ARRL 160-Meter Contest
Call: K4TD
Operator(s): K4TD
Station: K4TD
Class: Single Op HP
QTH: Harvest, AL
Operating Time (hrs): ~22.0
Summary:
Total: QSOs = 1050 Sections = 73 Countries = 12 Total Score = 181,815
Club: Alabama Contest Group
Comments:
This is my first-ever entry into the ARRL 160M contest...what a blast!!!
I have been tinkering with a new 160M 1/4-wave vertical for a couple of weeks
and wanted to use this contest to give it a shakedown. I knew from
experimentation with the vertical that I would need some RX antenna capability
so I spent Thursday installing two K9AY loops for the contest. I woke up
Friday morning excited about using the vertical/loops in the contest later that
afternoon. That excitement lasted right up to the point that I detected the
reflector of my 2-elment 80M yagi laying on the ground in the back yard,
courtesy of the weather front that moved through this weekend. On the bright
side, the 90 foot element managed to fall 185 feet to the ground without
scraping any of the phillystrand guys or damaging any elements on any of the
other seven yagi antennas on the tower below it... It landed about 60 feet
from the base of the tower and about 15 feet shy of the K9AY loops...
>From a rate perspective, the first night was much better than the second night.
When I shut down the first night, I had around 700 Q's and 70 mults. I had
hopes that the second night would be as good as the first night because the WX
affecting other parts of the country the first night would have calmed down.
That may well have been the case, but I didn't benefit from it... I have 4 or
5 deer who are full-time residents on my property. Apparently they didn't
approve of my installation of the K9AY loops and took it upon themselves to try
and re-engineer the loops on Saturday night. Having heard so well on the loops
on Friday night, I was curious why I couldn't hear as well on Saturday night.
I received my answer Sunday when I found the results of the "assistance" I
received from my wildlife friends. My apologies to those stations that I had
so much trouble hearing or that answered my CQ without a response from me.
I worked all the DX that I managed to hear (C6, F, GI, HI HK0/a, HP, I, P4,
PJ2, XE, YV and ZF), and only missed the following sections: ND, PR, AK, WY,
MB, NL and NWT.
I am already looking forward to this contest next year.
73,
Rick
K4TD
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