Arkansas QSO Party
Call: N4CD
Operator(s): N4CD
Station: N4CD
Class: Mobile LP
QTH:
Operating Time (hrs): 8.5
Summary:
Band CW Qs Ph Qs
--------------------
80:
40: 190 280
20: 169
15:
10:
2:
--------------------
Total: 359 0 Mults = 41 Total Score = 30,955
Club:
Comments:
I headed up to the Mena Hamfest in Polk County on Friday afternoon. It's small
-- maybe 30 people in the flea market and another 50 under two large tents.
Spent a few hours there, then to the motel overnight.The hamfest is up in a
state park 'high' in the AR hills (2000 feet plus). Didn't find any serious
goodies to bu ybut lots of boatanchors for sale if you wanted 50s and 60s
vintage heavy metal radios. I collect 40-50s regenerative receiver kits.
In the morning early, back to the hamfest up on 'the mountain' and spent 2
hours checking things out. I was ready to leave, and hopped in the car to
start putting out the counties.
Dang, the SWR was high and the radio wasn't happy!. After a few minutes of
trouble shooting, it turned out the shield on the coax connector on the short
jumper from the antenna switch to the radio - at the radio end where I
disconnect it every night to take the radio out - was completely broken. It
was a sort of 'sealed' assembly.
Well, the bad news is that it delayed my start. The good news is that if you
are going to have equipment failure, the best place is at a hamfest where you
can buy another jumper.
After 10 minutes of searching, I had to spend 10 bucks to buy a 10 foot jumper
for the 3 foot bad one. So finally I was off putting out the counties.
I do carry tool kit but soldering iron only works off 121 VAC at motel - hi hi.
I need to have a spare jumper along. I could have connected ant cable direct
to radio, but I wanted to get over on 40M SSB and that is separate hamstick
antenna. Some of the counties I desperately needed were being run on 40M SSB
by a county hunter mobile in KY. Priorities!
Leaving the hamfest you get on some winding twisting roads, then its not too
bad until you get to Ft Smith in Sebastian County
Wow..first station worked was WA5BDU mobile in Scott county where I was headed.
He was headed to the Mena hamfest. At one point the S meter hit 60 over...he
had passed going the other way. It was up decent roads from then to Ft Smith
in Sebastian County, up to Crawford on the interstate after some city
congestion. Then I hit I-40 for about 40 miles before the hundred fifty miles
of AR back roads to the north, then west. I left the interstate and it is
slow going with 25-40 mph speeds, lots of switchbacks and curves where you are
constantly slowing down. It's slow going. Scenic but slow.
There wasn't enough activity to justify staying on 20 or 40M through all the
counties, so I headed over to the County Hunter
Net on 40M and just 'put out the county there'. Didn't contest but made
another 250 SSB contacts, but didn't count them. Didn't do the 'contest
exchange' with them , either.
Well, finally got over to Washington County after lots of two lane roads,
hills, switchbacks,small little towns with 20 mph speed limits.
Worked W3DYA/n a few times, but never heard NO5W or other mobiles other than
WA5BDU.
Drove about 330 miles. After Washington, zipped up to Benton, put it out for
20 minutes, then down to the Motel 6 in Crawford County ($38 including tax).
Spent 1/2 the time on SSB after had run the counties on cw.
DX worked: DL, F, OE, SP , HA - States missed - VT, OR, ND, LA, NV, NE, ME,
KY (worked 3 of them on SSB but only am counting CW). Thanks for the MT, RI,
ID, CT, NJstations that got on - for the mults.
Rig: IC706 with six foot mast on grounded mag mount on rear deck of Malibu.
Resonators horizontal - 40/30/20/17/15M.
This is the ARRL VHF contest weekend and I suspect many others who would have
shown up for the QSO party didn't- they were off contesting in the VHF/UHF
contest, or out roving there.
It's nice the AR folks schedule the hamfest the same weekend - there were at
least 50 cars with HF antennas at the hamfest. How many of those stations
did you hear on the air? Now we got to work to get some of them on the air as
they head there and home.
If I counted the SSB contacts - score would have been up around 44K. (grin).
Thanks for the contacts and to the sponsors for putting this on each year.
Score includes bonus points for working AA5AR.
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.hornucopia.com/3830score/
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