Callsign Used : K0OB
Operator : K0OB
Category : SO LP
Hours Operated: 24
Section: MN
BAND Raw QSOs Valid QSOs Points Mults
__________________________________________________
80CW 117 117 234 4 Dipole @ 45
40CW 289 288 576 3 1 Element @ 50
20CW 393 393 786 19 Force 12 C3 @ 50
15CW 221 221 442 35 "
10CW 81 81 162 19 "
__________________________________________________ B&W folded dipole @ 30
for 2nd radio
Totals 1101 1100 2200 80
Final Score = 176,000
Equipment: Radio 1 FT1000D 150W
Radio 2 FT890 100W
Dunestar all band bandpass filter on second rig
WX0B Six Pak between the Radios
TR 6.54
Soapbox (Long but to me the story is half the fun!)
Wow! What a contest! I've very much enjoyed doing SS from
Dave's, KT0R, house the last three years as a multi op. The comradery of doing
SS as a team with Dave and Jeff, K0MX, has been one of my memorable contest
experiences. But last year I put up a real tower so I really wanted
to see what I could do in CW SS as a single op. I've also put
in some improvements for the second radio that I thought were key
to the efficiency of two radio contesting. I wanted to break 1000 Q's for
the first time ever so the pressure was on!
I started the contest the first hour on 10 but that was a mistake.
I could only work the West coast and couldn't get much of a run going.
After a disappointing
first hour of 59 with 5 Q's made on the second rig I switched to
15 for second hour of 75 which turned out to be my best hour. One of
my top three thrills of the contest came Saturday night when VY1JA
called me on 40 meters! Thank you Jay! I ended Saturday night only needing
MAR and
WY. No problem I thought. I will surly find them sometime on Sunday
either CQing or on the second rig. No problem? What was I thinking!
Since I've been over at Dave's the last three years I had forgotten
how painful Sunday is on SS as a single op! The pain of endless CQing
is eased only somewhat by finding more Q's on the second rig. I had
a low hour of 28 Sunday morning and a high of 57. By noon I was in pain!
I took a one hour break to eat and shower. I started to feel human again
until I realized I had 8.5 hours more of operating. (Why does this always
seem like so fun before the contest and so painful Sunday afternoon?)
I returned to the rigs to continue my search for MAR and WY. I hadn't
heard either of them and was starting to get worried. I've never
gotten a CW Sweep by myself but with two rigs I thought this would be
easier. I started to question my logic. In between copying CW in both
ears I had to talk to my 5 year old son countless times as he enjoyed
coming to the basement to see how Daddy was doing. He seemed to delight
in making as much noise as possible so improve his Father's copying
ability. A major moment came late Sunday afternoon when I broke 1000 Q's
for the first time ever as a single CW SS op! Now all I needed was a sweep
to make it complete! Where was MAR and WY?!!!!
At 23:30Z a possible SS first happened! I heard a knock at the door and
my wife came down to the basement with a worried face. Oh no, not the
dreaded neighbor complaint I thought. Not quite! A visitor to our neighbor
had backed out of their driveway and hit the side of my car which was parked
in the street! I was having a great run on 20 for this late in the contest
and I was really doing well on the second radio too. I briefly thought
about asking my wife to handle it but then I remembered I needed to still be
married to her after the contest so I went outside to look at the car
and exchange insurance information. I bet this lady is still wondering why
I seemed in such a hurry and not too concerned about the car. This only
took 10 minutes but it kind of blew my concentration. I then contemplated
taking my last 30 minute break but I had promised my son I would take
time off to put him to bed. Not wanting him to tell a consoler years
later how traumatized he was by his Father's Ham Radio hobby (And still
wanting to be married after the contest.) I decided to press forward
and loose the 10 minutes.
I took my last 30 minute break at 0130. When I returned I was sweating
bullets. Why couldn't I find MAR or WY? It felt like the two minute
warning of a football game and I needed two hail Mary passes! I started
CQing on 40 meters reasoning a had a good chance at both of these
mults on 40 while at the same time I scoured 20 and 80 looking for
them. Within 5 minutes WY called me! I could start to taste the
sweep now. It was at this time I realized if I had a good hour I could
break the 1100 Q mark. I was now a driven man! By now my efficiency
on the second radio had really improved. I was furiously tuning
the second rig looking for those golden new ones while desperately listening
for a MAR to call on the run rig. With 24 minutes to go VE1GN called. It
was hard to copy him with my heart pounding so loudly in my ears but
he sent MAR!!!!! I now had 23 minutes to go and 15 Q's to reach the 1100
mark. These last minutes were a blur as my fingers flew over the keyboard
checking dupes on the second rig while still CQing on the first. With two
minutes left QSO number 1100 called me to finish my best CW SS ever!
I started doing SS in the late 70's as a teenager. I remember doing 600
Q's using a Drake TR4CW and dipoles. I dreamed of the day I could have
a real SS station. Well, almost 20 years later, after getting back
into the hobby 8 years ago , after countless hours of working contests,
after many station improvements, I have finally achieved what was unimaginable
as a teenager by breaking the 1000 Q's mark. I've been on a high all
day even while being exhausted. I can't seem to get my wife to understand
how huge this is for me but then again she's still married to me even
after this weekend and my son isn't traumatized so I guess I should
count my blessings. :) (Although he does go around the house
saying Oscar Bravo. I think he's warming up for the phone portion.)
73,
Greg K0OB
--
FAQ on WWW: http://www.contesting.com/FAQ/3830
Submissions: 3830@contesting.com
Administrative requests: 3830-REQUEST@contesting.com
Problems: owner-3830@contesting.com
|