SARTG WW RTTY Contest
Call: VA7ST
Operator(s): VA7ST
Station: VA7ST
Class: SOAB LP
QTH:
Operating Time (hrs): 13
Summary:
Band QSOs Pts Mults
-------------------------
80: 2 20 3
40: 37 355 16
20: 177 1855 40
15: 8 90 6
10: 1 10 1
-------------------------
Total: 255 2330 67 Total Score = 156,110
Club:
Comments:
* FT920 @ 100w
* N1MM Logger and MMTTY
* 3-el tribander @50'
* 40M 2-el wire yagi East @70'
* All-band vertical, 36 radials
What a workout that was. Had to dig for a lot of QSOs and even that didn't work
on 80M.
Friday night segment provided a very weak EU path on 20M worth a few
15-pointers.
40M seemed like it was strong, but making contacts was impossible for some
reason. Over the entire weekend only managed 37 Qs there. Very disappointing.
On 40M I now use four different antennas spread out over half an acre of forest
-- a vertical on the ground with 36 radials (1500' of wire so far), a 2 el. wire
(inv.-V) yagi at 70' aimed EW, a 2 el. 1/4-wave raised vertical pair fed for
endfire to the north, and an inverted-V running E-W. I figured that, between
them, these ought to be good for more than 37 Qs. Back to the drawing board.
Going into a vacation week. Things in the air could look a lot different by
Friday, hi.
Kept an eye out for any JA possibilities in all three segments of the contest,
and only worked two JAs in total, both on 20M. Found VK4KE on 20M at 0613z
Saturday for my only VK mult. No ZLs heard at all, though usually I work more
ZLs than VKs on RTTY.
After seeing the onset of a G2-level disruption, I expected 20M to go into the
tank, but it didn't. Just stayed steady for NA and weak for EU.
Heard VK4AN on 40M calling cq after sunrise Sunday morning (~1400z) but
couldn't raise him.
Watched 15M like a hawk, and jumped on 8 stations (3 countries and just 3
sections) when they popped up out of the noise. I saw the spots showing all the
4, 5, and 9 areas working each other Sunday morning, but guess few pointed their
beams NW very often, if at all. Three who did were N6MW, AD6WL and W4GAC. I
really do appreciate it -- there's nothing sweeter than the sound of a signal
rising from the QRN as a yagi swings around.
LT0H was the only station I could hear anytime I went to 15M. He's perpetually
aiming north, I suspect. Heard Don AA5AU S9-plus working someone, but figured
he swept his yagi back pretty quick as he was gone in moments and I never
caught up to him again.
Kudos as well to KK5OQ for working the VE7 mult on 10M. Only station I heard at
all on 10M all weekend.
It's an easy mult, but you gotta point at it to get it on the dead bands. Heck,
move me there and I'll go any time.
Sat back for a few minutes listening to AA5AU work 20M. His NR was in the 40s
when I worked him. What a technique Don has. On each QSO, guys were tail-ending
and Don was catching the next call -- "TU YY3YYY now XX2XX 599 XX". Over and
over, till the well ran dry and Don threw out a CQ again. Pretty cool. Wasn't
too much later I heard him handing out nr 112 to someone.
Left a lot of easy multipliers on the table on 40M (only 12 section and 4
country mults) and 80M (2 sections and 1 country). Lack of activity to blame, I
think. By the time 40M was open to the rest of NA from here (well after 0300z),
everyone had gone to 80M and that band was still dormant here. Should have had
a pile of sections but seemed like nobody was on. Some contests this summer
have had tremendous 80M activity. This one never seems to, despite the
multiplier structure and 10-point W>VE opportunity.
Spotty conditions offered up lots of surprises, like an OH caller off the side
in the middle of a W4 run. Or calling CQ to Japan and working a bunch of
east-coast stations off the back. Thank goodness the CL33 doesn't have deep FB
or FS nulls at 50' up. Those serendipitous Qs are great fun!
Despite the bands not seeming very good, my numbers are higher than any
previous outing. That's good, as success here is measured by whether or not
I've done better than before. If I'm sustaining year-over-year improvement in
station performance even as the solar cycle dies away (and the bacon-frying
power line noise continues), I keep imagining how much better I should fare as
the SFI rises again. At solar max we'll all do better but I suspect little guns
will gain more.
Thanks for the Qs and thanks to SARTG for another great contest. See everyone
in the next one. Keep looking northwest!
Year Qs Mult Score Class
-------------------------------
2006 225 67 156,110 (SOAB)
2005 45 18 8,460 (SO20)
2004 176 71 132,060 (SOAB)
2003 109 57 74,385 (SOAB)
2002 98 66 73,920 (SOAB)
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.hornucopia.com/3830score/
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