[3830] K4XU/7 arrl 160 story

[Dick Frey]

621 QSO         74  Mults        5 DX      Final Score =
102,858

Gear:   Inverted L at 70',   Ten-Tec Omni V and good ol'
Titan #0.

This boy needs to learn the local landscape.  It is much
different operating from central Oregon than back in
Megalopolis.

I started about 5:30 PM Friday.  Nothing to work but 6's and
7's.  Not a single QSO east of the Big Muddy until almost 9
PM. The band takes for ever to warm up.  Finally work a real
east coaster, W4MYA around 10 PM.  Keep searching around for
some DX.  XE is not DX.

Since W7GG is sitting this one out, OR is not as easy and I
can probably afford to call CQ for a while and wait for the
mults to come.  Rate goes to 180 for an hour or so before
settling down to 90.

About midnight I tune the JA window. Nothing but local AMers
and the buzz of a touch lamp.  Call CQ for another hour.
Check the window again at 09Z to hear a lonely loud JA
calling CQ QSX 32.  He comes back like a local.  Listen on
my Tx frequency to see if other people are calling the JA
and hear only the few east coast window cops.  Time for
those boys to get some rest.

Sure miss the ol' Beverages.  Since this is my first 160
contest from OR, I am unsure of what needs to be fixed
first.  I decide to add some radials to the present two
elevated ones.  After a short nap I pull out a spool of 16ga
wire and a pair of cutters.  It has started to snow.  90
minutes later, I have cut and laid eight 135' radials now
all hidden in 6" of new snow.  The SWR on the L is now up to
2:1  -- good, it made a difference.

What to do about the noise?  The growlers wandering across
the band are the biggest problem.  Rather than string a
short Beverage, I grab the Sony SW rx and tune across the
band looking for the buzz of a touch lamp.  There's a nice
one on 1830.  After finding a big baggie to keep the snow
out of the radio, I walk around outside to see where it is
strongest.  Down the drive to the street, across the street,
louder.  A subdivision's 8 foot privacy fence blocks the
way.  After a long hike I am at the end of a cul-de-sac
opposite my house.  Getting louder.  Gotta start somewhere.
I pick the most likely house and knock.  Tell the guy I am a
SW radio listener and have been having trouble with noise
which seems to be loudest in his yard.  Demonstrate, then
ask if perhaps he has a touch lamp?  Yes.  Can we unplug
it?  Yes.  The noise goes away.  I volunteer to fix it.  He
says no!  He will take it back to the store right now since
it is new.  Cool.  I suggest he find a better, nonpolluting
model.

Things were quieter Sat night but there are still more of
them out there.  It's going to be a long battle.

Saturday evening I started out needing two states for a WAS:
ME and SD.   WAS is possible though the band is not doing
well into the east coast tonight.  I find a reasonable
frequency and call CQ for a few hours.  Get Maine.  Now the
search begins.  On the SS SSB weekend there were a dozen NDs
and W0SD.  What gives?  Lots of S&P but no SD,  just J6A and
ZF2AH.  Decide to CQ again and hope....  BINGO.   Thank you
KR0T!!!

I spend the last few hours CQing with rates around 20.
Yuck.  I'll get some sleep and check for JA's in the
morning.  At 0530 the JA window has three JA CQers.  After
working the first, three more call me on his frequency. Um,
what's the protocol here?  I work them quickly and move off
a bit and call CQ JA.  Two more answer the call and they are
fading  - or are they just QRP?  Tune the band looking for
something other than KH7R form the west.  Nada.

15Z - Nothing left on the band but a few M/S guys on
autopilot.

The object of entering this contest was to see how the
antenna works and what the new state is like.  No RFI phone
calls from irate neighbors.  That's always a good start.
Now all I gotta do is find a few more of those damn touch
lamps!

See you on 10m CW.

Dick

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