ARRL DX Contest - CW
Call: N0DY
Operator(s):
Station:
Class: SOAB HP
QTH: IA
Operating Time (hrs): 18.5
Summary:
Band QSOs Mults
----------------------
160: 7 6
80: 52 42
40: 117 60
20: 212 75
15: 229 78
10: 427 85
----------------------
Total: 1044 346 = 1083672
Comments:
It wasn't supposed to work out this way. The plans had been laid out, the
preparations made. I was going to nail this contest as it had a special
meaning
to me. My very first contest ever was the ARRL CW last February, and for the 1
year anniversary the plan was to beat my score by a factor of 10.
I should have known better, although things started out well...
Due to a forecasted snowstorm with 6-10 inches of snowfall Thursday and
Friday,
I put up a temporary Africa Beverage on Wednesday night. Temporary because it
has to cross my lane. Even with the lane crossing at 10 feet above the ground,
it's still low enough for UPS trucks to get snarled in. Fortunately there were
no UPS trucks.
By late afternoon Thursday, I was experiencing a constant dull headache which
(to make a long story shorter) accelerated to full body aches and fever by
0000Z on Friday, by which time I was on Advil on a continuous basis. I was
wishing I could just hang an Advil IV next to the rig to keep me going.
Conditions at the start of the contest were wonderful, particularly on the low
bands, where even from the black hole I was able to make a surprising
number of
contacts on 80 meters and even a few on 160 - a treat since I'm limited to
100W
output on that band. 40 meters was just excellent and I got a small run going
despite having only a wire antenna.
By 0900Z, though, even continuous dosing with Advil wasn't keeping me sane. I
cut the power and went to bed, where I stayed for the next 30 hours
alternately
freezing and overheating as the flu had its way with me.
When I awoke on Sunday morning, I felt a bit better, and with the constant aid
of my trusty companion Advil, I was able to return to the fray around 1400Z.
The EU pileups on the fresh meat from Iowa were amazing on 10 meters. The
front
end of my poor little Icom 746 just wasn't up to the task - nor, I'm somewhat
ashamed to say, was I. Having never been on the receiving end of a pileup that
large, I struggled to pull even partial calls out. Despite what seemed like
hundreds calling, the short term rate meter sometimes dropped below 100. Guess
I've still got a lot to learn.
At 1800Z I took a break to degunge myself (I'd been in my PJs for 36
continuous
hours - yucch) and when I returned things were still in great shape. I didn't
experience the usual midafternoon lull as 20 picked up where 15 and 10 left
off.
Final tally 18:33 operating time, 1044 Qs, 346 mults, 1,083,672 points.
73,
Jeff N0DY
P.S. If any of you with big pileup expertise would care to share your
operating
tips with me, I'd be really happy to hear from you.
Jeff
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at:
http://www.hornucopia.com/3830score/
N0DY 1044 346 1083672SOAB HP
--
FAQ on WWW: http://www.contesting.com/3830faq.html
Submissions: 3830@contesting.com
Administrative requests: 3830-REQUEST@contesting.com
Problems: owner-3830@contesting.com
|