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Re: [3830] ARRLDX CW K7NV SOAB(A) HP

To: <k7nv@contesting.com>, <3830@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [3830] ARRLDX CW K7NV SOAB(A) HP
From: "Andy Faber" <andrew.faber@gte.net>
Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2005 21:06:32 -0800
List-post: <mailto:3830@contesting.com>
Kurt, Sorry about the 160 move.  If we had done it Friday it would have
worked, but 160 was much worse for me on Saturday.  I couldn't even move
VE2AWR or W3DOS (DC).
  73, andy, ae6y
----- Original Message -----
From: <webform@b4h.net>
To: <3830@contesting.com>; <k7nv@contesting.com>
Sent: Monday, February 21, 2005 8:33 PM
Subject: [3830] ARRLDX CW K7NV SOAB(A) HP


>                     ARRL DX Contest, CW
>
> Call: K7NV
> Operator(s): K7NV
> Station: K7NV
>
> Class: SOAB(A) HP
> QTH: NV
> Operating Time (hrs): 38.5
> Radios: SO2R
>
> Summary:
>  Band  QSOs  Mults
> -------------------
>   160:   25    15
>    80:   93    30
>    40:  421    74
>    20:  295    76
>    15:  447    72
>    10:   52    28
> -------------------
> Total: 1333   295  Total Score = 1,175,280
>
> Club: Northern California Contest Club
>
> Comments:
>
> Had an invite to go up to K5RC's and do a 40m singleband gig, but the wx
> forecast was for rain/snow Friday-Sunday, didn't think I wanted to try
that in
> my little 2wd truck.
> I was planning on working most of the weekend and just fooling around a
bit in
> the contest. ARRLDX is usually just a big struggle from here with lots of
hours
> of boredom and frustration. Thursday night I realized I had never really
put in
> a full effort in this contest with this stuff, so in a very  weak moment I
> decided to really get in the contest. Not a particularly good idea, when
you are
> not prepared and all sorted out and psyced up for it. I decided to play
with
> packet again, just to introduce some more chance for fun when it got real
> boring. This was stand alone on the laptop on the side, not piped into the
> logging computer. Sorting thru a screen full of spots to find something
you need
> is a real "needle in a haystack" thing while trying to keep both stations
doing
> something useful. But, it did make the "bored to tears" times better.
>
> It ended up being a bit of fun and beat my previous best low score with a
little
> higher low one.
>
> The first 10 hours were a real blast with my head spinning around with
both
> radios going full time. I got all excited thinking this is really gonna be
a
> great one. Low band condx here Friday night were the best I can ever
remember
> here in a DX contest. Too bad I could hear more guys than could hear me,
still
> nuf excitement to stay engaged in it. It went pretty steeply downhill the
second
> day meeting up with my previous experiences.
>
> Never really was able to get established on 15 or 20 m to EU to get
running.
> Finally managed to get a 50 hour running EU up at 21.108, also got a 40
hour out
> of 20m way up the band somewhere, so that was the extent of EU run fun.
> Fortunately, I had no noise for most of the morning EU openings, so it was
fun
> to try and work those weak guys fading in and out of the S0 noise floor.
>
> I had some new problem with TRLog never seen before. Right when I would
hit the
> enter key to send the exchange to a guy answering my cq, it would display
the
> command prompt below the callsign line and go dead. After a few times I
figured
> out to hand log the q on the scratch paper, reboot the computer and log
the q
> again when it came back online (about 2 min's). While it was down I
couldn't
> send any cw as I'm setup to do all that thru the program. This happened at
least
> once per hour, sometimes every 20 qso's, but I didn't want to stop and
waste a
> bunch of time not fixing the problem, so I just laughed a lot and kept
myself
> fully entertained with it. Probably some RF problems that are new, but I
haven't
> changed a thing for months (ferrites on all the leads for a long time), so
guess
> it's just contesting making sure it keeps me challenged (as if it wasn't
already
> hard enough to get right).
>
> Top two unsuccessful moves:
> IR2X asks me when I call him on 40m to move to 160m, "sure dude!" (I'm
thinking
> he's smoki'n something, I can't hear EU on 160m with a deranged dipole at
<55'.
> We go there and he's booming in here! He cq's 20 times, I call him 20
times, no
> joy! Pretty exciting stuff though for the "contest challenged."
> I ask P49Y late Sat nite when he'll be on 160m cuz I needed him there for
the
> "P49 sweep" (and the boredom factor is high), he surprises me and sez go
now and
> gives me a freq. We go there and.....you guessed it....he's booming in
here, but
> can't hear me. Thanks for trying Andy!
>
> To offset these little frowners, OO4UN hears me ok on 80 SP for an easy
one and
> SM2EKM comes back on one call LP Sunday morning on 80. Even the blind
squirrel
> gets a nut every once in a while.
>
> Favorite juicy one not worked:
> A west coast W9 sends A61Q a note on packet for a sked on 160m Sunday at
> sunrise. I'm thinking this is some real wishful thinking. I really need to
be
> smoki'n whatever that guy has! I go listen and hear the W9 work the A6,
can't
> hear the DX guy. Then a couple more guys appear to work him. I'm right at
> sunrise and can tell the A6 is there but can't copy him well enough to try
to
> work him. Now, I'm not sure if any of it really happened or maybe it was
just
> another contest hallucination. But, what an exciting way to spend many
minutes
> of ones contest thinking ya might just get a juicy one.
>
> The real problem I see with operating assisted for the second time now is
that
> you get a chance to see what you really are missing when you can't hear
them, or
> they can't hear you. The old fashioned way you just blast away and don't
know
> how bad off you really are till the scores are reported, so you can't get
> discouraged. I ignored the packet a lot of the time and just ground up and
down
> the bands S&P'ing. Still, it tweaked a little excitement into the 20 or so
> boring hours, so I don't regret it.
>
> I didn't get in the time I was hoping for because I wasn't really ready
for
> this. I did a couple of head dips on the op desk when I started to
hallucinate
> cuz I couldn't find anything new to work. The fatigue showed in TR's
bandchange
> report with twice as many the first day. Both radios were open on Sunday
but
> it's hard to find new stuff when ya can't get a run going and have already
> worked all the cqing dx stations.
> Not counting the no pointers, I had 820 q's cqing and 508 S&P'ing.
> Best hour was the first one at 108, worst hour was 05:00 the second day at
4
> (heard lots of dupes) just before I took a nap.
>
> Thanks to all for yet another contest adventure! It ended up still being
more
> fun than not giving it a try, and it's always fun to work a lot of friends
out
> there having a good time.
>
> 73, Kurt
>
>
> Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at:
http://www.hornucopia.com/3830score/
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>


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