WAE DX Contest, CW
Call: N9NB
Operator(s): N9NB
Station: N9NB
Class: Single Op LP
QTH: VA
Operating Time (hrs): 27:45
Summary:
Band QSOs QTCs Mults
-------------------------
80: 55 10 84
40: 270 292 105
20: 424 463 92
15: 41 25 36
10:
-------------------------
Total: 790 790 317 Total Score = 500,860
Club: Potomac Valley Radio Club
Comments:
Each day is a blessing, and it is so easy to overlook the fun and joys of life
at every turn. Years ago, I would have been frustrated with what unfolded this
weekend, my first ever serious running of the WAE (and first time to use QTCs),
but instead, I found this weekend's WAE to be purely enjoyable at almost every
turn (except for a trip to Walmart, more later, and even that was not so bad).
It turns out that I was limited to sending at about 20 WPM throughout the
contest -- my deepest apologies to all those who had to wait on my slow fist!
I had made a summer's goal to give a good effort, for the first time, in this
contest, not ever having really understood QTCs or knowing why the contest was
deemed to be so challenging. I have a lot of aspirations in this hobby, such as
getting on RTTY and other digital modes, remoting the station, learning how to
do SO2R, putting up some fixed yagis, improving the low band antennas, etc....
but life naturally moderates the progress. This weekend was going to be pure
ham radio, with a focus on WAE and a logger upgrade. So far, one fixed yagi has
been installed this summer, the rest of the things are still on the to-do list!
But I am hoping to make progress over due course.
I knew that N1MM classic had a broken QTC functionality in its final update,
before the inspired engineering team upgraded to N1MM plus (it is easy to take
for granted the amazing computing power and great service the entire team at
N1MM provide to our hobby!! Big kudos to them). So, this was going to be the
weekend when I finally was going to upgrade to N1MM Plus. Pete, N4ZR, had been
recommending me to upgrade for more than a little while, so I was happy to
finally be doing it. I am a very late adopter for SW, and had been putting off
the upgrade to Plus for the past couple of years, and this contest was going to
be impetus for change.
I cleared my work calendar, arrived at the mountain QTH several hours before
the contest, and begin installing N1MM Plus and reading the rules to WAE.
Super-contester Nate N4YDU , a fellow PVRCer in NC, took time out of his
contest prep to help me by phone to set up the function keys, as I did the
installation. He offered to work me with a few mock qso's using qtc's on 80m
before the contest. (Nate, too, had urged me to upgrade to Plus).
The installation was going great, and whatever hiccups I had, Nate quickly
solved -- by memory-- as he was relaxing, mentally preparing for an all-out
effort, and was not at the computer -- when he offered many crutch tidbits that
corrected the interface control. I was all set to fire up N1MM plus with the WAE
logging database, when I received an error message about my use of Prolific USB
to serial adapters for my keying signal! N1MM Plus ominously warned me that my
sending could be problematic -- this was true. My good friend Tom N9NC had
graciously gifted me various serial cables when we did the first test-drive of
my VA mountain QTH on 10 m in the 2011 CQWW CW, and I had always been using
those cables, not knowing the difference between Prolific and FTDI, because I
had never been impacted -- until NOW. The CW that was now coming out of my N1MM
+ program made my rig sounded AWFUL, with no spacing or differentiation between
dots and dashes! I was in trouble! Nate and I brainstormed, I was ready to
throw in the towel and build antennas all weekend, or to revert back to
Classic, or to just use a keyer the entire time, but Nate encouraged me to
stick with Plus and make a go of it in WAE. I'm glad I did. There was two hours
to go before WAE, and I spent an hour experimenting with the various keyer
weightings in the N1MM+ Software , scrounging around for cables, and calling up
local ham buddies to see if they had any FTDI adapters (my buddy Gordon K1GG
generously offered to give me his Winkeyer, but I didnt really pay much
attention at the time since it would be an hour round trip and rewiring some of
the set up; however, I learned during the contest that everyone seems to use
this, and I remembered some sage advice from Ed W0YK on this topic a while
back, as well). The best way forward seemed to set the N1MM+ sending speed to
26 wpm, which, with the weighting adjustments needed to make reasonable
sounding code, resulted in 20 wpm to the rig! I never had anyone ever ask me
QRQ -- until this weekend-- again, my apologies to all who had to wait!
