognize. Not so here. (But where was N6RO?)
While rereading this I realized something. To make rate at the start you have
to be LOUD. As time progresses there are fewer stations that the loud guys
haven't worked and that's when folks like me get their chance. Memo to self.
At the start just call the loudest guys in the hope that prop is really good to
their area. When you make a Q, if no one calls you then call CQ no more than
once. If no reply hunt for another loud guy. After a while you will start
getting results with the weaker signals and more people will call you when the
frequency is yours. So, for LP maybe the strategy is to stay on a band as long
as possible because if you drop down too soon the loud guys haven't worked
everyone yet so you don't stand a chance. Then again, N5DO (LP) had his best
Sprint rate ever in the first half hour and it tailed off from there. He'd have
done better, of course, if he'd paid attention to a certain VE7 calling him!
I can't imagine trying to do this QRP (although N8VW/QRP did way better than I
did).
Still, I made a lot more Qs than in the VHF.
I guess I'll be back.
73 de Jim Smith VE7FO
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