CQ 160-Meter Contest, CW - 2021
Call: K1KA
Operator(s): K1KA
Station: K1KA
Class: Single Op Assisted LP
QTH: NH
Operating Time (hrs): 10
Summary:
Total: QSOs = 362 State/Prov = 49 Countries = 14 Total Score = 56,637
Club: Yankee Clipper Contest Club
Comments:
It was going to be an LP effort this year since my amp was on its way to the
“amp doctor”. On the positive side the Inv L had been working well, and the
EU beverage also. I would just have to be patient when making those high point
QSOs. Fired up a few minutes early. What the heck – a 3:1+ SWR on my normally
1:1 Inv L? Checked cables, got the tuner going, checked various frequencies.
Best I could do was just under 3:1. It was too cold, windy and dark to venture
through the woods to the antenna. I would check it out in the AM. I had had a
problem with branches hitting the antenna during the ARRL Contest in December
which would occasionally spike the SWR, but some pruning had fixed that.
As others have said, signals were strange. For me it was like there was a wall
west of the Mississippi. Even OH and 9’s took multiple calls. I could work all
the NY, PA, VE2, 3 and VA I wanted but for others multiple calls were needed,
and many with strong signals just did not hear me at all. I was running 100 w,
but felt like I was QRP. I could hear EU stations but with a few exceptions,
they did not hear me.
On the way through the woods to my Inv L on Saturday morning, I tripped over my
beverage. Hmmm it is not a BOG, it’s usually 6-8 ft. in the air. I checked it
a few feet in each direction and all seemed fine. Since it was working okay, I
wasn’t too worried. I rigged it so it would be back to its normal height. On
the other hand, the Inv. L was in serious trouble. In the windstorm, several
small trees had come down on the horizontal section so that it had pulled away
from its tie off point and was only about 15 ft. above ground pretty much back
to the 80 ft vertical section. It went up 80 ft. and immediately came back down
about 65 ft. Not pretty. I was amazed I could work anyone. Unfortunately repairs
would take some significant chain saw work, which was not going to happen any
time soon. Starting the second evening, I realized that the beverage was no
longer working either. Maybe I broke it somehow re-rigging it. The few EU
stations I could hear on the Inv. L disappeared on the beverage. I toughed it
out for the rest of the contest and eventually broke through that Mississippi
wall but no more EU stations worked. Thanks to all who put extra effort into
pulling me through.
Rig: K3S
73 Dave K1KA
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