New Mexico QSO Party
Call: K8TE
Operator(s): K8TE
Station: K8TE
Class: Mobile Multi-Op LP
QTH: Rover
Operating Time (hrs): 12
Summary:
Band CW Qs Ph Qs Dig Qs
----------------------------
160:
80: 10
40: 177 54
20: 79 15
15:
10:
6:
----------------------------
Total: 256 79 0 Mults = 51 Total Score = 112,222
Club:
Comments:
Judy and I put over 600 miles on the K8TE Mobile Command Post by the time we hit
San Miguel County where I made just one contact at the end of the event. The
antennas (High Sierra Screwdriver for 20m & 80m mounted on the topper) and
a 40m Ham Stick mounted on a magnetic, mount on the F-150 roof, and the K3
performed flawlessly. However, computer problems began before we even left
home! I worked just nine NM counties which hurt my multiplier list! I was
surprised to work DL and Japan on 20m!
My Lenovo laptop (nearly three years) old simply died on the way to Tucumcari
Friday! It boots to the Lenovo BIOS logo and nothing more. Fortunately, I had
ordered a replacement HP laptop which arrived last Wednesday. Setup went well
except for some Windows Updates SNAFU's and I had it ready to play not long
after the Lenovo died. I did some N1MM+ tweaking on the way to the QUA/DEB
county line.
All went well with the laptop/K3 interface for the entire event. I wish I
could say the same for propagation. Many stations just were too weak to work
through local and vehicular noise.
It was interesting to get unsolicited "strong signal" reports but not
have a lot of answers to my CQ's as I expected/wanted. I guess there isn't as
much interest in working NM counties as we would hope. County Hunters really
made the difference for me!
QSO rates varied considerably! The first few minutes (3939) were very good
because I had somehow enticed several folks to hang around there until the
contest began which led to working five stations in three minutes from a county
line resulting in ten QSO's. If it weren't for several 3939 regulars, I would
have had to stay at the QUA/DEB line a lot longer!
My best 10 minute period rate started at 2341 UTC on 40 CW with W0MU in CO. i
worked Mike six different times, half on 40m SSB and half on 40m CW, from five
different counties. He's a big contester whose signal was always great to me.
That 10 minute period yielded 11 QSO's, all on 40 CW, after which I had one more
and moved to 40 SSB where the run petered out. Interestingly, half of those
QSO's were with stations I worked multiple times, including AA5B, the only BER
station I worked on 40m.
My best hour rate was 62 Q/H starting at 0129 on 40m SSB, of all modes, but
only for three QSO's. I worked WA4LND who had a huge signal from Hidalgo
County! He began calling CQ up 2 kHz from where I was running. He was kind
enough to move down 5 kHz when I mentioned that fact. How pleasant, and
surprising, it is to experience such kind behavior!
That run continued for another 56 minutes, mostly on 40m CW with some on 40m
SSB. I saw the rate meter pop up to 100+ a couple of times, but not long
enough. Even though I used the "begging CQ" on SSB (Any Station
Anywhere), I couldn't keep a good rate going in either mode. Obviously, most
of the callers were there because of the contest or wanting to work our
"rare" counties.
Like Duffey and Mike/Ken, I worked a lot of stations many times:
N6MU 13
K1RO 9
W4YDY 8
K7TM 7
WB0PYF 6
K0BJ 6
K0HNC 4
K5WO 6
K5NA 6
W4SIG 6
At the top of this list was WB8WKQ whom I worked 14 times!
My biggest challenge, other than being old, was the noise my F-150 generates!
I probably could have worked a significantly larger number of stations while in
motion without that noise. I even had a run in Roswell when we pulled into a gas
station for a pit stop which I worked only because the engine wasn't running.
I had Judy pull over near Cloudcroft to work a couple of weak stations. I
decided to pull the power cord from the laptop to see if that had an impact--it
did! The noise decreased even more and the laptop died! It turns out the band
new battery is TU. I'll complete the on-line form for a replacement from HP
this afternoon.
I had a litany of issues that made preparation challenging including MS drivers
from Windows Updates that cause a string of BSOD's on the new laptop. I'm
guessing a normal human might have given up after experiencing these so my time
as working in tech support paid off.
While not as good a result as I had hoped, it was still a fun event. I want to
thank all the ADXA members who ensured we'll receive another plaque for most
counties activated, especially Duffey/Ginger and Mike/Ken! I did see Alden
spotted but never worked him.
73, Bill, K8TE
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