ARRL DX Contest, SSB
Call: K0TV
Operator(s): NM1C K1BG KB1SNB NM1C W1END W1OHM WO1N WQ1Z K0TV
Station: K0TV
Class: M/M HP
QTH: FN42hr
Operating Time (hrs): 48
Summary:
Band QSOs Mults
-------------------
160: 28 24
80: 147 62
40: 356 78
20: 965 112
15: 925 104
10: 1266 108
-------------------
Total: 3687 488 Total Score = 5,362,632
Club: Yankee Clipper Contest Club
Comments:
We had great conditions for this year's running of the ARRL SSB classic.
Everyone here had a wonderful time. Everyone who came over to operate got some
chair time. I usually encourage anyone interested in contesting to come over
and have a taste of what it's like to operate at a moderately big station. We
had three new operators for this contest in NM1C, KB1SNB and W1OHM. We were
unexpectedly joined by WO1N who helped out with some of the overnight
operation.
In the week prior to the contest, we lost a very well respected and popular
member of our team, Michael Bernock, N1IW who succumbed to multiple myeloma on
February 25. Mike was a regular operator here for many years before he got his
own station up and running. He was a teacher, mentor, leader, and all around
great guy. His loss at the young age of 54 was tragic. As a tribute, YCCC
members exchanged "Italy Whiskey" instead of the usual "Kick
Butt" for this contest. Stations who had voice keyer recordings of his
voice used them. K0TV was one of those stations. We used his voice whereever we
could. If you worked us this time, chances are you heard Mike's voice.
Prior to the contest, I had to fix one of the amps here. The plate choke had
literally blown up during a previous contest. When I opened up the amplifier
deck, there were bits of wire everywhere. I decided to take the form out and
rewind it with some new wire. When I cut the wire that was left, I found that
it had been glued to the form and there was a very messy residue on the form.
Luckily I had another choke and was able to put it in. That choke blew up too
so I rewound it again and got the amp up and running. I decided to keep the
plate voltage low and run at reduced power rather than risk another failure. As
a result, the 20 meter station was operating at reduced power for this contest.
We might not have been quite as strong as usual due to our lower output, 7-800
watts instead of 1500.
Up on the tower, a bad connection forced us to use only the four square on 40
meters. A frigid week prior to the contest prevented us from making the
necessary repairs. We will now take the time pressure off and make the
necessary repairs when the weather warms up. Other than having to run reduced
power on 20 and not having the big 40 meter beam, everything else worked well.
The high point for me was 10 meters. The station was performing well and
conditions were stellar. At times the pile up we were working was 10 deep.
Pulling calls out was difficult at times. I usually identify at the end of each
QSO but this time, in order to keep the pile up manageable, I ended many
exchanges with a simple "QRZ?". I identified at least every third QSO
to allow everyone to verify who I was. I apologize to those stations who had to
wait to hear who I was.
MVP for this contest goes to NM1C. Matt made the largest number of QSOs on 10,
20, and 160 meters. Matt is a new operator here and he will hopefully be a
member of the team for years to come.
Thanks to those who called in and thanks for a real fun contest.
73, Jerry - K0TV
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.3830scores.com/
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