Stew Perry Topband Challenge
Call: VE6TL
Operator(s): VE6TL
Station: VE6TL
Class: Single Op HP
QTH:
Operating Time (hrs): 7.5
Summary:
Total: QSOs = 235 Total Score = 1,041
Club: ALBERTA CLIPPERS
Comments:
This was my first SP contest from home as I managed to rig up my shunt-fed 40'
tower to handle up to 500 watts. My previous setup allowed for 100W, before I
got my FL-7000 amp, and was insufficient. Restating the obvious, power makes a
huge difference on this band.
I started at 8AM Saturday morning (1500Z) and managed 30 QSOs before sunrise
shut things down for the daylight hours. At 4PM (2300Z), I thought I'd give a
listen to see if there was any activity. Sure enough, the band was hopping!
My biggest problem was with a constant S8-S9 noise. The delights of city life!
I'm sure I missed a ton of QSOs because of the noise, but decided to keep on
trying anyway. I tested out every noise cancellation technique I could think
of with my FT-1000MP. And I also discovered that there must have been a lot of
RF in the shack as N1MM kept hanging after transmitting. Doing a "reset radios"
command over the bandmap usually solved the problem quickly.
After a couple hours, I decided to see if I could reach 1,000 points as my
goal. Slowly, I worked away at it and by 3AM (1000Z) I finally made it! My
points were about 50-50 S&P and running. The highlights were when I got my
first DX call, from KH7Y, while running. This was around 2AM (0900Z). Then I
was able to work a couple more Hawaii stations, Virgin Islands and one JA!
They had to overcome S9 noise, so the conditions must have been very good. Now
I know why people stay up all night to work DX on 160m! I've never been up this
late before on the radio. Nice to hear a lot of the locals on too.
CU next time.
Jerry VE6TL
Rig: FT-1000MP
Amp: FL-7000 (up to 400W)
Ant: Shunt-fed 40' Tower with TH6 on top
Software: N1MM
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.hornucopia.com/3830score/
______________________________________________
3830 mailing list
3830@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/3830
|