DARC WORKED ALL EUROPE CONTEST -- 19100 (2000)
Call: KQ2M Country: United States
Mode: SSB Category: SOABHP Unassisted No Packet
One Radio/No beverages
BAND QSO QTC Cty Mult 17.0 hours operation
80 0 0 0 0
40 54 0 23 69
20 340 196 45 90
15 675 541 48 96
10 417 358 38 76
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Totals 1486 1095 154 331 = 851,001
All reports sent were 59(9), unless otherwise noted.
Equipment Description:
FT1000MP & Titan
Antennas:
10 Hygain 105CA 5/5/5/5 @ 22'/45'/70'/100' Fixed NE with Top rotatable
15 Hygain 155CA 5/5/5/5 @ 30'/60'/90'/109' Fixed NE with Top rotatable
20 Cushcraft 20-4CD 4/4 @ 65'/130' Fixed NE with Top rotatable
40 3L Wire beam @ 50' NE and 40-2cd @ 120' Fixed NE
80 Broken 4-square (did not use)
Comments:
Used the contest to test out the radios and stackmasters back from being
repaired. Got one Titan amp. to fail (better now than in CQWW!). Antennas
worked well but a lot more work to do. Cndx were dramatically better on
Sunday than Saturday and 10/15 sounded great but not quite up to top of
of the cycle form.
Activity from EU was tremendous and speaks well of future contests. I think
it would have been possible to make 2400 qso's as SO this weekend with a
score of 2,000,000 but putting up stair "gates" and installing safety
latches
on doors and cabinets to keep my very active and curious 13 month old
daughter Melissa safe, took priority and limited my operating to 17 hours.
I basically ran (NO S/P) all weekend and did not bother to get rid of QTC.
Used one radio to make it "easy" and as usual, no packet (although it is
allowed in this contest for S/O). Spent only 1 hour on the low-bands
Sunday 2300-0000, cqing on 40 and did not bother to fix 4-sq for 80 or
beverages. I had a lot of fun and really enjoyed saying HI to "old" friends
and new friends that I met in Slovenia.
Some observations this weekend:
* Ability to copy QTC easily and accurately had NOTHING to do with serial
number given. DL8ZZZ (not real call) with S/N of 12 copied QTC like a pro,
RW1ZZZ (not real call) with S/N of 1400 could not copy in repeated attempts
over three days!
* Audio of many EU stns was heavily overmodulated BUT most cranked down the
mic gain a few notches when asked nicely to do so. Some ignored the
request even though it was almost impossible to understand them. This of
course hurt their score but they did not seem to care. Most operators
showed courtesy and consideration and this added significantly to my
enjoyment this weekend.
* US activity seemed quite low which allowed wide areas of the band in which
to CQ or just work guys. If you were a ragchewer you had plenty of space
available to qso in peace ANYWHERE in the band. Maybe the Sprint this
weekend had something to do with that? Seems kind of silly to have two
different major contests on the same weekend. Could there be better
coordination between the two sponsoring committees?
* Many of the EU stns that only gave the "last two" letters of their call
when they called me, ALSO forgot to give me their whole call when they
worked
me. How was I supposed to know who I was working? Often I had to ask for
their call several times and even then some stations disappeared before
I got their full call. I said that I was removing their contact from the
log
and when I get their qsl I will note that they were not in the log.
This is just bad operating practice and silly operating wastes everyone's
time.
* Why do loud stations answer your CQ contest and then when you give them
the exchange, they disappear forever? This is one of contesting's
mysteries.
* This was a really fun contest to operate in and I recommend it to anyone
who wants to "get their feet wet" as a low tension introduction to
contesting.
Lots of guys to work, some interesting EU mults, ability to works guys on
multiple bads, good propagation this time of year (close to the Fall
equinox)
and skilled EU ops, make for a very enjoyable experience!
Thanks for the q's and 73's!
Bob KQ2M
Club Affiliation: FRANKFORD RADIO CLUB
This is to certify that in this contest I have operated
my transmitter within the limitations of my license and have
observed fully the rules and regulations of the contest.
Signature _________________________________
MAILING ADDRESS:
ROBERT L. SHOHET KQ2M
51 SCUDDER ROAD
NEWTOWN, CT 06470
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