North America QSO Party - SSB
Call: KG0US
Operator(s): KG0US
Station: KG0US
Class: SOAB LP
QTH: MO
Operating Time (hrs): 9:57
Radios: SO2R
Summary:
Band QSOs Mults
----------------------
160: 56 23
80: 90 38
40: 132 41
20: 313 55
15: 143 39
10: 98 26
----------------------
Total: 832 222 = 184,704
Club: Raytown ARC
Team:
Comments:
IC-775DSP
TS-850SAT
KT34A Triband Yagi at 40 feet.
R7 Vertical 8 feet above the ground.
Alpha-Delta DX-A 160/80/40 Sloper with Apex at 35 feet.
I think this is first time I have ever operated the NAQP Phone contest. It is
the second time I have ever tried operating two radios. I bought ten dollars
worth of adapters on Friday from Radio Shack to hear the TS-850 in the left ear
while hearing the IC-775DSP in the right side of the headphones. I think it is
going to take more practice and additional hardware to get used to this type of
operation. Most of the time I find myself turning the volume of the TS-850
almost all the way down. Luckily, the TS-850 volume control is on the right
side of the rig while the IC-775DSP is on the left side of the rig.
This is one of the first times I can remember running a contest without any
interference from my neighbor Steve K0OU. Steve and I only live 2 blocks apart
and are normally fighting each other for position on the bands all day. Steve
decided to join the rest of the Raytown Amateur Radio Club in what is presently
being coined as the annual Polar Bear Field Day. They operated NAQP while
camping out in one of our local rural parks. They setup equipment and antennas
just like you do on a normal summer Field Day except in this case it was cold
and there was freshly fallen snow. See K0OU?s 3830 entry for more details.
My good friend Tom AE9B and I have been competing against each other during the
10 meter contest in the last couple of years. There is only a few contests
that we can compete in since Tom normally likes to run high power. I knew he
liked to compete in the NAQP and he even set the Missouri phone record last
year. This was a perfect chance for some competition since it is a 100 Watt
contest. Frankly, he has been kicking my butt and I wanted to do something
about it. I saw what his record score was and figured I would set a realistic
goal for myself of 800 QSOs. I also asked for advise from Steve K0OU, Paul
K9PG, and even Tom AE9B. From my own limited experiences and the advise from
those mentioned above I used the following strategy:
Being in the very middle of the United States, the low bands are more my
friend than the high bands. With this theory, I took off the first one and a
half hours of the contest.
Forty meters is going to be very crowded and noisy with broadcast stations at
night. Since this the case, I need to make a lot of contacts on 20 meters to
be successful.
I need to split my time appropriately on each time to allow for multipliers.
I need to ask people to QSY to 10 meters ( and other bands) for credit while
operating on 15 meters (and other bands). I tried this Paul but it takes more
practice and probably a better antenna than the R7 at 8 feet above the ground.
Perhaps the propagation on 10 meters was not that great. It worked with people
in ME, VT, and NH. However, it did not work with PA, VA, and some of the VE
stations.
At any rate, I was able to exceed my goal and improve my contesting skills at
the same time. Who knows, maybe I set a new NAQP Missouri phone record this
time!
Best Regards,
Dave KG0US
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.hornucopia.com/3830score/
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