ARRL Sweepstakes Contest, CW
Call: N4EEB
Operator(s): N4EEB
Station: N4EEB
Class: SO Unlimited HP
QTH: NFL
Operating Time (hrs): 12.5
Summary:
Band QSOs
------------
160: 0
80: 79
40: 66
20: 566
15: 0
10: 0
------------
Total: 711 Sections = 79 Total Score = 112,338
Club: Florida Contest Group
Comments:
Three hours into the contest, just as I had switched to 40m, my wire antenna
system suffered a failure. The cause was not readily apparent. The 40/80
antenna system here is a 135 ft. doublet flat top fed with 97 ft. of 300 Ohm
heavy duty window line. The line terminates to a DXE 5KW 1:1 balun, and 15 ft.
of LMR600 runs into the shack to a Palstar HF-Auto automatic antenna tuner. The
amp is an Alpha 87A, which was running legal limit. The first manifestation of
the problem was the amp faulting whenever it was keyed. As you can imagine, my
heart had already sunk into my feet. I started the trouble shooting by
bypassing the amp into a dummy load. Extended full power transmission
indicated the amp was working properly. (Sigh) Back on the doublet and
bypassing the amp, I noticed that at even 5 watts, the SWR was rapidly
fluctuating between 1:1 and 4:1. My first reaction was to change out the tuner
with my spare HF AUTO. This only took a few minutes, but the problem continued.
Next in line for examination was the balun, which is mounted on a 4X4 post in a
pitch black backyard. I broke open a spare DXE 1:1 balun, and armed with a
headband LED light and some tools, I took to the yard and managed to change out
the balun, but I destroyed my LMR600 connector in the process. I fashioned a 1
ft. patch from LMR400 and connected the balun and window line to the system.
Once back in the shack, the problem continued. I then realized that I forgot
to look to see if the antenna was still in the air! It was so misty outside
that I had to really work to confirm that the thing was still up, but it was.
Out of options, I decided to quit the SS with only 3-hours in the log. I
retired that evening feeling like someone had punched me in the gut. I had put
an unusually large investment of time and money getting ready for this contest
from my new QTH. When I woke up Sunday morning, I pondered how I was going to
cope with the disappointment. After pondering, and more pondering, I decided
to go work on the antenna again. I lowered it to the ground and found that the
center insulator had suffered a catastrophic failure. This was a commercially
available product rated for 2500 watts, and it was also the second of the same
model that had been destroyed within the last 6 months. I attributed the first
failure to operator error, as I was trying to load the antenna on a band that it
was not designed for, but this failure was on 40m running 1.5 KW. This
insulator was charred and melted. -- Knowing right where to find an old
fashioned dog-bone insulator and two small stainless steel cable clamps, I had
the antenna repaired and up in the air within an hour. First test showed that
the antenna was working properly. -- I took a shower and decided to mope back
to the station and give the rest of the SS a shot. I'm glad I did. I had
good, "fresh meat" runs on 20m for a few hours, and I was able to
thoroughly test the doublet with extended operation on 80m and 40m with no
issues. This was also the first heavy duty test of my Kenwood TS-590G in
contest conditions. I must say that I was very impressed with the DSP and
overall receiver performance. It's a keeper for sure. I'm glad I jumped back
in. I would have hated myself this morning if I hadn't. -- Band conditions
seemed good both days with little noise and loud signals. Some of the QRP
stations I heard on 80m had me scratching my head wondering what their antenna
systems looked like, because they were incredibly loud. - Overall activity
seemed down from previous years. Checks remain low, which is sad. Although I
never could work a bug properly, I miss hearing them during the SS. It is
always nice to run across old friends year after year.-- Vy 73 everyone, and
thank you for the Q's. John N4EEB
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