[3830] RAC Winter VE7FO SOAB LP

[jimsmith at shaw.ca]

                     RAC(VE) Winter Contest
                    
Call: VE7FO
Operator(s): 
Station: 

Class: SOAB LP
QTH: BC
Operating Time (hrs): 16:30
 

Summary:
                    Mults
 Band     QSOs    CW    Phone
-----------------------------
  160:                     
   80:     47      6      4
   40:     28      5      4
   20:    111      8      9
   15:    140      5      8
   10:    201      7      9
    6:                     
    2:                     
-----------------------------
Total:    527     31     34  =  205,920

Club: 

Comments:

CURRENT STATUS:
Sound card still not working.  The next step is to reinstall Windows over 
itself.  Makes me nervous, to say the least.  Too chicken to do it for this 
test.  Consequently, no DVP for phone.  However, I now have until Jan 5, ARRL 
RTTY Roundup to do it and recover.

My keying interface between the computer and rig is still on a breadboard 
socket with the cables secured by elastic bands.

Some who read my ARRL 10 story may be wondering, "Well, did he work HN8V or was 
it SN8V?"  I sent an e-mail to SN8V and he confirmed that, indeed, I am in his 
log and not to worry!  Sigh.


PREPARATION:
As always, I keep forgetting to set up the F Keys to the way I want them in TR 
until just before the contest.  I'm just a little way into my 2nd year of 
modern contesting and am starting to build up a collection of config files set 
up the way I want for the various contests.  The only problem being that I 
don't fix them up once the contest is finished but still fresh in my mind.  
Time for a New Year's resolution, I guess.

Forgot to turn off printer sharing on the home network but not a problem as, 
this time, my daughter didn't send a print job to the MkV.


WHAT HAPPENED: 
I got all the F Key programming done and was only 15 minutes late starting.  I 
was almost 24 hours late because, for some dumb reason, I thought it ran from 
Sat to Sun.  Discovered my error a couple of hours before start.  I believe 
that someone else, who shall remain unnamed, actually made that mistake.

I thought this would be a good opportunity to try out my SO1.5R setup by 
running on cw and using the 2nd half-radio (VFO B) to S&P on phone.  However, 
the SO1.5R setup as it stands won't handle mixed mode so I gave up on that 
idea.  I did try running on cw and S&Ping with VFO B on phone, thinking I would 
have less problem with mixed mode dual listening compared to same mode.  It 
sort of worked but I'm not good enough to hear a weak cw response with all the 
phone racket in the other ear.  Being only one radio, the only time I get to 
hear the "mult" radio is when I'm not transmitting.  Once again, I set myself 
to climbing these little hills, find they aren't at all easy and gaze in awe 
and wonderment at the folks who casually say, "Well, only made 387 Qs on the 
2nd radio."

All times are local (PST).  

Spent a lot of time in the first few hours trying to do the manual version of 
SO1.5R so rates weren't that great.  

1617 PST	Start on 10 cw.  Pretending that I really can run cw in one ear and 
S&P phone in the other.  

1715	10 getting pretty thin.  37 Qs, 8 mults.  Switch to 15.  

1820	73 Qs, 16 mults.  Switch to 20.

2110	159 Qs, 22 mults including what I think may be my first VY0 and an RAC 20 
pointer at that!  Switch to 40.  

40 is my worst band.  In my previous ham incarnation from 1953 to, say, 1970, I 
always claimed that 40 wasn't a real band because I could never hear or work 
much on it.  A former teen age elmee (elmee - one who benefits from the 
ministrations of an elmer), VE7AQF now VE7IN, who has latterly become MY elmer 
invited me to his QTH some 18 months ago or so to work a contest.  First time 
back on the air since 1970 or so.  Well, he had a 2 el 40 at 130 ft.  Hey, 40 
really is a band!  (Anyone who doesn't like my stories or takes exception to my 
behaviour on the air or on the various reflectors can blame VE7IN.  He has 
released a monster, albeit a rather slow moving one that seems incapable of 
climbing.  Even a sloth can climb.)

So, we got VE9RAC on phone and VE8RAC on cw who agreed to move to phone as 
well.  Pretty happy about that.

2235	177 Qs, 35 mults.  Switch to 80.

0025	223 Qs, 38 mults.  Back to 40.

0050	231 Qs, 41 mults.  Not many Qs but 3 mults I won't get tomorrow.  Let's 
see if 20 is open.  Yes, to Eu.  And VE6.  

0300	244 Qs, 43 mults.  Damn, got trapped in the late night DX chasing trap yet 
again.  Should have gone to bed but, just for fun, took a peek at 15.  Good 
grief, 3 am local time and it's open.  Eu and deep into central Asia.  Worked 
UA9AR on SSB near the China and Mongolian borders.  Heard someone working a VU 
and could just hear the VU but no copy.

0354	250 Qs, 43 mults.  19 Qs and 2 mults in 3 hours.  It was fun, though.  
Maybe I don't have the discipline to be a competitive contester.  Off to bed.

1041	Back at it.  On 15.  Still trying to run cw on one ear and S&P ssb on the 
other.  Rate not great.  Let's check out 10.

1305	323 Qs, 53 mults.  Wow, 10 is humming.  Had a 77 and an 82 hour with a 
peak rate of 140, all on ssb.  These are good rates for me.  Used both ears.  
Mult display suggests I should check out 10 cw.

1450	467 Qs, 59 mults.  Pretty good cw rate for me but figure I should try 15 
again.  Don't remember why.

1510	487 Qs, 61 mults.  Can't complain about the rate but mult display suggests 
move to 20.

1545	514 Qs, 62 mults.  Finished on 20.  Rate still good and picked up 3 mults 
in last 15 min so I guess I made a good choice.

1559	529 Qs, 65 mults.


GENERAL COMMENTS:

Looked at my results for last year.  310 Qs.  Aha, I am improving.  Looked at 
how long I was on last year.  5 hours or so.  Sigh.

Was pleased to see lots of activity from the RAC calls.

I found the mixed mode quite fun.  Qs drying up on one mode?  Switch to the 
other.  Does add another bad decision you can make, though.

Worked the ubiquitous 7L4IOU a number of times.  For a change, I don't think I 
once called him ZL4IOU.  The 7Ks are still ZKs, of course.

A fun contest.  Maybe by next year I'll be able to do the split ear thing.

Thanks for the Qs, everyone and Happy New Year

Jim	VE7FO


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


--
FAQ on WWW:               http://www.contesting.com/FAQ/3830
Submissions:              3830 at contesting.com
Administrative requests:  3830-REQUEST at contesting.com
Problems:                 owner-3830 at contesting.com