7th Call Area QSO Party
Call: N7WA/M
Operator(s): N7WA
Station: N7WA/M
Class: MobileCW LP
QTH:
Operating Time (hrs):
Summary:
Band CW Qs Ph Qs Dig Qs
----------------------------
160: 0 0 0
80: 18 0 0
40: 158 0 0
20: 365 0 0
15: 8 0 0
10: 0 0 0
6: 0 0 0
2: 0 0 0
----------------------------
Total: 549 0 0 Mults = 44 Total Score = 72,468
Club: Western Washington DX Club
Comments:
I borrowed a KX3 with amp this year in anticipation of buying my own
in the next 6 month. It sure hears better than the IC-706. That said,
I did have some issues with the KXPA100 before and during the test. More
on that later.
This was going to be a multi-op this year which would have allowed for
continuous driving and operating. Instead, I went solo again which pretty
much requires driving and stopping to operate. Out of the 18+ hours of
travelling time, only 6 were stopped on a county line (45 minutes each)
to operate. I did answer a couple dozens CQ's on the road when somebody
was loud and stable enough that I could safely copy the info on a pad
before answering. Sometimes it took 5 minutes.
Both 40 and 20 were decent. I actually spent a fair amount of time listening
on 15 between county lines just to see if any activity would show up. Very
little. I even programmed up the Winkeyer to send CQ and hit the button
a lot as I travelled the lonely back roads of Adams and Lincoln county
with not a single response.
As the day got warm in Eastern Washington (the Adams/Whitman county line), the
KXPA100 decided it didn't like the heat and I started getting HI Temp faults
especially with many short CQ's. Turning down the power didn't help either.
It cut my time short on that line and on Stevens/Lincoln. Was getting
frustrated
and I am sure I left a bunch of Q's on the table.
What to do? Then it hit me as I got to Grand Coulee dam. I hit the local
Safeway, bought some gallon sized freezer zip bags and some ice.
Sealed 'em up good and tight and put it right on the heat sink.
A paper towel took care of any condensation. I watched the PA temp as I
operated and I never got another Hi temp fault. If I buy a KXPA100 of my own,
I'll figure out a fan cooling system.
I only made a few 80 Q's. It was starting to open as I got on at Douglas/Grant
but by the time I got to Chelan/Kittitas (about 10:45PM local) I think most
everybody was in bed except for a couple locals and Hawaii.
Went with two antennas this time (stole that idea from Daryll WW7D who has
three). Sure made life easier switching bands - had one on 40 and one on 20
most of the time. It allowed me to cover 40M much more than I normally would
have. It also made for some strange looks as the second antenna was a
bug-catcher style with a big open coil. It also brought the name fully home
because it caught a LOT of bugs.
I enjoy this test but it was a long day. Up at 4AM, on the road at 5, and on
the first line at 6. Back home at 1AM. We have too many big open counties in
eastern Washington but they sure are pretty this time of year.
Thanks for all the Q's. N6MU and WA2VYA come to mind right off. When you are
sitting in a location 20 miles from nowhere with no cell service, it's nice to
hear a familiar call.
cheers
dink, n7wa
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.3830scores.com/
______________________________________________
3830 mailing list
3830@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/3830
|