ARRL RTTY Roundup
Call: VA7ST
Operator(s): VA7ST
Station: VA7ST
Class: Single Op HP
QTH:
Operating Time (hrs): 21.5
Summary:
Band QSOs
------------
80: 129
40: 153
20: 392
15: 109
10:
------------
Total: 783 State/Prov = 53 Countries = 19 Total Score = 56,376
Club:
Comments:
Gear:
* FT920 + SB221 @ 500W
* N1MM + MMTTY
* 80M inverted-V apex 65' (signals E-W)
* Pair of 40M delta loops pointing east
* 3 ele. tribander at 50'
* 18AVT/WB trap vertical on ground, 36 radials
A good time was had by all, though there was little joy in Mudville. Domestic
propagation was all right, but DX was dismal. No Asia, a few Pacific, only 1 EU
all weekend.
Ran HP for the first time and felt a lot busier than I remember in LP
operations, though I had fewer Qs over more hours this year than last. Really
felt like there was less down-time between calls. Could be that Qs arrived in
intermittent clusters last year (spots?), but were more consistently spread out
this year.
DX multipliers were awfully scarce. Only EI7M worked on 20M and he was all
alone over the pole. Didn't hear a single other EU mult Saturday or Sunday on
20M, and I was listening closely for them.
Worked ZL4BR late on Saturday night on 40M -- hard going, but we made it. (The
delta loops aim E, and I haven't yet arranged a switching system to reverse
them).
Sunday morning, S-8 power line noise disappeared in a brief rain squall, but
was back less than an hour later. Was like heaven for an hour hearing pins
dropping out East. Returning noise got so bad on 20M and 15M Sunday afternoon I
pulled the plug with 50 minutes to go in the contest. Couldn't cope any longer
with BC Hydro's bacon frying. BC Hydro needs to do more to fix their equipment.
Praying for rain is no way to live. (BTW, Canada's only desert is just 50 miles
from here, so the "wet fix" is unreliable at best).
Running higher power seemed to attract more of the weaker stations than I
usually get, and the line noise turned me into quite an earless alligator -- I
know it, and I apologize for not being able to pull so many stations out of the
noise. Guestimating I lost out on more than 100 Qs (stations I knew were in
there but couldn't grab).
Low-band antannas continue to receive scrutiny. Need to raise the sagging
catenary rope that runs through pulleys between two pines -- East end should be
at 80-90' but it's at 65' or so. Will replace polyrope with wire rope up the
tree to the pulley, so I can put some tension on the catenary without worry of
breaking the "I'll never get another line in that exact spot" pulley support.
Wanted to replace the 80M inverted-V (peak at 65') with a delta loop, but ran
out of time before the contest. Will get to it soon, though -- a delta with
apex at 80' will fit across the back yard. I felt very weak on 80M, even with
the amp. I realize how effective the delta loop arrangement has been for me in
the past, and the inverted-V just doesn't match that.
Had a few jammers. Complete lids.
Took till mid-Sunday to find QC. Apologies to VE2AXO -- when he called, we made
the exchange but I doubled him at the end and instead of hitting "Esc" to wait
for him to finish, I inadvertently hit the "Hibernate" button on this stupid
keyboard. Naturally, the system went to sleep. He was still in there asking for
the CFM/QSL when I got the computer awake again. What a trooper!
Worked KN8J in WV near the end. Didn't find: ND, VT, DC, DE, LB, NF, NS, NU or
YT. Long list.
Watched http://www.getscores.org and AD4EB's journey to a very nice score. We
have roughly comparable antennas (towers are the same, and tribanders with
wires) but Jim definitely manages to dredge every last Q and mult out of the
bands. I was amazed by his rates and mult-gathering abilities this weekend.
VE1OP in the LP category was astounding to watch, too. If you haven't watched a
live scoreboard in the contests, give it a try. It's good fun, and when there's
nothing else happening you can at least watch your friends do well.
As I write, 8 p.m. Pacific - 0400z, we're being hit by a terrible roaring
windstorm (bad for our part of the country). Managed to crank down the tower
during a one-minute lull just now and it was not pleasant. My crappie-pole 40m
rotatable dipole at the tippy-top of the mast looked like a boomerang in the
wind. Note to self: crank the damn thing down when you're done with it.
Hope for better conditions next year with sunspots on the way back.
2006 Band QSOs Pts Sta Cty
3.5 156 156 5 0
7 206 206 6 1
14 322 322 16 21
21 142 142 27 8
Total 826 826 54 30 Raw : 69,384
2007 Band QSOs Pts Sta Cty
3.5 129 129 3 0
7 153 153 6 5
14 392 392 39 11
21 109 109 5 3
Total 783 783 53 19 Raw : 56,376
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.hornucopia.com/3830score/
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