SPRINT SUMMARY SHEET
Contest Date : 07-Feb-99
Callsign Used : N6IJ
Operator : AE0M
Category : SO HP
Power : 500 W
RIG : FT-990, FL-7000 and 486DX2-66 MHZ running TRLog v 6.34
Team/Club : Northern California Contest Club
BAND Raw QSOs Valid QSOs Points Mults Antennas
____________________________________________________________________________
_
80SSB 49 49 49 1 Inverted vee @60'
40SSB 92 90 90 7 2 el W6NL wire yagi
@40'
20SSB 73 72 72 32 3 el Wilson Tribander
@45'
____________________________________________________________________________
_
Totals 214 211 211 40
Final Score = 8440 points.
QXQ: This was my fourth serious attempt at a single operator entry from the
Marina Amateur Radio Association station. Lest the rest of this analysis
seem
discouraging, I had a BLAST as I always do when doing a single op effort
from
any station!
I arrived at 2200Z (2PM) deliberately leaving more time to prepare properly
and
spent a half hour setting up TR and helping Mike, AD6GY, plan for ARRL DX
CW.
Extensive testing by Pat, AA6EG, has shown that the hilltop Wilson tribander
is
always better to the east than the big Log Periodic lower on the west side
of
the hill, so I decided to use it instead. The Dave Leeson 2el wire beam we
strung up for Sweepstakes last fall has always proved to be at least as good
as
the LP tothe east as well, so it got the 40m nod. We have not yet had a
chance
to fix the discone or put up a serious antenna for 80m, so my field day
inverted
vee was once again pressed into service. The situation could have been
better,
but could have been a lot worse, so I began with high hopes to improve my
last
score.
I then spent the next hour tracking down an 80m problem (the 80m bandpass
filter
in the Dunestar Model 600 was blown). With 20 min. to go, there was no time
left to switch to the full gallon L4B so I went ahead with the 500 W
FL-7000.
Ouch!
I started on 20m, and soon fell behind the leaders. This trend continued
throughout and I finished a full 1/3 behind the leaders. Many stations came
back to my west coast brethern and I again found myself calling station
after
station without an answer. I left 20m 0115Z a bit earlier but with eight
more
Qs than last time, and again about 30 Qs behind the west coast leaders.
The 2 el wire beam on 40m held its own, and I lost no further ground but
then
made a tactical error by going to 80m too early at 0239Z. (A real bonehead
error because I know I am not loud on 80m) Last time I waited until 0319Z,
and
made 98 good Qs on 40m. Realizing my error, I went back to 40m at 0311Z but
by
this time everyone had left and I finished with eight fewer Qs on 40m.
Again I lost much more ground on 80m. The inverted vee cannot hold a candle
to
the N6RO wire beams I have come to consider "normal". Once again I often
found
my self lurking on a busy frequency calling station after station without
getting an answer. My average deficit to the 13 west coast stations who
reported higher Q total than mine on 80m was -53 Qs, eight worse than last
time
despite the extra 30 minutes. Luckily, the hilltop forest of 60' high
telephone
poles await our efforts and we have plenty of wire and hardline. Next
summer
will include some 80m antenna work.
During the contest, 78 stations gave me a higher QSO number than I gave
them, a
bit fewer than last fall, but activity seemed less too.
I will miss the contest next weekend due to a long scheduled honey-due trip
and short vacation in sunny Arizona, but and I will be back next fall for
another crack at the Sprint.
Tony, AE0M
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