Hola Amigos!
I decided to enter the NAQP CW contest at the very last
minute. At least I now know that I can focus and get "into" a
contest mindset without having to think about it for a few days
before the actual event. I had one goal in mind this time
around. I wanted to beat my score from last year.
I have spent the last months working on
improving my wire antenna farm.I've been paying particular
attention to improving my "domestic" contest signal. One of my
big problems from last year was my 40m antenna. It was a ground
mounted vertical which performed quite poorly. The 40m NUKer I
now have up at 40 feet continues to work great in the
"domestics".
Another improvement is a new array of 4 2wl long
wires on 20m at 47 feet configured with remote switching as 4
long wire Vees that can be switched to the NE,SE,SW,and NW.
These same antennas are also used on 160 meters as 2 half
slopers fed 1/32nd wl out of phase. The 80m antenna remained the
same; an inverted vee at 47 feet. I also used the 40m NUKer on
15 meters compared to last years 40m vertical. I have no
antennas for 10 meters.
The Contest.
One big difference this year compared to last year's
contest was the lack of runs. I could not get a good run going
no matter what band I was on. I don't think conditions were as
good as last year's. I distinctly remember a few 100 plus hours
on 80 meters last year. This year all attempts at runs were
futile. I spent the low band portion of the contest switching
often between 40 and 80 and then 80 and 160. Maybe it was the
conditions. Maybe it is declining CW participation. Or maybe it
was my KP4XS call last year ;).
I also did some band passing this year which I
had not done much of last year. I was surprised at the
percentage of passes that were successful. In fact, I remember
only two attempts that were not successful. I had hastily
planned my half hour breaks in the minutes prior to the contest
but it all came to ruin when I QSYed to 80 meters and found a
very high VSWR. In my rush to get ready for my last minute
contest entry I had forgotten to add the extra wire length to
the 75m vee. I had to take an unplanned half hour break and work
out in the cold, dark night to add those %#$@* extensions.It
didn't seem to matter in the overall scheme of things.
The biggest difference this year was the extra
qsos and mults on 15 and 20 meters. It was nice to hear lots of
signals on 20 meters from places other than w6 and w7!. The
biggest surprise was being called by a /KH6 on 40 meters!
The results- Last year I wound up with 557 x 141 for a
score of 78,537. This year's score was quite an improvement!
609 x 169 for a score of 102,921. All goals met!
The breakdown-
10m-0
15m-36/18
20m-74/33
40m-235/46
80m-180/42
160m-84/30
Thanks for all the Qs! It was nice to hear all the new
2 letter state abbreviation calls that actually were in that
state. The vanity program has created a nice "adjustment" to the
geographic callsign designator distribution.
Equipment- Icom IC-740. 75-90 watts out depending on the band
I'm on. The biggest improvement to the station other than the
antennas? My KAY 432D - 0-101 DB switchable attenuator. I no
longer get the contest headaches I had become accustomed to.
Next year? A NUKer for 80 meters and a 10m antenna!
73 Ken N4UK
1.8-1296 MHZ
Cabo Rojo Contest Club-WP4NMS Soon to be WP3X!
Grid Pirates VHF Group
Grid Square-EM84xp
>From floydjr@Interpath.com (Jimmy R. Floyd) Sun Jan 12 18:03:23 1997
From: floydjr@Interpath.com (Jimmy R. Floyd) (Jimmy R. Floyd)
Subject: NAQP CW 97 Scores I
Message-ID: <2.2.16.19970112180323.0a9f7e8c@interpath.com>
NAQP CW 1997
CLAIMED SCORES
Compiled by: WA4ZXA
<floydjr@interpath.com)
Date Posted: 01/12/97
CALL SCORE QSOS MULTI
___________________________________________________________
Single/OP
K4AAA (N4VJ) 274,688 1073 256
N5TJ 245,520 990 248
N2NC (@N2NT) 198,398 874 227
K3MM 193,118 866 223
K0EJ 189,441 873 217
K4OJ 187,620 795 236
VE3EJ 175,266 749 234
K5GO 171,756 734 234
K4FXN 167,420 761 220
K6LL 166,870 814 205
K4NO 166,246 823 202
WC4E 163,229 781 209
K4AB 161,994 798 203
N5OT 160,011 773 207
K7SV 159,278 734 217
KC6CNV 159,120 816 195
K4AMC 152,859 753 203
K5OT 148,212 716 207
K6LA 146,600 733 200
AD5Q 141,930 747 190
K4RO 137,609 713 193
W9WI 134,469 669 201
N5FG (WQ5L) 128,650 775 166
AA3B 124,620 620 201
N6NT 123,300 685 180
W4EF 122,570 599 206
N5TU 119,145 611 195
K4MA 118,692 628 189
KU8E 110,349 603 183
WA5WJU 109,480 595 184
K9TM 108,000 600 180
KE3Q 107,690 605 178
N4UK 102,921 609 169
WD4AHZ 92,382 519 178
N9FD 81,174 498 163
K9EY 71,568 497 144
N8JF 64,240 440 146
W8CAR 53,568 372 144
N4GN 49,028 412 119
KA9FOX 48,498 354 137
K8MR 41,667 323 129
WD0T 30,592 239 128
N9JF 9,801 121 81
NS0B 3,430 70 49
KK7A 756 36 21
Multi/OP
KS9K 308,750 1235 250
W5NN (@K5XI) 292,333 1213 241
N0NI 263,648 1183 224
Operator List
W5NN AB5LX,K5NZ
N0NI WO0V,W0FLS,N0NI,N0AC
___________________________________________________________
73 Jim
**********************************************************
* Jimmy R. Floyd (Jim) Thomasville, NC *
* *
* Amateur Call: >> WA4ZXA << *
* Packet Node: >> N4ZC << *
* Internet Address: >> floydjr@interpath.com << *
**********************************************************
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