Hello, all --
I don't normally cross-post things but this one is of interest to all of
us who are interested in antennas and their competitive performance.
Cheers,
Steve K7LXC
>> -------- Original Message --------
Subject: N6XI / Truckee CQWW CW 2002 SOABHP Preliminary
To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
Date: Mon, 25 Nov 2002 20:52:14 -0800
From: Rick Tavan <tavan@tibco.com>
Organization: TIBCO Software Inc.
To: nccc@contesting.com
I still have a few calls to check for actual location, but here is a
preliminary summary of my first DX contest with the new antennas in
Truckee. Bottom line was 1521/306/131 = 1.8M in about 31 hours. I got 6+
hours of sleep each night but managed to catch some fun pre-dawn
openings on 80 and 40.
The rest of this is commentary and a summary sheet for those who enjoy
that kind of stuff.
Antenna Comments
In September I put up a 72' crankup at my North-facing ridge QTH. I had
some interaction problems that prompted me to rearrange it from
(top-to-bottom) 40-Tri-80 to 40-80-Tri. I also turned the 80m dipole
ninety degrees from the beams. It works much better now.
The Force 12 80m "Sigma" style rotary dipole was awesome (to me,
anyway), easily capturing such goodies as JT, D4 and C5. The Force 12
Mag 240N looked for a while like it would make more mults than any other
band, but a Sunday morning EU opening on 15 finally put 40 into second
place. I was breaking most pileups quickly on the low bands. The 3el
SteppIR worked very well on the high bands, especially when I lowered it
to about 40 feet. I often broke pileups on the first call on the high
bands.
That SteppIR is an incredible little antenna. With a 16' boom and an
extra element, I expected it to have maybe a couple of dB on the C3S
and, subjectively speaking, it probably does. Having reasonable SWR
across all six bands (17m, 12m and 6m included) is a nice luxury. The
vendor claims their big advantage is pattern. They say their antenna
maintains its pattern across the bands, unlike most tribanders that
allegedly deliver specified F/B, F/R and F/S only near their resonant
frequencies. Limited, ad hoc testing seems to confirm this. What really
blew me away were the Reverse and Bi-Direction features. I could switch
between JA and Carib in three seconds or spray RF in both directions.
This is REALLY useful in the real world of CA contesting.
SO2R Comments
I finally got the SO2R setup to the point where I could use trlog and DX
Doubler together for smooth S&P on Rig 2 while sending silent CQ's and
exchanges on Rig 1. This hardware/software/mode combination is so much
better than manually switching the transmit rig that I wonder why I
hadn't tried it before. SO2R isn't exactly easy but it is possible. With
only 100w and a vertical on Rig 2, I didn't make very many Rig 2 QSOs,
but it was a great learning experience. I think I'm going to have to put
the AB-577 and C4S back up somewhere to form a real second antenna! And
get the Rig 2 amp hooked up and bandpass filter repaired.
It was good to hear you all in the pileups and to work our intrepid
expeditioners. Great fun for a guy who hasn't done much DX contesting
from CA in a long time!
73,
/Rick N6XI
CQ WW SUMMARY SHEET
Contest Dates : 23-Nov-02, 24-Nov-02
Callsign Used : N6XI
Operator : N6XI
Category : SOABHP
Default Exchange : 599 3
Name : RICK TAVAN
Mail Address : 20297 HICKORY HILL WAY
City/State/Zip : SARATOGA, CA 95070
Country : United States
Station Location : Truckee, CA (Nevada County)
Operating Time : 30:32
BAND Raw QSOs Valid QSOs Points Countries Zones
___________________________________________________________
80CW 141 140 374 30 19
40CW 242 240 677 70 28
20CW 312 311 859 64 26
15CW 455 455 1258 89 31
10CW 378 375 1055 53 27
___________________________________________________________
Totals 1528 1521 4223 306 131
Final Score = 1,845,451 points.
--
Richard M. Tavan
TIBCO Software Inc.
3307 Hillview Drive
Palo Alto, CA 94304-1213
650-846-5214
tavan@tibco.com >>
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