ARRL DX Contest, SSB
Call: N5DO
Operator(s): N5DO
Station: N5DO
Class: SOAB QRP
QTH: TX
Operating Time (hrs): 30
Summary:
Band QSOs Mults
-------------------
160: 0 0
80: 21 18
40: 52 31
20: 100 50
15: 207 66
10: 117 36
-------------------
Total: 497 201 Total Score = 299,691
Club: Central Texas DX and Contest Club
Comments:
I operated QRP in this contest last year and ended up with 408 Q's and 156 mults
in 24 hours. This year I decided to make a conscious effort to work more hours
with a target of 500 Q's and 200 mults and ended up very close to my goals. I
slept 3 hours Friday night, but got a full 8 hours on Saturday night; that
seemed to work well.
The high point was the return of 10M. I ended up almost working WAC, but never
heard any JAs or other Asians. European stations were quite strong, but with
them I could also hear other W stations. Previously during this sunspot
minimum I could hear DX stations (usually in South American and the Carribean)
but I could not hear many W stations, giving the illusion that there were very
few W stations calling the DX. With the return of Europe I also experienced
the phenomenon of hearing a solid wall of east coast W stations calling the DX.
Kind of scary, especially when operating QRP.
The low point was problems with my antenna on 40M. I replaced my old 3 element
SteppIR and Cushcraft 402CD 40 M antennas with one SteppIR DB-18 last spring.
Unfortunately I have concluded that something has messed up in the 40M section
of the DB-18 and it seems to be working as a dipole in that it makes no
difference if I aim the antenna at a station or aim it 180 degrees away. I
think the copper-beryllium tape is not getting through the trombone on one leg
of the reflector. It has been this way for a few months now, and I was hopeful
that it was working OK, but operating QRP convinced me that there is a problem
with it on 40M. I hope that it is not a broken steppir motor in the
reflector.
Rig: Elecraft K-3 set to 5 watts on an Array Solutions Power Master meter.
Antennas: SteppIR DB-18 at 55 feet, 80M inverted vee with apex at 50 feet.
73,
Dave, N5DO
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.hornucopia.com/3830score/
______________________________________________
3830 mailing list
3830@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/3830
|