Michigan QSO Party
Call: W1NN/M
Operator(s): W1NN
Station: W1NN
Class: Mobile Solo Op LP
QTH:
Operating Time (hrs): 12
Summary:
Band CW Qs Ph Qs
--------------------
80: 228 0
40: 163 66
20: 116 34
15: 0 0
10: 0 0
--------------------
Total: 507 100 CW Mults = 65 Ph Mults = 40 Total Score = 116,970
Club: Mad River Radio Club
Comments:
This was a solo operation using a rental car. It was a 250 mile drive to my
starting point, and I made it with about 25 minutes to spare. This is cutting
it way too short but that's life (at least that's my life).
The first half of the contest was pretty bad for me. It was not only the poor
conditions but a problem I was having with 40 SSB. I started the contest on 40
CW and had 20 stations in the log after the first 10 minutes. At 15 past the
hour I moved to 40 SSB but nobody could hear me. Then I noticed that there was
almost no power output. I fooled around but couldn't fix it, so I QSY'd to 20
CW so I could think about what to do while I ran stations there. I considered
everything from operating CW-only (there is no category so this was a sure-fire
formula for coming in last but would still be fun) to throwing in the towel and
going home. After a fair run on 20 CW, I tried 20 SSB and output power was
normal and I could work stations with no more than the usual difficulty.
I figured that the rig must be shutting down on 40 because it was seeing too
much SWR and that I should be able to fix the problem. I am using a new Icom
706 and am not really used to how it acts under different circumstances. Anyhow
I put my outboard tuner in the line and fooled with the ham stick length until I
was able to get output to normal levels. If I had had more time to prepare
before the contest I would have discovered and fixed this problem in advance.
That's what happens when you don't have enought time to prepare. Of course
condx were awful as many have noted, but at least I was able to pick up a lot of
important out-of-state SSB mults.
I usually find it easiest to pick up my phone mults earlier in the contest so I
spent a lot of time on 20 and 40 SSB in those first couple of hours. It killed
my rate but I ended up with 40 SSB mults so it was probably worth it. Rates in
the first six hours of the contest were 49, 24 (!), 43, 44, 49, and 49. I
always had good rate on CW but the move to SSB almost always killed the rate. I
was pretty discouraged but this has happened before and I knew if I could do
well in the second half of the contest, I would end up with a half decent score.
Things indeed were better in the second half. Having picked up most of my phone
mults, I could concentrate on CW and spend less time in each county. In
addition, the great 80 CW conditions really helped. Around 0100 I noticed that
the rate on 40 was pretty poor, so I took a listen to 80 using the 40 antenna.
I could hear a lot of stations so I took down the 40 antenna and put up my 80
Meter Hustler. Immediately I had a pileup and worked 45 stations in 30 minutes
in SHIA. I ended up staying on 80 CW for the rest of the contest, working a
total of 228 stations there. Thank goodness for 80 Meters! If I had been real
smart, I would have spent some time on 75, but I was so busy on CW that I just
didn't get around to it.
Thanks to the sponsors and the participants for making this such a great event.
With the new solo mobile category, the large number of possible ultipliers
(290), and very changeable band conditions from year to year, the MQP is now
perhaps the most challenging and strategically interesting competition for a
solo mobile. I hope more ops will discover just how much fun this category can
be.
Look for me mobiling next weekend in the FQP and hopefully in Indiana two weeks
later.
73,
Hal W1NN
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.hornucopia.com/3830score/
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