ARRL Sweepstakes Contest, CW
Call: AA4LR
Operator(s): AA4LR
Station: AA4LR
Class: SO Unlimited LP
QTH: GA
Operating Time (hrs): 3.5
Summary:
Band QSOs
------------
160: 0
80: 9
40: 49
20: 54
15:
10:
------------
Total: 112 Sections = 46 Total Score = 10,304
Club: South East Contest Club
Comments:
Antenna:
80/40m trap dipole 10m high
Equipment:
Elecraft K2/100 w/ KAT100 running 100 watts
Comments:
Very busy Saturday, went to the Stone Mountain Hamfest (the first hamfest for
me in nearly three years), then my kids came over for a visit and a home-cooked
meal, so this left no time for operating then. I did get the rig set up for SS,
though.
Initially, the K2/100 was acting very cantankerous. Pressing the ANT button
would bring a response of "not inst", even though the KAT100 was
clearly powering up and following the K2. Without the tuner, most of the bands
weren't usable.
I left the rig on for an hour, and after warm-up, cycling the power brought the
rig back into compliance. I didn't fool with it after that.
I decided this year to work from Walton County, rather than struggle to rush
over to my Gwinnett County QTH. My goal was just to hand out a few contacts and
have fun.
Bands were pretty dead. 10m had no signals. 15m had few signals. 20m was very
quiet. And I expected bedlam on 40m after dark, but signals were pretty sparse
there, too. It could be the lousy antenna.
Oh, I did put up the 160/80/40m inverted-L on Saturday, but for some reason I
couldn't find the coax to feed it. I'm thinking I may have carried the coax
back over to the Gwinnett County QTH. This antenna is lofted over a couple of
trees, and I plan to use the backyard fence as the ground plane.
I just worked whoever I could hear. Mostly S & P, but I did get a few runs
on 40m.
Sorry to anyone who had trouble with the grotty CW. I was using N1MM+, which
complains that my USB serial adapter uses a Prolific chip set, which can cause
erratic sending. Funny that the old N1MM software didn't seem to ever have a
problem with it (except when I have a lot of RF feedback).
I notice that people have a hard time believing low serial numbers on the
second day. You send 7U, and they are all like NR NR? Yes, there's some of us
who don't start until late.
Anyway, glad to get on the air and join the contest. Perhaps I'll put in a
bigger effort for SS Phone.
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.3830scores.com/
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