[3830] NewEngQP W1HIS Single Op HP

[webform at b4h.net]

                    New England QSO Party

Call: W1HIS
Operator(s): W1HIS
Station: W1HIS

Class: Single Op HP
QTH: Belmont, MA
Operating Time (hrs): 12

Summary:
 Band  CW-Dig Qs  Ph Qs
------------------------
   80:     68        0
   40:     45        0
   20:    166      159
   15:                
   10:                
------------------------
Total:    279      159  Mults = 77  Total Score = 55,209

Club: Yankee Clipper Contest Club

Comments:

Single antenna used for all bands: wire, sloping, max. height = 33 ft, max.
width = 68 ft.

This event was great fun, and I look forward to the next one.  I thank Tom K1KI
for organizing the NEQP.

Murphy kept me busy:  N1MM Logger v. 7.5.0 and the K1EL CW keyer in my microHAM
microKEYER got out of sync, froze, and had to be restarted a total of nine
times.  Most QSOs in progress were lost (because my paddle was plugged into the
frozen keyer), and I was QRT while restarting and working to diagnose and solve
the problem, which recurred in CQWW-DX-CW 2006, ARRL-DX-CW 2007, and now NEQP
2007 despite much work and several supposed fixes, by N1MM et al., microHAM,
and me.

In addition, the receive (normally closed) contact pair of the T/R relay in my
IC-775DSP xcvr began failing intermittently on Saturday evening.  The symptom
was that my receiver lost sensitivity, sometimes a little and sometimes a lot. 
Six years ago the n/c contact pair of the input relay in my power amp failed and
produced the same symptom.  Since then I've kept a spare on hand. So, like the
proverbial guy who looked for his keys under the streetlight, I QRT'd for an
hour to open up the power amp and replace that relay.  Only then, when the
symptom persisted unabated, did I experiment to determine where the fault
really was.  Haste makes waste.

Unfortunately I had no spare for the xcvr's relay.  (If I had, replacing it
would have taken much longer.)  In order to continue in the contest, I
connected a foot-switch to the xcvr's PTT line.  Every time the rcvr went dead,
I tap-danced on the switch to cycle the faulty relay until its contacts finally
"made."  This work-around worked pretty well for a while, but the relay
contacts became progressively worse.  By late on Sunday, no amount of tapping
could restore anything like normal RX sensitivity, and I could work only loud
stations.

A family obligation took me away from the radio for six hours, too.  All things
considered, I don't feel bad about my score.  I do wish I'd worked Hawaii.  I
worked 48 states, including Alaska three times, on Saturday.  The 49th (Idaho)
called in Sunday morning.  I was surprised that Hawaii didn't show up, too.  I
never looked for any state; I just worked whoever called me; and I never used
"packet."


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