Call used: AA7TF ARRL Section or Country: ID
Category: Single Operator Power Category: 150W
Another operation from micro-station AA7TF. For my 2 or so hours
of operation I managed:
39 Q's 78 pts 22 sec's 0 cty = 1,716 claimed score
As with SS SSB the main challenge and excitement is trying to
figure out how to get on the air from my "No Antenna CC&R QTH".
This time I figured I could mount my Butternut HF-2V, with 160m
coil, on the chimney after the sun went down and then take it down
again before dawn. What the neighbors can't see, they can't
complain about. And since a 32' vertical would be noticeable, I had
to put it up and take it down at night. Of course this plan is
subject to a few flaws and I ran into two of them. On Friday, when
I got how from work, it was raining pretty good. Not the type of
weather one wants to be climbing around in the dark on a cedar
shake roof. So scratch the first night of the contest. On Saturday
things dried out and I was able to rig up three 1/4 wave radials
for the ground plane. I figured the neighbors thought I was on the
roof rigging up more Christmas lights. (An who knows maybe all
those light strings did add to the ground plane somewhat.) Of
course on my small lot the radials were more like bent "L's" than
straight lines, but it is better than nothing. Come Saturday sunset
plus 20 minutes up goes the Butternut and after 8 trips up and down
the ladder to get it tuned it works! I find I have a 2:1 bandwidth
of about 12 kHz centered on 1815. Not too bad! Unfortunately by the
time this is done I also notice I am not feeling too well, a cold
has managed to find its way in past my defenses. So I get on the
air and manage to work 32 stations in about 1:45 but then throw in
the towel and go to bed. I get up early the next morning, feeling
better, and work a few more until I notice it is getting light
outside. Time to go take the antenna down. Here is where I ran into
flaw number 2, the wind is blowing pretty good. The HF-2V has a
pretty good bow in it from the wind, but I know it had better come
down. And down it comes, actually rather easily, though I am not
sure I would want to put it up in that kind of wind.
All in all a really fun contest. I am not a great CW operator but
this one is easy. My only previous 160 operating at all was during
the CQ 160 SSB test in early 1995. I made a grand total of 12 Q's
with a very low dipole. So this effort was a grand improvement. I
managed to work all sections in W6 and W7 plus MO, CO, BC, and NM.
Assuming the weather cooperates I will be back on the air in the CQ
160 contests next year. I think I have figured out how to turn the
vertical into an inverted L by using one of my talller trees with a
top part 30-40 feet long. I hope this improves my bandwidth and
gets my signal out a little more. See you then and thanks all to
for the Q's I had this time around.
Scott Tuthill/AA7TF stuthill@micron.net
>From jreid@aloha.net (Jim Reid) Wed Dec 6 05:40:18 1995
From: jreid@aloha.net (Jim Reid) (Jim Reid)
Subject: KL7 in New Jersey
Message-ID: <199512060540.TAA19910@hookomo.aloha.net>
>From: kp4xs@ix.netcom.com (Kenneth Ramirez )
>Subject: Re: KL7 in New Jersey
>To: jreid@aloha.net (Jim Reid)
>
> Hello,
> I have held various DX calls in my amateur years including
>np4jv,kh2f,and now kp4xs. I live in South Carolina presently. My family
>lives in Puerto Rico and I go there twice a year to contest. I don't
>see what the problem is with holding a DX call while in the Continental
>US. It is not an unfair advantage in a contest since the contest rules
>specifically say the Call sign MUST indicate the DXCC country you are
>in. Anyone who calls CQ contest with a DX call and does not sign /W2 or
>portable w or k or whatever is cheating,plain and simple. I got my
>present call by utilizing the mailing address of my parents. I wanted
>to get KP4 call for my future retirement to Puerto Rico.
>73 Ken
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