Stew Perry Topband Challenge - Pre-Stew
Call: K1LT
Operator(s): K1LT
Station: K1LT
Class: Single Op HP
QTH: EM89ps
Operating Time (hrs): 9
Summary:
Total: QSOs = 357 Total Score = 1,543
Club: Mad River Radio Club
Comments:
I had planned to deploy my FPGA based phased array system with this
contest, but various last minute issues forced a postponement. Over
the past few months I put up 2 more short verticals to add to the 2
short verticals that form my "transmitter nulling" array to make a
2x2
broadside / end-fire array. The "nuller" array had 134-foot spacing
so yesterday I moved one of the verticals so that the 4 verticals make
a 320-foot wide by 50-foot deep rectangle. I discovered that the box
at the base of the moved vertical had a defective type-F connector, so
I lost an hour or so fixing that.
When I finally had all 4 verticals connected to the FPGA hardware, I
found one receiver had a terrible image problem which often means the
I and Q channels are significantly unbalanced. So there was some
unforeseen hardware or software problem and I decided to forget trying
to integrate a third audio stream and just operate the way I always
have. Maybe I'll have things sorted out for the CQ WW CW test.
Since I was an hour late and I had cannibalized my full-duplex
capability I started the contest by searching and pouncing. The band
was very quiet and the local noises were very quiet and signals seemed
to stand out.
For the first 5 hours or so, rates seemed a little better than last
year. By 0300z I was 20 QSOs ahead of last year, which is a lot for a
contest with a 30 QSO per hour average rate. The European contacts
came in a steady stream with reasonably decent strength. CX6VM was
very loud when he called. He turned out to be my best DX.
By and hour or two before the conclusion of European sunrise I had
worked almost everyone available and the rate fell behind last year.
VP6D was running Eu and there were innumerable easily copied Eu
signals in that pile who I've never heard in a contest. Too bad more
DXers don't try DXing in a contest. I found 5K0K CQing without
callers and worked him again and gave him my grid square but he just
said "TU" and went back to CQing. I put the call in my log which
assigns 1 point, but I suspect that QSO really counts as a bust. I
was going to call VP6D when he got done with the Eu pile but he
disappeared when the Eu callers were gone. So much for interesting
new grid squares.
I worked a somewhat weak KH6AQ but the QSO was fairly early. I heard
someone sending BL10 but he didn't own the frequency and I didn't hear
a callsign. KH6 was my best DX to the west. None of the other
Oceania stations known to be active were heard.
I slept 3 hours and got awakened only twice at irregular intervals by
the cat puking on the bed. With a such a great nap I joyfully
returned to the radio for the hour before sunrise hoping for some
really long haul DX but worked only a couple dozen other early riser
Eastern types. No JA or VK or ZL heard nor did I hear anybody working
them.
So while the Europeans seemed to be reasonable, maybe it was just the
very quiet band making ordinary conditions sound better. Signals from
the west were generally weak and except for CX6VM the southern
hemisphere was missing.
DX worked: CT (2), CT3, CX, DL (4), EA, EI, F (6), G (4), GD, HK0/a, I
(4), IT9, KH6, KP2 (3), LY (3), OK (2), OM, ON (3), PA (3), S5, SM
(4), UR (2), XE, and YO for a total of 26 entities and 52 DX QSOs.
The 52 DX QSOs beats last year's 45 DX QSOs, which might be a new
record for me in this contest. I heard numerous other Eu stations
calling other DX stations so maybe conditions were better than normal.
My condolences to UX1UA. Every time I copy him as UX1AA and he has to
correct me.
Equipment: Elecraft K3S/100, P3, Alpha 8410; 2 arrays of short
verticals, computer and SDR and beam steering software; 65-foot "tee"
antenna with very droopy top-hat wires over 75 120-foot radials (some
no longer connected); audio routing stuff.
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.3830scores.com/
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