[3830] WAE RTTY VA7ST Single Op LP

Sun Nov 15 20:36:31 PST 2009

                    WAE DX Contest, RTTY

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

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

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Pts  QTCs  Mults
------------------------------
   80:   76   76     0    72
   40:  122  132    10    87
   20:  265  435   170   112
   15:  104  104     0    62
   10:   17   27    10    14
------------------------------
Total:  584  774   190   347  Total Score = 268,578

Club: British Columbia DX Club

Comments:

* FT-2000 + FT-920
* N1MM Logger + MMTTY
* 3-ele. Steppir at 40'
* 40M Steppir dipole at 40'
* 40M 2 x elevated verticals (N-S)
* 80M 2 x elevated verticals (E-W)
* Short beverage -- 270' (E-W)

2009: SFI=75 | A= 5 | K= 1 (opened with flus at 75, A=1, K=0)
2008: SFI=68 | A=14 | K= 3

       QSO  QTC  Mults
Day 1: 330   90    239 
Day 2: 254  100    108

Year   QSO  QTC  Mults      Score
---------------------------------
2009:  584  190    347    268,578 < LP 24 hrs
2008:  346  120    215    100,190 < HP 11 hrs
2007:  511  170    318    216,876 < HP 19 hrs
2006:  431   70    218     93,958
2005:  452  159    259    158,249
2004:  311  117    198     84,744
2003:  113  109    120     26,640
2002:  251   40    186     54,126

I must remember the final TWO hours are crucial for optimal score. Recovering
from a pretty lousy cold, I power-napped from 2200z to 2300z instead of
swapping QTCs, only to find the JAs strong and QTC-enabled in that final hour.
Got away as many sets as I could (6). 

Curiously, the same 4-land station was my QSO nr 200 and 300 (good timing to
come along at the top of two century marks). Thanks to VK7AD for the 40M
contact on a patchy path in the wee hours, and to Andy VE9DX for the mults
(especially tough on 80M). Robby VY2SS: the antennas are working FB... you were
booming in here on the lower bands. Nice to see Phil GU0SUP, and loads of other
friends abroad and closer to home I don't get to work as often as I'd like. 

I got into a sleepy game of N1MM "multiplier-window bingo" late Saturday
night... had the K0 to K9 squares all filled in (80M-15M) except for VE4 on
40M. Ed VE4EAR called in on 80M fairly late in the evening and we tried to move
to 40M but there was no path from VE7 to VE4. I figured I'd never get to call
Bingo! but on Sunday morning I found Ed running 40M at a high rate at his dawn
and all the squares got filled in at last. Alas, not on 10M.

Was surprised that my 100W to a yagi at 27' was 100% copy over the Pacific for
the six JAs I was lucky enough to send QTCs to. Apologies to JE1LFX, after I
brazenly approached him to receive my QTCs only to find that I couldn't get the
software to send any. Embarrassing moment on my end, and I'm sure frustrating on
his end. He was very gracious; I slinked away feeling like a dolt. I figured out
the operator error and got back to him with eight minutes to go, so in the end
he received the set he should have had from me. 

Other flubs this weekend: spent the first 38 minutes getting the second radio
audio into the computer (RCA line plugged into radio's TX relay jack...
apparently Yaesu didn't put much audio there), then promptly didn't even use
the second radio for another hour or so; spent several minutes transmitting
with one tone (MMTTY's DI2 FSK was initially set to wrong COM port); sent a CQ
a bit below the 20M RTTY band (er, 14.003) after a wrong keystroke swapped VFOs
on one rig. 

With all this A-1 operating, no wonder I don't have the Chesterfield lads on
RTTY :)

Made a point of a few QRL?s (almost) every time I assumed a frequency, but
often still found weak CQ signals rise out of the noise once I thought the
place was empty. Amazing, too, how often a QRL seems to work in our favor by
drawing S&Pers eager to grab a contact from that first CQ.

Had to decline a few European QTC offers due to bad conditions on 20M. Europe
did not open properly here -- a few big guns blazed through the murk, but
mostly EU wasn't very good at all for me either morning. Just three QTC sets
from EU, and two of them needed several fills.

Of course, running 100w doesn't get much attention through the auroral zone so
CQing was directed mostly at the US, SA and JA.

I chose low-power because I wanted to see how the antennas would compare with
the previous two years' high-power outings (conclusion: they rock!), and I
wanted to run SO2R on 40M and 80M with the freshly repaired FT-920 as a second
radio. 

With very special thanks to Irek VA7RY, the old rig is in fine fettle once more
and I didn't want to pop a circuit again running an amp until I understand what
happened back in September. Diagnosis was an RF hit, so I'm now happily
obsessing about antenna separation, feedline safety, and bandpass filters.

Running SO2R RTTY is easy; rates were very slow on 40M and 80M so there was no
pressure at all. Just long, long waits between Qs. Made 99 Qs on the second
radio, so it was worth doing. 

The extra SO2R presence on the two lower bands, a bit more antenna agility
(Steppir bidirectional mode) plus better high bands rather nicely offset the
400w power difference this year.

                QSOs    Cty   
2009 LP  80M      76     72 twin verticals
2008 HP           53     44 twin verticals
2007 HP           41     56 delta loop

                QSOs    Cty   
2009 LP  40M     122     87 low dipole
2008 HP          135     81 half-squares
2007 HP          140    120 half-squares

                QSOs    Cty   
2009 LP  20M     265    112 Steppir 3-element
2008 HP          156     86 Mosley CL33
2007 HP          300    116 Mosley CL33

                QSOs    Cty   
2009 LP  15M     104     62 Steppir 3-element
2008 HP            2      4 Mosley CL33
2007 HP           30     26 Mosley CL33

Never had a 10M Q in this test in 2007 or 2008, but had 17 this year.

Now to think about SS Phone next weekend and CQWW CW after that. 

-- Bud VA7ST
   http://www3.telus.net/va7st

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