ARRL 160 SO/LP

[Greg Becker]

ARRL 160 METER CONTEST -- 1996


      Call: NA2N                     Country:  United States
      Mode: CW                       Category: Single Operator, Low
Power

               QSO   QSO PTS  PTS/QSO    SECTIONS  COUNTRIES

     Totals    850    1787     2.10         68         19    =   155,469

20 hours of operation

Equipment Description: FT-1000D, Elevated-Z (inverted-L with elevated
radial, 
about 50' vertical component), 500' Beverages N, NE, W unterminated.

Club Affiliation: Hudson Valley Contesters & DXrs

Saga:

	Comes the day of the contest, and the only thing ready is the Beverage 
system. Radio in box from UPS. Never put power to the transmit antenna
until 
45 minutes before the contest. Fire up the Alpha, and..... 

	Fire alarm activates, intrusion alarm also, furnace goes off on safety, 
microwave starts beeping, and the fridge starts spewing ice cubes onto
the 
kitchen floor. <Many Expletives Deleted>. Guess feed point 4 feet above
the 
roof, over the living room, is not going to work with full power. Guess
lower 
power multi-op with packet for club score. Hook up TNC to computer. Try
amp one 
more time. More ice cubes, and smell of smoke, which is curling up from
TNC - 
guess mucho RF into it via ???. Anyway, it's dead. Ice cube cut-off is
180 watts. 
Looks like SO/LP effort in the big snowstorm.
	
	Contest starts, great guns. 11:30pm eastern, Fri nite - lights go out.
<MED> 
Miss EU sunrise. Plug in and switch on a vacuum cleaner next to my bed
to awaken me 
when the power comes back on. Vacuum comes on at 8am Sat. Miss MY
sunrise. Saturday 
will be better. Go out and plow.
	
	Saturday afternoon. Much more ice & snow. Beverages and Z antenna
sagging.
 Bang on them with stick. Helps. Back on the air. Condx are much poorer
than 
Friday - figures. 11:45 pm - lights go out. <MED> Miss EU sunrise.
Vacuum comes 
on at 4am. 

	Pretty disappointed in lack of cooperation from power company and
weather. 
Snow static, even with insulated wire on Beverages, was horrendous.Need
to extend 
the EU beverage, or put up a longer one and leave the NE one for SW 
(can't run one SW). Need to put up better transmit antenna(s), and in a
better spot. 

	Looking forward to... something.

73,

-- 
Greg Becker   NA2N   na2n at ifam.com
Ideas For American Manufacturers / Rock Temple Entertainment

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