My 2 or 3 cents are added...Gary, K9AY
N4UK
> > After looking at the data and giving some thought to what went
> > on over the weekend I have come up with a list of tactical
decisions
> > we made at N4UK during the weekend that may have hurt us. I'll
also
> > list improvements I'll be making in time for the CQWW 160.
> >
> > 1- The whole first day of the contest was spent CQing on
1813.13.
> > This turned out to be an excellent frequency and we were able to
run
> > stations and never had any serious challenges by anyone seeking to
> > improve his frequency real estate. On Saturday we made a decision
to
> > CQ somewhere between 1830-1840 to increase our chances of snagging
> > some more EU QSOs.We wound up on 1837.5. This was a BIG mistake.
We
> > got sandwiched between W3GH and another loud Northeaster and was
> > eventually challenged by another big gun who might have had this
> > frequency the night before and who felt that it was his manifest
> > destiny to use it Saturday night too. Our rate suffered, we could
> > hardly go after spots since a few seconds of silence would result
in
> > more frequency battles.
W4AN
> Last year and this year I was on 1824.7 or so. Both nights. W8JI's
> callsign results in very few challenges for frequency. Suggest you
get on
> the air more and when people go "Oh, its N4UK" you will have less
> problems.
K9AY
Bill is right. I don't operate a huge amount between contests, but my
antenna designs and writing give me good 160 callsign recognition. And
I'm
sure a lot of QRP stations tried extra hard to give me their QSO. My
best
run frequencies were in the 1817-1819 range. Tried 1836.5 (ugh) and
1844 Sat. but they were no better. I need to re-check allocations to
see
what countries cannot go below 1820.
W4AN
> Biggest problem I had was with clicking stations next to me. If
they are
> clicking you and they are to the NE of you, then you have a big
> problem. W3GH is one of the worst offenders. The best situation is
to be
> next to someone who isn't clicking and who isn't to the NE of you.
I'm
> not sure who that describes though. :)
K9AY
Two things about clicks -- 1) I got two complaints about clicks. The
IC765
may have moderate clicks, but I'm not sure. I think K5NA uses 765s and
his
signal was OK. 2) Receivers also cause clicks. A strong signal on
the edge
of a narrow crystal filter passband will raise hell! (Grab your IF
shift knob).
BTW, I used my 765s because I have the interface for SO2R/dual
receive;
Ron's well-modified FT1000 (not D or MP) is a bit better.
N4UK
> > 2- We did not take as much time as we probably should have to
search
> > for DX.It shows in our measly 14 countries.
> > (CM,HI,V4,VP5,XE,ZF,PY0F,YV,PY,DL,GM,OK,ON,VK)
W4AN
> Last year and this year I did not S&P the entire contest. I stayed
on one
> frequency both nights for the entire night and if I was required to
S&P to
> work you... then we didn't work.
K9AY
I was about 93% run and the rest S&P. Never went on an S&P quest
except slow operating time. Didn't work W8JI until after sunrise
Saturday
morning.
N4UK
> > 3-Probably should have CQed throughout the day on Saturday and
till
> > the bitter end on Sunday. Even just a total of 20-30 more qsos
would
> > have put us ahead of some of the other multis.
W4AN
> Ughh.. To me this would ruin the fun of it.
K9AY
I operated until 8:45 local Sat. a.m., got on at 3:30 p.m. and had
immediate
activity at 20-30/hr. Almost nothing Sunday after sunrise; found 3 or
4 new
guys while spinning the dial and chatting with Ron.
N4UK
> > 4- I need to improve my NE rx antenna situation. I hope to remedy
this
> > with a 1,000 footer if my neighbor cooperates.I am good to go in
all
> > directions except to the NE where it matters most for mults. Maybe
a
> > thousand footer towards the West might help too.
W4AN
> Now you are on to something.
K9AY
Ron's single Beverages are good, but I know there were stations
calling
in the noise. The W8JI station digs out another layer of weaker
signals.
N4UK
> > 5- Need to lay down 14 more radials to get to 60 on the vertical.
May
> > or may not help much but I know it won't hurt us!
W4AN
> Yep
K9AY
Ron's transmit vertical plays extremely well. Those who don't recall
what
he has, it is 150 ft (I think) Rohn 25 plus 25 or 30 ft. of 2" mast.
It's insulated
and fed at 20 feet, with 20+ elevated radials.
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