ARRL 10-Meter Contest
Call: NN3V
Operator(s): NN3V
Station: NN3V
Class: SO SSB LP
QTH: Poway
Operating Time (hrs): 18
Summary:
Band QSOs Mults
-------------------
CW: 0 0
SSB: 466 92
-------------------
Total: 466 92 Total Score = 86,664
Club: Southern California Contest Club
Comments:
Station is Yaesu FT-5000 with 4 rlrmrnt SteppIr yagi.
Obviously one of the best 10 meter contests in a long time. Saturday better
than Sunday for band conditions.
Had a very interesting experience that demonstrated the current difference
between traditional and SDR radios!
I've evolved the shack to using LP-PAN and software control for my FT-5000.
With he wide pan-scope display and the visible modulations, if I am in search
and pounce, I just point and click on the transmitting station waveform, verify
it is not a dupe, and work it.As you can imagine, it makes sliding up or down
the band very simple and quick. My trusty Yaesu FT-5000 just sits behind the
wide screen, and I forget about it. Everything (logging, radio mode, DSP, etc)
is controlled on the wide screens in front of me.
Well, about 1/2 way through the contest, for the first time ever in my
experience, the "Bill Gates BSD" struck. The computer simply died.
ZIP. NADA. After 30 minutes of trouble shooting I gave up. Lifted the wide
screen display away from the FT-5000, brought up the back-up laptop (that can
not be interfaced to any radio), and started twirling knobs on the radio,
watching the VFO read-out, and logging contacts on the bare3 bones N1MM program
on the laptop. I suppose my next stepl would have been paper and pencil, but
things did not get that bad!
YEP. SDR is a load of fun. Makes contacts easy! But until all SDR radios (Hello
Flex...?) come equipped with a solid VFO display and knobs, IMHO they certainly
are not contest ready.
Now back to trying to figure out what Bill Gates did inside my computer!
73 de NN3V
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