CONTINUED FROM PART 3
Nobody wants to call CQ on the second night which we know will be slower
then a Sunday afternoon in SS. I crash and get up about noon just as the
guys are returning from town. Randy has a bunch of parts but not really the
right parts. He takes parts of the parts and comes up with enough to keep
the RF out if the cables are just placed just so and everyone is told "don't
move or touch the cables" or else the RF will get back into the keyer again.
(Thanks Randy) We plug on through the second night calling CQ and searching
on the other receiver. We trade off as it gets boring and the rate is slow
except for a few spurts now and then. About 4 AM the Alpha linear keeps
tripping off with a fault light and we don't know what is happening. We try
barefoot and everything is fine. The linear belongs to Randy who is
stretched out, all 6 ft 8 " and snoring like a bear and really is tired.
Nobody wants to wake him up and say "Yo Randy, what the hell is the matter
with your Alpha linear". Scotty bundles up and goes outside and climbs the
50 ft tower to check all the connections on the balloon vertical to make
sure nothing is arcing over under high power. Scotty returns, frozen and
reports nothing is wrong at the antenna and nothing is arcing over. We plug
on barefoot for a while and keep checking. Finally we discover one of the
coax jumpers from the Alpha has some type of bad solder joint at the PL259.
It is replaced and we are back in business. Sunrise comes again and nothing
is heard form the pacific except for the KH6's we have already worked the
first night. The contest ends and we feel that we didn't do very well with
only 12 countries. Missed WAS by not finding a DE and VT station and missed
four VE's. I check with Milt N5IA to see how he did and he has us on QSO's
but we have him on mults and he reports conditions way down and not to good.
I feel better knowing that Milt and his 13 receving antennas and long
beverages did not do much better then we did. Maybe it was not just us and
all our problems but conditions and activity are the real reasons. Again
agree with what Tree posted earlier, the DX window was a joke. It seems to
work on CW somewhat but 5 Khz is a joke on SSB. Both nights the same people
parked on 35 and 30 and continued to call CQ and nothing but "slop" heard in
the window. All DX we worked we either found outside the window or they
called us. In looking back on the contest, we all had fun inspite of all
our problems. I guess we were just spoiled because everything went so
smooth on CW and we had no problems at all and had a big score for the West
Coast. Scotty has the QDF files and is merging them into one and should be
posting the score for N7KQ multi Op soon. If I remember correctly we had
around 680 QSO and 65 Mults for a score of just under 100K, something like
99,450 points. On a personal note, after working this contest from W7GNP's
acreage in the woods which is our Field Day site, I don't think I will try
the CQ and ARRL 160 contest from my city lot again. Once you use full size
beverages and a great transmitting antenna one gets spoiled in a hurry. I
look forward to next year. Thanks again Jim, W7GNP for allowing us to use
your property and for putting up with all the BS. Thanks also for Randy for
bringing up his brand new Alpha linear and Icom 756. Of course thanks to
Scotty for putting up with so much and the "Giver" you truly are a good
sport. Next year will be different, we will make sure we have a bullet
proof voice keyer and do some serious "KB"
73 Gary K7OX
One of the operators of the N7KQ gang - Horned Toad Acres Wireless Association
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