ARRL 10-Meter Contest
Call: K7NV
Operator(s): K7NV
Station: K7NV
Class: SO CW HP
QTH: nv
Operating Time (hrs): 23
Summary:
Band QSOs Mults
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CW: 1467 118
SSB:
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Total: 1467 118 Total Score = 692,896
Club: Northern California Contest Club
Comments:
Yet, another exciting contest experience!
Things started out so slow that I thought I ought to just pack it in, and go do
some work on Saturday.
First hour was 87 q's. Last year it was 148, the year before was 162. Now, that
was a bit of fun, running a stateside & JA pileup with two antennas. Ok, so the
declining solar cycle is painfully obvious. Not so this year, almost no
Stateside, except for a tunnel into NY/NJ. JA's were ok loud, but not very many
of them. By the time the band really (really) closes down I'm 240 q's behind
last year.
Oh, well, don't want to go do real work too early, check it out in the
morning.
All ready to work the band opening on skew path to EU......hmmm no skew path
Saturday. Just shortpath to EU later than last year. I hear all sorts of Eastern
EU stations that can't hear me. They are going away, and I can't get them. Ok,
must be just about time to go work. Try Cqing, oops, people are responding, not
many but, enough to make me keep trying. Before I know it, EU is gone and
everyone stateside starts thinking "what else can I work", oh yeah that K7NV
guy. The rate goes up and now I'm stuck. Can't go to work with 92, 108, 119, 112
hours...someone might get mad at me.
Ok, guess I'm gonna do this contest after all....
By noon the wind is howling so much that I can't copy the weak guys, because the
wind buffeting the garage is just too loud. Yes, I do use headphones.
Nobody calls for 3-4 cq's....my mind starts wandering. Wonder what the antennas
are doing, sounds like we have "real" wind. I take a peek outside..Yikes my
AB577's and the little tribander on the 25' pole with dacron ropes are whipping
around like fishing poles! I know, it's time to take a contest break and go out
there and retune the guys.
A half hour later I get it! Those weather forcaster were almost right this time,
they said "it's gonna be really windy", Yup! I can't see further than 4 houses
down the street. The 20 mile long by 10 mile wide valley is a total brownout
with blowing dirt & Sand. My towers are all tuned up and my eyes are also full
of that stuff. I can't see the computer monitor, or the rig display. Tears are
running down my cheeks......gotta be tears of joy, I'm having such a great time
doing a contest again. Right?
Folks keep going in the log, and at 00:00 Sunday I'm only 100 q's behind last
year. Great! I'm gonna make it all up. At 00:05 the power goes bye-bye. I drive
around the area, oh it's only a 25 square mile area, they'll have it on
shortly?
Ok, so that's not gonna happen. I'll take a nap, and just let the wind lull me
to sleep. Oh good, the power comes on 7 hours later, Oh no...yup the band is
dead. How'bout another nap?
Sunday, the band opens on the skewed path, work some more mults, run EU a
little, it is only open for an hour. the rest of the day goes on and ends up 336
q's behind last year. So much for that great comeback.
Awh, what the heck, it was a contest, and they are fun.
How windy was it here? I have no idea, no anemometer. About 50 power poles
snapped off in town, some stop signs broke off at ground level. Others just
wrapped around their poles. Lot's of business signs with no signage, just empty
frames. An apartment building lost a roof. Oh, thank goodness, got all my trash
cans back from the up and down the street.
Yup, this contest was a real blast!
Thanks for the q's
73, Kurt
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