ARRL SWEEPSTAKES -- 1995
Call: VE4GV Country:
Mode: SSB Category: Single Operator
Low Power
Sent: # A VE4GV 72 MB
BAND QSO QSO PTS SECTIONS
160 0 0 -
80 31 62 -
40 521 1042 -
20 927 1854 -
15 137 274 -
10 0 0 -
-----------------------------------
Totals 1616 3232 77
Score: 248,864
Power Output: 150 watts Hours of operation: 22
Equipment Description:
Yaesu FT-1000 (150 W)
KLM KT34XA @66ft 40-2CD @72ft
486DX33 CT9 DVP
Post Mortem:
First Rule: NEVER give up.
After a hot couple of first hours on 20 m/ 40m , I became
disgusted with the low bands during the first night, especially
80. Shut the rig off early and got some sleep. Big mistake. Its
SS, you gotta fight the temptation to quit early. You'll see
why, later.
Woke up Sunday at 6:45 am local time and had one hell of a
great time. Could not believe some of the runs as the rate
counter went nuts. I didn't hear Derrick VE4VV so I guess I was
the lone serious contester from VE4 land. It made a big
differnce ( Derrick is a good op, but he prefers CW and leaves
the SSB to me (TNX Derrick !!)). Many stations claimed I was
their last section for the sweep and I told em to think about
me when they are sipping their favorite beverage from their
mugs.
Highlites:
-Rates on 20 and 40.
-Actually being able to grab an occasional frequency from some
of the B power stations
( Sorry AA5BL).
-Randy K5ZD works me late in the test and likes my score.
-Many a thank you from stations regarding me being final mult
for sweep.
-XYL keeps 2 yr old daughter from shack for MOST of the
contest.
-Coming within 50 qs of my personal best at a time when
propagation is supposed to suck.
-Tnx to Bruce for going to VY1JA for SS phone. I worked VE8EV
first anyway.
( Now Bruce knows what it is like to contest from up here in
the northland. Perhaps he can write about it in NCJ)
-Surprised at the numbers of "94/95" checks I received and
numbers of YLs.
-Not too much bitching by non-contesters regarding use of
frequencies in the test. ( At least I didn't hear much, but
then again look at my 80 m q totals)
-Happy with results considering I didn't use a 2nd radio.
Lowlites:
-Rates on 80. I miss the 10m novices sooooo much.
-WE9V works 981 qs on 80.(!!??!!) RIGHT !!! and 2 el at 168' is
a practical antenna for my city lot --NOT--
-Fried my voice during the first day by trying to stay on 20 as
much as possible before going to 40. Screaming into the mike
doesn't help, but neither does repeating your check number 10
times -> NO, it's Seven-Toooooooo. It is masochistic trying to
run with LP on 20 m at this part of the cycle.
-My 80 M inv. vee stinks.
-Harmonic still too young to log, xyl refuses to cook for
contests and Dominos doesn't understand why I won't answer the
phone or the door.
-XYL still doesn't understand why I can't "take a few breaks
once in a while" to visit with harmonic.
-K1AR and CQ need to put out a video for wives/husbands of
contesters.... are you listening John ?
-Definitely will need to use 2nd radio soon if I want to be
taken seriously.
-Reading the results and finding that NN5T and NA5S beat me by
24 qsos. AARGH. Shoulda stayed on for that extra hour and 20
mins on Saturday night.
-Knowing that SS only comes once a year ( its my favorite !!)
Tnx to all. You guys ( and gals) really made it fun.
CU next year
Rob VE4GV
>From Danny Eskenazi <k7ss@wolfenet.com> Tue Nov 21 05:03:03 1995
From: Danny Eskenazi <k7ss@wolfenet.com> (Danny Eskenazi)
Subject: NEW TROPHY YOU CAN WIN!
Message-ID: <199511210503.VAA29696@wolfe.net>
If you guys dont mind old funky bowling trophys slightly modified for ham
radio........I will sponser trophys for
THE K 7 R A, HOMER SPENCE MEMORIAL "FIRST-TO-A-SWEEP" TROPHY
SWEEPSTAKES ****
FIRST-TO-A-SWEEP!!
