ARRL DX Contest, CW
Call: FS5UQ
Operator(s): K3LP
Station: FS5UQ
Class: SOAB LP
QTH: St. Martin
Operating Time (hrs): 40
Radios: SO2R
Summary:
Band QSOs Mults
-------------------
160: 160 36
80: 499 56
40: 891 58
20: 670 58
15: 1277 58
10: 179 35
-------------------
Total: 3676 301 Total Score = 3,319,428
Club: Potomac Valley Radio Club
Comments:
FS5UQ (OPR. K3LP), SINGLE OPERATOR, LOW POWER, UN-ASSISTED
The ARRL DX CW 2006 contest had many new challenges. Twenty (20), 10 and 160
meter bands presented new frustrations for me this year.
First of all, my 20 meter QSOs on both Saturday and Sunday mornings were few in
coming. There was a second operator (FS/KN5G) on the island operating single op
20 meters, but the guys on Aruba seem, each year, not to be impacted by this
type of issue. It?s not uncommon for stateside to be pointing toward Europe and
not hearing the Caribbean until almost 10:30AM. It just seemed slower than
normal. I was down about 300-400 QSOs on this band at the end of the contest. I
kept myself busy operating 40 and 80 meters to fill the void, until I got 15
meters going at a decent rate.
The 40? light weight aluminum crank-up tower cable was damaged (rusted beyond
use) with a rotator that would not rotate and could not be fixed until the
aluminum tower could be lowered. I pointed the beam at the mid-west and operated
the contest with the LogPeriodic beam in a fixed position both days. It?s
unclear how much my results were impacted by lacking some antenna gain by not
using a mono-band beam and loosing the antenna directivity (i.e. no antenna
rotation).
Ten (10) meters yielded zero activity for me until Sunday afternoon around 1800
GMT, when I finally made my first QSO on this band. I had a 2 hour opening that
provided 179 QSOs and 35 multipliers, and believe me, I was grateful to have
what came my way.
My 160 meter QSO and multiplier totals were both up this year, but I was still
pained by not being able to get the north and northwest coast (OR, WA, VE7, VE6,
VE5, UT, NV, ID) and northern mid-west multipliers (MT, ND, SD, WY, VE4) on this
band. My 350? beverage was working fine and I seemed to work everything I could
hear as I moved them from 40 or 80 meters to 160 meters. I just didn?t get the
proper openings. I tried at sunrise, during the middle of night and 1 hour
before their sunrise, each time moving the needed multipliers, knowing the call
sign, but just couldn?t hear them, therefore not working the multiplier. This
was a real bummer!
I was able to exceed my last year ?J6R? QSO and multiplier accomplishments on
80, 40 and 15 meters. I was very happy with the results on these bands.
W3ARS (Clint) and I put up a two element wire beam for 40 meters that worked
with great results from the 1,400 hill top location.
I used two IC-746PROs in a SO2R configuration. These radios were excellent for
operating the CW contest and the rig?s size made it desirable for taking on my
DX-pedition. The IC-746PROs are a must on my future DX-peditions. I really liked
the CW filters and numerous features bundled into this rig?s medium sized
package. I?m hocked on the IC-746PRO after being disappointed by using other rig
types on my prior dx-peditions.
I changed my sleeping arrangement this year. I slept three hours (starting 1.5
hours before sunrise) on Saturday morning and had no sleep on Sunday. Having no
sleep on Sunday just didn?t work for me. By the last two hours of the contest,
where I needed to be focused to get the 250-300 Hour QSO rate, I had difficulty
maintaining the rate over 225. I just wanted to go to sleep ? the brain to hand
and keyboard actions just didn?t want to play full blast anymore. Next year,
I?ll be changing my sleeping arrangement until I get it right.
Over all, I was able to improve my overall score in this competition compared to
my prior Low Power contest DX-peditions (i.e. J6/K3LP, J6R, etc.).
This was another fun contest. I can?t wait until next year.
David Collingham ? K3LP
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.hornucopia.com/3830score/
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