ARRL DX Contest, CW
Call: N5FO
Operator(s): N5FO
Station: N5FO
Class: SO Unlimited HP
QTH: NM
Operating Time (hrs): <40
Radios: SO2R
Summary:
Band QSOs Mults
-------------------
160: 28 21
80: 144 66
40: 673 107
20: 668 113
15: 482 97
10: 72 31
-------------------
Total: 2067 435 Total Score = 2,675,250
Club: Arizona Outlaws Contest Club
Comments:
A fun weekend for sure! 15 & 20M Conditions better than expected!
Decided to try my hand this year ASSTED op, added to the ease of operation and
gave me more time to think about strategy, so that was the good side. On the
flip side the added complexity of setup left me with issues that kept it from
working & distracted my running, for the first couple hours - but I found
the problem, and didn't really need that early in the contest anyway. I was
surprised at the number of busted calls & bogus spots, throughout the
weekend & especially on Sunday. Lesson here is you still have to copy &
verify everything.
I really focused on trying to "open up" my operating style to focus
on more than a single band at a time. Thanks to N2IC for continually pushing my
"operating envelope"!
The static noise & crashes were bad Friday night, but even worse here
Saturday evening, it was a "BOYB" night for sure (Bring Your Own
Beverages)The big 40M yagi is especially noisy in storms.
The JA runs seemed a little weaker than expected, but EU much better. The 20M
pileup Sunday morning for the hour starting 1315 was amazing! So, so much QRM
nearby and EU's calling all at once, with tired ears & brain, made for a
real challenge to pull anything out of the "roar".
As usual I had some antenna switching problems, this time twice due to the
little green cable connectors used on the back of Array Solutions controllers
& boxes, they will come loose very easily. I'm thinking of gluing them in
place!
Also, had a recurring issue with PC mouse button sticking, but my fault. Got a
new one in, but forgot to commission it.
The new expert 1.3K ran "cool as a cucumber" all 40hrs, but with
changing SWR's on the antennas due to rain would not remain on high power, so I
just left it on "Med" (about 8-900W) most of the entire contest. (so,
is that extra $1200 for the ATU, for 3-400W worth it?).
Thanks to all the very patient 5, 20 & 50 watts JA's. Weak but made it!
Also, special thanks to all the Europeans who stayed with it and made this
contest so much better than expected! And thanks to all for patience, putting
up with my lack of skill in code speed & heavy QRM.
Sam
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.3830scores.com/
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