[3830] ARRL DX CW PI4TUE M/S HP

[pa5mw at home.nl]

         ARRLDXCW Score Summary Sheet

      Start Date : 2007-02-16

   CallSign Used : PI4TUE
     Operator(s) : CLAUDIA, ON9CC, PA3FGA, PA5MW, PC5A,

            Band : ALL
           Power : HIGH
            Mode : CW
Default Exchange : 400
      Gridsquare : JO21RK

            Name : ESRAC
         Address : EHOOG 13.19
                   POBOX 513
  City/State/Zip : EINDHOVEN    5600MB
         Country : NETHERLANDS

    ARRL Section : DX
       Club/Team :  
         Software: N1MM Logger V7.0.0

        Band    QSOs    Pts  Sec
         1.8      97     291   27
         3.5     300     900   42
           7     614    1842   45
          14     688    2064   56
          21     464    1392   46
       Total    2163    6489  216


           Score : 1,401,624
             Rig :  ORION , single tube amp 400W

        Antennas : 3-bander@ 220ft, dipoles 40/80mtr@ 220ft, sloper 160m

         Soapbox : 




For many years now PI4TUE (ESRAC; Eindhoven Student Radio Amateur Club) is a regular entry in the ARRL contests and also this year we made a serious effort.
Contesting involves operators and builders. Sometimes however, out of necessity, a mixture of both. The organisation requires that sufficient attention be given in building the station. In particular if there’s need for improvements (isn’t there always..?) This time we experimented extensively with low band RX antennas, our weakest point, at the contest location of PI4TUE. A few weeks ago we put up a K9AY rx antenna on the north side of the roof (13x16m, 43x53ft) along with 8 radials as an artificial ground. The K9AY was first seriously tested during last weeks PACC contest and showed an improvement in S/N in comparison to the TX antennas but hardly any directivity. Meanwhile we successfully experimented with short (6m, 20ft) verticals out on the ground, made to resonate on 160m. Their short length picks up little garbage and now we could hear the dx even better. 
So, on Friday before the contest with the four of us we started to put up the following antenna’s: the K9AY which we took down from the roof, and planted it on a stretch of lawn in front of the building including 4 buried radials and a 80cm copper pipe as grounding point. We did not dare to hammer it any deeper since we were afraid we might hit any utilities or the European Internet backbone (ESRAC is located on the campus of the Eindhoven University of Technology). At a short distance we put a single 6m long vertical for 160m with the same type of ground system. From the roof top 2 coax cables of each 200m were carefully rolled out from two large spools and lowered to the ground (some 65m, 213 feet from roof to ground). Three hours later, around 18:00 local after having burned some calories both RX antennas were ready to be tested.
Apart from these experiments on RX antennas we also brought a Ten Tec Orion and a single tube PA for 160m-10m. All of this was hooked up quickly and before we give Murphy any chance at all we decide to go out for our traditional pre-contest dinner at a nice local Italian restaurant.
Armed with an overdose of garlic in our belly we start the final preparations in the shack. The Orion needs a complete new set of wires and cables compared to the old TS950 to hook it up. Meanwhile to be on the safe side we replace a PL259 connector that has a loose shield with a brand new silver Teflon connector. Looking at all the equipment needed for the selectable RX antennas, headphone distributor, TX mute and K9AY control, the total is becoming a giant web of cables and connectors… but… IT ALL WORKS!
Next we started testing the PA. It went smoothly until… a red flashing light and SWR 1:4… “Hello Mr. Murphy, thou are back in time, as usual.” The 160m sloper (1/4 wave end fed wire sloping down from 250 feet to 80 feet) appeared broken! Rens and Aurelio headed up to the roof to check all cables, which were repaired last year by Jons and Mark. T-minus-1 hour and we finally managed to squeeze one end of the coax inside to check for the open connection. Eventually the fault is not at the far end of the coax but at the short end in the shack (off course)… the newly soldered PL259. Because it’s a silver plated connector the solder runs along the inside silver skin too easy and doesn’t make contact to the lightly pre-soldered shield of the coax. After taking this hurdle it’s already T-minus-30. Luckily N1MM and the Orion are compatible and we are ready to rock&roll.
During the first night we notice the K9AY is performing according to our expectations. Also the short 160m vertical works but never outperforms the K9AY. 
40 metres doesn’t bring much the first night, only 85 QSO’s. On the other hand Aurelio does a great run on 80m: 231 QSO’s. In the morning when we have the usual gap between 40m band closure and 20m band opening we take time to rest a little on the students comfortable couches or stretcher. After plenty of fresh coffee (Mocha Limu), sandwiches, fruit and cookies we are ready to strike the higher bands. 15 meter runs are slow all afternoon. 20m however, is wide open until late in the evening. Two microwave steam cooked meals give us the necessary fuel for the second tough night. A short third one will still follow.
Meanwhile it’s Sunday afternoon and Frank ON9CC joins us. He managed to ‘escape’ his family who were dropped at a swimming pool. QSO count at this point is 1500 and we are very pleased. So far we worked a lot of familiar calls and were able to work everything we could hear. The full RX setup is performing awesome and the Orion gets many credits. No static, crashes, annoying neighbours, bandfights etc. For the first time ever we manage to hold positions in the lower parts of the band among the big guns; no problem what so ever. Cluster spots are helpful at times, many thanks for that ! Making the QSO is seldom hard work; the DSP filtering in the Orion is extremely good in enhancing the S/N getting rid of any garbage and no ringing at 100Hz. Operators are stunned about its rx performance. Our new headphones also help a lot in pulling out the weak signals. Recently we ordered two professional versions at David Clark .com in the USA Just as expensive as a Heil. But these types are officially meant to be used in helicopters and therefore have extreme good passive attenuation (read the great article about passive noise reduction in the last National Contest Journal). You don’t hear any usual noise in the shack (fans, people talking, etc..) It’s better for the ears, but less for your vocal cords and the guests… we seemed “barking”  (not even shouting) to each other…
Aurelio brought his new PC tower that has a build in DVB-T receiver. Through an active UHF TV antenna we can watch the 3 national and one local TV station, in digital quality!
The contest again is BIG FUN, like every year, all goes Q5. 
Thanks to the Morse workgroup for the excellent facilities. The next monday the op’s have a day off I order to get some rest. Yes, we too get older.
Thanks also to Claudia and Steef for helping out during the preparations.

73 Aurelio-PC5A , Rens-PA3FGA, Mark-PA5MW from 
P I 4 T U E  

Ps. CU ALL in two weeks in the SSB part.