ARRL DX Contest, CW
Call: WO1N
Operator(s): WO1N
Station: WO1N
Class: SO Unlimited LP
QTH: EMA
Operating Time (hrs): 24
Summary:
Band QSOs Mults
-------------------
160: 20 16
80: 60 41
40: 225 66
20: 493 93
15: 36 27
10: 9 7
-------------------
Total: 843 250 Total Score = 631,500
Club: Yankee Clipper Contest Club
Comments:
Station : FTdx5000, C3-SS@38', 40MDipole@50', 80MVertDipole, 160MTrapL, N1MM+
Soapbox :
Huge line noise all weekend put me in the Single Op Alligator class. I'm sure
to take first place.
Located and reported two cycling street lights in the weeks prior to the
contest. Our local power grid company promptly fixed them. Thursday night
the bands, especially 80 were exhibiting only the usual switcher spurs.
I commented to my wife before the contest, "if they stay like this it will
be
good". Note Thursday the local WX was in the 40's and humid. The Worked
All Streetlights class record would have to wait for another year to be
challenged.
Friday afternoon, a cold front came through, the air dried out and the
temps were dropping.
Started the contest a bit slow jumping around the bands. By 0300Z the
electrical noise was back. It sounded like cycling street lights. It got
so bad I stopped operating at midnight local and drove around for 45 minutes
trying to find the source, not that I could do anything about it.
While I found another 13 streetlights with issues, none of them seemed to
be the source of what I was hearing on the bands. As I got closer to my
QTH the noise was strongest. I concluded this had to be a line or insulator
issue.
So, back to the contest. The noise basically took me out of the game, but
I kept at it over the weekend. N1MM says 24 hours operating. A snowstorm
came through and quieted the line noise such that I was able to do some
running.
Saturday, when the noise was most active, managed a 118Q run @ 70/hr on 20.
Sunday, after the snowstorm, managed two different runs, 115Q@128/hr and
146Q@113/hr, both on 20. 10/15 were busts. 160 was OK both evenings.
Interestingly the line noise did not affect 160.
Still, it was time in front of the radio and in the shack. Messed with telnet
filters a lot. Wired up some audio so I could record the noise. Ate cashews
and raisins. Awesome.
The morning after the contest I was awoken by the sound of an electrical
explosion near my QTH. Lost power for about 1.5 hours. Coincidence? I think
not.
73,
Ken - WO1N
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