NA QSO Party CW Contest Dates : 1-Aug-98 , 02-Aug-98
Callsign Used : K4RO Operator : K4RO Category : Single Op
Default Exchange : KIRK TN
Team/Club : Tennessee Contest Group Team #1
BAND Raw QSOs Valid QSOs Points Mults
__________________________________________________
160CW 41 41 41 22
80CW 124 122 122 36
40CW 162 156 156 43
20CW 147 139 139 38
15CW 82 80 80 29
10CW 11 10 10 7
__________________________________________________
Totals 567 548 548 175
Final Score = 95,900 points. About 9.5 hours operating time
After almost everything working right in the IARU two weeks ago,
Murphy decided to mess with me this time out. Problems began with
the very first QSO, when the keyboard CW stopped working. Using
paddles 100% made the second radio much harder to use. I sure am
getting better at sending "CQ TEST K4RO" on the Bencher though. :-)
Took several unplanned breaks trying to fix the problem. (I fixed it
on Sunday afternoon, a day late...) An antenna switch also failed,
causing another unplanned break trying to figure out what happened.
I didn't take the breaks when I wanted, and missed out on some 10m
and 15m action as a result.
Other lowlights included the time stamps getting messed up, and
logging many QSO's on the wrong band (or NO band) because the radio
interface didn't work right (also fixed on Sunday.) The wrong band
logging resulted in my duping lots of folks. Sorry about that.
A really intense headache came on about 2300Z, and I had to stop
operating until I stopped seeing spots.
The frustration level was enough that I was ready to punt, big time.
The only reason I kept at it was because I was on a TCG team, and
I didn't want to ruin the team score. I barely noticed the lousy
conditions, as I was too busy being frustrated with Murphy.
Highlights included a few successful moves (need to try that more)
and the contest coming to an end. Not a whole lot of fun this time
around, truth be told. I've got to learn to test the station more
thoroughly BEFORE the contest begins. It makes all the difference.
I've got to learn to pay more attention to 10 meters, and try more
moves to the higher bands. Thanks to those who chanced a move.
Worst name award goes to KP3L. It took me several repeats to get it.
Congratulations to all the TCG team players who joined us for the
first time, and to all TCG seasoned vets as well. I worked almost
two dozen different Tennessee calls! Some of you were working your
first CW contest -- most excellent!
Looking forward to a much better CW NAQP next time. See ya on fone,
if I don't go to the Huntsville hamfest instead. Thanks for the QSOs.
-Kirk K4RO
Breaks: (there were also several additional unplanned breaks)
; Break started at 20:00:03
; Break finished at 20:30:21 This break = 0:30 Total off time = 0:30
; Break started at 23:00:36
; Break finished at 23:30:58 This break = 0:30 Total off time = 0:60
; Break started at 23:54:25
; Break finished at 00:25:53 This break = 0:31 Total off time = 1:31
; Break started at 02:56:47
; Break finished at 03:27:00 This break = 0:31 Total off time = 2:02
Rates:
K4RO NAQP CW AUG 98
HR 160 80 40 20 15 10 HR TOT CUM TOTAL SCORE
-- ----- ------- -------- -------- -------- -------- ------ --------- -----
18 --- --- --- 10/6 47/20 6/4 63/30 63/30 0.00M
19 --- --- --- 52/18 5/2 2/1 59/21 122/51 0.01M
20 --- --- --- 18/3 --- --- 18/3 140/54 0.01M
21 --- --- 5/5 27/5 4/2 --- 36/12 176/66 0.01M
22 --- --- 39/19 6/0 11/2 1/1 57/22 233/88 0.02M
23 --- --- --- 8/0 12/3 --- 20/3 253/91 0.02M
0 --- --- 27/8 6/1 1/0 --- 34/9 287/100 0.03M
1 --- 14/12 32/4 9/3 --- 1/1 56/20 343/120 0.04M
2 --- 47/15 13/4 3/2 --- --- 63/21 406/141 0.06M
3 4/4 29/5 2/0 --- --- --- 35/9 441/150 0.07M
4 23/12 10/3 29/3 --- --- --- 62/18 503/168 0.08M
5 14/6 22/1 9/0 --- --- --- 45/7 548/175 0.10M
D1 0/0 0/0 44/24 121/32 79/29 9/6 253/91
D2 41/22 122/36 112/19 18/6 1/0 1/1 295/84
TO 41/22 122/36 156/43 139/38 80/29 10/7 548/175
1858: 4 per minute (240/hr)
1905: 22 per 10 minutes (132/hr)
1912: 74 per hour
--
FAQ on WWW: http://www.contesting.com/3830faq.html
Submissions: 3830@contesting.com
Administrative requests: 3830-REQUEST@contesting.com
Problems: owner-3830@contesting.com
|