OT8T in the 1998 ARRL SSB CONTEST on 80 m.
ARRL had said we could do single bands again using a single call, but that
they will change the rules next year. I don't understand why though. You
can work ywo or 3 monobands from the same location if you use different
calls, but not when you use a single call. This puzzles me. I can't seem to
understand the rationale. Our problem is that we can only operate high
power with the special OT-calls.
As in the past number of years I (ON4UN) will do single band 80, while
Marc, ON4MA will do 40 meters, the same combination we did during the CW
weekend. The stub filtering system was again installed, but this time the
situation was war less critical as the harmonic of, say 2750 is 7.5 MHz
which is a long way from the lis-tening frequency on 40 m. With the filters
in place no sign at all of any interference was noticed.
One week before the contest my friendly neighbor farmer called to remove
the Bever-ages from the field... The next day I took all but one don. I
left the 300 deg USA Beverage. The same day it started raining, and since
then it really has hardly stooped. That makes the field totally
inaccessible for plowing or whatever. In pouring rain I then installed a
second Beverage spaced about 1.5 m from the first one. This was to be my
first real life experience with phased Beverages. The configuration is
end-fire, 90 deg out of phase, with 90 degrees (in line) spacing. The two
wires are 171 m long (160 meter would have been a little better, in view of
the famous "cone of silence"), and the phased pair were promised to show
approx. 30 dB F/B according to EZNEC. This is a doubling of what a single
Beverage does. In addition 3 dB extra gain was picked up, and signals were
barely a good S-unit below the signals from the 4-square.
This was the good news. Now the bad news. A few weeks ago I had done some
maintenance work on the prop pitch motor on the high tower with the 20 and
40 meter yagis. Amongst other thing the 6 bolts holding the motor in place,
which were rusted high strength steel bolts, were replaced with stainless
steel ones. Never do that! Within 2 weeks most of the bolts had worked
loose, and finally the prop-pitch just fell out of the tower! It took quite
some doing with the help from ON4MA and ON4WW, and in high winds and
pouring rain, to fix the ro-tating shaft and secure the antennas in a fixed
direction (USA), so that the now freely rotating antenna mast would not
snap off the coaxial cables. It was marginal, but we managed.
The other bad news was the noise problem. On 80 meter we have no problem
with the noise source of the chemical plant (which is causing all the
problems on 160m), but from a similar noise source coming from a
condominium building about 2 km. away. Four days before the start of the
contest I was informed that technicians had made changes to the
installation to solve the problem. The net re-sult was that the noise,
which was approx. S4 from 2.5 to 5 MHz, had become S7! The noise was now
also more difficult to null out completely with the MFJ noise canceler, as
we are using two phased Beverages, and 100 % cancellation is only possible
if the phase difference and the physical separation are both identical (90
deg), which is not always the case. So I found out that is one (very
particular) disadvantage of phase Beverages. Fortunately, a good friend
managed to talk to the maintenance people, and made an agreement that they
would simply switch off the 4 ventilation motors during the contest
weekend. And they did: boy, I had not heard such a quiet band for a long time!
That left just one hurdle to take. QRM from an electric fence. Around
midnight local time, one hour before the start of the contest, we set out a
small expedition to find the culprit. We used a special DF (fox hunting)
receiver for 80m (thanks ON4ZG from our local club) and within minutes we
found the offender about 1.5 km from the QTH, right in the direction of the
US. Seconds later, and thanks to a simple wire cutter, the QRM was gone. So
was the voltage on the wire. I hope not the horses...
The contest on 80 meters:
I found myself a reasonably quiet spot around 3777.5 kHz around 23:20 and
started working some W?s. It looked great. The rejection from the phased
Beverages was really outstanding. By midnight I has established a good
clear spot, with decent elbow room. As usual during the first hour of the
contest, you work a lot of big guys, but QRM was bad. Soon we had all kinds
of jammers on frequency, playing music, just plain intentional jamming. In
between the music there were some Dutch stations calling one another on the
frequency. I repeatedly asked them to move, but no avail. When the music
stopped, PA3EKA (at exactly the same signal strength) called CQ on and on.
