Aborted contest!
W6BH SS CW SO/HP Orange Section
1000 QSOs
79 Sections
18 Hours of Operation
Observations:
1. The first four hours were as good as I can remember experiencing.
Ten meters was supporting multiple hops, meaning lots of exposure
and great rate.
2. The hours thereafter were as BAD as any I can remember. When I
heard the funny sounds on 20, I went "Uh-Oh. . .here comes the
South Florida QSO Party." No signals on 20 at 1400 on Sunday? :-(
3. The Sun may have done me a big personal favor. At first light
Sunday morning, I looked outside for the first time in 18 hours.
The wind was blowing over 50 MPH, and there was horizontal rain.
On this mountain, that means that the dirt road turns to Crisco!
At that point, I determined to get off the mountain as the first
priority. I hunted and pecked my way to 1000 QSOs, got my Sweep
thanks to the VE9s on 15 and the VO1MP dawgpile on 20, and turned
it off at 2100Z with 18 hours of operation. During the drive down
the dirt road, "Steering" was mostly a "suggestion" to the car, as
it wanted to slide sideways while at rest!
If conditions had been great, stopping early would have been a
real hurt, as things were really rolling. With the propagation
bloodbath, it was a no-brainer. Driving down that road at 10 PM
could have been "Game Over" for OM K7JA!
4. Neat call, Jay!
5. Is it just me, or has it been a long time since we've had "good"
conditions for just about ANY contest?
6. Thanks to Lee, W6BH, for the chance to give the station a shakedown.
7. At least the Seahawks won!
73,
Chip Margelli, K7JA
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