Wow! The operator here managed to be in working order until 0030Z (8:30
PM) two nights in a row! That is in part due to my last few days
starting at 5 AM rather than 3 AM but there is a price to be paid for that.
Everything seems to be working fine. The new antenna configuration
survived the winter! I do have to take down the 6m antenna ASAP and put
rope in the elements in hope of stopping resonance in light wind. It is
vibrating the whole tower. Fortunately it is the bottom antenna in the
stack so I can reach it without pulling the rotator and lowering the mast.
Even though it is "QRP" at 800 watts I love my solid state 222
amplifier. It is the only band where I have solid state. All the others
are tube amps. Instant on is great and it uses just a few watts idling,
unlike the tube amps which gobble up 300 to 400 watts idling.
N1JEZ FN44 SSB
K1WHS FN43 SSB
KV1J FN44 SSB
K1DY FN54 SSB
WZ1V FN31 SSB
W1AIM FN34 SSB
W1FKF FN43 FT8
KO1I FN42 FT8
N2JMH FN12 FT8 470 miles
N2JMH was squealing loud in the headphones. I could have easily worked
him on SSB.
W1AIM was a good catch. I usually miss Chip.
As usual I missed a few stations I heard and probably could have worked.
After 38 years on VHF weak signal it doesn't seem like there is much
chance of me becoming a more "aggressive" operator. I don't feel
comfortable calling if I don't know whose frequency it is and I don't
like risking calling over someone who is or might be still talking.
Anyway it was fun! I hope to be around next week for the 222 Sprint but
we will have to wait and see how it goes. I'm not going to make promises
I'm not sure I can keep.
73,
Paul N1BUG
FN55mf
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