Russian DX Contest - 2019
Call: N9NB
Operator(s): N9NB
Station: N9NB
Class: SO Mixed LP
QTH: VA
Operating Time (hrs): 22.5
Radios: SO2R
Summary:
Band CW Qs Ph Qs Countries Oblasts
----------------------------------------
160: 39 9 8 0
80: 105 8 35 1
40: 238 19 48 5
20: 228 55 63 23
15: 31 1 14 0
10: 10 10 9 0
----------------------------------------
Total: 651 102 177 29 Total Score = 673,826
Club: Potomac Valley Radio Club
Comments:
After spending the ARRL SSB DX Contest earlier this month at the FB contest
set-up of NR4M, it was back to low power at N9NB, and I sure felt weak during
this contest. I can tell the difference when dialing back to 100 W as compared
to 150 W in the ARRL contests (almost 2 dB difference - and that's an S-unit at
the low end of some S-meters) -- it would be nice for all contests to harmonize
on the 150 W power level for LP entry in all global contests. I notice and miss
the extra 1.7 dB :-).
I had a rough start in this one, and felt like I was behind from the starting
gun. I had a very intense week at work leading up to this event, and made the 4
hour drive to my station from Washington DC on Friday afternoon where I had
given a talk at the FCC for its Spectrum Horizons initiative (the start of
6G!)just before the contest. I really needed more time to prepare the station
and the shack set-up for my first-ever Russian DX Contest, and first mixed mode
contest in memory.
I didn't make time to read the rules, didn't get around to setting up the
logging and packet settings, and didn't figure out how to do microphones on 2
radios until late Friday night, due to the intense work week. A big thanks to
friends in CTDXCC and PVRC who gave me some last minute pointers for this one
(you know who you are - thanks! I didn't have time to implement all of your good
suggetions).
Fatigue effected my energy throughout the weekend.......and I had to take a 90
minute nap at 3:30 am Sunday when I started to fall asleep at the rig and
literally could not see straight.
The cluster packet telnet stuff in N1MM was bizarre and never worked properly
for me - either the spots were not working (for half the contest, I think I fat
fingered a filter box that would combine sources that were not identified), and
when I did see spots on the bandmap, they were as if they were from another
contest and different part of the world or at different times. 99% of everything
I saw in N1MM was never present on the band and it even showed spots that I had
already worked and duped. It was much more of a distraction than a benefit. I
regretted ever trying to use them, since I never used it to identify a mult. or
a QSO.
For some reason the bandmap did not keep track of any station I worked -- I am
so inexperienced at spotting since I don't use them in contests. After some
sleep, I hope to figure out what I did wrong, since there was no way to keep
track of already-logged (dupes) on the bandmap in this contest, and this
aggravating since I had to remember what frequencies I had worked stations as I
searched and pounced along the bands. Guess that's not such a bad thing -- such
mental gymnastics could help stave off Alzheimer's. But I missed being able to
see an active station appearing in GREY on the bandmap -- they just never
appeared at all after I worked the station (any hints?).
This contest seemed to be the one where "everything wrong can and did
happen." -- well, it really wasn't THAT bad, but to give you an idea of
some of the whacky stuff that occurred: ...whenever there was a new mult or new
station I needed to work, it seemed I would either fat finger the log and lose
the contact (and have to work it again, sometime having to break a pileup to get
the numbers), or the station would magically decide to QRT ....just as I was
preparing to call him. Really - this happened more than a dozen times! It became
funny after the 4th or 5th time -- REALLY?? I started to laugh out loud.. People
sure move around a lot in this contest -- its a very 'frequency agile"
contest.
In addition to the bandmap not showing any of my past worked contacts, and the
spots being completely wrong and nonsensical, my keyer paddles and MK2R decided
to go bonkers just as I was preparing to run on 40 m. I think the wires in the
keyer plug to the MK2R are loose - but I am too tired to figure it out now. I
had to disassemble the keyer plug and delicately place tissue around the leads
to keep the wires from touching or dislodging, and could not dare move my keyer
paddles for the rest of the contest. And to boot, it seem something must be
amiss with my SAL-30 receiving antenna (I inspected it, but not closely, and I
suspect some of the feed wires to the loops may have come off). There was no
directionality with the SAL-30 in this contest, but thankfully I have the 2-el
vertical array for 80/160, and that array did really well on RX! Surprisingly
good.
I really enjoyed seeing how the 80/160 m verticals played in this contest --
they sure perform wonderfully, not just on TX, but also on RX (this was the
first time I used the array for receiving, and I was impressed with the
performance, almost as good as the SAL-30). Its nice not having to worry about
dangling wires from the Inv. L or Dipoles up here on the windy ridge. I will
never go back to them on 80 and 160. This vertical is a keeper- and it plays! I
worked VK and ZL on 80 m, broke many pile ups on 80 and 160 (with LP!), and the
directionality worked well. This past week, QST sent the page proofs for the
vertical antenna that I will present at Dayton in the K3LR antenna forum, and
QST offered to bring prints of the QST Article (it publishes this May) to the
K3LR Antenna Forum at Dayton! -How is that for service! The article looks great,
and may be a huge help many hams who have a tower that is more than 50-60' tall,
and while I have published in many different journals and books and magazines in
my career, publishing this antenna in QST has a very special "zing"
that I can't describe. Maybe its because I still think of QST the way I did when
I was a kid, and would pour over every page and every ad....
I found this contest to be quite fascinating, because of the increasing size of
serial numbers as the contest progresses. Just as you become more fatigued, you
are forced to concentrate extra hard to pull out 4 digit serial numbers just as
night falls (the half-way point), and in the US, these bloated serial number
start arriving just as we go to the low bands, where heavy QRN and weak signals
await. So,just like your score increases in a non-linear fashion deep into any
contest, for this event, your depth of concentration is forced to expand in a
non-linear way, as well. This was very challenging, but also very invigorating
because it forces you to stay on your game, and really bear down and focus on
every QSO!
Ironically, in the very last minute of the contest, at 1159Z, I heard my first
EU on 20 m -- I had been anticipating a small EU opening at the very end of this
contest, for a much needed rate boost to end on a high note, but it was not to
be...but it sure was fun watching the sun come up and hoping for it.
My soapboxes become a bit long-winded when I submit them fresh after the contest
without any sleep, and this one is no exception. I can barely read the computer
screen - my eyes are weary....so off to bed now.
Thanks to the Russian DX Contest organizers and sponsors for a really fantastic
contest, with Q's for everyone at all times of the contest! And thanks everyone
for the Q's. Its really fun to become a "regular," as I am starting to
recognize calls and people by their signal or by the last letter in their call.
I love the swagger in the signals of the amazing ops who are operating remote
stations these days- as they push the internet to its limits -- you can hear the
latency variations in the transmitted signals when those first-class ops are up
at 40 wpm, giving the CW an almost bug-like quality! Fun to hear.
I look forward to working you in the next one!
73 ted n9nb
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