[3830] NAQP CW - N6ZZ Summary + comments

[N6ZZ at aol.com]

(Sorry if this is a duplicate posting....)

                              NA QSO SUMMARY SHEET


    Contest Dates : 01-Aug-98, 02-Aug-98


    Callsign Used : N6ZZ
         Operator : N6ZZ

 Default Exchange : Phil NM

             Name : Phil Goetz
          Address : P.O. Box 1234
   City/State/Zip : Alto, NM  88312
          Country : United States


        Team/Club : TACO Numero Dos


   BAND   Raw QSOs   Valid QSOs   Points   Mults   
 __________________________________________________

   80CW        2           2          2       2 
   40CW      145         145        145      44 
   20CW      177         174        173      45 
   15CW       87          86         86      33 
   10CW        1           1          1       1 
 __________________________________________________

 Totals      412         408        407     125 


    Final Score = 50,875 points.

    Off times:  23:46 - 01:41
                04:55 - 06:00

                Time of operation: ~ 9 hours

 Soapbox Comments
 ________________

 A pleasure to break in the new QTH in New Mexico.  Now to get some decent
 antennas in place!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The house that we're building is not yet completed, no towers up.  But on
Friday, I made up a single dipole for 40 and 20, single feedline, and hung it
from the peak of the roof.  Despite interaction between the elements and from
being so close to the house, it loaded up well enough to operate on 40, 20 and
15.

The operating position may have been the most uncomfortable I've ever
experienced.  The desk consisted of a piece of plywood suspended between a
window sill and the arms of two lawn chairs.  The operating chair was a third
lawn chair.  This fine combination provided zero lower back support.  My
chiropractor will probably be able to add a new wing onto his house when he
gets done with me.

In the first few minutes on 15 meters, I received the occasional "bad tone,
chirpy signal" report.  My initial reaction was that this was caused by rf
getting into the TS850, since I could pretty much shake hands with the
antenna.  After attempting to operate for 20 minutes, it dawned on me that the
last time I had used the switching supply for the 850 was in Australia.  Do
you suppose it could still be set for 220 volt operation?   YES!  A flip of
the switch, and the crummy signal reports went away, and I could run more
power too.  Suchadeal!

There is something to be said for having antennas that actually resonate on
the bands you're trying to operate on.  My 40/20/15 setup didn't perform too
well on 10, 80 and 160, although I tried.  The single 10 meter QSO was with
W4AN, who had a decent signal on backscatter.  Heard and called others, most
of whom were pee-weak, and they didn't respond.

The two 80 meter QSOs were with K5RT in nearby Texas and KY7M in not-very-
distant Arizona.  Called many others with loud signals (their signals were
loud, not mine), but was continually subjected to the "CQ-in-your-face"
syndrome, which is certainly enough to make this operator crabby.  160 was
even more of a lost cause.

Operation from New Mexico doesn't make it much easier for me to work the NM
multiplier.  Only worked AA5B on 40 meters, otherwise there was an NM drought
in my log.  Guess  I'll have to get some locals interested in CW contesting.
:->

QTH is in the mountains of southeastern New Mexico....elevation 7200 feet.
Antenna improvements to take place gradually, house construction is taking a
somewhat higher priority.  

73 - Phil, N6ZZ

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