[3830] ARRL 160 K1TN Single Op LP

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                    ARRL 160-Meter Contest

Call: K1TN
Operator(s): K1TN
Station: K1TN

Class: Single Op LP
QTH: SNJ
Operating Time (hrs): 8

Summary:
Total:  QSOs = 193  Sections = 48  Countries = 4  Total Score = 20,072

Club: 

Comments:

TX antenna: 66-ft end-fed wire in a tree from a 2nd floor apartment window. It's
not even in a straight line, more like 3/4 of a rectangle. Fed against an MFJ
"artificial ground" and two 66-ft counterpoise wires, coiled around the
apartment. 

RX antenna: 135-ft "snake" antenna, a single wire lying on the ground. Fed with
shielded cable against a ground rod and cold water pipe. 

Elecraft K3, NA software.

My third contest season from here. Another interesting but frustrating weekend.
My QSO total is about 25 per cent higher than previous efforts with the same
antenna. Multiplier total up about 50 per cent. This year I could hear a lot
better, with the new snake RX antenna. Noise level on the TX antenna is S9 and
it's S5 on the snake. Now I am the opposite of an alligator. I called dozens of
stations west of the Rockies in vain ... But ... I finally worked my first W.C.
station on 160 from here, K7RAT. Thanks, Tree, good job, good ears. I don't
blame all the others who came back CQing in my face, since I'm obviously below
their noise levels.

Like every contest, I could do better by putting in more hours, but what would
be the point?

Oh, clearly, my new (used) Elecraft K3 with 400 Hz roofing filter hears better
than my faithful Ten-Tec Jupiter! But I haven't tried the Jupiter with the new
snake RX antenna. The K3 is an absolute joy to operate. 

Curiously, I don't really hear EU from here very well on 160 (or 80)despite
being able to see EU from my balcony, across the pond. Certainly I don't hear
EU like the solid U.S. West Coast signals I heard this weekend (NR6O, W7RN,
WA7LNW, others). My snake is pointed toward W6 and away from EU and maybe
that's the difference. 

I am certain another 100 watts of transmitter power would have made a huge
difference. I've never had an RFI complaint from a neighbor and bet another 100
watts wouldn't change that. I could buy an Alpha 77 SX and run it on 110 volts,
at 200 watts -- we're talking efficiency with a capital E! Or I could buy one
of those amps with four sweep toobs and pull three of them out. I suppose I
could do that, like right now for the next contest. But I think I'd rather quit
work, buy a tiny trailer, and go camping, stopping on contest weekends in rare
states and putting up a real wire in a real tree for a change. Maybe I'll just
do that. After three years in the same place I'm in danger of getting mossy.

We had just enough snow on Saturday night to coat the tree branches and that
sure gave my little MFJ auto tuner something to think about. I had to put it in
manual mode to finally find a tune. Does it snow in Vermont?

Thanks for the DX: 6Y7J (huge signal), ZF2AH, C6AKQ, VP5CM. Got a "K0TN?" out
of HC8GR, so close ... that would have been my best distance. Tnx for trying.
Tnx to all the people who hung in their, patiently, until they got me. 

Incidentally, I worked one NNJ -- KR2Q. Thanks, Doug. Big signal.

Jim Cain
At The K1TN Superstation
Atlantic City


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