ARRL January VHF Contest - 2020
Call: K1RZ
Operator(s): K1RZ
Station: K1RZ
Class: Single Op HP
QTH: MD
Operating Time (hrs): 19.75
Summary:
Band QSOs Mults
-------------------
6: 74 17
2: 119 33
222: 54 17
432: 56 17
903: 27 11
1.2: 22 7
2.3: 9 5
3.4: 1 1
5.7: 2 2
10G: 7 3
24G:
-------------------
Total: 371 113 Total Score = 85,995
Club: Mt Airy VHF Radio Club
Comments:
Almost always I can say that a contest was a good time. This time though
Freezing Rain started about 30 minutes before the contest started and spread
across the region. It made it difficult for the Rovers. The icing changed
antenna patterns and made difficult loading for amplifiers and radios trying to
feed power into these antennas. After about 3.5 hours into the contest I
noticed that some antennas seemed to be working better off the back of the
antenna. On higher bands the effects were more obvious. So after working
Andrea K2EZ/R, one grid away, very weakly on the bottom three bands and not at
all on 432 MHz, it was obvious that there wasn’t much point in staying on
during such difficult conditions, given that freezing rain was still falling and
the temperature was 27 degrees F.
Back in the shack at 0630 local time the temperature had increased to 37 degrees
but 432 and 1296 antennas exhibited high SWR that was too high for safe
amplifier operation. And the 50 MHz amplifier could not be coaxed to put out
any power. I operated the rest of the day and made all the contacts I could
given that every other band was impacted by the freezing rain of Saturday.
Band conditions improved on Sunday to the best that could be expected on a cold
and windy day in January. Not too good.
Through the weekend Rovers were out and I logged W2RMA/R, N9ZL/R, W3ICC/R,
NN3Q/R, N2SLN/R, KF2MR/R, K2EZ/R (Andrea continuing across the country to
Oklahoma for her personal best score to date), K1DS/R and VE3OIL/R (worked on
144 FT8 in EN82). Thanks to all of you for getting on and going out under these
arduous conditions.
Many right here in Maryland, Virginia, Southern New Jersey and Pennsylvania hold
onto the point that June is coming. Me too. Can’t wait for the June contest
and the Spring Sprints. And leaving all this ice behind.
Thanks to ARRL for sponsoring this awesome event. Thanks to everyone who got on
and who took the time to work me. 73. Dave K1RZ FM19jh
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.3830scores.com/
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