[3830] ARRLDX SSB N6RV SOAB LP

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                    ARRL DX Contest, SSB

Call: N6RV
Operator(s): N6RV
Station: N6RV

Class: SOAB LP
QTH: LAX
Operating Time (hrs): 17:24

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Mults
-------------------
  160:    2     2
   80:   29    16
   40:   21    13
   20:  170    58
   15:   51    17
   10:   27     6
-------------------
Total:  300   112  Total Score = 100,800

Club: Southern California Contest Club

Comments:

Well time and age are catching up with me. I hear N6AA and W6YI. They are older
than me and still going strong! Next year I will have the station up to par.
Hopefully the sunspots will cooperate. Actually this year was very good for
160/80. CU2X was loud all night on 80. Amazing. I still have several things to
figure out on the Flex 5000A. It is not like using any radio I have had. It
doubles the mouse and keyboard activity and if you are in the wrong window you
send the VFO into the bushes! Since I am a low power slow S&P it in not that
noticeable. If I were really doing an SO2R then I think I would have carpal
tunnel. One scary thing was looking at the panadapter when operating split on
40. It appeared as if I was transmitting simultaneously in the DX window and in
the US segment. I did several experiments to convince my self it was an artifact
of the software. VFO A is connected to the Writelog band map. I wanted to use it
for the DX window to store DX stations. This reduces the time trying to recopy
the call. VFO B is set in the US segment and the transmitter is assigned to it.
The Flex is actually an independent transmit and receive chain. If you have the
extra receiver it is two independent receivers and an independent transmitter
that can operate at either VFO frequencies. Both receivers have separate
panadapters. It took most the night to get used to seeing the transmit spectrum
displayed in both of them. The receivers work very well even on 20M with all the
QRM. The noise blankers are the best I have seen and also the noise reduction.
You have to set the AGC low so not to clip the strong signals at the A to D
converter. If they clip then the whole band is pumped by it and there is a
ripping sound on the signal, highly distorted like a cheap radio. The point and
click feature with the waterfall / panadapter was very useful. You could point
and click on a station even if it was not transmitting at the time. With a
little practice I was timing the stations. They were transmitting at pretty
regular intervals. It would be better if the display did not shift frequency to
center on the operating frequency. It smears the waterfall display. Again for a
slow S&P it did not matter. The display was refreshed by the time I went to the
next station.

I guess fooling around with new stuff increases the fun.


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