ARRL 160 METER CONTEST -- 1996
Call: K5NA Country: United States - South Texas
Mode: CW Category: Single Operator - High Power
QSO QSO PTS PTS/QSO SECTIONS COUNTRIES
Totals 1011 2133 2.11 78 18 = 204,768
Hours of operation = 34 hours
All reports sent were 59(9), unless otherwise noted.
Equipment Description:IC765 => Dentron DTR2000L (800 watts
output), Inverted Vee @ 80 feet, Two temporary Beverages.
Short Story: I almost didn't operate this contest though it is my
favorite. The problem was a major middle and inner ear infection
that peaked up the weekend before the contest. I had just stopped
taking all the drugs and medication just a day or so before. I didn't
know if my ear could take being under the headphones for the long
hours, but I decided to start the contest and take it as far as I could
bear it.
I was able to go the whole contest even though the ear seemed
stopped up with medicine gunk for the whole weekend. As a matter
of fact, it still feels that way. But I think I am fully recovered now.
Before the contest I stopped by to say "hello" to Jon, N5JA (ex.
AA5BL). He had gotten on two hours early and was ragchewing on
1835.2 in order to hold the frequency for the beginning of the
contest. After he and I had a pleasant chat, I went on with my
preparations for the contest. About 30 minutes before the contest
I tuned back by the frequency and noticed that K8RR fired up on
1835.1. He was apparently running CQs in repeat mode to clear the
frequency before the contest and Jon was persistently asking him
to QSY. Neither QSYed and I think they fought for the frequency
for the rest of the night.
Speaking of that, I kept a list of stations that would come onto
my established frequency and would refuse or ignore my request to
QSY. Most stations would just say, "whoops, sri" and QSY, but a
few were obstinate and would just punch the F1 key to clear me
away.
What will I do with the list? Nothing! Some of the interlopers
are fellows that I count as friends. And you never know if the
other station is doing it on purpose or it is truly a mistaken
situation where they think they have more right to the frequency
than you do. I have learned not to get upset over this sort of
thing a long time ago. The real fix for this is better antennas
to be louder. I was probably more stubborn this year to hold my
frequency than previous years because I didn't feel that
competitive and had no chance to make the top ten. So I stuck
around and fought it out instead of QSYing in the interest of a
higher QSO rate. Some say I am just stubborn anyway.
Speaking of the window, I fired up on 1829.9 for a while the
second night and was attacked by a "window cop" saying over-and-
over, "UR IN THE WINDOW". My first response was that I was not
because I was on 1829.9 MHz. He kept at it so I moved down a bit
to 1829.7 MHz. This didn't seem to change things and the "window
cop" kept bugging me until I asked him for his call sign. Then he
disappeared.
The window needs to be better defined. If it is 1830.0 to 1835.0 MHz,
then I should be able to park my vfo at 1829.9 MHz or 1835.1 MHz. If
some people think that signal width should be a consideration, then
define the window as 1829.0 to 1836.0 MHz (or whatever) and leave
me alone if my vfo (and yours) isn't in that range.
I have done this contest for many years and have had quite a few
thrills. One of the biggest occurred this year in the contest
when VY1JA called me for a sweep, my first ever in the ARRL 160
Contest. I have been a regular participant in this contest since
1971 and never before had a sweep. I didn't even think it was
possible. When Jay called me, I was totally blown away.
Thank you, Jay, for all your efforts to represent YOU/NWT in all the
contests. Your participation sure makes a difference.
It will be close to 80F here (near Austin) today. I still love being in Texas.
73, Richard
K5NA@BGA.COM
http://www.realtime.net/~k5na
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