This contest was a blast! I only wish I'd had more time in it. I got set
up on a hilltop in EN50rl as the sun rose on Sunday. I had about 4-5
hours of operating time.
The hilltop I was using is about 10 miles west of Gibson City, IL. The
site is a winner! It is probably the highest point in east central
Illinois at ~ 955 feet above sea level. I had a clear view of the entire
horizon. I had a little digital QRM of some sort on 432.098 from
somewhere northeast of me, but it didn't interfere above that frequency.
All other frequencies and bands were clear. The nearby microwave tower
didn't turn out to be a problem. The actual hilltop is in a farmer's
field about 100 feet or so off the road. There is a dirt road and a
clearing on the hilltop. The farmer had given me permission to use it
and even stopped by a few times to see if I was OK.
Here's my results:
Band QSOs Grids
222 6 4
432 8 6
903 4 4
1296 6 5
2304 2 2
3456 1 1
5760 1 1
TOTALS 28 23 = 3,450 points
My equipment was mostly working quite well. I had a problem with the T/R
antenna relay on 903 but had a replacement with me and it worked fine.
Several people told me I was weak on 222 and when I got home I found out
why. One of the wires on the balun to the T-match had broken, so I was
feeding only half of the T-match. Yet I managed QSO's with KC9BQA in EN63
and W9GA in EN53 (about a 220 mile path) on that band with 10 watts (my
best DX on that band). I also worked KC9BQA on 903 and 1296 and W9GA on
1296 - best DX for those bands! I think we made each others' days.
Everything else worked fine. So Murphy just had a couple near-misses this
time.
I worked K3SIW all the way through 5760. We tried 10368 but no go. At
the same time I was trying to work Garry, I heard W9ZIH calling CQ on
10368. He didn't hear me, though. Does anyone have W9ZIH's e-mail
address? I'd like to make some skeds with him.
I'm looking forward to the September contest.
73, Zack W9SZ
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