North American QSO Party, CW
Call: AA4LR
Operator(s): AA4LR
Station: AA4LR
Class: Single Op LP
QTH: GA
Operating Time (hrs): 7
Radios: SO2R
Summary:
Band QSOs Mults
-------------------
160: 47 23
80: 127 37
40: 72 26
20: 42 17
15: 27 11
10: 18 6
-------------------
Total: 333 120 Total Score = 39,960
Club: South East Contest Club
Team: SECC Team #2
Comments:
Antennas:
Cushcraft A3S at 15m (20-10m)
125 foot doublet at 10m (40m, 160m)
Shunt-fed 15m tower with 24 radials (80m)
Equipment:
Elecraft K2/100 and KAT-100
Kenwood TS-430S and AT-250
Homebrew headphone switchbox
CQPWin v9.2 software on Toshiba laptop
Comments:
I had planned a full-time operation in this contest. Instead, my eldest daughter
had a birthday party. So, here's how it went. On at the start (ok, I was late by
2 minutes). Right away, CQPWin keeps complaining about an illegal file name
every time I log a QSO. I fix that problem, and finally I get going around 1807.
Worked for about an hour on 10/15, end up with 41 Qs. Then it is off to the
birthday party at the bowling alley.
Back at 2240z, I tune 10m and then 15m to catch any last minute mults there,
then settle in to 20m. 20m has already gone long, but I stay there almost an
hours, hoping to pick up a few mults. For a domestic contest from this part of
the country, 20m is usually the strongest band, and I've missed the opening. Oh
well.
On 40m, I've got a problem. Normally, I'd use the 1/4 wave sloper at 12m.
However, since I added radials for the 80m shunt feed, the sloper won't tune.
Not sure if the two are related. 1/4 wave sloper seems weak. Adding a bit of
wire to the sloper before the contest does not affect the tuning, so I may have
a bad connection somewhere. So, I use the 125 foot doublet on 40m. It works OK,
but it isn't oriented well.
At 0000z, I'm on 40m, which is a bit long. Before the hour is over, I head for
80m. 80m is relatively quiet, portending good conditions.
On 80m, I have a secret weapon. I've added 11 radials to my shunt feed over the
holidays, and it is working great. In the week before the contest I've been
working DX with 100 watts on 75m SSB. I figure I can be heard easily, so I find
a good frequency and CQ, and am rewarded with a good rate.
A brief excursion to 40m to pick up some mults, and I'm back CQing on 80m just
as the 0200z hour rolls in. I'm getting good rate and I haven't even tuned the
band yet, just running on 3535 kHz. However, just after 0230z, I decide to take
a quick break to get soemthing to eat -- which takes longer than I thought, and
I'm not back on until 0305z. Dang.
Although I checked SO2R, I never made an SO2R-style contact during the contest.
My CW just isn't that good. I did use the second radio to listen to activity on
other bands. I found 160m was hopping as early as 0100z!! Five hours to go in
the contest, and people were already on 160m!
I held off from 160m until 0330z. My second contact was KO7X in WY! Wow!
Conditions are really good, so I find a clear frequency and start CQing. I
actually managed to run a few stations on 160m. I ended up with almost an hour
of operating time on 160m. That's pretty good considering that I don't have a
160m antenna, and instead load the 125 foot doublet through a tuner on the
TS-430S. (The KAT-100 won't match it)
To make the switch fom 80m to 160m, I have to physically swap the keying
connection to the Kenwood.
Not a bad score for me for 7 hours of work, missing the heart of the contest. I
still need to make some station improvements, especially to get 40m and 160m
antennas straightened out.
Worked several SECCers: W4OC, AE4Y, KA9EKJ, W4ATL, WB4SQ, N4PN, W0AG, W4BW,
K4NO. WB4SQ was heard on several bands -- Gary has a distinctive chirp on his CW
when it first keys up. Heard K4BAI, but never worked him. Seems like a lot of
the local regulars weren't heard as well.
See you all in the Phone portion!
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.hornucopia.com/3830score/
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