Recently, K5TR received a reel-to-reel tape of my operation in the 1973 SS
CW contest while operating at W6DGH (now N6AA). I had just turned 19 and
this was probably my first SS with a "real" station (KWS-1, 204BA, SB-101
and SB-220).
George sent me a CD - and it was painful to listen to - but since my commute
is an hour long, I finally listened to it all. Herea are some observations:
1. While I was running a KW - it doesn't appear that I was able to hold down
a frequency very long - or at all. Perhaps I was stuck in the crowded part
of the band. I think over the course of the first hour, I had CQ'd and
had answers on at least 8 different frequencies. Even with all this moving
around, nobody once sent me "QRL".
2. Man - the filters on the radios I used are nothing compared to what I
am used to today. There were two or three stations in my passband almost
all of the time. Also, some people seemed to be calling me pretty far from
my frequency. Maybe the 75A3 I was using did have better settings, but I
had chosen to keep things wide open - I don't know.
3. I sort of had the sense that I was sharing my frequency with other people
and as the band changed, one had to move around to adapt.
4. Most everyone was pretty good at sending and receiving CW. I could
actually ask people for their "prec" and get a useful response. I think
99 percent of the CW was being sent by hand. K6OVJ/6 was probably one
of the few stations using a memory keyer at that time - and nobody had
computers. :-)
5. There were a number of times where we just sent the last 3 letters of
a call instead of the whole thing. Of course, most of the calls I was
working had 3 letter suffixes - which are rare now on CW.
6. W7RM with K7JPF (K7JA now) operating was the only station that I worked
who seemed to have a good rhythm, and a clear frequency. He was way ahead
of everyone else I came across - and must have won that contest.
7. Sure miss all them 1X3 calls with checks in the 30's and 40's. The band
just seemed really alive and packed (probably due to activity and the wider
passband I was using).
If anyone just has to have a copy of this CD (K6LL might want on as I worked
K1JYN), send me an SASE and a blank disc (or a buck) and I will send you a
copy.
Tree WB6ZVC (now N6TR)
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