Call: N3RD Country: United States
Mode: CW Category: Multi Single
BAND QSO QTC Cty Mult
80 55 55 20 80
40 354 349 43 129
20 660 660 45 90
15 720 720 43 86
10 137 137 30 60
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Totals 1926 1921 181 445 = 1,711,915
Operator List: N3RD, N3RS, W8FJ (pt)
Equipment Description: N3RS's 2-tower station:
Tower 1 (130' Rohn 55): 5/5/5 on 20, 4/4/4 on 15, rotary 80m dipole
Tower 2 (140' AB-105): 5/5/5 on 10, 3 el full size on 40
Equipment: 2 times FT-1000MP/Alpha76PA
Club Affiliation: Frankford Radio Club
Everybody knows about the drought in the northeast, and we're
desperate for rain, but NOT from thunderstorms during the WAE!
Friday night was terrible on LF. We had to QRT for 30 minutes
during the height of a passing storm, but the lingering QRN was so
bad we were only able to manage a single QSO on 80m Friday
night. On 40, we used the beverage, which we hardly ever use on
that band. 20 meters was the mainstay all night with occasional
trips to 40m.
Saturday morning 15m got off to a much earlier start than normal,
and luckily we were there at the opening and had a quite good first
hour of 110, our best hour of the contest. This was the 10Z hour. In
1998 15m didn't open until 13Z, so you had to be there or else miss
it. 10m opened briefly for us at 11Z, but nothing very good. The
rest of Saturday was the typical "grind 'em out" on 15, then 20, then
40. LF was much better on Saturday night, and we were able to
work 19 more precious 80 meter multipliers.
Sunday morning's 15m opening came at about the same time as
Saturday, but it was not nearly as good as Saturday. We thought
that Murphy had visited us and left QRN and flat conditions. But
then he REALLY showed up at 1530Z, when a tree fell on the top
guy wire on the AB-105 tower, destroying two preformeds in the
process. Luckily, AB-105 is REALLY STRONG tower, and the
tower survived without damage. We had to take a 90m break from
the contest to repair the guy wire, which included getting out the
chain saw to clear the fallen tree from on top of the guy anchor.
Whew!
We got back on the air at about 1730Z and were rewarded with a
very good opening on 10m during the 18Z hour. After that it was
the normal push to the end, with what seems to be the customary
worry about being stuck with unsent QTCs, and the hope for a
decent last hour opening on 40m.
We want to thank DARC for sponsoring a really super fun contest.
Even with the QRN and falling, we had a great time, and are
already looking forward to next year!
73 - Dave N3RD
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