ARRL DX Contest, CW
Call: VE3NNT
Operator(s): VE3NNT
Station: VE3NNT
Class: SO Unlimited HP
QTH: FN14CM
Operating Time (hrs): 34
Remote Operation
Summary:
Band QSOs Mults
-------------------
160: 0 0
80: 147 58
40: 507 90
20: 1058 106
15: 107 44
10: 10 7
-------------------
Total: 1829 305 Total Score = 1,673,535
Club: Contest Club Ontario
Comments:
Last year, I did this contest from home in Mississauga using my original call
sign (VE3ABN) with just dipoles on 20m and 40m up about 15 feet in the air (also
using the 40m dipole on 15m until). I managed just under 600 contacts with 171
multipliers for a score of about 300k.
Last summer I finally got my station set up at the cottage with an Optibeam
OB17-4 on top of a 90 foot self supporting tower and an 80m inverted V with its
apex at 80 feet. I don't yet have an antenna for 160m. The project this spring
is to bury a bunch of radials and set up an inverted L.
This year, I was wondering if I would try a single band effort on 20m or 40m,
but finally decided to do the same as last year, all band high power unlimited
to see what difference it makes to have descent antennas. I'm sure the
difference in my score is due to the better antennas, not improved operator
skills. Considering the bands were in worse shape this year (I looked at some of
the big scores reported from last year and saw they were down about 15%), I'm
happy with the results.
I stayed up probably too late Friday night pounding away on 40m and 80m waiting
for the openings to Japan, New Zealand and Australia, so I woke up a little too
late to catch the start of the 20m opening Saturday morning. I did a run of 175
contacts at a rate of 105/hour before things dried up.
I went to bed early Saturday night and woke up earlier to catch the 20m opening,
still too late but better than Saturday morning. I should have grabbed at least
a cup of tea before starting because I went for a long ride. I ran for 5 1/2
hours at a rate of 96/hour before Europeans stopped calling me. In retrospect, I
think I got a good tail wind from the 2 big US east coast stations that were
attracting stations like a magnet. I was at 14.029, wedged in between Bud (AA3B)
and Chuck (K3WW) for the entire stretch. I finally had to take a break to
stretch, eat and take care of the usual business.
Not to forget to mention, I operated my station remotely from my home in
Mississauga. The internet held up quite well and delay was manageable. The
station is a Flex 6500 with an Expert 2K-FA. Remotely, I use the Flex Maestro
radio front end and my PC for logging, rotating the antenna (with PSTRotatorAZ)
and controlling the amplifier (DDUtil). This combination works relatively well.
Besides my spring project for the 160m antenna, I need to think about getting
into SO2R to improve my operating skills and score.
All in all, it was a blast. I do love CW contests. Thanks for the QSOs. See you
on the next big contest.
Les, VE3NNT (aka VE3ABN, VA3FV)
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.3830scores.com/
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