[3830] CQWW CW KR1G SOAB HP

ted at demop.com ted at demop.com
Fri Nov 30 13:10:06 EST 2001


                     CQ Worldwide DX Contest, CW
                    
Call: KR1G
Operator(s): 
Station: 

Class: SOAB HP
QTH: nh
Operating Time (hrs): 44
Radios: SO2R

Summary:
 Band     QSOs  Zones  Countries
-------------------------------
  160:     11      4      6
   80:    142     12     57
   40:    736     26     81
   20:    478     29     84
   15:    731     26     91
   10:    668     25     85
-------------------------------
Total:   2766    122    404  =  4,233,774

Club/Team: yccc

Comments:

This contest started just like last years - all screwed up!!! I hoped it would 
be as much fun.

For starters, this was the first Single Op contest since my son has learned to 
walk and scream. The M/S for SSB turned out OK, although he started the test by 
running in and out of the shack shrieking in delight and tripping the VOXs - 
yeah, he likes contests. After much discusion with the XYL, it was decided that 
I wouldn't try to hide in the shack, since he'd probably figure out I was 
there. Instead, the door would be open and he could come and go as he pleased, 
under her strict supervision (yeah, right!).

Also, I had gotten piles of sleep every night the previous two weeks, except 
the last one. Napping that afternoon didn't work to well. The XYL and harmonic 
napped, I decided to cook dinner for everyone since I was just too excited to 
sleep.

I decided to start on 20 after much mental debate. My first  QSO however was on 
the second radio - seems that 10 seconds before the contest my ACOM decided to 
shutdown and needed to go through it powerup sequence again - "Low Air Flow" 
was the message. I had very very occasionally seen this the week before. Krassy 
was baffled never having seen this error before but a new fan was on its way 
from LZ. Seemed to only happen if the ACOM was TXing a lot.

So my first Q on 20 was actually at 0004, and the rate was only OK, partially 
because the Amp kept shutting down every few Qs. Worked some great mults, 
including HS, VU, VK6 until finally at 0045 it was obvious I had to switch 
Amps. Now I thought that the ACOM would do fine on the 2nd radio since it would 
have a fairly light duty cycle. I was QRT from 0046 until 0110. Seems some 
moron decided to use different types of 220 plugs for the different Amps and I 
had to physically switch them - screwdriver, OK, at least no soldering required 
:) Hmmm, wonder who that idiot could be :) Probably some fat Greek guy.

Only worked 49 Qs the first hour - hmmm, seemed like last year. I put the main 
radio on 40, where a recent upgrade has made me fairly loud. Much better, 
worked 72 stations in the next 50 minutes on 40, plus 4 second radio Qs on 20 
barefoot including Zone 23. About 0200, while CQing, I put the 220 plug on the 
second Amp, and took about 2 minutes off to put in on the table and in line. My 
son (remember him?) had been jumping up and down the last hour in the shack, 
pulling ALL the books and magazines from my bookcase, climbing up and down a 
folding chair , all while wearing a set of headphones and shrieking with 
delight. He likes contests, and decided to take a more active role - he poured 
a glass of water down my crotch and turned of the 1st radio Amp - he'd just 
learned about switches. Now I shrieked for my wife, and operated seminude for 
the next few hours. My son and XYL went to bed.

Until about 0700 rates were OK - not great, but OK. In the high 60s to mid 80s. 
Not what I needed to acheive my goals - whatever they were, but I was having 
fun. Trying to work the 2nd radio, and generally busting my butt for "barely 
adequate numbers" yet truly having a BLAST.
The 0300 hour I spent 45 mins on 80, running mainly on 3505, and worked 47 
stations. Last year I had a 92 hour at 0300 on 80 and hit a 200 ten Q rate - so 
the band just wasn't as good. Also spent 20 minutes during the 0400 hour on 80 
with similar results. In retrospect, this was as good as 80 got and I should 
have spent more time there. Also picked off a few 2nd radio Qs on 20 and 160 - 
including G4BUO, my only Eu on 160. Again, I should have spent more time on 160 
as it just went downhill. 160 is the weakest band here, TX wise. I usually hear 
very well, but am a 3rd or 4th tier station at best!

