Callsign Used : K5TR
Station Used : W5KFT-Ranch
Catagory : Single Op High Power
Section : STX
Antennas : http://www.kkn.net/~k5tr
BAND Raw QSOs Valid QSOs Points Mults
__________________________________________________
80SSB 127 127 254 1
40SSB 428 425 850 2
20SSB 633 628 1256 9
15SSB 529 527 1054 67
10SSB 232 231 462 0
__________________________________________________
Totals 1949 1938 3876 79
Final Score = 306204 points.
The first three hours of this years fone SS was very exciting but........
I started the contest on 15 meters. I listened to 10 meters some at the start
and it sounded good but I follow an old rule that you never never ever start
the SS on 10 meters no matter how good it sounds. So I started on
15 meters - and as seems to be my habit I did not have a frequency until
2100Z - I settled in and started CQing and was getting ZERO answers.
I kept at it and then slowly the rate started coming with a few of
the callers ahead of me! In the fist 30 minutes I called way too many CQs
and I was wondering if I had made the correct band choice but soon the
rate got better and it just kept getting better and better and I finished
the hour with a 150 contacts.
The second hour was also spent on 15 meters and it was even better as the
folks began leaving 10 meters. I had a solid 154 hour and was feeling really
good - I always like it when I can have 300+ QSOs in the first 2 hours.
I finish hour number two with QSO number 304. In hour number three the rate
just keeps going - but 15 meters starts fading and by 23:24Z I go for four
minutes with only one QSO per minute and I start looking for a frequency on
20 meters as I figure it will soon be time to change bands.
I soon find one - quite low in the band at 14.160 or so - I make the band change
at 2327Z having made 373 contacts on 15m. The rate took off on 20 meters and
it was great. Hour number three was 164 QSOs for a total of 466 QSOs in three
hours of the SS - this has to be my best start ever in this contest - I was
just amazed and I was felling really good.
About 10 minutes into hour four things began to go VERY wrong - the computer
started locking up every few QSOs and seemed to be RF related - I kept messing
with the antenna switching that I had added just before the contest and my mic
cables and all sorts of stuff but never could seem to solve it - I should have
taken an off time and figured it out but I just knew I would get it solved and
I
could go on. I got so upset that after the 10th + lockup I banged on the
keyboard very hard and broke it - so then I just took all my frustrations out
on that poor keyboard and destroyed it. I now know that your $15 101 key
keyboard has well over 200 parts in it - and I had them scattered all over
the room.
At the end of the summer we finally got around to adding a new tower at W5KFT
but as these things often go we did not get all of the planned parts in time
to fully complete it to it's final form. We also ran out of time to get all
of the planned switching in place before this contest season so I spent the
four hours before the contest wiring up some switch boxes in the shack to
allow me to switch between the new antennas and the old ones - I think this
proved to be a mistake.
I finally ended up ripping out all of the added switching and my two radio
relay box that is connected to the computer since these were the only changes
to the station that I could think of that might be causing the troubles - this
seems to have solved the problem and I was up and running again but only after
having lost tons of time and QSOs. By this time I was also very upset about
having had this trouble ruin my great start. I thought about quitting but
knew that I would just be more upset at myself later if I gave up - I have a
rule that I never give up - no matter what breaks or goes wrong - just push
the broken junk out of the way and keep going. In fact I was just about to
start logging the contest on paper and I would have if I had not gotten the
computer going again.
Anyway I got out of hour four with 56 QSOs. Twenty meters began closing up
in hour five (way too early!) and after 92 QSOS I was looking for a frequency
on 40 meters. This is not an easy thing to do and I finally find a place
amongst the noise and mess and start running on 40 meters. This goes pretty
well until the west coast stations start showing up on 40 meters and soon one
of them is running other west coast stations on top of me. When I finally get
this guy to notice me he tells me that he is doing just fine running W6
stations and that he thinks I should take my toys and go elsewhere.
Gee - thanks. I finally find another frequency and grind out the rate.
