ARRL Sweepstakes Contest, SSB
Call: K4XD
Operator(s): K4XD
Station: K4XD
Class: SO Unlimited HP
QTH: NC
Operating Time (hrs): 15
Summary:
Band QSOs
------------
160: 0
80: 459
40: 146
20: 101
15: 8
10: 0
------------
Total: 714 Sections = 80 Total Score = 114,240
Club: Potomac Valley Radio Club
Comments:
Is it over already?
Weeks of anticipation, two days of operating, and it's "50 weeks until
Sweepstakes" again!
Of course in the meantime we can enjoy reading the 3830 reports, seeing where
we ended up in the rankings, and speculating on which club seems to have the
most points towards the gavel.
Oh yeah, and there are a couple of other contests between now and 2011 SS to
take our minds off the wait...
I have to admit, nostalgia is a powerful thing. It feels like SS SSB was only
yesterday... oh wait, it was yesterday... and already the pain of Sunday
afternoon (and my sore BIC) is fading, and the runs on 75M are growing larger
than life in both QSO rate and fun factor. "You don't miss it until it's
gone..."
As those of you who have plowed through my previous SS writeups are aware, I
like to spend the hours on Saturday before SS getting ready for the big show,
compulsively walking out into the backyard to make sure my antennas are still
there, the dogs didn't eat the coax, and sampling the bands to hear all the
people who suddenly feel the need to get on the air and call CQ at some random
frequency that just happens to be one that will be very desirable at 2100.
This year was a bit different. My sister-in-law was in town, the weather was
fine, and we decided to spend some time at the nearby Falls Lake until "late
afternoon." Of course, we planned to be back in plenty of time for me to warm
up the rig before the starting gun was fired.
Well, it didn't quite work out that way, so things were in full commotion on
the bands by the time I sat down in front of the rig, and all the rare sections
had already given out QSO #1 and were drowning under the "get that one out of
the way and in the log" pileups. I think Rich NN3W was already on QSO number
300 as I was still trying to decide whether to start on 20 or 40!
The inevitable SS inner dialogue began immediately: "I know I should be CQ'ing
to maximize rate but that's a really long exchange and what if I forget
something stupid like the year I was licensed, or can't type as fast as the
other guy is spitting out his exchange and have to ask for so many repeats he
just mutters "lid" and moves on to the next QSO? What if the guy who answers
my CQ immediately fades to .0001 DB above the noise and I have to ask for so
many repeats he begins to wonder if I'm senile?" "OK OM, I got your section
OK, now I just need everything else again... I seem to have forgotten it
all..."
Maybe I'll just S&P for a while until I get comfortable with the exchange. Did
I really make 1000 Q's last year sounding like an auctioneer or late night TV
pitch man selling a vegetable slicer? Can I really do that?!
So, the die was cast, and the easy way out was taken... "oh yeah, I'm not
really S&P'ing because I'm too chicken to call CQ, I'm just S&P'ing up the band
looking for a clear spot..." which is sort of like trying to find a 20' x 20'
clear spot for your beach blanket on Jones Beach in August when you get there
at 1 in the afternoon.
After noticing that some of the guys with really huge QSO counts seemed to be
mopping up on 80 and 40 and not even doing as much as I did on 20, I decided to
focus more on 80 and 40 this year. But after 6 minutes of tuning around 40,
calling a few CQâ??s and only having 3 Qâ??s to show for my effort, I popped up
to 20 and saw a band map full of S&P opportunities. I rattled off 20 S&P Qâ??s
in 22 minutes, not a neck-snapping rate by any means but it kept me busy. I
did a little CQâ??ing along the way but the splatter was ugly enough and the
rate low enough that I decided I would do better with S&Pâ??ing for a while.
In SS CW I had 79 sections and missed NT for the sweep, so I was a bit hyper
about getting NT this time. I took a look at 15M and saw VE8EV spotted and
nabbed them on the second call, always a great feeling to get that section into
the log! The first hour is fun, watching the mults pile up, as they were
section number 22. I went back down to 20 for a bit, and then at 2219 decided
I was getting too much into S&P mode and better head to 40 and start CQâ??ing
or else...
