May CW Sprint
Call: W6YX
Operator(s): N7MH
Station: W6YX
Class: Single Op LP
QTH: CA
Operating Time (hrs): 4
Summary:
Band QSOs Op Time
---------------------
80: 57 1:15
40: 87 1:24
20: 83 1:21
---------------------
Total: 227 Mults = 40 Total Score = 9,080
Club: Northern California Contest Club
Comments:
After sharing the station with a RTTY contest during February's CW Sprint I was
looking forward to this opportunity to hone my sprint skills with fewer
distractions. As I approach the W6YX station I note that the Yagi elements on
both our main towers are all parallel and appear to be pointing eastward, a good
thing since last Sprint I began on 40 with the 4-element Yagi pointing at JA.
I arrive a half hour before 0000Z, plenty of time to set up TR for a Sprint. I
turn on the rig and computer, listening on 20 while I wait for the computer to
boot. Oh yeah, it's a Windows machine, best to reboot in DOS for TR. Hmmm, no
Restart in Command Mode option on this computer - I forgot that the main shack
computers are now all Windows 2000 machines. Great for WriteLog, not TR.
There's still 20 minutes to go, so I grab one of our retired computers from the
side room, hook it up to the rig and monitor then try to decipher the rat's nest
of cables to get the keying and paddle working. Computer keying works, but I
need a stereo mini-plug for the paddle. Some club member has apparently stashed
all of the club's 1/4-inch to mini stereo adapters in a secret location. There
is one paddle with a mini-plug, but the cable seems too short to reach the
computer. By moving the computer and putting the paddle in an awkward spot I
can get it to work. Then I make a minor adjustment and now I can only send dahs
with the paddle. Argghh! The contest starts in only a minute or so.
I set the clock and hear 0000Z announced on WWV and quickly QSY to 14025.
There's no Sprint activity there, I finally hear some activity around 14030. I
call N5PO at 0001Z and he comes back to me. Then I can't figure out which key
sends the exchange and I can't send it by hand because the paddle only sends
dahs. I try Alt-K, forgetting that TR uses F10 for typing. Finally I remember
F2, but end up doubling with N5PO who then asks for a fill. So I hit F2 again
but TR is in the wrong mode and sends CQ. ESC/Tab/F2 resends the exchange, but
with number 2 instead of 1. I must not have set the decrement parameter...
Nobody calls me after this major QLF. I spend 3 minutes jiggling cables and
connectors, trying to get the paddle to work, searching drawers for the stereo
adapter, contemplating spending 4 hours with a paddle that only sends dahs.
At 0004Z I finally return to the radio and work N4OGW. He's already on #8,
while I send #2. N2NC calls me and I miss his state. I usually use the paddle
to ask for repeats, so I fumble to figure out what key to press. Meanwhile John
works someone else, so I get his state. I remember that Enter is all-powerful
in TR and manage to work 10 stations in the next 5 minutes including a RAT-Bert
in an unexpected O-state.
I have another QLF moment with W9RE, but remember F10 mid-QSO and am suddenly
able to respond to repeat requests and ask for repeats in spite of my useless
paddle. I hit the paddle on occasion to send a T acknowledgement, but mostly
just let the program send the default TU. I also notice about 25 Q's into the
contest that I've been running 35W, so I crank the MP up to 100W.
Since the contest seems activity-limited I make a strategy decision to roughly
equalize my time on each band. I assume that when I switch bands the rate will
pick up for a while since I'll be fresh meat, but staying on 20 longer will let
the SO2R guys and other stragglers find me, resulting in Q's I otherwise
wouldn't have made. This would have been a great contest to try SO2R since
there are a lot of gaps in the log where I tuned across many stations already
worked or on the wrong end of a QSO.
I switch to 40 and try calling stations and keep getting beat out. Finally I
try the inverted vee instead of the Yagi and work a couple of guys. I turn on
the ohmmeter that is our direction indicator for the 40-meter Yagi and realize
it is pointed at 240 degrees, New Zealand direction, instead of 60 degrees. How
could this happen again? Once I get the antenna pointed the other way I have a
75 Q hour on 40, but only work 12 in the last 20 minutes there.
I arrive on 80 and the band sounds dead. I tune around, try different antennas,
and just hear a few very weak signals. After wasting 3 minutes I realize that
our newly-commissioned European beverage has been selected as the RX antenna and
switching to Antenna A brings the band to life. When I first arrive on 80
everyone is louder on the inverted vee, but later some east coast stations are
stronger on the 4-square. There are many stations I hear on 80 that I don't
work, either because they are on the wrong end of a QSO or they answer someone
more local to them.
I saw Dave/K5GN's comment on not working KU8E because he was always on the wrong
end of the QSO. I've noticed in the past few Sprints that KU8E and a few other
stations (an N4 and K1 among them) always send a single exchange ordering. I
immediately start tuning away and looking for other stations to work if I deduce
from the exchange ordering that I've already worked the station inheriting the
frequency. These stations that don't observe the ordering protocol are losing
Q's or causing unneeded QRM on themselves (when stations call while they're
trying to receive an exchange). I already lose enough Q's through poor
preparation so I'm careful to follow the ordering protocol.
Thanks to N4AF for organizing this Sprint. This is one of the few Sprints where
I worked all mults I heard. I think I'll make a checklist and maybe even do a
practice Sprint to reduce the QLF factor next time.
73,
-Mike, N7MH
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