ARRL Sweepstakes Contest, CW
Call: NX4N
Operator(s): NX4N
Station: NX4N
Class: Single Op HP
QTH: WCF
Operating Time (hrs): 24
Radios: SO2R
Summary:
Band QSOs
------------
160: 0
80: 47
40: 622
20: 496
15: 40
10: 0
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Total: 1205 Sections = 83 Total Score = 200,030
Club: Florida Contest Group
Comments:
Hi Friends,
Wow - another great cw ss is in the books and it was a really fun time for me
once again.
I dedicated this year's effort to my brother Matt, who unexpectedly passed away
at 54 just eight weeks ago. Matt was my cheerleader and supported all my
activities - RIP dear brother.
For 4 of the past 5 years I have had the honor and good fortune to use the
Tampa ARC's clubhouse and antenna farm for ss cw. The members are very
welcoming and wished me well Friday as I brought and assemble a complete SO2R
station. This really makes the effort more like a FD or contest expedition, but
without the bugs and antenna slog.
My score is about 80 QSO's down from last year - I believe in part due to band
conditions, less participation and perhaps I just had a bit less concentration.
First couple of hours were actually ahead of last years effort but after 12
hours I was behind by those 80 QSO's and it stayed that way for the remainder
of the contest. But I worked it hard, stayed with it and finished strong -
very happy with my effort.
Some nice highlights -
1. VY1AAA called ME! Big sig too. I had the sweep within the first 12 hours of
operating; no sweating it out on Sunday (for once!). Thank you Jay and Gerry,
and all the other rare mult stations for granting me that sweet coffee mug.
2. I put my new baby,a SPE Expert Amp 1.3KA, into action and it performed
flawlessly. What a sweet little amp - all 22lb including internal tuner.
3. Tripled my SO2R S&P QSO's - really worked it hard and getting better
each year. I had not touched my DXD since last ss but I committed to
overcoming the learning/lid curve - definitely getting the hang of it. I will
never be a K1TO or K6RO on SO2R but it is rewarding to see myself improve.
That said, there were a few weeds in the garden and Murphy did drop by for a
visit:
a) Conditions, especially Saturday, were uber noisy - the worst in several
years hear. Noticed many stations went to 80m because of the QRN and long band
cdx on 40m. I had to give up on way too many marginal callers (bummer).
Still, the 20m C31-XR and the 40m 2 el worked like the rock crushers I remember
from last year - good heavens they are just dominant here in WCF. Sure beats my
attic dipole at home!
b) RFI was getting into the IC-7600 on the S&P station. Never heard this
before including previous years. Also seemed like signals were down along with
trouble breaking pile ups. What the @#$%^! ???
Well, I didn't realize until Monday that the C19XR at 70ft had been windmilling
and now was taking turns pointing towards KH6 to LU - yikes! Glad I was running
high power or I might still be calling those mults!
Ahh the stories - it is always fun to read yours and I hope you enjoyed this
little one too.
In closing, it was a wonderful contest and I so much enjoyed working old and
new friends alike. Congrats to all of you for participating and thanks for all
the QSO's!
vy 73,
Chris, NX4N
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.3830scores.com/
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