ARRL January VHF Contest - 2026
Call: N8RA
Operator(s): N8RA
Station: N8RA
Class: Single Op-All Modes LP
QTH: FN31, CT
Operating Time (hrs): 7
OpMode: SO2R
Summary:
Band QSOs Mults
-------------------
6: 55 28
2: 51 21
222: 5 5
432: 14 9
-------------------
Total: 125 63 Total Score = 9,072
Club: Yankee Clipper Contest Club
Comments:
Before a contest I usually repair or improve something that showed up in the
last one, and then I look forward to trying them out. This time I was looking
to see how the new shack computers and an update of WSJT-X to ver 3 RC1 would
perform.
The computers were hand-me-downs after upgrading MYL and my main computers to
W11. Our former HP workstations were hand-me-downs deemed by MS to be unworthy
of W11, but with the workaround suggestions made by WZ1V, they loaded W11 just
fine. Some of the contesting software then had to be installed and configured;
had a few stumbles but were now FB.
The latest and improved version of FT-8 now does multithread decoding, uses
a-priori algorithms from past decodes, and other magic to be capable of digging
even deeper below the noise level. In monitoring signals over the last few
months, I saw many decodes well below a -20dB S/N ratio, many with the AP tag.
My hope was that I would hear (see) more stations, and they would hear (see) my
low power station. I believe that was the case. It is wonderful to see that the
signal processing and communications theory courses I took decades ago during
EE college are now here in amateur radio!
Got off to a slow start on Saturday afternoon. Signals seemed unusually weak-
and it seemed hard to work anyone. When my MYL returned home from her errands,
she commented that our hill was being covered with heavy wet crunchy snow, yet
2 miles away she said there was none. Likely that was sticking to the antennas,
detuning them, and spoiling their directivity. It continued to snow the wet
stuff, enveloping us in an attenuator. A low-level line noise made its presence
known as well. When I quit for the evening, I was bummed.
Enough whining! On Sunday afternoon when I got back on after snow cleaning,
church service, and lunch, “things” had greatly improved and I was very busy
playing radio in SO3R. A few weak E’s showed up on 6M but their infrequent
appearances were short and fleeting. I logged only a handful of those. Trying
FT-4 produced nothing. After dinner I soon wore out my eyes (aka FT-8 ears)
watching 3 decode windows every 15 seconds, mouse clicking, constantly
switching antenna selectors, and turning the 2 rotators. Great fun in the end!
Big Duh: I had checked out the station the week before and found it curious
that I could not copy any beacons on 222 MHz. An analyzer said the antennas and
feedlines were OK all the way up to the transverter, and it made the usual 4
watts when keyed. I incorrectly concluded that something may have failed inside
the transverter, so I did not bother to power it up at the start. In the middle
of sleeping Saturday night I vaguely remembered having messed with the K3’s
transverter settings for 222 last spring. Taking a break from the action Sunday
afternoon, I checked the K3 configuration, and sure enough, I had messed it up
by assigning 221 MHz to a 28 MHz IF. OOPS! Corrected that and made a few calls
on 222 that were soon rewarded by distant contacts with WN3A and K8GP.
Thanks all and 73,
Chet, N8RA
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.3830scores.com/
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