ARRL 160-Meter Contest
Call: N9TF
Operator(s): N9TF
Station: N9TF
Class: SO Unlimited LP
QTH: IL
Operating Time (hrs): 16.5
Summary:
Total: QSOs = 507 Sections = 69 Countries = 3 Total Score = 73,656
Club: Society of Midwest Contesters
Comments:
Had a good time. This is by far my best Q count and score in this contest, or
any 160m contest. I forewarned my XYL she would not see me Saturday night, and
very little Friday night!
I set out a goal of a minimum of 500 Qs, and to give running a solid effort.
This is always hard with low power and a short low antenna, not to mention my
CW copy is beginning to decline.
Friday night my noise level was surprisingly low for a change, and there were
gobs of signals popping on the P3 from the bottom of the band up to about
1.875. In the first 60 minutes I S&Pd my way up and down the band twice,
and just picked off the strong signals, putting 99 Qs in the log the first
hour.
I ended the first shift (13:53UTC with a five and a half hour nap starting at
08:03UTC) with 308 Qs, 63 SEC and 3 DX.
I got a much earlier start Saturday afternoon. I had higher expectations after
a decent Friday night Saturday morning, I was thinking now maybe 600-700 Qs and
over 100k points would be possible . Conditions were a bit different Saturday
night. My noise floor was higher by about 10dbfrom the previous night, and I
was getting some intermittent buzzing interference that moved across the band.
Made it hard to hear the weaker layer of signals I was going to need to have
any hope of breaking 100K, especially since all I was working were two
pointers! I did get several decent runs in Saturday night and Sunday morning.
Unfortunately, there were many signals at my noise floor I just could not pick
out. I'm sure I missed a lot of Qs because of that. I need to work on some kind
of RX antenna for that reason. I have one neighbor that has a 4' high fence
80'long running east and west, and another neighbor behind me with a 70' long
4' high fence running N/S. Not very long runs, but something to think about.
I fizzled out way earlier than I had planned. I remember deciding to take a
quick 10 minute power nap in the chair around 0645UTC. I woke up with a leg
cramp at 0730UTC, dazzed and confused. While rubbing my left leg trying to
blood to circulate again, I saw a spot for KA9FOX. I went to his frequency,
worked him (big signal!), and decided to call it a contest. My eyes couldn't
focus on anything anymore, and my leg hurt.
Had fun. Set a new personal best, and worked through some of my CW running
demons. Need to do more of that.
73 Gene, N9TF
Rig: K3S 100 watts, Antenna: W8AMZ shortened (67') half sloper at apex of 35'
sloping down to 2' off ground. TX/RX same antenna.
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.3830scores.com/
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