K4IQ Sweepstakes SSB, SOHP unassisted, VA
Exchanged info: nr B K4IQ 77 VA
Band / QSOs /Sections// Score
80 / 569
40 / 306
20 / 200
15 / 222
10 / 3
ttl: 1300 X 79 for 205,400
Hours of operation: 21:37
Equipment: TS870 es KW; 80M Dipole w/bottom reflector @ 50', 40M Force 12
dipole @ tower top (54'), 20M 3 el mono @ 48', 15M 3 el mono fixed west @
30'; 10M used 80M dipole es tuner.
Comments: Personal best in SS. Decided to put in more or less full effort
to see what station and op were capable of, but was concerned that the cold
I caught last week would take out my voice. Discovered over the weekend
that a mixture of Halls blue cough drops and plenty of iced tea kept voice
going. Need to get a rig interface so NA can key voice keyer built into the
870. Little buttons are hard to find and push. Seemed conditions were way
up from last year, with lots of big numbers early on. Worked W4MYA my #6
and Bob said he would be single op, so knew winning the section was out of
the question. Went to 40, then 80 early, where I was able to run with some
success, primarily due to beverage antennas, which effectively focused on
where I wanted to hear. Sat on a broadcast carrier on 40 with west beverage
and ran for awhile. 80 was a madhouse, as usual. Highlight was pulling out
several QRP stations to the west with pig farmers rampaging nearby. Went to
bed @ 0600z with 638 X 75 in the log. Log said best hour was on 80 with
116. Sunday morning had a 95 hour on 40, but overall tho't activity wasn't
as good as past years. Anxiously checked out the station late morning when
15 meters suddenly went stone dead. Signals slowly came back, at least the
qrm was down, so guess the Russkies were testing EMP?? Searched for and
finally found KL7Y high up on 15, then, on a hunch, listened for a pileup
and found fellow PVRC'er Rich, KE3Q, operating WP3R on 10M, where I don't
even have an antenna up. Scratched my head for a second, then loaded up the
Johnson Matchbox with the 80m dipole, and got my sweep at 1849z, a personal
record. Finished out the daylight trying to run 20M, with limited success
(had a 60 hr) then passed up 40M for 80, where I'd had success the nite
before. QRM was worse than before, and it seemed I'd worked everyone, so
decided to return to 40 to finish contest under less QRM, where I had some
luck at the top of the band, picking up some stragglers with low numbers
from the West and Midwest. Overall, I was pleased to break 1000 with a good
margin, get the sweep fairly early, and be able to run stations on most
bands. I am amazed at some of the QRP signals I heard. Special thanks to
these guys who hung in there while I asked for repeats over and over until
we made the QSO. Hope to have some antennas on the new tower for next
year's contest. 73 to all, John.
--
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