[3830] SS CW KG5U Single Op QRP

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                    ARRL Sweepstakes Contest, CW

Call: KG5U
Operator(s): KG5U
Station: KG5U

Class: Single Op QRP
QTH: STX
Operating Time (hrs): 23
Radios: SO2R

Summary:
 Band  QSOs
------------
  160:    0
   80:  120
   40:  124
   20:  298
   15:  104
   10:    0
------------
Total:  646  Sections = 79  Total Score = 101,594

Club: Central Texas DX and Contest Club

Comments:

I was so psyched for this contest. AND, for a change, I was so ready for this
contest. 

Tuesday, I fixed (yet again) the C3E driven element feed.  A year or so ago,
the element to boom rivets wallowed in their holes and the flexing ripped one
of the balun wires from the crimp ringlug terminal.  The problem reappeared:
suddenly high SWR (4-10:1).  I found one terminal loose, removed it, crimped on
a new one.  Beam played like a champ.  I run RUFZ an hour a day.
Wednesday, I set up TRLog.  Using part of my TRLog config file from last year's
SSCW, it was a snap.  I played with it the rest of the week, refining it and my
techniques.  I stay up until 0200 CT to start sleepshifting.
Thursday, I rewired/recabled and rerouted the audio feed from the DXDoubler to
the two-speaker/headphones switchbox. I jerk the headpones cable taut much less
now.  I also put in an audio isolation transfromer between one radio's speaker
output and the DXDoubler to remove some hum.  Hum's gone, but the audio is way
loud requiring the AF level be kept to nearly minimum--really touchy down
there.  But, I think I can live with it. I stay up unil 0300CT this day.
Friday, I print out a new keyboard key template and tape it to the desktop
directly above the keyboard tray.  I re-read N6TR, K5ZD and N6TJ's contesting
tutorials.  I stay up until 0400CT
Saturday, I turn on the radios, computer, and run TRLog.  Everything works FB!!
 I get in another hour of RUFZ.  

I go to an early lunch and come home to take a nap.  I just lie there thinking
about the contest.  

2030Z and I'm tuning 10, 15 and 20.  10's without signals.  15's active with
signals from east and west coasts, and 20m is where everybody else is at. 
There are even sigs on 40m.  Should be fun.  Third contact and SWR goes 
crazy.  Geez!  I hit it with a keydown at 100w and SWR drops to nominal 1.5:1
and stays there.  

Just as the contest starts I notice I'm not hearing any audio switching when
I'm transmitting on one of the radios--I should hear only the receiving radio
while the other is transmitting.  Flip switches on DXDoubler, no joy.  I check
cables blindly reaching my hand behind the unit and plugs are seated well in
the jacks.  Oh well.  

Press on.  

I'm rolling along S&P'ing my way across the band and about QSO 60, I am told by
KZ1M that I'm a dupe.  Huh?  Tr says no.  KZ1M says yes.  I get him to work me
anyway and then go offline and do some dummy dupe checks: W6oat, no dupe; K5ZD,
no dupe, K1ZZ, no dupe and I KNOW I worked them on 15 not an hour before.  I'm
using a new version TR, so I move pertinent files over to the subdir with the
old version I've used for a couple of years.  Same-o, same-o.  No dupes
anywhere.  

I mull this over for a few minutes.  I'm QRP.  S&P is my bread and butter.  If
I can't dupecheck them, it's almost pointless to be here.  I create a whole new
SS log with just the basics to control the radios and do the exchanges. 
Dupechecks work.  Now, to reload 80+ QSO's...I'm in a haze here.  The contest
clock is rrolling and I'm not making any Q's.  Desperation sets and I start
typing in the QSO's into TRLog.  I've got the original log with the times, so
I'll fix the times in the new log later.  Just get the calls and exchanges in
and get on with the contest! 

Not two hours into the contest and I've got an hour's off-time already.  I can
live with that.  Actually, I don't even think about it.  I just want to get
back to making a QSo and looking for the next.  

Once the log is re-entered and make some dupechecks, I'm back to S&P'ing and
even CQ'ing where I can.  Life is good.  

Then, I notice the log time.  that's not right.  It's not 0600, it's only
0000Z.  How'd that happen?  How long has the clock been like that.  Geez. 
Reset the clock with a note to remind me to fix the times since I restarted, as
well as the times before that that were handentered.  This is getting nuts. 