Sending at 20 wpm was passable on 40 and 80 m with the QRN, but not the next
morning on the high bands- I was painfully slow! My plight, operating in WAE at
such slow speed, conjured up the image from the Star Trek movie, where Spock
(the old Spock) had to set out in space to find the younger version of himself,
using a tiny, antiquated, unprotected space craft as he attempted to navigate
space with deadly death rays everywhere about him, (the movie directors
cleverly used a "squeaky" noise, like a tricycle that needs oiling,
to highlight the old, slow moving nature of his vessel whenever it appeared on
screen). This image continually popped into my mind during the contest, and
made me smile, even laugh out loud on occasion, as I used my squeaky slow CW to
navigate the globe. I realized how much I love star trek, and ham radio
contesting, and how esoteric and obscure this radio sport is, yet how wonderful
it is to be able to send morse code and play like this. I also chuckled that
this enforced patience would help me adapt to the newer JT digital modes, which
apparently require much patience but offer great DX rewards with low SNR
detection capabilities. So, this weekend was "all good", as I was
learning WAE, upgrading to N1MM Plus, and adapting to a new operating
condition, with the realization that I will need to get some new hardware to be
competitive and flexible (for now and future digital modes). What fun! Always
new frontiers in ham radio.
I also realized this weekend the brilliance of WAE.I get it now. But never did
before, since it was hard for me to like what I did not know. I have to applaud
the DARC, as they figured out a fun and free way to provide code copying
practice to all European amateurs, while putting the carbon footprint burden on
the rest of the world who send the QTCs :-). Its quite an amazing contest, and
it was exhilarating to strategize in real time how to shed the QTCs near the
end of the contest, striving for no leftover points. It is quite ingenious in
so many ways, there is so much give and take, and during the contest it was
amusing to formulate analogies from many parts of life, and in various social
contracts, since there is a great deal of complex negotiation and self-enforced
and opt-in social norms in many aspects of the contest. It was quite fun, even
though I was slogging through at only 20 wpm.
I must admit, the slow code speed got me down a bit on Saturday sunrise, as my
rate was capped, so I took a break from the mid morning opening and saw some
friends for breakfast, and then headed to Walmart for an FTDI dongle (the
website showed them in stock). But alas, arriving at Walmart at 1:30pm on a
Saturday, a week before college starts in Blacksburg, was a bit unpleasant.
Lots of crowds, both in the store and in the parking lot, and all of the
shopping attendants I interacted with were not in a mood to help some ham guy
looking for a dongle or a USB adapter -- they shrugged and said it was out of
stock, and sent me on my way. A wasted trip. Oh well, as I walked to my car, I
realized how fortunate we are to have such great stores where we can buy
things, and yet how the Internet may make these places obsolete in our
lifetimes.
