[3830] Commonwealth ZL3IO Open-24 HP

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                    RSGB Commonwealth Contest, CW

Call: ZL3IO
Operator(s): ZL3IO
Station: ZL3IO

Class: Open-24 HP
QTH: 
Operating Time (hrs): 24

Summary:
 Band  QSOs
------------
   80:   75
   40:  151
   20:  244
   15:   44
   10:    4
------------
Total:  518  Total Score = 6,000

Club: 

Comments:

My first Commonwealth contest entry.
I was working portable style from a friends place (an exceptional hill top
location).
Set up:
K3 + 500 W into: 
18m vertical for 80m
10m vertical for 40m
tribander @ 7m
All antennas and the station were set up during Saturday and I enjoyed some
nice pile ups before the contest.

Shortly after contest start the RX/TX relais in the amp started to stick. So I
tried for about an hour to solve it without any spares. Running the contest
with 100W when every QSO partner except VK is 12.000km or more away from you
will not be fun. So I decided to continue with the amp and tick the relais
(ones my transmissions finished) to deactivate it.
  
So I made 3 hours of QSO's while standing in the shed between K3, notebook and
amp and ticked the damned relais after each transmission.
I'm sure many of you recognised the delays I needed.
After 3 hours of standing I decided I cannot stand the whole contest and need
to change the operator position.

So the new set up saw me hanging with the left hand into the open amplifier
while the right one was handling the notebook and the radio.

After some 4 hours in this position I was cramped and could not move like a
human.

I needed a break and probably missed good business on 15m into VE. On the
afternoon my friend needed a hand to remove/load/unload a whirlpool and another
few hours where missed.

As I was a member of team ZL so I had to continue and kept going.
Sunday morning in EU I stayed on 80/40m for the G's and had some nice runs
during the greyline time and the end of 20m was fine as well.

Sorry to those you wondered about my operation and thanks for the many nice
contacts.
Especially the Caribbeans on 80m and the Africans on 20m where some nice
bonuses.

Altogether 500 BERU contacts and another 350 of none Beru callers where logged
during my 17 hours of operation.

73 Holger, ZL3IO


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