After a while, I can no longer stand the audio from the radio with the audio
isolation transformer.  For some reason, I had the good sense to install the
transformer between a phone plug and a phone jack and not hordwire it in the
audio cable.  So, it was just a matter of ripping out...er, ah...unplugging the
plug and jack and plugging in the plug from the DXDoubler.  Hum was back, but
it's tolerable given the better and finer control over the audio level.  

I'm still mulling over what I could have possibly done to disable the audio
switching in the DXDoubler.  I even reached behind, removed the two audio
cables from the radios and plugged them into another pair of jacks adjacent to
where they were originally thinking I may have mispatched them.  Nothing.  No
change.  Still hearing the left and right radios in the respective ears.  I
unplug and replug them back into their original jacks. Still no change. 
Strange.  Oh well...live with it...  

Finally, 0900Z rolls around.  But, because of the lost time early in the
contest I press on for another 30 minutes hoping they will be productive and I
can make up a little bit of what I missed.  

At 1215Z, my alarm goes off and I'm back in the seat at 1240Z.  Missed by 10
minutes...Oh well, I've got coffee, my V8 and a Cliff bar to munch on as I work
towards Sunday afternoon doldrums.  

Between QSO's, I do some calculations to schedule off-time remaining and when
I'm going to take it.  I was off for 3 hours, 10 minutes, so I have 2 hours 50
minutes yet to take off.  

Sunday morning, I'm CQ'ing on 20m and S&P'ing 15m--the rate is good...by QRP
standards, that is.  I'm having so much fun, I decided to take only one hour
during the afternoon doldrums and another hour later.  

Midafternoon, SWR on the C3 goes crazy again.  No amount of ramming it with all
of 100W will bring the SWR back down.  When this happens, 20-over signals drop
to s1.  Fortunately, I have a second beam hardmounted to the tower pointing
Northwest.  Amazingly, I'm heard well enough for stations to answer my S&P
calls to them.  For a few minutes I considered taking a break and runnning up
the tower to do another fix on the antenna, but decided 
against it.  I kind of wish I had.  It was an absolutely beautiful day out with
almost zero wind. Ah well.

Fortunately, 15m is still active to the west and as it dies, 20m becomes more
active to the west.  By about 2200Z, I'm still looking for YT and MB.  I find
Ve4VV in a pileup.  Thirty minutes later, he's in the log.  Thanks, Derrick. 
But, still no VY1/VE8 heard.  

Shortly afterwards, I'm having small hallucinations...As I call a station, I
realize I don't what to give him for working me and giving me his information. 
Fortunately, I know enough to hit return after he sents his exchange and TR does
the rest, but I have this feeling that it's not enough.  There has to be more
I'm supposed to give him or it's not going to count.  

Fortunately, this feeling passes after about ten or fifteen QSO's, but it was
weird as heck when it was happening. 

At 2330Z, I decide to take a 1.5 hour break and get back on for the last two. 
I go into the kitchen, make a sandwich, some cut veggies and an iced tea.  I
sit down on the couch and eat while watching a PBS program about great lodges
of Canada.  Suddenly, I open my eyes and it's PBS' Masterpiece Theater on the
tube and it's dark outside. 

Huh?  It's 0315Z!!!!!  I fell asleep while sitting upright--that's a first--and
with half my sandwich on the plate still in my lap.  But, I missed the end of
the contest.  Geez!!! 

Well, it is said that God watches over fools, drunks and small children. 
Having been both of the first two at the same time more times than I care to
admit, and the latter the first part of my life, He was indeed at work again. 
Had I taken my planned 1.5 hour off time and finished the last two hours of the
contest, I would have done 25 hours of operating.  I had neglected to realize
that I had taken over an hour to re-enter the log early in the contest.  

That brought my remaining offtime to 2 hours when I took my last 1.5 hour
break.  Better to miss the last two hours of operating I suppose than get
gigged Q's made for the 1 hour over.  

Monday, I checked out the audio wiring.  All seemed nominal.  I pulled and
reseated the cables, turned on the radios, turned on and loaded TRLog.  Audio
switched as it should: while one radio transmits, the other's audio is in both
ears.  Oh well.  I made up and taped a strip of paper to the top of the
DXDoubler box indicating what cables go where.  

I also fixed the time in the re-entered portion of the logsheet from the old
logsheet.  

I don't know what more I can do before a contest than I did for this one.  This
had to be the craziest and problem-ridden contest I've been in.  I've been way,
way less prepared for a contest and done better.  

Ah well....CQ WW CW is next, then ARRL 10.  Bring 'em on! 

73,
dale, kg5u


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