I thought I was going to go for one of plaques which
K1KY/W4CAT graciously sponsored, but a couple of things
kept that from happening. First, I had S9+ line noise
all over the band starting at 1600Z. I've never heard it
this bad. I'm thinking it must be the holiday lights on
people's homes or something..? It was brutal. Calling
CQ was just making people angry because I couldn't hear
anything. I worked everything I could hear, and then I
turned off the radio. Line noise really hurt me in the
10-meter contest as well. I gotta do something about it.
About that time, some friends called (I'd left the phone
turned on.) A group wound up coming over, and we hung out
chatting and listening to music. After a couple of hours, a
guest asked if she could "see" the contest, so I got back on
the radio about 0230z. The noise had subsided considerably,
but it was still pretty bad, and lots of QRP signals in the mud.
I showed my friends CQing vs. S&P and so forth, and called out
everything that was happening in a play-by-play fashion like
a sportscaster. It was fun.
These folks didn't know a dit from a dah, but they were *fascinated*
by the whole deal. We went out for a late dinner, and much to my
amazement, contesting was (almost) all they wanted to talk about.
It was something! We came back to my house after dinner and they
wanted to see (hear) more. One friend remarked that contesting
looked like the ultimate computer game to her. Perhaps a seed or
two got planted?
Got back on at sunrise and heard VK6VZ clear as a bell. I should
have turned on the amp so I could work him. Spent about 5 minutes
on his QRG and heard about one-half of a QSO completed. I agree that
everyone running QRP in this contest has gotten out of hand.
Thanks to K1KY/W4CAT for sponsoring the plaques and obviously
stepping up the activity in Tennessee.
BAND Raw QSOs Valid QSOs Points
__________________________________________
160CW 156 154 350
__________________________________________
Totals 156 154 350
Final Score = 350 points x 2 @ 100 watts = 700 points
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