North American QSO Party, CW - January
Call: AA4LR
Operator(s): AA4LR
Station: AA4LR
Class: Single Op LP
QTH: GA
Operating Time (hrs): 10
Summary:
Band QSOs Mults
-------------------
160: 51 22
80: 98 33
40: 205 45
20: 95 33
15: 51 20
10: 51 12
-------------------
Total: 551 165 Total Score = 90,915
Club: South East Contest Club
Team: SECC #1
Comments:
Antennas:
160m Inverted-L to 16m high
80/40m trap dipole at 10m high
Equipment:
Elecraft K3/100 with KAT3 tuner, stock filter
Comments:
Wow! Since I started doing the NAQP CW contest in 1996 (with all of 120 QSOs in
10 hours), this is the highest number of QSOs, and my second highest score. I
might have even made an all-time best score, had I not bungled my off-time.
Contest started with activity on 10m right away. You know conditions are going
to be pretty good when there's lots of activity on 10m from the start. 10 and
15m brought so-so rates with S & P, but a number of much-needed mults that
wouldn't be available later.
At 1847z, I had to take an unexpected 27 minute time out to talk with some
folks who came by. In retrospect, I should have waited out four more minutes.
At the time, my XYL had told me to take her to dinner around 0000z, so I
figured I would get all my off-time then. As it happened, she changed her mind,
so this probably cost me another 20-30 Qs, as well as a couple of mults.
In any case, all the activity on 10 and 15m kept me away from 20m until 2100z.
I managed a brief run on 20m, but it was like 10 and 15m, mostly S & P. Just
before 2300z, I made a couple of Qs on 40m then I took an off-time to eat.
At 2340z, I found a nice frequency on 40m and began to run. I would stay there
for the next hour and forty minutes. Rate meter stay over 100 for much of that
time. A lot of you big guns may not get too excited about this, but this rarely
happens to us little pistols -- certainly not often with 100 watts and wire
antennas.
By 0200z, I'm down running on 80m. Rate isn't quite as good as 40m, but I need
the mults. An hour later, a quick scan of 40m to pick up a few missed mults. By
0310z, I'm on 160m, but there's not much activity -- however, I'm running out
of time. The rest of the contest is a careful bounce between 80 and 160m.
The K3/100 performed extremely well the entire contest. The QRM-fighting power
of this radio is superb. I really like FINE tuning, even though it takes a
while to scan the band. I really love this radio. The 160m Inverted-L worked
well on 10m, 15m, 20m as well as 160m. Notice the R7000 isn't mentioned. I
never even tried it. The 80/40m dipole was the mainstay on those bands.
What a huge load of fun! See you next week on Phone.
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.hornucopia.com/3830score/
Bill Coleman, AA4LR, PP-ASEL Mail: aa4lr at arrl.net
Web: http://boringhamradiopart.blogspot.com
Quote: "Not within a thousand years will man ever fly!"
-- Wilbur Wright, 1901
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