CQ 160-Meter Contest, CW
Call: OO4UN
Operator(s): ON4UN
Station: ON4UN
Class: Single Op, just checlkog
QTH: Belgium
Operating Time (hrs): 24
Summary:
Total: QSOs = 1100 State/Prov = 45 Countries = 83 Total Score = 880,000
Club: RRDXA
Comments:
This year I entered the 160m CW just for fun.. No competition.hence just a
checklog. But in 24 hours I still ended up with about 1100Q's in the log at
the end, 83 DXCC countries, 39 US states and 6 VE-provinces.. and nearly 300 US
QSOs. What does that mean to me? That it was way better than what I had
expected, especially the first night (to the US). Second night was way down
except for a short "duct" with a spotlight exit right over Washington state
when at 0455 UTC I worked 3 (S9!!!) WA stations (N7FU, N7RO and W7EKM). The
wonders of top band propagation. Bad conditions, could not even hear N7JW the
second night, and then, out of the blue these 3 stations.. amazing.
I had my phased Beverages up for the US, using the new feed systems described
in my upcoming new book, and it really worked extremely well. It provides me
with 30 dB F/B or (much) better over the entire back of the antenna (and that's
where Eastern Europe is, and I am sure you understand what that means when I
try to dig out the weaker ones from the States). YU's, OKs, UA3.s LY's drop
from S9 plus to "in the noise"... incredible.
With the Ten-Tec ORION, the band now really sounds very quiet between strong
and very close by stations, ..if it wasn't for the terrible key clicks that we
still hear. In the old days I heard spurious signals (intermod) mixed with
click, nit it is pure click I hear. I have the impression though that it is
getting better (thanks to the many ORIONs used by experienced top banders), but
some signals are really very bad. I think we should think about having an
independent jury listening to signals and giving a quote for key-clicks, and
then bring that into the score computation at CQ. One of the problems when you
use an ORION, is that people come "too close for comfort" to your frequency,
because with the ORION you have such a clean signal. Also sideband noise
(synthesizer noise??) is still a problem with some signals.
Another thing that happened twice to me in this contest (Mark ON4WW had it
happening to him as well), is that some people seem to think they "OWN" a
frequency. They go away for a couple of minutes for a pee, or a drink or a
snack, or to work a multiplier they saw on the DX cluster they should not be
using, and when they come back they expect the frequency to still be there
waiting for them..
Usually when I do Search and Pounce and I come across an especially quiet gap,
it is likely that the last occupant when for one of the above described
activities. Then I start with a "?" one more, a third one, still no answer,
then two times "QRL?">If then still no answer, the frequency "is mine" (for a
while at least, until I take a break for a p.. or something). One guy (OM8A)
started an argument after finding "his frequency" occupied after an
"escapade"came back and said "I can prove this is MY frequency, look in the
DX-cluster I have been spotted here many times.." Not a very convincing
argument. Yes it was "his" frequency, until he left! You cannot eat the candy
and keep it as well! But these practices are not new. And the few occurrences
could not spoil my weekend.
Thanks to the nearly 300 NA stations I could contact with this special OO
prefix. I hope you all had fun, like I did (99.9 % of the time).
______________________________________________
3830 mailing list
3830@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/3830
|