This was the nice clear frequency I had prepared for myself starting 40
minutes before the start of the contest! I started working split (listening
above 3800), and eventually the jammer gave up. I asked a few W?s if the
frequency was clear, and apparently the jamming Dutchman was not even
audible in the States. Anyhow, thank you PA3EKA, I will remember your call.
Working W?s on my transmit frequency proved to be very difficult, as the
competition was moving in closer and closer from both sides, and a lot of
energy was spent trying to keep the frequency clear enough to make copy
possible at all. Them around 01:00z, some kind of a net with US stations
having a Southern accent started smash on my frequency, and simply refused
to listen for my appeal to move. Eventually I had to give up, and moved to
3742.7, where I remained until way after sunrise, some 6 hours later. This
was to be "my" frequency for the rest of the night. I ap-peared to be a
total waste of time to try to work on a single frequency inside the general
class window (3775-3800). I remember though, that years ago, I did one ARRL
contest, from start to finish inside the window. But that year conditions
were much better.
I haven?t said anything about conditions yet. They stunk. The first night
only 350 QSO?s were made, with all of the East coast stations (W1,2,3,4,8,
and VE1,2,3 except PEI). But only a few of the Mid-West station were
worked: all W9?s (of course), only TX and OK from W5, only CO (K0RF and
KV0Q), IA (NR0X, N0NI and N0 MA) and K0TT from MN from the 0-call area, and
nothing from W6 or 7 land. Most of those stations had weak and watery signals.
Came sunrise with no signal enhancement at all. The band just died without
glory. Hope the second night will be much better...
Just before 21:30 I check the band. What happens? The S7 noise from the
apartment building down the street is on again. Whereas they had promised
to keep the electric motors shut off all weekend, they apparently switched
them back on. Minutes later I got hold of the telephone number of the
technician responsible for the building. Seconds later I have the man on
the phone. After a some convincing "small-talk" (=arm twisting) he?s
convinced he?d better switch it off again. I can?t tell the arguments I
used, though.. Fifteen minutes 80 meter is quiet again
I decide to try to find a spot just above 3775 to try to attract some of
the Canadians. After about 1 hour on 3777 the same scenario as last night
repeats itself. The same PA3EKA from last night start calling some of his
Dutch buddies right on my frequency. He is calling the "nigh owls". This
seems to be a net for retarded Dutchmen and the like. When asked to QSY he
says "well it?s busy all around, and this is where we are every night, and
you?ve been here long enough now, so now this is our frequency.." Shortly
later PA3EKA is joined by another senile night owl, who started repeating
on the frequency "No Contest", for minutes on end, just like a parrot.
PA3EKA seems to enjoy it and arrogantly adds "Am I on your black list now?"
I try the work some split from 3777, but this makes no sense. In the mean
time I?ve to fight off S57O who started calling contest (listening above
3.8) within 1 kHz of "my" frequency. What the hell drives these guys to
work split from inside the US band is mystery to me. Strange.. No, I think
it is simply stupid. But who am I to complain. Let them do it, it just
means less competition.
At 23:45 I give in, and move to 3787 which I find clear (someone went for a
pee?). But it?s tough out there. You?re being assaulted continuously. G3TBK
first thinks 1 kHz is ample separation but moves .V26B though thinks that
the fact he is so close to the USA gives him all rights to any frequency he
wants. When told that the frequency is busy, he -of course- ignores me (the
"can?t hear you" strat-egy), but I keep telling him. Keep telling him for
at least 5 minutes. He does not make a single QSO. US stations have told me
I am 30 over 9, you I must bother him, no two ways about it. This battle I
win, eventually he goes away. "Justice is done".
It?s quiet now, 9A1A is 2.1 kHz below me, and I4AVG 2 kHz above me. For a
while at least. suddenly he moves down to within 1.4 kHz of my frequency.
I cannot copy anything anymore, just Italian "300 Watt" splatter. A 15
minute lasting discussion results. The only thing I can do is listen split.
