Arizona QSO Party
Call: K7FA
Operator(s): K7FA
Station: K7FA
Class: Cnty Exped LP
QTH: Planet Ranch
Operating Time (hrs): 19
Summary:
Band CW Qs Ph Qs Dig Qs
----------------------------
80: 4 26
40: 22 170
20: 88 234
15: 38 444
10: 448
6:
2:
----------------------------
Total: 152 1322 0 Mults = 101 Total Score = 148,974
Club: Arizona Outlaws Contest Club
Comments:
Rig: K3
Ant: Buckmaster OCF @ 37-ft AGL, 15m Inverted Vee @ 33-ft AGL
Sfw: N1MM-Logger V11.10.0
SUMMARY: Propagation was great, QRN was very low, Bands were hot.
99 percent time spent Running; no SO2V (at most 6 contacts with S&P).
88 percent contacts made on Phone.
Bonus Station worked: W7SA
AZ Counties not worked (4): APACHE, GRAHAM, SANTA CRUZ, YUMA
Arizona Stations worked (30)
Arizona Outlaw Club Members worked (8):
K7IA,AA7V,KK7YL,W0PAN,W7ON,K7LY,KD6GHX,KF7IUH
Observations/Comments:
Began on CW, and had planned to use mostly that mode . . .
twice as many points for CW, Right? Answer: Nope, Guess again!
After two hours on 20m and 15m at very-low rates (38 per hour),
sequential QSO numbers being issued to me illustrated that even casual
S&P PAQP CW Contesters were doing far better than me (and I was Running).
Most stations had no idea what the Arizona exchange was about.
As an Arizona County Line Station, my sent exchange was especially long,
and several CW operators simply sent a question mark, gave up, and QSY'ed.
Clearly, a course correction was needed.
I remembered an old motto: Tell them what you're going to tell them,
then tell them. Finally, tell them what you told them! I switched to
Phone because a CW Op. would never stick around for that nonsense.
Did it work? Yep! Each time my rate began to fall, I explained that
Arizona was celebrating it's 100-year Centennial, and that working
a station on an Arizona County Line was a pretty big deal. Just be
patient, and we could get through my painfully-long exchange.
Whenever that approach lost appeal, the County Hunter Pitch, or
other another approach was used.
Donkey Serenade:
Lack of sleep began to impair my efficiency, especially by the
second day of the contest. Donkeys have developed loud vocalizations,
("bray") which help keep them in contact with other donkeys over
wide spaces of the desert. Unfortunately, my sleep was minimal
because of the nearby donkey vocalizations (enhanced by a full moon
during donkey mating season).
DX:
Since the AZQP is a Domestic Contest, I was surprised that 79 DX
stations in 22 different countries contacted me. (Mostly
Asia, Oceania, South America, and a few Europe).
Following an explanation, some DX appeared to understand some of
the Arizona Exchange (either the date or my the County location).
Actually, few stations (DX or Domestic) cared about the exchange.
Interest was more about a signal report, or to tell me about an
antenna, a trip, or that a relative once lived in Arizona!
Thanks for your patience, and your contacts. 73, Tom
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
|