ARRL Sweepstakes Contest, CW
Call: W4NF
Operator(s): W4NF
Station: W4NF
Class: SO Unlimited HP
QTH: VA
Operating Time (hrs): 15
Summary:
Band QSOs
------------
160:
80: 223
40: 166
20: 204
15: 77
10: 7
------------
Total: 677 Sections = 80 Total Score = 108,320
Club: Potomac Valley Radio Club
Comments:
I was trying to break the 1000 Q barrier that I had come real close to in the
past (missed by 4 Qs several years ago). I put up a new 80 dipole tuned for CW
so there was no compromise with the SWR and amp. The station was playing
well.
The contest started and I was maintaing a fairly consistent 50 Q per hour rate.
That lasted for 9 hours. Then at about 1AM in the middle of a good run on 80
meters the Alpha 99 just shut down, not faulted, but completely shut down. I
took my first 30 minute time out and tried to figure out what happened.
I went to the breaker box and the amp had tripped the breaker and the amp had
blow one of the 240V line in fuses. I reset the breaker and replaced the blown
fuse and tried to turn the amp back on. It came back on and then immediately
shut back down. This time the ON/OFF switch went also and now will not click
and hold in either the ON or OFF position.
Well, I had lent my other Alpha 374A amp to my brother Bill W4RM for CQWW and it
was being used by him Multiop effort during SS CW. So I tried to run without
the amp with little luck. The 700' of hardline to the tower and other antennas
makes it difficult to get 100 watts to the antennas. I really felt out of synch
at this time so went to bed at 2AM and slept until 6AM when I got up to go to
church. After church I went over to W4RM's house and picked up my extra amp as
it was not really needed as he had another full station to occupy the second
op.
I got back on about 10AM and made a go of it for another 6 hours. Stopping
early gave me a chance to visit with my son who had come home for the weekend
from VA Tech, so I think my time was better spent that way anyways. Also my
wife and I had a nice glass of wine while sitting on the deck enjoying the
beautiful Fall colors and unseasonably warm weather.
As they say, "Wait 'till next year". I will be putting in a full time effort
for SS Phone from W4RM's station and try to extend my string of Top Ten
Unlimited finishes to 6. See you all in a couple of weeks. Now it's time to
pack up the Alpha 99 for its trip back to Colorado. Thanks for the Qs and 73,
Jack W4NF
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.hornucopia.com/3830score/
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