>To: QRP LIST
>From: "Dan L. Evans" <dlevans@hsonline.net>
>Subject: ARRL 10M CONTEST under somewhat less than optimal conditions
>
>Less than optimal conditions: QRP MOBILE CONTESTING!
>
>I know what you are saying, "QRP contesting, from a car! You must be
nuts!". And well, probably, but if I want to operate I have to do it from
the car, so that's what I did! I live in a neighborhood with oppressive
antenna restrictions, and due to some past encounters with ol' Murphy the
only hf radio I own that still works is a 10 meter mobile. So I have been
looking forward to the 10 meter contest for a long time. I figure the only
contest that I can seriously compete in is the ARRL 10 meter contest. So I
packed up my stuff and headed for the hills!
>
>A little background is in order. The mobile station consists of an RCI
2950 at 5 watts PEP, into a 102" cb whip mounted on the bumper of my ol'
chevy. Logging was strictly paper, and one of the achievements I'm
proudest of on this outing is I taught myself how to keep a dupe sheet
during this contest! I worked ssb only, mainly because I haven't yet found
a way to modify the horrible sidetone on the 2950. The location was
beautiful! Parked on top of the highest point in southern In., deep in the
heart of the Clark Co. State forrest. A great location which also gave me
"line of sight" to Louisville Ky, some 25 miles to the south. Which I
considered important for the dificult Ky multiplier from here in Indiana.
>
>After a disapointing outing in ssb S.S., I was hoping for good propagation
for this contest. And with the great conditions of the past few weeks, I
had high hopes. So I set my goal at 100 qso's, which compared to my 8 ss
qso's, was definitely high hopes! But I thought it was an obtainable goal.
For this contest everyone was limited to 10 meters only, and most
importantly, conditions should be much better.
>
>So I set out for the intended operating sight about 9:30am local time
(14:30z} and already the band was booming! I never intended to operate
while in motion (and don't usually) but I tuned in on KP3Z working a pileup
and decided to try him while on the way there. It took about 20 minutes,
but just as I was pulling into the parking area I heard "..N9RLA 59 389",
and my first one was in the log. 12 minutes later I had landed HH2PK, and
then started a short list of LU's. And then the band shifted to Texas!
Texas must be the US contesting capitol. It seemed like every ham in Texas
was on, and I tried to work 'em all. And did manage to log many! All to
soon the band shifted farther west, and after a short and weak opening to
CA, was gone altogether. So I called it quits for Saturday, with 51 qso's
and went home with hopes for an early start Sunday and good propagation.
>
>Then Murphy came. After a few hours of unexpected car repair Sunday
morning I managed to get to the operating site and get on the air by about
11:30am (16:30z). And the band just wouldn't cooperate. There were some
stations. I managed to scrape and dig and make a few qso's. I had several
people "give up" on me (N8NR thanks for trying, but when you turned your
beam you just vanished!). So after a very brief opening to CA in the
afternoon, I gave up about 2:30pm (19:30z) after adding another 14 qso's. I
had to quit early due to family obligations so I missed out on another
small evening opening.
>
>THE BOTTOM LINE: 65 QSO's. 11 states. 6 countries.
>
> 130 qso points X 17 mults = 2210 score
>
>
>So I came up a little short of my goal. But I had a great time and 65
qso's with my setup isn't bad. The ironic part is it seemed much easier to
work the dx stations than the state side ones! Most of the south american
countries were worked on the first call. Except for the peak of the Tx
opening on Saturday, most of the states were a real struggle.
>
>
>NEXT UP: JANUARY VHF SWEEPSTAKES
>
>VHF rovering seems like an ideal situation for me!
>
>
>72/73 de Dan, N9RLA...........EM78
Dan L. Evans [N9RLA]........EM78
CQ_DE_dlevans@hsonline.net
Remove the cq_de_ to email me, I hate SPAM!
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