ARRL INTERNATIONAL DX CONTEST -- 1997
Call: WO4O QTH: USA/TN/SE Region/Delta/4
Mode: SSB Category: Single Operator
ON: 23 hours LOW Power
BAND QSO QSO PTS PTS/Q COUNTRIES ANT
160 3 9 3.0 2 "T"
80 24 72 3.0 19 Inv V
40 51 153 3.0 33 Inv V
20 160 480 3.0 66 TA33
15 155 465 3.0 50 TA33
10 62 186 3.0 7 TA33
--------------------------------------------------
Totals 455 1365 3.0 177 = 241,605
Equipment Description: Kenwood 450S/AT to TA33 and wires
QRM: Wow! What a baptism into my FIRST SO/AB/LP ARRL DX SSB
event. Mother Nature showed her fury. Severe thunderstorms.
Tornado watches. Flash flooding. The first 12 hours were a
nightmare. The second night (01-10Z) was worse! Was like a
war zone with the thunder crashes and lightning strikes. Thank
God there was no damage to my QTH. The severe Geomagnetic storm
entering this event didn't help matters either! I had erected a
160M "drooping T" (70'V/60'H) with 3 elevated radials but the
S9+20 QRN made it virtually useless. Having failed to QSO KH7R
on 75M before my sunrise I discovered (after daybreak) that my
40M and 75M wires were tangled together. I quickly solved this
problem. Heard K9AW/KH2 and several JAs on 40M (but NO QSO).
Waiting too long for DX to ID their 40M RX frequency can be a
waste of valuable S&P time. I moved on. Using SLOW AGC helped
me hear better in the midst of the QRN. Ran 2 local CBers off
of 28.344; that was exciting. I IDed and asked them to ID.
They refused. I asked them to continue their QSO so I could
continue tracking their signals. They went QRT! About half the
contest was okay; however, valuable time (Qs/Ms) was lost.
Seemed as if activity was lower this year than last. Aimed for
Southeast Regional Top 5 target. Hope I hit it. Although my
parade got rained on I still had FUN! Now, where's that rainbow?
Club Affiliation: TENNESSEE CONTEST GROUP
73 Wo4o < Ric.Painter@12.collage.isdn.net > Ridgetop, TN
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|Fidonet: Ric Painter 1:116/12
|Internet: Ric.Painter@12.collage.net
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| Standard disclaimer: The views of this user are strictly his own.
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