I won my first (and only) contest certificate in the RR with a casual
effort last year, mainly because I was the only entrant from the Santa
Barbara section. However, I thought it was worth making a more serious
effort this year to see how I could do for real. Propagation was amazingly
good, although the Europe opening on Sunday seemed not to last very long.
Was Nevada on at all?
I clearly need either better antennas for 80 and 40, or a fix to my RFI
problem so I can run my amp there without repeated lockups, or (I hope)
both. I could also use a more comfortable chair or a tougher butt.
Highlights: Stumbling across my friend John VK4UC as the only signal on 20
m late Saturday night. Being called by CN8LI.
Thanks to W7LD and K6LL for five bands, and to many others for four!
A couple of comments to add to the many messages about exchanges:
I prefer the critical info--call and QTH or serial number--sent
twice. Once is plenty for 599, but zero probably isn't kosher. Leading
spaces are helpful since the first character of a transmission is often
lost. I can really do without the answers to my CQ that include the
exchange before I've acknowledged them, especially when more than one
station is calling! The long exchanges--"W6KNB de XXXXX XXXXX Good
afternoon, Glenn. Please copy 599 599 599 599 123 123 123 123 123 123 Best
73 and Happy New Year. W6KNB de XXXXX XXXXX"--are more funny than
exasperating (although if I were in the running for first place I might
have a different view).
------------------------------------------------------------
Band QSOs W/VE DX
80 9 7 0
40 40 22 1
20 204 51 17
15 290 51 32
10 228 48 25
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Total 771 56* 44*
Claimed score = 77100
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* - Counted only once (not once per band)
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Equipment:
FT-1000 + Alpha 89 (1 kW on 20,15,10)
FT-1000 (100 w on 80, 40)
Force-12 C3 at 20 ft (20,15,10)
Low dipole (80,40)
RTTY by WF1B v 5.02
RITTY by K6STI v 3.06
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73 and Happy New Year,
Glenn W6KNB
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