One for each class: QRP A CLASS B CLASS
BOTH MODES
(and a special trophy for anyone brash enough to admit
"C" as their precedence, 1500W +++)
Trophy sizes will be commensurate with
output power.
(from the wee 'lil qrp one , TO THE
GIANT QRO ONE!!)
(I should have announced this BEFORE the test...but its a long wait til Nov
1996, and all the political fur will be flying then...so lets do it now!)
Send your total elapsed time to a sweep and your class of entry to me at
"k7ss@wolfenet.com" and I will go to the thrift store and start collecting
handsome trophys befitting your achievements. Total elapsed time is time from
2100Z start til you got #77...... If you used packet to find them I will
send you a smaller throphy than you would have got if you found em yourself.
TOTAL TIME:
MODE:
POWER:
PACKET???:
MAILING ADDRESS:
and sign the disclaimer: "I will not be disappointed by the tacky trophy I
may win with this entry.....and I will proudly display it in my home for all
to see."
(Homer K7RA was an afficienado of the 77 mults in 77 QSOs SS club, partly
because he lived downtown in an apartment with a vertical, but mostly
because he had so much fun in racing for all the mults. He passed away in
1990, a few days after having lunch in a Greek restaurant(Zone 20) in
Seattle, while trying to complete the covetted EAZ (Eat All Zones) Award. He
had done about 16 Zones at the time. He is still, 5 years after his death,
rumored to show up for a few contacts in CQWW and SS every year.)
>From Hans Brakob <71111.260@compuserve.com> Tue Nov 21 05:20:00 1995
From: Hans Brakob <71111.260@compuserve.com> (Hans Brakob)
Subject: Who is grey?
Message-ID: <951121051959_71111.260_EHM167-1@CompuServe.COM>
As followup to my "Greying Contesters" message, I wrote
a quick program to analyze the "age" of the check of my
CW and Phone SS logs.
The sample sizes are 910 and 1355 calls for CW and Phone
respectively, and the numbers shown are percentages,
rounded to the nearest 10th of a percent.
Check Phone CW
Pre46 4.2 6.4
46-50 3.0 3.1
51-55 7.2 12.1
56-60 11.6 16.0
61-65 9.5 14.3
66-70 9.9 13.7
71-75 6.6 9.3
76-80 10.8 10.8
81-85 5.8 2.5
86-90 9.4 4.4
91-95 21.9 7.4
I'm not so sure what all those numbers mean to a
statistician, nor am I sure that the sample size
is significant,
BUT.....
Here are some off-the-top-of-the-head impressions:
--New licensees are trying out Phone contesting but
not CW (at least in SS).
--There is a rapid attrition rate in the most recent
three 5-year buckets for both modes (about 50% per
bucket).
--CW contesting may be in trouble -- 14.3% of the
CW "checks" are in the past 15 years, as opposed to
37.1% for SSB.
--We need to figure out how to capture that "21.9%"
in the most recent SSB bucket and hold their
interest. We're apparently getting a lot of "tire
kickers" -- how do we keep their interest?
Perhaps my operating style skews these numbers. In
SSB I mainly run (rather than S&P). Thus I tend not to
work other "running" stations who are likely to be more
experienced (earlier checks). It would be interesting to
see figures from someone who mainly contests in S&P mode.
I suspect they'd see few checks in the 90's.
Also, my on-the-air demeanor is "laid back and friendly",
as opposed to "rapid fire and terse", and I tend (because
of station limitations) to work high in the less crowded
parts of the band. These habits may make a contact with me
less intimidating than trying to work a "high rate runner"
deep in the "Hot Zone" of a given band. Thus I may attract
a higher share of less "confident" operators.
Your thoughts?
73, de Hans, K0HB
>From patd@eskimo.com (Patrick Dayshaw) Tue Nov 21 06:06:14 1995
From: patd@eskimo.com (Patrick Dayshaw) (Patrick Dayshaw)
Subject: Ham IV (M) owners: WARNING!