But the rate is slow, again, working split from inside the US window is
senseless.
Finally I decide to do the only wise thing to do: move outside the US
window, and let these wise guys fight for a seat in the window. Why should
I waste more effort? I settle on 3743, where I will be nested for the
remaining of the second night.
Around 01:00 the skips starts lengthening, and Bill, K0HA is much stronger
than last night. Looks promising. The US band between 3.8 and 3.850 is now
completely taken by strong US stations often listening as low as 3650.
Everybody seems to have settled on "his" frequency, and a certain calm has
returned.
The continuously high QRN level from last night is not there tonight, but
every now and then we have short and heavy rain down-pours, accompanied
with the usual rain static. An then, out of the blue, two fierce lightning
strikes within minutes of one another. lightning in early March, this is
quite unusual here. Lightning NOT announced by a high static level. Just
like two "lost" lightning strikes from another world (from El Nino?).
In the following hours the skip very gradually stretches out further West.
Around 03:30 various TX stations are worked. I still need LA, NM and MS. If
they?re around it should happen shortly. But it did not! It appears that
the static is horrendous in the South East. Thank you again, El Nino!
At 04:10 N0KV from CO calls me with a good signal. Is the band going to
stretch all the way to CA? Indeed, in the next two and a half hours the
band sporadically reaches the Western States. After N0KV (CO) at 0410, W7CN
(NV) is fb copy at 04:12 for a new mul-tiplier. At 04:12 I work my first CA
station: KO6N, but signals are weak. The big surprise is K6UA with an
almost honest S9 signal at 04:30. Old Dale is doing it again! Dale is
followed by K6RC, AD6C , and later N6DX and AD6DO. Three more new states
are logged as well: NK7U (OR) at 05:30, K0AXU (MO) at 06:15 and KF0FN (SD)
at 06:38, a few minutes after my sunrise.
With 605 QSOs and 44 multipliers I hit the sack at 06:45. At least I
already have as many points as last year, when conditions apparently were
even worse!
VO1FG is my first QSO at 20:40, while K1IR is the first US station a little
later. 9A1A (multi op) stops by on the QRG and says they have 50
multipliers on 80. I have 44. Just can?t be-lieve I missed 6 of them? Were
they that much louder on the West Coast? Of course, being multi op they
could move stations from 40 m to 80. That could make the difference, but
you need to have propagation as well.
The band seems to be OK tonight. A and K indexes are zero, which is what we
would have liked to see the last 48 hours. An OX station calls me, that
means that the magnetic activity is zero. Good signs, but a little late. I
have nested myself on 3995.7 and it?s again a big struggle to keep "my"
frequency. The first really aggressive assault comes from WP3X who starts
800 Hz up, and first refuses to move. He gets some nasty comments from US
stations listening in, and finally decides to move up a little. Five
minutes before the end of the test IQ4A starts exactly 1 kHz below me. I
indicate that the frequency is busy. The operator, who identifies himself
as W2NA, says that he is aware that he is only 1 kHz below me, but that he
will not move. He actually admits he is intentionally jamming me! I have
recorded everything, and tell him. He too gets some nasty remarks from
other US stations listening in. Fortunately the contest is all but over,
and this incident did not cost me more than maybe 1 QSO. But I think it?s a
pity that such a fine contest station as IQ4A has an operator with such bad
manners. This is really bad publicity.
The evening session added another 68 QSOs to the log, but, as to be
expected no new multipliers.
In total 673 QSOs were made with 44 multipliers, good for 88,836 points,
which is 10,000 points better than last year, when conditions were even worse!
73
John, ON4UN
***************************************************************
* John Devoldere, ON4UN, AA4OI, OT8T *
* e-mail: john.devoldere@innet.be *
* address: Poelstraat 215 *
* B9820 Merelbele *
* Belgium *
* mailing addres: P.O.Box 41 *
* B9000 Gent, *
* Belgium *
***************************************************************
* *
* PLEASE CALL US IN THE CONTESTS (ON4UN OR OT8T). THANK YOU! *
* *
***************************************************************
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