[3830] SS CW N7ON Single Op LP

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                    ARRL Sweepstakes Contest, CW

Call: N7ON
Operator(s): N7ON
Station: N7ON

Class: Single Op LP
QTH: Nevada
Operating Time (hrs): 17.2

Summary:
 Band  QSOs
------------
  160:    0
   80:  133
   40:  182
   20:  161
   15:   84
   10:    0
------------
Total:  560  Sections = 80  Total Score = 89,600

Club: Northern California Contest Club

Comments:

Rig:  K2/100, SO1R
TX antennas:  homebrew condo antennas
RX antenna:  80m coax loop
Software:  CT for Windows
Time:  17.2 according to CT; I think it was more

Goal #1:  80 mults and 500+ QSO's.  I hope the sweep holds up -- last year a
fat-fingered serial number error reduced my mult total to 79.

Goal #2:  to encourage other CC&R'd contesters to do their best and to keep
tweaking their antennas.  Antenna experimentation can lead to significant
contest score improvements.  My motivation for improvement came after several
Sweepstakes during which I found but couldn't work all the mults.  After much
experimentation, I don't have that problem anymore.  The antennas appear and
disappear in 30 minutes -- a necessity at this QTH.

Sweep notes:  I was fortunate to work fairly scarce SC and DE early during S &
P sweeps of the bands.  A great East Coast run on 80m plus the easy-to-find 40m
PR pileup left me with 77 mults after shutting down Saturday night, needing NL,
MB, and NLI.  Tracking down the last three involved the usual procedure:  run,
S & P; run, S & P; run, S & P.  The huge 15m VO1TA pileup was hard to miss and
even harder to break.  I finally got through after leaving the frequency
several times trying to find another NL.  Many thanks to VO1TA for his helpful,
"ONLY N7ON" to complete the QSO.  I never managed to attract VE4EAR but did
track down a lonely VE4 CQing on 20m for #79.    #80, NLI, answered me during a
20m run at 2000z.

The final ten and when, where, and how I worked them:

#71 SJV 0446z 80m run
#72 WPA 0451z 80m S & P
#73 SF  0523z 80m run
#74 NE  0530z 80m run
#75 QC  0550z 80m run
#76 WV  0556z 80m run
#77 PR  0626z 40m S & P
#78 NL  1858z 15m S & P
#79 MB  1929z 20m S & P
#80 NLI 2000z 20m run

I remain convinced the high number of "U" stations spreads everyone out, making
it easier for non-assisted stations to work a sweep.  I never had an instance of
trying to work a new mult and having tons of callers suddenly descend upon the
frequency.

It was great hearing so many good and courteous ops, which seems to be the norm
in Sweepstakes.

Thanks to all the normally rare and semi-rare mults which showed up in force
this year, including ND, MAR, QC, SB, VI, and the thinly-populated 1's and
7's.

Many thanks also to all the ops I worked for helping me reach this year's QSO
and mult goals, and thanks to my XYL for understanding my Sweepstakes
addiction.

73,

John, N7ON


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