[3830] TBDC VA7ST Single Op LP

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                    Stew Perry Topband Challenge

Call: VA7ST
Operator(s): VA7ST
Station: VA7ST

Class: Single Op LP
QTH: BC
Operating Time (hrs): 7

Summary:
Total:  QSOs = 155  Total Score = 1,032

Club: 

Comments:

Gear:
FT-2000 (100W max.) + N1MM Logger
1 x 160M inverted-L (80 vert. + 50 horiz.)

That was 155 hard-won QSOs! Put in about 7 hours -- went to bed at 2 a.m.
Pacific and got back on for the final hour (6-7 a.m.) which produced a few
regional Qs to push the raw score over 1,000 (last year it was 133 raw, and my
best-ever in 2005 was 858, so this is a nice improvement). 

Was fun to watch the grid field in N1MM Logger paint the shape of North America
as I worked stations. Didn't have too much trouble copying grids through the
noise this time. Some time into the test, I hooked up the MFJ 1026 box using a
40M vertical as a noise sense antenna and that helped cut down power line noise
quite a bit, leaving mostly actual QRN (which I'll take any day vs. 60hz power
line hash). 

The inverted-L played very nicely for me -- good SWR across the CW portion of
the band allowed me to be more nimble than with previous incarnations of this
antenna, though I stayed low where it was under 1.5:1 and power out was near
100W. 

Best and only DX was KH6LC for 20 points. No JAs or Caribbean stations heard
this year. 

Some EN and FN stations had a tough time copying DO00 -- many, many overs with
a kind'a unusual-looking grid -- while others out east copied first time easy.
Just luck of the draw with conditions and call history files, I guess. 

Sure looking forward to seeing how log checking point multipliers pan out.
Seemed I worked a lot of LP and QRP stations, judging by signal strengths
(though many weak signals were still FB copy).

Glad to have a few more days off before heading back to work. It's a real
luxury to be able to recoup (i.e. take a long nap when needed, etc.) for a day
or two after a weekend of intensive contesting.

Thanks for the Qs, and special thanks to the Boring guys for putting this thing
on each year.


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