CQWW WPX Contest, SSB
Call: KS9K
Operator(s): N4TZ
Station: KS9K
Class: SO(A)AB HP
QTH: IN
Operating Time (hrs): 30
Radios: SO2R
Summary:
Band QSOs
------------
160: 29
80: 59
40: 88
20: 514
15: 788
10: 225
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Total: 1703 Prefixes = 726 Total Score = 2,595,450
Club: Society of Midwest Contesters
Comments:
With the decline in solar activity this year, I decided
to use this contest weekend as an opportunity to check
out how things work with high power. But, since I still
don't have 240 volts in the ham shack, I didn't feel the
time was quite ripe for moving up to the SO HP class. I
figured that M/S offered a lot of possibilities, especially
with the 48 hour time period. That way, I could operate
the entire weekend and use packet to observe when the
best off times would be when I go single op. The idea
was to check out the SO2R setup with high power; the
second op would spell the first op (a traditional type of
M/S).
First, I had to get a packet station running. The week
before the contest I got a temporary 24' mast topped with
a mag mount antenna to squirt my 10 watts toward N9RV's
packet station. Check.
Then, I had to get some power to the shack. I made a
125' long extension cord of #8 Romex to connect to the
30 amp clothes dryer outlet. The shack end of the cord
had a dual breaker box feeding a pair of 20 amp outlets
for two amps. Since I was planning on a totally unskilled
2nd op (to qualify as M/S), I used a TenTec Hercules II
automatic band switching 500 watt amp for the second radio.
A TenTec Titan would serve the run radio. Both amps
were tested on Wednesday. Check.
Better pull those Dunestar bandpass filters out of the
closet. I never used them for Low Power contesting because
I didn't want to lose another dB, but when driving the
amps the insertion loss is a plus, reducing the chances
of overdrive. The stubs were already in place from the
low power setup. Check.
Friday afternoon. Disconnect the clothes dryer, plug in
amplifiers. Give a couple of "oh-lahs" in each radio to
observe the Christmas tree pattern on the dual monitor scopes.
Program the DVK. Check.
Take a nap. Eat dinner. Plop into chair at 2330z. Tune
across the bands. Give a couple of quick calls to DX
stations to assure them that they are getting out ok.
Make a last minute run to the Gentlemen's room. Check.
Go to the kitchen to fill the cooler with pop. Notice the
wind is really blowing and the rain is coming down, Don't
see any lightning. Check.
0000z. CQ Contest. Pop-bam-Boom! Golly, Gee, Batman, what's
going on here? Both monitor scopes are showing modulation
even though I'm transmitting on just radio with the SO2R box
which switches the mike to one, and only one, radio at a time.
Furthermore, both Daiwa dual-needle SWR meters are swinging
wildly, showing very high SWRs on both feedlines. Finally,
both Top Ten band decoders (which are driven by the logging
computer's parallel ports) are showing multiple bands selected!
Some LEDs are fully lit, others are dimmer.
Stop talking. The light display continues. Then a breaker
pops on the run radio's power supply, which happens when the
rig is running into a high SWR. I power down the amps.
Turn the run radio back on. I can hear lots of stations in
each ear. Give a cautious QRZed. Move lights, needles waving,
graphic scope displays. Stop talking. The RF continues until
I the audio drive fully off.
I pull the plug, and walk downstairs to tell my XYL she doesn't
need to worry about learning the script to make a QSO for my
M/S operation. Find the cat cowering under the table from
the storm. Decide to go back to the shack to see if I can
figure out what needs to be fixed or replaced after the contest.
I disconnect everything. I mean everything. The only thing
still powered up was the logging computer on a UPS. Then, one
cable at a time I rebuilt the station. The station is fully
symetrical, but the cables for one side do not reach the other
side. Each type of cable has a different connector (DB9, DB25,
DB15, etc) to eliminate misconnection. After each cable is plugged
in, I test the results. Finally, I had a complete SO2R, high
power station fully functional again. Apparently nothing damaged
but my composure! I operate gingerly the first night, pausing
every couple of contacts to sniff things over. Saturday
morning I check the outside part of the station. No apparent
damage either at the Polyphaser bank at the house nor at the
wire termination cabinet at the base of the tower. No sign
of the remains of a suicidal squirrel shorting out a terminal
block. I asked the wife if she had moved a spool of rope, which
was about 200 feet from where it was Friday afternoon. The spool
"anchors" the horizontal part of my 160m inverted L. No, she
said, the wind must have moved it. All the yagis on the tower
looked ok.
Well, might as well have some fun this weekend, since I went
to all this trouble. Ended up operating about 30 hours, more or
less. I got a lot of sleep, so never did find out what the best
off time strategy would have been. It was really interesting
watching all the packet spots. In fact, because I was "watching"
I generally didn't listen on the second radio. I used the
second radio to work some spots on another band, and to work
people on 75meters. My four square was still tuned for CW
(we had a big snow before the ARRL SSB contest so never got it
retuned) and I only have a 100watt dummy load on the Comtek box
so I didn't want to fry anything with the big amp. It was
nice to generally work people on the first call for a change.
On 40m, I found that it was often difficult to get the DX's
attention barefoot. The 500 watt amp usually did the job, but
a couple of times I switched over to the 1500 watt amp. Always
got throught the next call then. With the outside temperatures
hovering around freezing, the amp put out enough heat that
I never needed to turn on the heat in the shack. I figure the
total electrical energy used was therefore about the same as
when I run low power, at least during the winter contest season.
Last year, my low power station yielded 427 European contacts
and 40 JA QSOs on ten meters. None this year with the amps.
Never heard the JAs spotted on Sunday afternoon. Worked a lot
fewer JAs on 15, too. My overall total score, from a
less-than-all out effort, was almost identical point-wise to
last year's low power score. Last year, 80% of my contacts were
DX; this year, calling CQ a lot more, 60% of my contacts were
DX.
Because of the early-contest problems, I didn't have to worry
about the score, so I just had fun. Isn't that what the contest
is about?
Continent List Continent Report 2003 WPX SSB KS9K
160 80 40 20 15 10 ALL
--- -- -- -- -- -- ---
USA calls = 25 33 58 272 274 87 749
VE calls = 3 10 4 31 38 11 97
N.A. calls = 0 4 1 23 37 33 98
S.A. calls = 1 1 3 39 67 79 190
Euro calls = 0 7 18 118 324 0 467
Afrc calls = 0 3 3 13 16 3 38
Asia calls = 0 0 1 7 12 0 20
JA calls = 0 0 0 4 13 0 17
Ocen calls = 0 1 0 7 7 12 27
Total calls = 29 59 88 514 788 225 1703
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.hornucopia.com/3830score/
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