ARRL Sweepstakes, SSB
Call: NX5M
Operator(s): NX5M, N5XJ, W5PF, W5SB, W5IDX
Station: NX5M
Class: Multi-Op
QTH: TX
Operating Time (hrs): 21
Summary:
Band QSOs
-------------------------------
160: 3
80: 140
40: 171
20: 417
15: 385
10: 552
-------------------------------
Total: 1668 x 80 = 266,880
Club: CTDXCC
Comments:
Fell about 400 qsos short of what we should have done. Nice to have the low
bands so quite for a change. However, had the "sweep" after just 4 hours and 10
minutes.
I did a dumb thing during the setup. I connected the wrong feed to the 10m
phasing box so I thought the band was dead here....so we started on 15 instead
of being on 10 where we should have been. My fault!! It is my responsibility
to have things ready to roll before the contest starts. Once this was
discovered and the right feed was connected we moved to 10. Then a connector
feeding to the 10m phasing box burned up because I had smashed a small bug
between the PL259 and the SO239. I could not help but wonder if this was going
to be the trend for the rest of the weekend.
Heard quite a few qso numbers that were well ahead of us after just 5 hours. I
figured I had already shot myself in one foot so maybe I should attempt to
finish the contest without becoming a total cripple by blowing off the other
one. It did not take long until it was time to take aim on the other foot
because now my northeast 80m antenna was not working right. Mike, N5XJ and
Gregg, W5IDX walked out with me and we checked the connections but could not
find anything wrong. We ended up operating on 80 using only the northwest
antenna with a vee and a vertical to try to fill in the nulls. Sunday
afternoon when relief ops arrived XJ and I went out and found the problem. It
was simply a change of rope tension on one side of the antenna so that a
bulldozer could clear more land in the vicinity. The resulting change of
tension allowed part of the antenna to rest on the director of the lower JA 10m
beam. Too late now but at least the problem has been solved.
All else seemed to work just fine. It was impossible to overcome the ground we
had lost to some of the other fine stations that we were competing against.
After all of the above the approach was a bit more relaxed and is part of the
reason we did not even operate the allowed 24 hours.
This was the first sweepstakes multi-op that I had hosted since 1994. Having
moved and built a better station over the past 4 years I figured it was time to
give it a go.
It seems it is so difficult to get operators. N5XJ is always willing to do
whatever I decide to do and stays with me through the whole contest (thanks
Mike!). I appreciate W5PF, W5SB and W5IDX taking the time to drive for over an
hour to get here and help us out for a few hours.
It was nice to be active in sweeps again and I suppose I or we will be back
next year.
Oh yes, I forgot......I did shoot myself in the other foot....twice! I was
asking myself the question, "Why am I getting these strange readings on my
Alpha amp?" When one operates on 15m using the 80m antennas, strange things
are bound to happen!
I had better end this before I think of some other silly thing I did this
weekend.
Thanks for the q's!
73,
Bob NX5M
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