[3830] NAQP RTTY VA7ST Single Op LP

Sun Feb 25 17:42:22 EST 2007

                    North American QSO Party, RTTY

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

Class: Single Op LP
QTH: 
Operating Time (hrs): 9:40

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Mults
-------------------
   80:   82    30
   40:  102    39
   20:  170    38
   15:  100    27
   10:           
-------------------
Total:  454   134  Total Score = 60,836

Club: 

Team: 

Comments:

N1MM Logger + MMTTY
FT920 (100w) -- SO1R
3 ele. CL33 @ 45'
2 x 40M delta loops (aiming E-W)
2 x 40M raised verticals 
1 x 40M rotary dipole @ 55'
1 x 80M inverted-V @ 65'
1 x all band ground-mounted vertical

Score history (claimed)

NAQP      Qs    Mults   Score
==============================
2007 Feb  454   134     60,836
2006 Feb  401   141     56,541
2005 Feb  420   142     59,640
2004 Feb  219   100     21,800
2003 Feb  191    87     16,616

20M    Qs  Mults
2007  170    38
2006  135    38
2005  133    42

Any contest that has me grinning as the closing bell rings is pretty darn good.
This one was pretty darn good. I had a great time, got my off-times about
perfect, and was worn out by 0600z -- which means I gave it all I had.

Prior to this year, Feb. 2005 was my best ever. Back then I reported "Improving
year over year... aimed for 300 QSOs and beat the goal by 120. Nearly tripled
the score from last year, but fell about 2 Qs or 1 mult short of an even
60,000 points." Back then, I had discovered severe power line noise two weeks
earlier and it has stayed with me ever since, without respite. 

This time out, I was armed with the MFJ-1026 noise canceling box to deal with
the power line noise. It worked like a charm on 20M and 15M -- taking S7-8
noise down to S2. I was able to hear a layer of callers that are usually too
chopped up by noise to work. On 20M it had to be worth 40 more Qs this year.

Didn't need it on 40 or 80 this time as most signals were well above the
ambient noise. If there was a weak one, I pushed the On button and wiped out
whatever trash was on top of him -- the bad noise went away and the signal
stayed. Didn't run the box all the time on the lower bands if I didn't need it.
It does sometimes attenuate signals if the sense and main antennas both happen
to hear the desired signals at nearly the same strength. I used a 40M raised
vertical as a sense antenna there, so although it's a great noise reducer, I
preferred running without unless I needed it.

Ran the LiveScores page all day. What a hoot!
http://www.w1ve.com/livescores/default.aspx

I credit the constantly rising scores from AD6WL, W3LL, and others for keeping
me in the chair and turning the dial faster. Set a goal of 400Qs and would be
happy with 55,000 points. Stretch target was 60,000 points, which I figured
would indicate good station and operator improvement over 2005, considering
it's solar min now.

Off times were taken according to #1 son's hockey game schedule. Dropped him
off at the local arena at 1 p.m. (2100z) an hour before gametime. He's a goalie
and takes the hour to prepare, so I went home and waited out the clock hour
before running 20M intensively. Had my highest rate of 77/hr., and stayed on
until 3:25 p.m., when I took my final hour of off-time. Spent it at the arena
watching the kid get his first shut-out of the year. Won 6-0, including a
stopped penalty shot that had the crowd on its feet. Game over, he went off out
of town to meet the XYL and #2 son (already at #2's tournament, three hours
away), and I took his wet, smelly shutout gear home. Me and the dog finished
the contest in a blissfully silent home. Tippy's sure not much of a
second-radio op. (See http://www3.telus.net/va7st/qsl.htm )

Band breakdown starts with this: 10M was dead as a stump.

15M was alive and well for NA, though call areas 6 and 7 provided zero Qs. Hope
15M is on its way back next year.

20M was very productive, though mults were a bit lower than I'd hoped, with
just 38 found. Seemed to fall off early (2:30 p.m. Pacific, 2230z) as those
east of us went to 40M or took breaks in prep for the evening run.

40M seemed hot, but I couldn't make much on this band, despite having four
antennas -- raised and ground verticals, rotary dipole and a pair of phased
delta loops pointed in the right direction for NAQP. Went there around 5 p.m.
0100z. At certain times of the year, 40M and 80M offer one-way propagation
until rather late in the evening. Saturday night was one of those times. The
best was the rotary dipole up at 55' (it's taken six months for the verdict,
but I now think this "crappie" dipole is quite good for its very short size and
low height). http://www3.telus.net/va7st/rotary.htm

When I worked Don (AA5AU) I had to smile knowing he was probably using his D40,
the story of which had triggered me to go ahead and try something similar.
Second best was the ground-mounted vertical, but it wasn't great. Had to work
hard to break 100 Qs on 40M, though 39 mults was my highest for any band this
year.

80M was quite good. I went there at 0338z, tearing myself away from 40M just as
things were finally starting to play, but wanted to get 20 minutes on 80M before
the two-hour buzzer went, and some folks ran out of operating time. What a
rotten time I had, with slow rates and few mults -- I could hear everyone
nicely, but seemed I wasn't getting out much, on the vertical or the
inverted-V. The inverted-V SWR was snapping back and forth with an intermittent
fault somewhere. At precisely 0500z, I decided to quit, feeling bummed out
because W3LL was just a few thousand points ahead of me on LiveScores, and I
had come close but not close enough to beat even last year's score, let alone
break 60K. 

I wandered outside in the cold dark night to give the dog a walkie, and found
the inverted-V had sagged a bit. The center connectors up 65' must be loose, I
realized. Without tension, the screws and eyelets up there could lose contact
intermittently. I tensioned her up and it worked nicely after I got back in the
chair at 0519z. Rate "soared" and I added 32 Qs and 7 mults in that final 40
minutes. I even passed the 60,000 point mark for the first time. I now wonder
how I'd have fared had the fix been done BEFORE the contest. Gotta love
contesting.

Notes to self: 
1. Never give up.
2. Check antennas while there's still daylight.
3. Next time, don't forget the dog outside. 

Total contacts:   454
Unique callsigns: 309
Four-banders:     only AA5AU and W0BR
Highest hour:     2156z to 2254z with 77 Qs
Best surprises:   VE4EAR, AL2F and KL8DX -- thanks for 40 and 80!

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