[3830] SS CW K6LA Single Op LP

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                    ARRL Sweepstakes Contest, CW

Call: K6LA
Operator(s): K6LA
Station: K6LA

Class: Single Op LP
QTH: LAX
Operating Time (hrs): 24
Radios: SO2R

Summary:
 Band  QSOs
------------
  160:     
   80:  167
   40:  424
   20:  451
   15:   59
   10:     
------------
Total: 1101  Sections = 80  Total Score = 176,160

Club: Southern California Contest Club

Comments:

This CW SS was a very strange and different experience for me for a few
reasons.

My K3s arrived Thursday afternoon, so I decided to keep connections as simple
as possible and go LP and learn to use the radios. Just to test, I fired up
Writelog and connected a K3 before tearing out the old radio setup. WL read the
radios 1st try, even though it was set up for Kenwood. So the old 950SDXs came
out, and the K3s went in. There is so much extra room I don't know what to do
with it! I neglected to order the KXV3 option, so I couldn't use my bandscopes.
I hadn't gone LP in about 10 years in CW SS.

At the start I got bumped off my frequency on 20m (despite the K3s great
filters) and had a hard time finding another one. I wound up with 65 QSOs in
the 1st hour, the lowest level I remember since getting serious about
contesting. S7 rain static near the end of the hour didn't help. I hadn't
learned to use the K3's NR yet. And it never rained in SoCal for CW SS before.


Later in the afternoon and evening, signals on 40m & 80m sounded like they were
under water. I wasn't sure if it was conditions or the radios. Signals sounded
normal on Sunday, so it wasn't the radios, but I didn't know at the time and
tried to find what I had turned on that made the signals sound funny. 

After 9 hours I was 203 QSOs behind my last LP effort. I decided not to take a
sleep break and used all my off time in 1/2 hour increments. That helped keep
the rate up through the night. I also felt it helped avoid the Sunday afternoon
doldrums. I was able to keep a rate in the high 40s and even 50s, except for the
2200 hour when I tried to plow through a real slow period since I only had 1/2
hour off left. I should have saved it for the end, as the doldrums hit in the
last hour and I only worked 13 QSOs. 

When it was over, I was only 41 QSOs behind my last LP effort. If I had only
had a better start, I could have been a contender. I did fall in love with the
K3s.

I heard VY1EI on Sunday afternoon on 15m working split. It took me a while to
figure out the split on the K3, and then I got a decent mini run on the CQ
radio. By the time I worked that out, VY1EI was gone. I didn't hear him again.
But while I was searching for him high on 20m late in the contest, I heard
VE8EV finishing a QSO. I sent VE8 VE8 up, went up one and started sending
VE8EV. After a minute he came back to me and the sweep was in the bag. Only
worked one ND and he called me early Sunday. Other than that, the usual tough
ones were out in force.

I'm looking forward to putting the K3 next to the IC-7800 in PEI and see how it
compares.

73, Ken, K6LA


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