[3830] ARRL Jan VHF K2DRH Single Op LP

[webform at b4h.net]

                    ARRL January VHF Sweepstakes

Call: K2DRH
Operator(s): K2DRH
Station: K2DRH

Class: Single Op LP
QTH: EN41vr
Operating Time (hrs): 

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Mults
-------------------
    6:  146    43
    2:  189    47
  222:   59    31
  432:   92    30
  903:   25    13
  1.2:   37    19
  2.3:           
  3.4:           
  5.7:           
  10G:           
  24G:           
-------------------
Total:  548   183  Total Score = 161,955

Club: Society of Midwest Contesters

Comments:

This January contest started out pretty normal for us here in the Midwest; flat
to minus conditions, high noise levels and a burst of activity in the beginning
that soon tapered off to the usual 20 or so QSO’s per hour.  6M was open on Es
to FL for an hour or so Saturday morning, but the band closed just in time to
start the contest.  Predictions of threatening weather conditions to both the
south and north for Saturday night and Sunday apparently altered the plans of
several rovers keeping them closer to home and out of the less populated grids. 
My noise level to the west made it all but impossible to hear in that direction
and propagation to the south was practically nonexistent.  Luckily things were
doing OK well to the north and east and I was able to complete many 903 and 1296
contacts in those directions.  K0PG/R and K9ILT/R visited lots of nearby grids
and were workable on all bands.  I stayed up much later than usual to follow
them home since they advised everyone that bad WX would prevent them from even
venturing out on Sunday. 

I caught K1JT CQing on WSJT while waiting for the rovers to get to the next grid
and worked them on 6 and 2, effectively canceling our morning skeds and gaining
me an extra hour of precious sleep.  K0AWU in EN 37 found me on 2M and we worked
on all four bottom bands without using JT44, also canceling our morning sked. 
Both night and morning WSJT schedules went well to the east, but did not go at
all to the south.  K1TEO and I worked 6M in two minutes using 15 second
sequences and completed on 2M eight minutes later using 30 second sequences. I
love how WSJT works for otherwise impossible multipliers, but I hate how it
keeps me up later and gets me out of bed earlier to take advantage of it.    

Sunday morning started out slow and stayed slow.  I worked a few NE stations on
6M scatter, but concentrated my efforts mostly to the south since conditions
seemed a bit better than the day before.  I received many reports of icing and
high winds so I wanted to work as many as I could in that direction before they
all froze up.  The high band were not working well at all in that direction and
I lost many stations when QSYing up to 432.  The winds were howling steadily
from the east all morning, building in intensity to well over 30MPH by afternoon
with 40MPH+ gusts.  When W0DQY in EM48 to the south told me I had what sounded
like airplane flutter on 432,  I stepped outside to see the stacked 6M 11el
2.5wl 50 foot boom antennas bowed in a steady 20 degree arc!  Good thing I’d
replaced the booms with much heavier ones and strengthened the rotatable top of
the tower last summer!  The thinner 30’+ booms on the stacked 2, 222, and 432
antennas were similarly bowed, thrashing madly back and forth with the gusts. 
Despite the wind, the K0XG rotating tower top still turned fine, albeit a tad
slower than normal, so I parked my antennas into the wind before something
broke.  I worked what I could directly to the east without moving the antennas
but was basically off the air for the next 3 hours until the winds died down.  I
took advantage of it with a nice afternoon nap.  I’m thankful we were spared the
ice to the south!

By 4PM the winds died down to a more reasonable 20MPH and I felt better about
rotating the array again.  Luckily there were more stations on than the usual
late Sunday afternoon doldrums (I suspect many had probably been off the air
too).  Conditions to the south and the SE were awful, no doubt made worse by my
whipping antennas.  I could only work K4TO in EM77 on 2M and we had to do it on
CW because I could barely hear him.  Normally we can work up to 432, and most
times to 1296!  The noise to the west never let up the whole weekend. 
Fortunately I still managed a steady stream of 20 –30 Q’s per hour up until the
end.  It was a real welcome surprise when W9UD 30 miles to my south called me on
2M and we worked on all 6 bands.  He wasn’t contesting, but without him I’d have
never worked my own grid on 903 or 1296.  Thanks Jim!  When the dust settled I
found that I’d broken last year’s SOLP scoring record by a scant 1.5K.  All in
all it was a brutal contest, but certainly no complaints here!


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