CQ WPX SUMMARY SHEET
Contest Dates : 28-Mar-98, 29-Mar-98
Callsign Used : N5HV
Operator : N5HV
Category : SO/AB/HP/Assisted
Hours of operation: 36
Team/Club : Tennessee Contest Group
BAND Raw QSOs Valid QSOs Points Prefixes
_____________________________________________________
160SSB 9 9 22 6
80SSB 69 69 144 42
40SSB 127 127 454 80
20SSB 432 432 1022 242
15SSB 370 370 974 164
10SSB 92 92 267 37
_____________________________________________________
Totals 1,099 1,099 2,883 571
Final Score: 1,646,193 points.
I used my ancient but wonderful Mac Classic II with Kevin Krueger's
Marathon Contest Logger. It is so great!.... so easy to use and
flawless!
I further certify that I really tried to make the best score I could;
that my 66 year old body simply wouldn't keep up with my will to win!
One of the more unusual (among several) observations that I made during
the WPX contest was the flutter normally associated with aurora that
one hears on transpolar communications.... except that these communications
were with european stations on 10, 15 and most noticeably on 20. I don't
recall ever hearing that before on US-European communications. Was that an
affectation of the Solar Wind that was accompanying the solar disturbance?
Another observation that, unfortunately, has become rather usual here
is the high line noise levels (S7-S9+10) on 10 meters that was
only slightly less so on 15 meters and completely absent on 20 meters and
below.
A third unusual observation was the strong opening to Europe on 20 meters
that existed for most of Saturday night.
Another observation was that my AMECO Model PT-3 Preamplifier aided my 10
and 15 meter reception with the FT-1000MP. It was more noticeable on 15
than 10 but was definitely there on both bands. I had heard others, on
the FT-1000MP Reflector make such proclamations but this time I verified
it for myself.
An additional observation was that the KT-34A at 72 feet was damned near
as good as the TH7DX at 132 feet on the same tower. There was such small
difference, that I didn't hesitate to use either one for long haul or
short haul. That certainly was not the case when I had a Classic 33 at
72 feet. The TH7DX was at that time a full S-unit better than the Classic
33.
The final observation was of my own capabilities: I am not so young any
more and I have definite limitations on staying alert for protracted
periods of time. I hate that. Again, no one remembers who came in
second.
I was disappointed that the inverted vee on 160 with the apex at 128' was
so ineffective in the high static conditions of the weekend when it was
so good during the 160 meter contest. I guess the 20-30 dB of quieting
afforded during the no storm period of the 160 meter contest made a great
deal more difference that I would have guessed. I hadn't thought that the
noise level was all that good during the 160 meter contest but I must have
been wrong.
All in all, not too bad for a fat, old man (to paraphrase John Wayne) with
a common prefix.
Rod, N5HV
w5hvv@aeneas.net
--
FAQ on WWW: http://www.contesting.com/3830faq.html
Submissions: 3830@contesting.com
Administrative requests: 3830-REQUEST@contesting.com
Problems: owner-3830@contesting.com
|