ARRL Sweepstakes Contest, SSB
Call: W6TAI
Operator(s): W6TAI
Station: W6TAI
Class: Single Op HP
QTH: Joshua Tree, CA
Operating Time (hrs):
Summary:
Band QSOs
------------
160:
80: 106
40: 70
20: 140
15: 103
10:
------------
Total: 419 Sections = 78 Total Score = 65,364
Club: Southern California Contest Club
Comments:
Equipment: FT-857 transceiver, AL-572 amplifier, CQPWIN 12.0 software
QTH: My cabin near Joshua Tree, CA.
This was my second year in amateur radio and my second time operating Phone
Sweepstakes from my little cabin in Joshua Tree. I operated last year using a
borrowed Tri-Ex T-436 crank-up tower with a 75 meter inverted vee up 23 feet at
the apex, a two-element tribander (Hy-Gain TH-2) at 25 feet, and a 40-meter
ground-mounted vertical. The little tower, which had crisscrossed the country
on Wayne Overbeck's (N6NB) "cabover kilowatt," was getting up there in years
and was binding so it would only go up to about 20 feet. When I decided to do
the contest again this year, we knew a better antenna system was in order (the
seized up rotator was probably also a sign).
Lo and behold, Dave Glenn (N6TEB) had an unused 5-section Tristao tower lying
in his side yard. Before we knew it, that tower was on a trailer headed up to
Joshua Tree, where it sat until we realized that Sweepstakes was coming up. We
had to GET TO WORK!
A few weeks ago, we raised my newly-adopted tower and bought a shiny Cushcraft
A4 tribander with the 40-meter extension. Putting up the antenna was
challenging. Missing parts galore and a fiberglass insulator that failed 5
minutes after the driven element was up. Yep, five minutes. That meant Wayne
had to drag John, N6MU, up to Joshua Tree on a weekday to reinstall the driven
element with a heavier fiberglass insulator.
So, Phone Sweepstakes was a chance to try out the new station and tower, now 45
feet tall with an inverted vee that stretched out forever. Thanks to Wayne's
expert wiring skills, we didn't even need to cut a new hole into my house.
Everything seemed to work really well. I received many compliments on my
signal and was very surprised when a few people actually knew me. I even "ran"
on 20 and 15 meters for a while and was amazed that there was a pile-up from all
the people trying to work ORG. Seriously? Orange?!
Sweepstakes this year was a lot of fun, especially once the sections (and
multipliers!) started rolling in. I ended up with 78 sections (missed NL and
PR) but hardest section to get was... LAX! I worked W6TA ten minutes before
the end of the contest for my only LAX Q. Like last year, I'm really glad that
I jumped in, even as a beginner, and did my best. I'm inspired by all of the
legendary contesters out there, many of whom I worked but more importantly,
listened to and hopefully learned from. And lastly, I want to thank all the
supportive hams on the air. Hope to work you all next year. I should have my
bird-deflector owl mounted on the tower by then. 73, Carrie Tai, W6TAI
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.hornucopia.com/3830score/
______________________________________________
3830 mailing list
3830@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/3830
|