At almost exactly 0700 something amazing happened. A solar event that caused 
all capacitors to experience temporary amnesia and forget what they were! 
Everyone, if audible at all, sounded like a good ole Iron Curtin station from 
the good ole days. 160 to 15 were open, none of them well. The strongest 
stations were weak buzzsaws, yet they all answered me immediately.  A 19 Q hour 
- damn, and I WAS having fun. Just didn't care - obviously everyone was 
effected. This is better than equipment problems anyday!!! Ohh, by the way, the 
ACOM hadn't worked out on the 2nd radio - kept turning itself off, so I 
replaced it with the Commander, which seemed to work OK. Except that on 80 it 
took WAY too much plate current to put out 1.5KW, and on 40 it took WAY too 
much plate current to put out a quite a bit under 1.5KW. And the amp on the 1st 
radio wasn't super happy on 20 and only wanted to put out about 1400 watts for 
some unknown reason. 08 and 09 I Cqed on 20, working about 40 Qs, while working 
the 2nd radio hard (for me) for 10 and 2 Qs respectively. Now I was getting 
somewhere - I was sure to be catching up on my competition due to mere 
stubborness. Besides, my CW sucks so low rates make me competitive. I'm not 
joking, I was having the time of my life! I was standing up and singing, while 
working both radios. Even 10z was cool, working 19 Qs and taking my first run 
to the toilet and back, and eating a few cold Greek Sausages from the cooler.

Rates generally sucked until 15, although I probably worked 30+ Eu mults on 10 
via scatter on the 2nd radio. The 7 ele at 150 feet really helped here! However 
eventually 10m opened on Sunday and everyone worked the same mults! The only 
backscatter mult I couldn't work was HZ - he was 569 but just couldn't hear me.

15 and 16z were good, with rates at 92 and 105 mainly on 15, with the very 
occasion 2nd radio Q on 10. Then things slowed down again and at 0240 I took my 
first break for 1:50 minutes. I planned to sleep and make my first coffee, but 
the XYL, having awoken and almost gone back to sleep again decided she should 
shower while I watched the baby (sleep). So I slept? 15 minutes on the floor in 
his room, maybe an hour on the shack floor on a mattress, and made coffee. In 
reality I doubt I actually slept 30 minutes, but lying down with my eyes closed 
was good. In retrospect, it was probably entirely unnecessary, at least as 
unnecessary as the XYLs shower.

Oh, I forgot. My son spent most of the day Saturday in the shack, yelling and 
screaming. He didn't cause me any trouble, but during his few absences he 
unpotted a few plants and tried to flush the TV guide down the toilet. The 
vacuum cleaner getting up the potting soil was most disconcerting. 

>From 0415 to 0815 I jumped around a lot, not much SO2R at all, and rates were 
from the mid 40s to mid 60s, with lots of mults. I layed down for a couple of 
hours - this should have been my only nap, and quiet honestly I could have 
skipped it too.

Things took off around 1100 and the next five hours had rates of 89, 127, 119, 
122, 97.  During the peak the XYL and son were playing *very* loudly in the 
shack and being somewhat distracting. OK, they were both yelling, and a real 
pain in the butt!!! Mostly on 10m, very little SO2R again. rates were decent 
through 1900, when my son decided he should play with a radio, so I let him 
tune the second radio until he bored a few minutes later. He had left me well 
above 21100 on VQ9X, a double mult. No, I'm NOT claiming assisted :) He's only 
18 months old.
They left for the rest of the day, and I took my first break since sunrise for 
a very short 15 minutes and ate more sausage and made a large vat of coffee. 
How can a seeming 100 seconds turn out to be 15 minutes I wonder????

The last 4 hours had rates beteen 40s to 60s, with lotsa S02R. I CQed on both 
15 and 40. Probably should have spent more time running on 20, but I've got 
this new big antenna on 40. 5H1X called in near the end, perfectly Q5 on the 
new 40, but inaudible on the 2 ele cushcraft at 105. S&Ped a lot of JAs the 
last 2 hours on 15 and some on 10 too - I was tired and couldn't distinguish 
well between JS and JH. Hmm probably good I took those naps or I would have 
been worse!! I had spent some effort Sat night working a JA on both 10 and 15 
skew path - obviously unnecesarily.

So, not much broke, although one amp died and two were injured. My son wasn't a 
problem and had fun in the shack. I had as much fun as any contest, and my 
score was almost the same as last years which had great condx. So I've 
improved. 

Can we do it again this weekend??

73
Ted KR1G

     Call:      KR1G
      Category:  Single Operator
      Power:     High Power
      Band:      All Band
      Mode:      CW 
      Country:   United States
      Zone:      5

      BAND     QSO   QSO PTS  PTS/QSO   ZONES COUNTRIES


      160       11       21     1.91      4       6
       80      142      394     2.77     12      57
       40      736     2147     2.92     26      81
       20      478     1391     2.91     29      84
       15      731     2149     2.94     26      91
       10      668     1947     2.91     25      85
     ---------------------------------------------------

     Totals   2766     8049     2.91    122     404  =>  4,233,774


Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.hornucopia.com/3830score/


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