[3830] TBDC TF4M Single Op HP

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                    Stew Perry Topband Challenge

Call: TF4M
Operator(s): TF4M
Station: TF4M

Class: Single Op HP
QTH: Otradalur
Operating Time (hrs): 13

Summary:
Total:  QSOs = 163  Total Score = 987

Club: 

Comments:

I decided to get on the air day before the contest in the hope that increased
activity might result.  I easily made more than 100 QSOs in about two hours,
and at times the band sounded like 20 meters. I heard stations all over the US
and a couple of stations in JA and one HL3 with reasonable signals.

When the contest started I had high hopes of a good score, but 2 hours into the
contest with only a single contact - TF3KX I realized that this wasn´t going to
happen.

I really liked the meaningful exchange, with WinTest providing a map display of
locators worked.  It was also refreshing not to have to send the more or less
meaningless 5nn with each QSO but the rates were abysmal...

At 2330 I was up to around 140 QSOs and was bored stiff with the lack of
activity.  I could hear signals everywhere, mostly weak almost none of them
lifting the S meter, and it was tough to make myself heard when I called them.

I started again 0930 on Sunday morning and made only 24 QSOs more until the end
of the contest at 1500.

My furthest QSO was with NP4A - 6,000km, I heard N6RO with a 519 signal and I
spent an hour calling JA3YBK who did not hear me or GM4POI and a few OH
stations who were also calling him.

I believe that a TF to JA QSO has never taken place yet, so hearing JA3YBK was
quite exciting.

My strategy of getting on the day before the contest in the hope that those
stations and their friends would show up in the contest failed miserably and
will not be repeated.

During the contest we had a severe storm which caused the open feeders to
constantly short out, this caused my amplifier to trip for two seconds every
time this happened.  I became quite adept at resending my call each time the
amplifier came back on line.  This is something I must try to fix during
maintenance.

After the contest finished, I continued on 160M in the hopes of snagging a JA,
I easily made another 100 QSOs all over Europe, again none of those made any
effort while the contest was on.

I spent weeks and weeks of hard work over a period of two years to build my
Double L antenna fed with 3,000 feet of open wire only to be beaten handsomely
by TF3KX, who put up a wire from his window to the neighbors fence the night
before the contest...oh well.

Final score:  164 QSOs 987 points

Lesson learned :  My antennas are too small to be competitive. 

I will be back.
73 de Thor
www.tf4m.com


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