Message-ID: <199511210606.WAA23786@mail.eskimo.com>
>I just spent way too much time up on the back tower, trying to
>direct replace a Ham IV rotator.
Snip......... Very interesting story about replacing Ham IV(M) (for
Contesting of course ....)
>Hope this saves at least someone some of the aggravation I
>had to go through (and in the air too). I never realized
>that I had such a colorful vocabulary!!
>
>de Doug KR2Q@mcimail.com
>
Well Doug.... just remember what one great American writer had to say about
"colorful vocabulary"....
"In certain trying circumstances, urgent circumstances,
desperate circumstances, profanity furnishes a relief
denied even to prayer." Mark Twain
Sometimes, no matter the intelectual implications,
it's how you spell "relief". :-)
73 es DX
Patrick, WA7VNI........ patd@eskimo.com
>From Paul Knupke (CS)" <knupke@babbage.csee.usf.edu Tue Nov 21 06:20:52 1995
From: Paul Knupke (CS)" <knupke@babbage.csee.usf.edu (Paul Knupke (CS))
Subject: SS SSB 95
Message-ID: <Pine.SUN.3.91.951121010255.12982B-100000@babbage>
ARRL SWEEPSTAKES 1995
Call: KE4ZYV (Op KR4YL) Country:
Mode: SSB Category: SINGLE LP UNASSISTED
BAND QSO QSO PTS SECTIONS
160 0 0 -
80 1 2 -
40 6 12 -
20 119 238 -
15 0 0 -
10 1 2 -
-----------------------------------
Totals 127 254 45
Score: 11,430
Power Output: 100 watts Hours of operation: 3
Operator List: KR4YL (Just me again)
Equipment Description:
Station, University of South Florida REC Club Station in Tampa.
Yaesu FT-990, TH-5DXX at 130', 40/80 inverted VEE
Club Affiliation: FLORIDA CONTEST GROUP
Another year of SS SSB falling on the same weekend as the Suncoast
Amateur Radio Convention/Hamfest and being involved on the hamfest
organizing committee my time was very limited. (Next year the weekends
are different !!!!)
I got to the University of South Florida station (KE4ZYV) around 9PM on
Saturday after being up at 5:15AM and on my feet all day working the
fest. I started on 20 and worked went almost into running stations. Had
a good run of about 40-45 stations. Then went to 40 and made 6 tought
contacts then made one contact on 75. Went back to 10 for a few more Q's
in S/P mode to find anyone else I could work. Around 11PM I called it
quits, I was too tired and I needed some sleep as I had lots to do at the
fest on Sunday. Made it back around 8PM on Sunday and went right to
running stations on 20 again. Had a great run of about 50 or so stations
and I was extremely happy that I was able to work to the northeast and
mid-atlantic. About 9 PM I popped on 10 and heard on station, worked
him and went back to 20. About 9:30PM We had a lid on the USF repeater
and I had to deal with it and changing some stuff ... thus I ended the
test early.
Biggest thrill was getting KH6RS and PAC early into my operating on
Saturday and getting him on the first call. Biggest dissapointments were
no VE's AT ALL and not able to get anywhere on 40 or 75 with 100 watts and
missing my own section (again) ... I think alot of the casual contesters
around here were hamfesting instead.
I think my meager 3 hours of after dark operations went great. 45 sections
was better than last year by far thanks to 20 being open.
Next year... I can finally really get down to business.
Paul
Oh, and yes. Thanks to all the nice words from everyone on the check of
95 (even though mine is 93 actually) I explained it to most anyway. I
can't wait till vanity allows us to dump KE4ZYV though. I'd have
slaughtered it in CW ... actually I'd have used my own call.
==================================================================
Paul Knupke, Jr. / Pinellas County ARES Asst. EC
knupke@babbage.csee.usf.edu / Pinellas County Skywarn
Largo, FL USA / Fidonet 1:3603/570
Amateur Radio Callsign KR4YL / Packet @N4CNW.#TPA.FL.USA.NOAM
==================================================================
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