I don't really know how bad the damage is until N7TR calls in and gives me
number 1092 to my 868. I figure that I have lost about 100 QSOs to my problems
and another 100+ to his being able to stay on the high bands longer with good
rates while I had to leave 20 meters early.
I soon work others who are ahead of me.
The rate for the next several hours is:
01Z - 105
02Z - 94
03Z - 83
04Z - 90
05Z - 61
06Z - 26
I take my first off time at 06:13Z - I eat and hook my two radio relay back up
and finish disconnecting the antenna switching stuff. Having my two radio
relay will make it easier for me to make second radio contacts.
I get back on after 30 minutes at 06:43Z and stay for 24 more contacts.
I take my next off time at 07:20Z and this time I go to sleep.
I am back up after a bit under 4 hours and back on the radio at 11: 20Z
I operate on 40 and 80 with good results but the rate is not great. I go to
20m but it is not really open yet so I take another 30 minutes from
12:43 to 13:13. When I come back I try 15 meters but it is not doing so I find
a frequency on 20 meters and start a slow run with second radio QSOs on
15 meters. WP3R calls me for the sweep at 13:40Z and I give him number 1115
and he gives me 1267. Not too far ahead but with 15 and 10 meters doing so
well I am sure he will have a huge score when it is over. When he checks in
on 3830 after the contest I was amazed at how big he got it - good going Rich.
20 meters is not going well so I go to 15 meters to see if I can get anything
going at 14:30Z but it is not very good and I am just not into the contest
anymore. I decide to take another 30 minute off time and take a shower and
try to get myself back into the game. I come back with a bit of a new outlook
and decide that I will do the best I can. By taking this off time I now
have one more 30 minute period to take and decide to take it either at the
end if the rate stays up or when the rate goes bad. This is usually how I
decide to take off times in the SS - if the rate is as good or better
than I think it will be later then I keep going - if not - then I take
the time off.
I get back on at 15:22Z and start on 15 meters - but I am not getting very
good answers even though the band sounds good. Finally the rate gets good
about the time that the solar event occurs - I don't really notice it except
that my frequency gets clear of QRM and the rate slows a bit but I am still
getting answers on 15 meters, but the band sounds strange so I click half the
headphones over to 20 meters and I find it EMPTY .... WOW..... I look at
all the switches etc. but find nothing wrong. I soon hear some weak guys
calling CQ and quickly figure out what has happened. It seems to have
affected 15 meters less and I keep getting answers as I listen to 20 meters
slowly recovers.
I continue running on 15 meters while making some second radio QSOs on 20
and 10. Ten meters never really sounds right but I finally go there and
CQ at 16:53Z - I do not stay long as I decide that 20 meters might produce
better rates so I go to 20 meters at 17:12Z and stay there until I go back to
10 meters at 19:25Z - WOW the rate is good and the next 3 hours keep the rate
meter in the 80/per hour range. This is great and much better than I
thought it would be.
I think I could have been there earlier. By 21:50 Z the rate on 10m is
starting to slow and I decide it is time to go to 15 meters - I do this but
it is very crowded on 15meters and I can not get a very good frequency where
I can hear the weak ones so I start looking for a place to go on 20 meters.
I soon find a hole at 14.261 and I camp there from 22:08Z till the band goes
south for me at 00:47Z. The rate was ok in the 60/hr range. I start looking
for a frequency on 40 meters but I find nothing or at least nothing that
I want. As I am tuning 40 I do get a laugh about the WAS net on 7.233.
The station that I hear them running a list for is in MT. Gee kinda
makes mewonder if those guys ever listened to the band around them - lots
of states to work.
I come back from my break at 01:20Z and start CQing on 20meters while I
look for a frequency on 40 meters - I soon find one and I start slowly
running on 40 at 01:22Z. The noise is bad but I keep going on 40 meters
while working the second radio on 80 meters. I soon decide that if I can
find a hole on 80 meters I might do better on that band. At 01:42Z I finally
find that hole and I am off and running on 80 meters and decide to stay
till the end if I can. I use the second radio on 40 meters but do not find
many stations that are new to me. I finish the contest on 80 meters
with QSO number 1949.
