CQ Worldwide VHF Contest
Call: N8RA
Class: SOAB LP
QTH: CT FN31
Summary:
Band QSOs Mults
-------------------
6: 157 61
2: 74 23
-------------------
Total: 231 84 Total Score = 25,620
Club: Yankee Clipper Contest Club
I really enjoy this contest. It is shorter than most and a bit more relaxed.
But maybe a bit too relaxed, because on Saturday the contest seemed to start
out really SLOW. After the first hour, a lot of the "regulars" were in the
log and not too many other casual stations. The hourly rate declined from
there and by 10 PM local there was little new action. No new grids were
worked between 7 and 10:30PM. There had been no 6M E skip and I did not find
any enhanced tropo on 6 or 2 either. I was beginning to think that the
winners this year would be those who stayed in the chair the longest,
garnering in only a meager handful of stations each hour.
Resuming operating Sunday at 6:30 AM local with a cup of hot coffee and the
traditional pop tart in hand, I CQ'ed and combed the bands. The early
morning hours did not yield a lot of Q's but another 10 or so mults went
into the log, and that was fun Then between 9 and 10 some E's started to
show up on 6M; they lasted about 3 hours before disappearing, never to
return. During the time they were in and when the skip distance started to
shorten, I kept checking 2M for E's but found none. I did not find any
double hop either. Not unexpectedly, 2M went dead while 6M was hopping.
The afternoon again tapered off to slower action, and I took a nap break
between 3 and 4 PM. And, just when you think it is all but over, I worked 10
more Q's and 4 new mults in the last half hour. Somehow that last minute
sense of urgency seems to bring out more stations.
All in all, it was a very enjoyable event. Nothing broke, and there were
only a few notes added to the never ending to-do list.
Every contest is an opportunity to test out your machine and sharpen your
skills, and this weekend was no exception. Since the June contest I was
motivated to improve my 6M antenna system because I felt the other locals
were doing far better than I was in working the E's. I had been using a 5
element yagi mounted up high as the primary antenna with a lower 3 element
secondary antenna aimed in the opposite direction. So I changed course with
plans for a second 3 element yagi that was sitting in the garage and
installed it below the one already on the tower. Now I have one at 71' and
one at 55' and a switch box to select either one or any combo. Those antenna
heights were selected from a compromise between HFTA results for my site and
where there was clear space on the tower. Your mileage may vary. Listening
to E's for a couple of weeks before the contest showed that sometimes the
71' antenna was markedly better, sometimes the 55' one was markedly better,
and sometimes there was no difference. That result could change in a few
seconds too. Both in phase was usually never worse, and sometimes a bit
better than either. For Sunday's E's I ran both in phase, and this seemed to
play well. For most of those 3 hours I was able to hold a CQ frequency using
low power, and the broader horizontal pattern of the 3 el yagis covered the
wide range of beam headings without much rotor adjustment needed. Thanks to
all who had earlier provided info on ways to deal with the 75 ohm hardline
impedance transformations that had been complicating getting this running.
73,
Chet, N8RA
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