Here's the story:
Please forgive me if there are any mistakes in this.. Please bring these to
my attention,
as currently I still haven't "recovered" from the contest, and I still have
to drink 10 more colas
from the contest here in the shack ;)
Two weeks before the contest began, I had my next two weeks planned out.
Week one was gonna be antenna repairs, as there were a few adjustments
that needed to be made on the tuning of the vertical for 80-40-20, and I
also put up a backup 20M dipole in case Single Op Single band appealed
to me more. The second week was mainly just configuring TR-Log, making
sure that the station wouldn't blow out half the neighbors' telephones
by running my Heathkit SB-200. I received no TVI complaints, so I
proceeded on to prepare the TS-930 for the contest. I also had learned a
great deal about the Timewave DSP-59+'s ability to really kick butt on
CW. So, I made sure that worked flawlessly, and that I knew how to
properly use it once I got into the heat of the contest. Everything in
the station checks out OK.
The last week up to the contest, school jobs keep me busy all the way
until Friday, which was our last day for Memorial day break. Once
arriving home, I somehow think that the contest starts at 6PM, and so
I rush to get the case of 24 colas, and 2 huge bottles of Ginger Ale
into the shack, next to my operating position. At 22:58Z, I'm in front
of the rig, all ready to go.. 23:00Z.. hmm.. maybe the station's broken.
A quick glimpse at the contest calendar on my wall reveals that I have
an extra hour to go before the contest. I relax a bit, still embarrassed
of the fact that I was gonna start the contest an hour early. But, as
the clock struck 2345Z, my hand was cut! Murphy's struck BEFORE the
contest even started! So, at 0033, I worked RJ9J. They're already up
to their 30's. I hear stations near 100, and decide that S&P was probably
gonna be my main mode of choice for the contest. Keeping in mind my goal
of 700 qso's, I make it a point to operate all night and sleep during the
day. I can maximize my point totals IF I work more EU on 40. All goes well
on 20, but at 0111 I switch to 40. Geez, the band is chock full of new ones!
I dig in, and about 0215 I find a spot to call CQ. One of the first people to
answer me was NT1N (ex. W9QA). He has an extremely strong signal, and is
already
in the 200's. I bet you that he enjoys contesting from the East Coast. Sure
beats
being in a Black Hole of propagation! At 0244, I pull the plug, contrary to my
little "operating plan." I was just too fatigued to carry on.
At 0728, I'm back in the chair again, and by that time, at 0731 I work ZL6QH.
I woke up at just the right time! ZL6QH is 599. I find another place to CQ,
after
finding that I've worked all of the stations that I can hear on the band. I
have
a nice little run on 40 from 0740-0826. At 0827, I give up CQ'ing on 40, and
decide to check out 80. I manage to work 2 stations, NQ4I and HC8N. I switch
back to 40 at 0834 and work VK4EMM, KG6OK, and K6ZM. At 0839, I decide to
try out
20. S&P never had it so good! I was working JA's, ZL's, and even a TX8. At
0912, I
pull the plug again with K3ZO. Geez, I was never so tired in my life!
All day Saturday goes the same, S&P, a little CQ on 20, 15, and 10. I am
surprised.
At 0104, I break my highest personal record from this station of 405 on
15CW. This
gives me the extra "push" to go for 700. I start out on 40 at 0301 CQ'ing.
A string
of stations calls me from 0301-0446. I was even surprised to work K9PG, and
W9SMC.
Nice to see the SMC on the air for this one. I noticed KI9A in the log as
well, and
I think I remember working my neighbor 4 cities to the north, K9MMS. But, I
was
probably floating on my 12th can of cola, and whole bottle of Ale. From
0448-0500,
I work people on 80, all S&P. But, I do try to CQ a little in there, with
no luck.
>From 0509-0524, I hop back on 40 for a little S&P. Not much luck here. I
decide to
see how 20's doing. I tune the amp up and call CQ at 0529Z. At 0535Z, my
run is cut
short when the amplifier goes PING! All I see is a HUGE flash of light, and
this
little PING! I shake my head in vain, because I'm so darn close to 700!
Less than 200
Q's to go, and my amp gives! I go to bed in disgust, and I finally realize
that I'm
not gonna make it to 700.
I manage to sleep most of the day Sunday, except for working 3 stations on
20, at 1503
-1505Z. 2 JA's and a VE3. Geez, running 100W sucks. But, I can't turn back
now, trying
to work 518 stations on 100W early Sunday morning would be torture. So, I
decide to
stick with the SO HP Assisted category. After being fully rested, I wake up
at 2315Z,
and see that my buddy WG9L is smokin 'em on 20. So, for the last 30
minutes, I S&P the
band for 2 QSO's. After that, I made a futile attempt to get stations on
15, and keep
switching between 20 and 15 trying to work people I missed. At 2359, I run
across
my pal WG9L calling CQ. With 15 seconds to get through, I call him. We
completed the
exchange all within the time, and so we sit on the frequency together and
chat for a bit
after the contest is over. I ended up with 542Q's, beating my personal
high, and also
ended up with a 350K point total, something that I believe I've never
achieved before.
All in all, great contest, EXCELLENT conditions! I've already pinned my
next new amp
down to an Ameritron AL-811.
See you next year, and in IARU!
GO SMC
Cedrick, K9YO
k9yo@ix.netcom.com
===============================================
Cedrick Johnson, K9YO ex. N9YXA, Z2/N9YXA
Aurora, Illinois
Systems Analyst/Programmer
NorilTech Consulting
10-10: 67368, SMC, ARRL, FRRL, EARS, LYRA, WAHSCC
Visit the K9YO Contest Station online at:
http://www.qsl.net/k9yo
"Wise men say nothing in dangerous times."
-Francis Bacon
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