ARRL RTTY Roundup
Call: AA4LR
Operator(s): AA4LR
Station: AA4LR
Class: Single Op HP
QTH: GA
Operating Time (hrs): 14.5
Summary:
Band QSOs
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80: 95
40: 320
20: 192
15: 82
10: 0
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Total: 689 State/Prov = 55 Countries = 40 Total Score = 65,455
Club: South East Contest Club
Comments:
Antennas:
Cushcraft A3S/A743 at 15m (40m-10m)
Shunt-fed 15m tower (80m)
Half-size K9AY loops (80m, 40m)
Equipment:
Elecraft K2/100 w/ KAT100
Ameritron AL-80A running 300-500 watts (200 watts on 80m)
Ancient Toshiba laptop
N1MM software with MMTTY
Homebrew Audio interface
Comments:
That was really unexpected. Last year, I won the GA certificate for HP
in this contest with a really modest score, so I wanted to put in a
bigger effort this year.
I came down with a bad cold on Thursday, and it hadn't let up by
Saturday. I was sick enough to not be able to attend to other
business, but not quite sick enough that I couldn't bundle up and prop
myself in front of the radio for a little contesting. The rest of the
weekend was operating a little, rest a little and repeat.
The K2/100 worked flawlessly, even though I had accidentally pumped a
few dozen watts the wrong way during SKN. (OOps!) The K2 makes a
really excellent receiver for RTTY, especially with the variable-
bandwidth filter. The transmitter leaves a bit to be desired, since it
can't withstand the full-duty cycle very well. I ran the amplifier and
left the K2 at about 35 watts out. The amplifier also kept the shack
nice and toasty.
40m was definitely THE band. 20m signals were not terribly strong, and
long enough that running domestic stations was difficult. You had to
really work for stations on 15m, and 10m was non-existent, despite
numerous scans of that band. 40m brought good runs at 2200z for nearly
an hour and 45 minutes. And again an hour later until nearly 0230z.
What really amazed me after 0100z were all the european stations who
called in on 40m, many with very strong signals. I was parked up
around 7065, so this was in the phone band in region 1! Thanks to
everyone who called in, specially for the mults!
I managed a pretty good mix of running and S & P. Worked 49 states --
only missing MT. I thought I would never work a ND station, but had
two call in during the penultimate hour.
Nearly doubled my score from last year. Not bad for a part-time effort.
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.hornucopia.com/3830score/
Bill Coleman, AA4LR, PP-ASEL Mail: aa4lr at arrl.net
Quote: "Not within a thousand years will man ever fly!"
-- Wilbur Wright, 1901
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