CQ Worldwide DX Contest, SSB
Call: N1LN
Operator(s): N1LN
Station: N1LN
Class: M/2 HP
QTH: NC
Operating Time (hrs): 48
Summary:
Band QSOs Zones Countries
------------------------------
160: 106 14 40
80: 333 20 82
40: 555 30 108
20: 909 31 120
15: 636 28 101
10: 25 8 9
------------------------------
Total: 2564 131 460 Total Score = 3,891,144
Club: Potomac Valley Radio Club
Comments:
The contest weekend that almost wasnâ??t!
The building of the team for CQWW-SSB started immediately after NAQP SSB in
August. The K3s were turned off and the planning was started. However, the
road from August to late October we found to be filled with unexpected
obstacles. Although obstacles, and perhaps bad news at the time, we consider
ourselves very fortunate that the end results are mostly positive. The
initial team would include Kaz (W4KAZ), Jay (NT4D), Rob (KA1ARB), Laurie
(N1YXU), and me â?? Bruce (N1LN).
In mid-September Jay went to the Dr. for a routine checkup. In mid-October
Jay had bypass surgery. We are all VERY happy to report that Jayâ??s surgery
was successful and he is now back home and recovering. He might even be
feeling good enough to spend a few hours on the air for ARRL SS. Robâ??s
time availability for the weekend decreased to Friday night only due to work
commitments. Remember, this is a hobby and work buys us these radio toys!!
Then on Oct 16th , while on my way home from work, I had an ALMOST head-on
collision. The fortunate part here was that my injuries are minor (broken
bones) and it was NOT my fault. The impact to our team was that my left hand
is broken and, due to the cast, I canâ??t type fast enough to efficiently
operate. My right knee cap is also fractured, but I donâ??t need my knee to
type or talk. So, I changed the schedule so I had mostly the slower overnight
time slots. Fortunately I had been adding to our initial team as 5 ops would
not have been enough for a M2 entry anyway. The other team members really
helped fill in the open time slots.
The team:
Kaz - W4KAZ
Nate - N4YDU
Wes - K4WES
Rob - KB1ARB
Barry - K4CZ
Jeanne - KI4ZWQ
Jordan - KI4GUO
Steve - KZ1X
Mike - N4GU
Gary â?? W8IVF
Laurie â?? N1YXU
Bruce â?? N1LN
The contest started and we were off! Well, we were off until about 09:00UTC
on Saturday when one of my K3s developed a problem. Steve (KZ1X) and I spent
about 2 hours trying to diagnose and fix the ailing K3 but to no avail. So,
thanks to Steveâ??s two good hands, we swapped out the K3 and put in the backup
FT1000-MP. That step was not as easy as it sounds as I had changed the
connectors on a few of the cables for the K3. So, off to the work bench for
Steve while I used my only functional hand to continue with the swap. We
missed most of the morning gray line on Saturday, but by 11:03 UTC we were back
on the air. The rest of the weekend went well with no other major incidents.
The runs that were hoping for were not there, but we did have a great 15 meter
Europe opening from 12:00 â?? 14:00 UTC on Sunday. My wife â?? N1YXU â??
enjoyed the highest two hour rates of the weekend! We are all anxiously
awaiting the sun spots for the same level of action on 10 meters. Also the K3
was new to most of the ops so this gave everyone some additional contest K3
training.
Congrats to the other M2 teams. This is still my favorite entry classification
and we will be back.
The team is currently being put together for CQWW-CW. With a bit of luck we
wonâ??t have the same opportunities as we did for SSB. I will still have my
cast on my left hand â?? so my rates will suffer. Every team needs a mascot
â?? that will be my job !
73,
Bruce â?? N1LN
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.hornucopia.com/3830score/
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