I had fun despite the problems and now I can't wait to do
it again. I know I will be better prepared for it next year. :-)
Now for all the numbers.........
I made 121 band changes and 70+ second radio QSOs.
I had 3 mins with 5 qso/min
34 mins with 4 qso/min
61 mins with 3 qso/min
382 mins with 2 qso/min
160 80 40 20 15 10 ALL
--- -- -- -- -- -- ---
USA calls = 0 122 403 592 502 213 1832
VE calls = 0 3 19 29 19 13 83
N.A. calls = 0 2 2 7 2 2 15
Total calls = 0 127 425 628 527 231 1938
HOUR 80SSB 40SSB 20SSB 15SSB 10SSB TOTAL ACCUM
---- ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ----- -----
21 0 0 0 150 0 150 150
22 0 0 0 154 0 154 304
23 0 0 94 68 0 162 466
0 0 0 56 0 0 56 522
1 0 13 92 0 0 105 627
2 0 94 0 0 0 94 721
3 0 82 1 0 0 83 804
4 1 89 0 0 0 90 894
5 7 54 0 0 0 61 955
6 7 19 0 0 0 26 981
7 9 15 0 0 0 24 1005
8 0 0 0 0 0 0 1005
9 0 0 0 0 0 0 1005
10 0 0 0 0 0 0 1005
11 2 30 0 0 0 32 1037
12 25 16 1 0 0 42 1079
13 0 0 50 5 0 55 1134
14 0 0 23 25 0 48 1182
15 0 0 1 46 0 47 1229
16 0 0 0 50 13 63 1292
17 0 0 57 3 5 65 1357
18 0 0 58 10 0 68 1425
19 0 0 31 1 55 87 1512
20 0 0 0 4 80 84 1596
21 0 0 0 3 77 80 1676
22 0 0 65 6 0 71 1747
23 0 0 64 1 1 66 1813
0 0 0 33 1 0 34 1847
1 20 12 2 0 0 34 1881
2 56 1 0 0 0 57 1938
TOTAL 127 425 628 527 231
The section totals.....
1. Oh 91
2. Mi 87
3. Il 84
4. Va 71
5. Mdc 61
6. Ep 59
7. WWa 54
8. Em 54
9. WNy 53
10. Mn 51
11. NNj 47
12. Ct 46
13. Scv 45
14. ENy 43
15. SNj 38
16. In 37
17. Lax 37
18. Or 37
19. Az 32
20. NLi 31
21. Tn 31
22. Org 30
23. Nc 30
24. Ky 30
25. Wi 29
26. Ga 29
27. Sv 29
28. Nh 27
29. WPa 27
30. Co 25
31. On 24
32. STx 23
33. NTx 23
34. WMa 22
35. Me 21
36. Ks 21
37. Sjv 21
38. Mo 20
39. SFl 20
40. Sdg 18
41. Id 17
42. Mt 17
43. Ia 17
44. Vt 16
45. Eb 16
46. NFl 15
47. Ut 14
48. Wv 14
49. Sc 14
50. Ew 13
51. Ri 13
52. Nv 13
53. De 12
54. Sb 12
55. NNy 12
56. Sf 12
57. Wy 11
58. Ab 11
59. Ne 11
60. Bc 10
61. Mar 9
62. Al 9
63. Nd 9
64. Qc 9
65. Pac 8
66. Ar 8
67. La 8
68. Ms 7
69. Sk 7
70. Nm 7
71. Ak 6
72. Nl 6
73. WTx 5
74. Mb 5
75. Sd 5
76. Vi 5
77. Ok 4
78. Nwt 2
79. Pr 2
--
George Fremin III
Johnson City, Texas
K5TR (ex.WB5VZL)
geoiii@kkn.net
512-416-7010
http://www.kkn.net/~k5tr
--
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