ARRL 160-Meter Contest
Call: AE0EE
Operator(s): AE0EE
Station: AE0EE
Class: Single Op LP
QTH: MN
Operating Time (hrs): 16
Summary:
Total: QSOs = 411 Sections = 68 Countries = 1 Total Score = 56,925
Club: Minnesota Wireless Assn
Comments:
100 W, full-size dipole up 15-30', iambic keying or straight key (no memory
keyer or f-keys).
I love the 160 contest! It's one I've looked forward to for a long time, and
this one was filled with excitement and drama.
Friday night local I was on the air and ready to go at 4:00 PM. There were
already plenty of loud stations on the band, however it soon became clear that
mine was not among the loud ones. Despite booming signals from MDC and VA, I
repeatedly was CQed at. I couldn't hold a run frequency. Stations in IN were
having a tough time hearing me. Because I had started the contest exhausted, I
took a nap and returned about three hours later. Now propagation should be a
bit more solid, but still it was as though I were QRP despite the 100 W my
meter was reading.
I noticed that I was having to retune more frequently than I had remembered,
and when I saw that the tuned SWR was above what I had measured on the antenna
itself, I switched over to the antenna. The SWR was through the
roof---something was very wrong. I broke out the antenna analyzer, and gave it
a scan. Instead of being resonant at 1820 kHz with 1.1:1 SWR, it was now
resonant around 2100 kHz with a similarly low SWR. Sure, the ground conditions
were a bit different than last weekend, but not THAT different. A midnight
inspection of the antenna revealed it was still in the trees where it should
be, with no evidence of a missing 6-meter length of wire.
The next morning, I got out the binoculars and did a remote inspection of the
feedpoint. My big dipole is made with removable elements, so I can mix and
match between bands. However, the powerpole connector which attaches the
element to the feedpoint had become detached from one leg. Wrangling an 80/160
m fan dipole which is supported by about eight different trees is not a simple
solo task. Fortunately, I was able to loosen the ends, drop the center
feedpoint, reconnect (more securely this time) the element in question, and
rehang the antenna without much fouling in lower branches. While I was doing
antenna work, I spent a while working to get a better support point for the end
of one 160 m antenna, and succeeded in raising it a few meters. Three hours
later, I was ready again for action, and the antenna analyzer once again showed
a 1.1:1 SWR at 1820 kHz. With 66 QSOs in the log on the wet noodle, I'd have a
lot of ground to make up Saturday night.
The ARRL 160 contest has been a favorite of mine since I first got on 160 for
it two years ago, working the lower 48 in my inaugural weekend on the band.
Last year I picked up KH6 and some Caribbean DX, so this year I wanted KL7.
I'd really like WAS in a weekend plus additional DX, but I wanted KL7 for the
new DXCC and the last for WAS.
Conditions seemed very good. I could hear well, and for the most part I was
being heard. Lots of stations were on, and most of them were loud. As I ran
Saturday night, I heard toward the top of my filter window WL7E. Naturally I
tried to work them immediately, but they clearly weren't hearing (or listening
for) me. Some 30-60 minutes later my run came to an end, and I knew I should
immediately check the band for the WL7 station. Sure enough, only about 2 kHz
away was WL7E, now clear copy. Just a call or two later and I was in! Pending
confirmation on LOTW, I would have my first single-band WAS---on 160 meters!
I ran when I could, and did occasional search-and-pounce sweeps to listen for
DX or to pick up other easy contacts. After a few hours of napping, I returned
to the band, and was surprised to find that around 1200z or 1300z Sunday,
despite a band with tons of stations that I'd worked calling CQ, I could
maintain a decent run rate. In the waning moments of propagation, I worked an
XE for my first non-US DX of the contest, and picked up the WY multiplier I had
been missing. As I was getting ready for a friend to come build an antenna, I
turned the rig on again and found a lonely WI station calling CQ (at 9:30 AM
local); we worked with some difficulty, but I added that one last contact to
the log at 1530z.
Although the only DX I worked was KL7 and XE, I heard a few more out there:
PJ2T, TM5R, JA3YBK (loud!), TI5W (loud but S&P), and an NP2 station. I'm
sure had it not been for the din of W/VE stations I would have heard more.
Once again, my 160 m score and QSO count topped either weekend of November
Sweepstakes, even with my first night fiasco.
I missed most of the CA sections---I didn't hear very many on the air, and
several of those couldn't hear me. HI and SC eluded me completely, and I
missed a combined 15 sections in W/VE. Perhaps next year I'll get WAS in a
weekend.
Thanks for all the QSOs, and I hope to see you on for Stew Perry TBDC in a few
weeks!
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.3830scores.com/
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