The contest went well, and having the yagis tuned this summer seems to really
have improved the signal (or is it all in my head?). While my low power status
kept me humble many times, I was amazed how well I could hold a frequency or
move a multiplier when needed. A particularly exciting opportunity arose when
ZB2CW called me on 15 meters for a new multiplier! He had a very low number,
and obviously I was one of the few lucky ones to get ZB in the log. I was so
excited and asked him to move to 20 m, which he graciously, happily obliged,
but being new with N1MM Plus, I fat fingered the log and forgot to log his QSO
on 15 m!! I realized this when I passed him to 20, and I couldn't find him on
the band.....GOSH, I had blown it ! Not only did I fail to get the 2nd ZB
multiplier by missing him on 20, but I botched the entry of the first QSO with
him on 15 and now didn't know the serial number ! I had to try and remember his
Serial Number, since it was now wiped away from the screen (and from my
memory).... I guessed at it (something was gnawing in my mind that it had an
"8" in it, but I put a "20" because something felt right
about that number), and inserted it into the log as I fumbled around trying to
make the 20 m contact, realizing I would probably lose the 15 m multiplier in
log checking, and that this probable logging "error" would propagate
into the QTC that would eventually be sent later...this had me wondering how
all that would work in scoring ....But then something amazing happened, which
is why these contests are so fun....... 20 minutes later, after I had moved to
20 m and had just gotten over my frustration and my QLF logging move, ZB1DX
called me! WOW, I had just gotten back the mult I had botched, but this time on
20 m, and I made REAL SURE to properly log it....lucky for me, ZB1DX was very
kind, willing to move to 15 m where I could try and get an insurance mult for
the original ZB2CW that I would likely lose in log checking....ZB1CW arrived on
15m just as he said he would, and he called me a few times - but he couldn't
hear me at first, as copy was light -- but then, he was immediately jumped upon
by the masses. I thought my 100 W would never be able to get through, and I
heard NR4M work him as the pile up continued to build..but then, ZB1DX paused
and called specifically for me, several times, and as the pile up died down,
obeying his command, he had everyone stand by and listened just for me -- we
made the qso-- he allowed me to pick him up for the ZB mult. on 15 M. Wow, was
that fun! What a lesson in grace, that was! Two very graceful operators, ZB2CW
and ZB1DX.
The late afternoon opening to EU on 15 m the second day was also great fun, as
I had a near ESP QSO with new mult OE1CIW, and picked up several new mults that
I would never have expected. Later in the contest, OE1CIW called me on 20 m,
and we chuckled and marveled about that earlier QSO.
Even with slow CW speed, and low power, the contest was a blast! The adventures
of contesting never cease to amaze. I know everyone has stories like these. And
they happen in every contest! This weekend, I was able to make time to clear my
desk of everything but ham radio, and it was magic. Its amazing to me all the
wonderful people who write the logging software, build the antennas, create the
contest rules, participate in these weekend events, install the remote hardware
and software, and evaluate the thousands of logs. Even this 3830 website is
such a cool venue. Its quite an amazing thing, and one that can easily be taken
for granted.
Who would have thought that with such an auspicious start, WAE could turn out
to be such fun? Who would have known that the WAE contest has such complexity
with lessons and metaphors for life. Who would have thought that operating 20
wpm could actually be enjoyable? I would NEVER have thought it a few years ago.
I think I might have taken it all too seriously. Perhaps more than ever before,
I actually stopped and listened to a lot of the CW this weekend, and mulled the
characters around in my ears, listened how they sounded, imagined what it must
be like for the sender at that very moment, and what their stations might have
looked like. The slower speed actually seemed to have had an odd calming
effect, despite my disappointment of losing rate.
Sure, a critic could say that poor preparation led to this sequence of events,
and that would be true, of course. Had I tested the N1MM Plus program weeks or
months earlier, I could have obtained the proper hardware and ensured proper
keying. But I didn't. Priorities like family, friends and travel happily got in
the way. This hobby is remarkable, in that it accommodates us, wherever we are
in life, to whatever extent we wish to commit to the hobby, spending whatever
we have time for, or don't have time for, or what we choose to make time for.
In my case, I allowed the WAE weekend to be the block of time where I could
implement a new logging programming and learn a new contest -- and wow, was it
terrific! I was looking forward to living in the moment of this sacred block of
time, and absolutely enjoyed it. I had a choice to be frustrated with the
situation, or embrace the situation, and I am glad I did the latter. It was
such an enjoyable event. I hope I get to enjoy many more of these WAE
contests.
A few years ago, I doubt I would have stayed the course with the contest. In
fact, I doubt I would have had the discipline to carve out the block of time to
be completely free from work or other obligations. I'm sure glad to be able to
enjoy it now!
73 and thanks everyone for the qsos, and for your patience this weekend, and to
DARC for the great contest ! 73 ted n9nb
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.3830scores.com/
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