I found a hole at 7130 and spent a bit over an hour there, getting to 138 Qâ??s
and 50 sections. At the stroke of midnight UTC, without even realizing it was
that time, something told me to go to 80 and thatâ??s where I spent the next 3
hours, camping out on 3642 and CQâ??ing for the bulk of it, getting up to 385
Qâ??s and 65 sections.
I was thinking â??man, I must be getting better at this, it is easier to dig
the weaker exchanges outâ?? and then someone pointed out that with the expanded
phone bands and fewer international broadcasters on 80 and 40, the QRM has eased
some. They are right! It can still be ugly, but there is more room to spread
out.
At 0316, I think as much because I needed a change of pace as anything, I
popped up to 40 and did a pass through the band, picking up SD, VI, SB, SJV,
NL, EB and PAC. Yes, 40 was long... and I was doing some SS â??DXâ??ingâ?? and
my rate suffered as a result. After an hour of that, back to 80 we go and got
MS right off the bat, then got really really low at 3605 and spent an hour,
picking up another 40 Qâ??s. I found WTX CQâ??ing on 80 and added them for
section 74 at 0520. ND followed at 0537, and 80 was open to everywhere, well
almost, with our next door neighbors in VA and SC alternating with
cross-country Qâ??s with ORG and SCV, up north to NH and down south to NFL. 80
has to be the most productive and fun SS band!
I only had one â??hecklerâ?? on 80, after 70 minutes of CQâ??ing a guy pops up
and says â??do you realize youâ??re stepping on our QSO 2 kHz down?â?? I said
â??Iâ??m very sorry, I have been for over an hourâ?? and they never replied.
Of course what I felt like saying was â??Congratulations! You just found the
only 2 kHz wide empty slot on 80M tonight!â??
I managed to keep my eyes open until 0722 and once again convinced myself that
the 35/hr rate was â??slow,â?? knowing full well it was really fast compared to
what I would be facing in 12 hours. I had a blissful 4 hours of sleep and got
back on the bands at 1134, half an hour on 80 and two minutes on 40, a darn
good thing because I picked up PR on 40, which would turn out to be one of the
harder sections this year. With 604 Qâ??s in the log and 78 sections down,
only NV and AB to go, I went to church feeling that a sweep was likely, and
while I might not break my Q total from last year, it would be a good
contribution to the PVRC effort.
Back from church at 1449 and got on 40 for half an hour. East coast stuff,
modest rate. I spent so little time on 20 yesterday Iâ??m thinking maybe
Iâ??ll be fresh meat there, so go up to 20 and realize Iâ??m half contesting,
half DXâ??ing again, looking for AB and NV, fixated on the sweep. It takes 40
minutes to find AB CQâ??ing midway up the band. I decide I should really start
running, so I go almost to the top of the band and call CQ. Bang, itâ??s Eric
from NT land, my first caller! Thanks! Even though I already had NT from the
VE8, still always a treat to get a call from the Yukon. After 10 minutes and 8
Qâ??s, I got restless again and started S&Pâ??ing. In another 20 minutes I
found NV for the sweep.
OK! The sweepâ??s in the bag, time for some serious contesting... only
somehow, the 15 Q/hr rate is not pumping up the motivation factor. After an
hour, I decide to take a break at 667 Qâ??s. And thatâ??s really it for the
rest of the contest. I would come back for 20 minutes, get bored, go do
something else, feel guilty, go back, get bored, repeat. Oh yeah, I was also
sore from sitting so long in that that $#! chair!
I ended the â??test with 714 Qâ??s, a sweep and 114K points claimed. My goal
was the sweep and 100K points so Iâ??m happy with that end of things. I think
if I had had the stamina, steel BIC, and perseverance to do 24 hours, the
conditions and Qâ??s were there to do better than 2009â??s result, but thatâ??s
easy to say. It seemed like there was a good turnout and the bands were decent.
I heard some guys on with truly amazing numbers, you have my respect! Itâ??s
not easy!
On to CQ WW CW... thanks everyone for the Qâ??s, and go PVRC!
73,
Rowland K4XD
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.hornucopia.com/3830score/
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