CQ 160-Meter Contest, CW
Call: AC6DD
Operator(s): AC6DD
Station: AC6DD
Class: Single Op HP
QTH:
Operating Time (hrs):
Summary:
Total: QSOs = 750 State/Prov = 54 Countries = 16 Total Score = 50,000
Club:
Comments:
I probably should have given up with this contest before even starting - Too
many problems. And I thought that I had it all covered this time.
This was again a portable operation from a pier, third 160m and probably the
last one. This time I was permitted to put up a low dipole and two 18'x
100'EWE's for receiving on Thursday evening, this was without any cabling. The
rest of the station
was set up starting on Friday morning.
The setup was:
- 90' vertical fed into a Harris RF601 automatic antenna coupler
- One low dipole 10'-15' off the ground
- two EWE loops with direction switching, MFj1005 noise canceller, preamp
etc...
- FT1000MP (modified for clicks a few days before the contest)
- ACOM2000A
I got pretty good at setting things up. In five hours I had everything from
being boxed, to set up and almost running. I can only get acess to the pier
during the weekend and have to remove everything by Sunday evening. I tried to
videotape the setup, so I can see where I am wasting precious time,for next
time. The camera's battery failed, so nothing from the tape.
Just a few minutes before the contest start I discover that the Harris tuner was
not working (first failure ever), the dipole was a total waste of time, and half
of the ewe's are not working. After a few hours of trying, I get the tuner
working in manual and make a few contacts before the amp shuts down from arcing.
I find a bad PL259 at the antenna switch for the vertical's coax. I use the
dipole's coax, but it is 5' too short to reach the vertical. I find a piece of
wire and add to the vertical to reach the coax. A few minutes later I get
another arc and the amp shuts down. Bad coax form the amp to the switch. This
one is easy to fix? No the coax won't reach the amp. I add another piece of
wire to the vertical. ( By the way I hi-pot every cable that I make. These two
were not hi-pot tested recently, and they were used several times.) Finally I
am on the air. Soon I realize the EWe's are not working at all, as the vertical
hears much better even with all the noise. I listen to a
horrendous noise all night, and by morning I feel that I missed more stations
than I have worked. I end the night with 550 QSO's.
I sleep from 8-12. I find the problem with the ewe's but can only fix some of
it. I make a new receiving antenna from the dipole wire. I find the preamp is
oveloading my receiver, so I bypass it, the MFJ unit is useless. I again mostly
use the vertical for receiving.
By early morning I get someone sending me "clicks" for several times. I think
it it a joke. as I modified the radio, plus I had no reports most of the night,
and also none the night before. (I had no reports of keyclicks last year with
an unmodified radio.) Than I get a jammer - you know wo you are. I could not
figure this one out, but he stays with me for a while, than leaves and comes
back again. You need an amplifier next time, or even better get an antenna, as
you are a little girlieman.
I am not yet sure what is going on here. Finally NA5NM just plainly asks me to
stop. I ask him what is the problem and gives me a report of keyclicks and a
wide signal. I turn down my output power to half, but have no idea what is
causing the problem. Other than the jammer who loves me, I hear no more
complaints.
Towards sunrise the logging program, or the laptop starts acting up. I finish
logging on paper.
The sun is up and now the fun really starts, as I have to dismantle everything.
The seagulls left me a lot of presents all over my stuff. I make it home at 2
PM, drink four Sierra Nevadas and go to sleep. The final result is approximete,
as my laptop is still behind a guano covered pile of coax.
I have no idea what caused my reported signal problems. Anyone else hear it? I
apologize to anyone that I affected. I spent several hours modifying the radio
before the contest, so this would not happen. I would welcome any reports from
the contest to help me find the problem. I heard some unusual noises on Sunday
morning, but have no idea where they were coming from. At first I thought it was
a foghorn, but there was no fog. RF possibly? Something broke? The mod made
keyclicks worse? Did the lower power solve the problem?(this was late Sunday
morning). Did I have a bad signal from the beginning, or it all started on
Sunday morning?
This portable operation at the pier is getting to be too much effort for me. I
am only 40, so I will spend the next 160m CW contests doing something more
useful, like drinking beer and watching TV, instead of enduring being jammed by
some of the gentlemen on 160.
I would like to thank Milt, N5IA @ NA5NM as the only person who came forward
with his call sign and discussed the problem.
Niko - AC6DD ac6dd@yahoo.com
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.hornucopia.com/3830score/
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