ARRL Sweepstakes Contest, SSB
Call: K4XD
Operator(s): K4XD
Station: K4XD
Class: SO Unlimited HP
QTH: NC
Operating Time (hrs): 11.5
Summary:
Band QSOs
------------
160:
80: 185
40: 112
20: 171
15: 44
10: 25
------------
Total: 537 Sections = 83 Total Score = 89,142
Club: Potomac Valley Radio Club
Comments:
Working mostly multi-ops for the past year has been good and bad. The good -
way more fun being part of a team, lots of new learning, and some nice wins.
The bad - it's spoiled me for doing a contest by myself! I couldn't really get
myself motivated for a 24 hour grind, so decided to work this one until I felt
like I needed a break, and then come back when I was in the mood.
So, about a half-time effort, with a mix of running and S&P (more like
searching and puttering), some stops to tweak the station and experiment with
some of the more arcane N1MM+ and MK2R+ settings to see if I couldn't get
things to work in a more useful way. Still not quite there with audio
switching for SO2R. I'm sure there is a configuration that would work the way I
want it to, but N1MM+ and MK2R+ have so many interacting settings, it's a
challenge. And I didn't want to break it totally in the middle of the
contest.
I thought conditions were quite good - at the start of the contest the bands
were open from 40M to 10M with decent activity all over. I started on 20 with
3 S&P Q's to a blank spot, and then started a run on 14174. The first
couple of Q's were shaky - that SS exchange is a brain teaser and tongue
twister at first. But by the third Q I got in the groove and things flowed
from there.
Remembering those awkward moments after fatigue sets in and I start botching
the exchange, I wrote it out on a piece of paper and taped it to the bottom of
my LCD monitor. I don't know why I hadn't done it sooner, it was actually
quite handy. Just turn your brain off and read the sheet.
One advantage of my half-time effort was that I never really hit that horrible
slog, begging for QSO's and fighting exhaustion. Sunday afternoon actually
seemed pretty busy, with lively bands the whole time.
I know it's just propagation differences, but it drives me nuts when I do a
little S&P and the guys I'm working have mini-pileups, then I find an empty
spot and start CQ'ing and there's nothing, or 1 every two minutes. Kinda makes
you feel like the kid no one wants on their team :-) !
I managed to get a lot of the more challenging sections in the log early - NT,
AK, PR... and went to bed early (11PM ET) with only QC, AB, BC, VI, SB, and PAC
needed for the sweep. I lounged until 6AM and then got on 80M for an hour.
I picked up AB, BC and VI on 20M when they were spotted, and decided I better
go fishing for QC on 40M while the going was good. I set up shop on the high
end of 40, and sure enough, the second Q was a QC. Yes!
I took the XYL out for breakfast (I told you this was a leisurely effort!) and
when I got back, SB had been spotted on 15. I picked him off and was pretty
confident PAC would follow shortly, which it did.
Things I like about SS:
- Suddenly everyone is super excited about someone CQ'ing from MS (N4OGW Tor
had a major pileup for a while!)
- The hunt for sections - this is one of the only contests where you it's a fun
challenge, but you have a very good chance at working every single mult
- The vibe on 80M Saturday night, 40M Sunday morning
Things I don't like about SS:
- An escalating confrontation between a non-contester and contesters which
started sounding like the Jerry Springer show.
- Finding my SAL-20 lying on the ground Sunday afternoon, probably a victim of
stampeding deer
- Not really noticing a big difference in low band reception from when the
SAL-20 was up in the air!
Overall, I ended up working more than I expected and my ears were not ringing
nearly as much as usual after a phone contest. I attribute that to only
working 12 hours and the conditions being pretty good. I worked stations close
to the noise but didn't kill myself trying to work the ones that were inaudible
whenever nearby stations were transmitting.
Thanks for the Q's, and go PVRC!
73,
Rowland K4XD
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