NA Sprint - CW
Call: WI9WI
Operator: KIERAN
Station: WI9WI
Power: HP
QTH: WI
Summary:
Band QSOs Op Time
----------------------
80: 53
40: 72
20: 84
----------------------
Total: 209 Qs 41 Mults = 8,569
Club/Team: SMC #1
Comments:
After recently having had Monica and Judge Ken Starr as guest operators, my
dog, Kieran, asked if he could guest operate a sprint. Here's his report.
"Dea Dhuit.I started out with the group on 40 meters. There seemed to be a bit
less activity than last time, and there was loud static from heavy
thunderstorms just north of us. Also the 40 meter beam had lost a tip of the
driven element in a wind storm, so I used the low dipole on 40 which tends to
be noisier with local storms. After 25 or so QSOs I went to 20 and had a good
rate there for the next hour plus. Actually had the rate meter up near 100 for
a bit. Loud signals and little static. After ther rate dropped off I went back
to 40 with weaker signals and heavy static. The rate dropped precipitously
after 30 minutes or so. About 02:50 I went to 80. Signals there were sparse,
weak and the static very heavy. Tuning the dipole at 80 feet revealed a very
high SWR. I then remembered that my master had cut off the PL-259 at the tower
early this summer as part of an antenna project and had never replaced it. The
low dipole caused RF in the recieve antennas and a computer crash. (The next
day everything was fine.) So I used the vertical so I could use the Beverages
with all of the lightning static. The rate dipped even further. I was beaten in
every pileup! Mults were OK. I heard only about 4 I didn't work, AL, WV, ND,
and KY. I probably lost 25 or 30 QSOs from the static, the second string
antennas, the computer crash, and being asked for repeats on my name. Kieran is
a fairly common Irish name (e.g. the actors Kieran Caulkin, McCauley Caulkin's
brother, and Kier (another version) Dullea). When I was born, my master wanted
to give me a name that my mistress deemed to be way politically incorrect. The
second choice was Blackie, which was also deemed politically incorrect, so,
being a good Celtic Gordon Setter, I was named Kieran. Kieran, by the way,
translates roughly into English as "Blackie". (My mistress did not know this).
Strangely enough, we Gordon Setters are mostly black with brown markings. I was
somewhat distressed at the number of operators sending at 45 wpm (many) who
could not copy my name, which I sent at 25 wpm, even after 4 repeats. I sent
the rest of the exchange at 30 wpm, and deliberately slowed down the name. This
is my real name just like Mike, Paul, Ed, Jack, or Dan, not a nickname or
madeup name like Tree, Trey, Raf or NCJ. Interestingly, many of the operators
sending near the same speed I was, which is very QRS for the sprint, copied it
on the first exchange. I think the sprint is less a contest of the exchange of
information, than an exercise in hypereactivity with very high code speeds, and
jumping all over the bands, in many cases using 2 radios (a skill I would love
to master). For the vast majority of your contacts you know, from experience in
the present sprint or past sprints, the call, name and QTH, and all you need to
copy is the number, something even I can do at 45 wpm, and just be sure the
name and QTH are what you expect.If you participate regularly you know 80% of
the calls. If I hear ??TO, Dan, FL, I know its K1TO, not W4TO.It seems throwing
a little change of speed pitch, like a different name or QTH really throws the
batters off and you get lots of Ks. I once operated one of these things from a
campsite in MN, which caused no end of consternation, since everyone KNOWS I'm
in WI. My score was even listed in the results as from WI, even though I wrote
MN all over the summary sheet. Thanks for the Qs. Woof, woof."
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.hornucopia.com/3830score/
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