[3830] ARRL FD K7EAR(@N7GP) 3A LP

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                    ARRL Field Day

Call: K7EAR
Operator(s): MANY
Station: N7GP

Class: 3A LP
QTH: Greenlee County, AZ
Operating Time (hrs): 24

Summary:
 Band  CW Qs  Ph Qs  Dig Qs
----------------------------
  160:                   
   80:   151             
   40:   300             
   20:   897    968      
   15:   150    204      
   10:                   
    6:           34      
    2:                   
  222:                   
  432:                   
  903:                   
  1.2:                   
  2.3:                   
  3.4:                   
  5.7:                   
  10G:                   
  24G:                   
----------------------------
Total:  1498   1206     0  Total Score = 10,376

Club: 

Comments:

The EAARS club operated from the Greenlee County Fairgrounds this year due to
USFS closure of the forests.  We really missed the coolnes of the Forest
Service campground at 8,500'.

Normally a totally solar powered QRP operation, we made a decision to use LP
due to expected poor propagation from the low elevation site.  Four eighty foot
high towers were used, one each for SSB, GOTA, CW1 and CW2 stations.  

The GOTA station used a rotor but a new twist (pun intended) was tried for the
three mains stations.  The WX0B Stackmatch II units were well received by the
operators of these stations.  From our part of the country 90% of the contacts
are from two principal directions; NE and NW.  Instantly switching from one
direction to the other, or covering both simultaneously, was very
advantageous.

A Double Extended Zepp with the was used by the 40 Meter CW station.

A full sized Double Extended Zepp was also used for 80 Meters.  With the apex
at 90' AGL, it worked VERY well.  QRN was the limiting factor for the CW op on
that band during the midnight hours when 20 was dead.

The Six Meter station had a home brew 3 Element directional antenna at 20' AGL.
 A couple of short E openings was all we had here in DM52.

The claimed score includes 1,970 bonus points.  The GOTA station, operating
under the callsign N7GP, did very well with two first time operators completing
more than 100 QSO's to garner the extra points.

Overall conditions seemed quite poor, especially on 15 Meters.  The 15 Meter CW
op had to switch to 40 Meters by mid-afternoon Saturday and stay there for 16
hours.  From our part of the country 40 Meters is really not a daylight
contesting band, even for domestic contests.  Consequently this station was
able to muster only 450 QSO's.

20 Meters was the money band, with 69% of our total contacts being made on that
band.  It closed around midnight local and did not open until the sun was an
hour into the sky on Sunday morning.  Still, it was VERY good.  The GOTA
station operated SSB on this band exclusively and totaled 399 QSO's.

So, on to next year when perhaps the weather drought will be broken and we can
return to the mountain heights.  Also, the new sunspot cycle may have started
and some life can be breathed into 15 Meters and hopefully 10 Meters.

Take care, have a good summer, and thanks for all the Q's.

Milt, N5IA
Field Day Chairman
Eastern AZ Amateur Radio Society, Inc.
K7EAR


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