Illinois QSO Party
Call: WX9U
Operator(s): WO4O
Station: WX9U
Class: Portable LP
QTH: TAZW
Operating Time (hrs): 7.25
Summary:
Band CW-Dig Qs Ph Qs
------------------------
160: 0 0
80: 91 19
40: 147 84
20: 39 52
15: 0 0
10: 0 0
6: 0 0
2: 0 0
------------------------
Total: 277 155 Mults = 108 Total Score = 76,572
Club: Society of Midwest Contesters
Comments:
Thanks for making this former Yankee (and â??Buckeye- at that!)
feel welcome during the 2010 IL QSO Party.
Operating the IL QSO Party from IL was more fun than riding a
John Deere tractor in an empty soybean field. (Sorry, that's
not too clever but it's all I could think of at the moment.)
Phil/WX9U graciously loaned his call sign to me for this event.
A week or so prior to my trip to IL I set up a portable ARS at
my TN QTH for a trial run. Chose a multi-band dipole for
20/40/80 to adhere to my K.I.S.S. plan. Hung the dipoles a few
feet off the ground to trim for low SWR. (Worked Jim/AD4EB
while he was mobiling in the TxQP. Also logged a few stations
in the PaQP.) Tore down the portable ARS and packed it up.
Friday, drove 7 hours to my dad's IL QTH. This time of year,
his QTH is surrounded by acres and acres of plowed fields as
far as the eye can see. In the distance, during daylight, one
can see a string of wind power plants with their massive
rotating propellers. Unfortunately, his QTH has no tall trees
and Weeping Willows aren't much for antenna supports.
Saturday, the portable ARS was set up, despite all the wind.
Hung a 'clothes line' between two trees to hold the center
insulator/balun up at 15'. Fired up the rig and tested
everything. Being out in the middle of no-wheres-ville
equaled no QRN. All worked well and was ready for Sunday's
Party. Invested the remainder of Saturday and the next
morning visiting with family.
Sunday, a few minutes before Noon (Partytime), I fired
up the rig, looked out the window and noticed the 'clothes
line' had drooped a few feet. Well, starting at a height of
15' and losing a few feet overnight was unacceptable. -hi
I quickly ran outside and pulled one side of the 'clothes
line' to raise the center back to it's original height and
tied it off. I arrived at the Party a few minutes late but it
was worth the delay knowing my antenna was back up to 15'!
My primary goal was to enjoy the experience. I wasn't
disappointed. Thankfully, Murphy was on vacation for the
remainder of the Party. The next 7+ hours went as smooth as a
hog happily sliding in slop.
A Single County Portable has a very low probability for winning
the In-State Portable Plaque because the County Line/Corner
Portables have a superior scoring advantage. Therefore, I set
my secondary goal for a Certificate, competing with other
Single County Portables.
Monday morning, I disassembled the ARS, packed up, drove home.
Next year I may be more ambitious. To increase my County Mults
and general QSOs, I may set up for SO2R for following mobiles
with the secondary rig, add Internet access for spotting and
add an amplifier to draw more attention while running stations
on the primary rig. Then again, maybe notâ?¦ (K.I.S.S.).
To show my appreciation to Phil for lending his call to me, the
score will be contributed to the Society of Midwest Contesters
for Club Competition, rather than the Tennessee Contest Group.
My thanks to all who worked WX9U in the 2010 IL QSO Party. My
apologies to those who addressed me as â??Philâ?? and I failed to
offer any correction, but I was too busy trying to run up the
score! See you next yearâ?¦
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.hornucopia.com/3830score/
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