[3830] ARRL 160 W6YX(N7MH) M/S HP

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                    ARRL 160-Meter Contest

Call: W6YX
Operator(s): N7MH
Station: W6YX

Class: M/S HP
QTH: CA
Operating Time (hrs): 12.5

Summary:
Total:  QSOs = 348  Sections = 61  Countries = 5  Total Score = 47,124

Club: Northern California Contest Club

Comments:

I've never operated in this contest before because it's sandwiched between all
of the November contests and the ARRL 10-meter contest.  But with my wife out of
the country I was free to try it out this year.  John, W6LD, had operated in the
160-meter contest for a couple of years so I assumed I'd be joining John in a
multi-op this year.  My only previous experience on 160 meters had been a couple
of hours in NAQP contests and about the same in DX contests.

I got off to a late start, just before 0400Z on the first evening.  Our inverted
vee for 160 was on the ground and had never worked well anyway, so I opted to
run a tuner into the 80-meter inverted vee instead of trying to put up a proper
160 antenna at the last minute.  I'd heard that it was best to short the braid
to the center conductor when using an 80-meter antenna on 160, but I just wanted
to get on the air so I loaded it directly to see what would happen.  The SWR was
less than 1.2 and the Alpha 87A would go up to full legal power, so I started
S&P'ing up the band.

After 3 quick Q's I realized I was being heard and started CQing myself when I
found an opening.  I worked about 50 stations in a half hour including a
several-minute ragchew with W7LNG, who had been a member of my local ham club
when I was a teenager.  Then I noticed that almost all my Q's were from the west
coast, so I began to S&P again, looking for new mults.  I was surprised that
almost everyone I heard could copy me, but maybe that's just because the
inverted vee isn't a great receiving antenna.

Sometime in the middle of all this fun my receiver began overloading from a very
strong local signal.  W6XX was CQing around 1825 kHz, a couple of miles away and
about 60 over S9.  So I cranked down the RF Gain, put in the maximum attenuation
that the MP has, and kept going.  With so much front-end attenuation I could no
longer hear any of the QRN and the signals were actually more readable.  On the
second day I started before W6XX got on, reset the attenuator and RF gain to
normal, only to realize that I could copy better with the attenuation in.

I operated just over 5 hours each evening and a couple of hours on Sunday
morning.  I was disappointed to have missed the JA opening on Saturday.  I never
worked P40TA even though Ken came back with W6? a couple of times, only to work
a W7 or W5.  My only W1 was K1PX and I was shocked when VE2OJ called me for my
only QC.  Stations that I remember hearing but not being able to work were NO2R,
NZ1U, and K1LT.  They must have been listening on their EU beverages when I
called, since they just kept CQing.

I was the only operator but since I had set up packet in anticipation of a
multi-op effort, it ends up as a M/S entry.  Dave, AA6XV, has grand plans for an
inverted L and beverages for 160.  They won't be ready for this contest season
but that should help out for next year.

-Mike, N7MH


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