[3830] SS SSB W4LT(@W4DUG) Single Op LP

[webform at b41h.net]

                    ARRL Sweepstakes Contest, SSB

Call: W4LT
Operator(s): W4LT
Station: W4DUG

Class: Single Op LP
QTH: Tampa, FL
Operating Time (hrs): 24

Summary:
 Band  QSOs
------------
  160:    0
   80:  144
   40:  548
   20:  432
   15:   32
   10:    4
------------
Total: 1160  Sections = 80  Total Score = 185,600

Club: Florida Contest Group

Comments:

Total Time Off 01:30  (90 mins)
Total Time On 24:00  (1440 mins)

Max Rates:

2010-11-20 2109Z - 3.0 per minute  (1 minute(s)), 180 per hour by W4LT
2010-11-20 2144Z - 2.4 per minute  (10 minute(s)), 144 per hour by W4LT
2010-11-20 2203Z - 2.0 per minute  (60 minute(s)), 117 per hour by W4LT

Longest Runs >100 QSOs:

2010-11-20 2100 - 2309Z,   14240 kHz, 194 Qs, 90.8/hr W4LT
2010-11-21 0015 - 0227Z,    7189 kHz, 182 Qs, 82.2/hr W4LT
2010-11-21 0410 - 0600Z,    7227 kHz, 146 Qs, 79.3/hr W4LT

Rig : Elecraft K3/100 w/KRx3

Antennas : F12 C31XR for 20m @ 108 ft, F12 Magnum 240X for 40m @ 118ft, 
F12 C19X for 10/15m @ 70ft, Sloping Dipole @ 90ft for 80m, 
Carolina Windom 160 for 80m and receive/NVIS @ 30ft

Soapbox : 

I had decided last year that I would operate SS from the Tampa ARC facilities,
but with my own transceiver (lucky I planned to do that!).  TARC has a very
nice complement of antennas, but unfortunately, a lightning strike this summer
left the facilities a bit tattered.  The club station lost all 5 computers,
internet connectivity, all antenna routing and switching automation, plus the
three main radios in this strike. 

So this contest was done the good old fashioned way... Find mults by turning
the big black knob in the middle of the rig and entering them into the wetware
between the ears in my favorite class for this classic contest: "A". I even
spotted my Yaesu and Kenwood equipped LP competitors 50 watts, just to make
things intersting :)

I had nice tall towers, but the antennas on them had some issues. The main
antenna I planned to use on 20, the Force 12 C19X at 70 feet, would load, but
had an SWR of 2.7 across the 20 meter band.  It also did not load well on 15
meters.  10 meters showed low SWR, but I couldnt hear well on that band, so
something is definately kerfluie on this array.  

The switching gear at the base of the tower and the switching interfaces were
not communicating, we figure that the band switch relays were also damaged by
lightning... But discovering this two days before the contest left me no
recourse but to bypass the automatic antenna switching gear.  So the two
feedlines to the shack were disconected from the switch and dedicated to feed
the C31XR's 20 meter ouput to one coax and the Magnum 240X 40 meter beam on the
other. 

The C19 was all I had for 15 and 10, so I trusted the K3 tuner to take care of
it and did the best I could with it.  Spent a lot of time on 15, more that I
should have, considering my trepidation on the antenna's condition, but I knew
I would need to be on 15 for a sweep!  Sure enough, that one mult on 15 was the
one that counted... Sunday, at 1626z, I found and was able to work, VE8EV for my
second consecutive sweep!   

The C31 loaded great, and was relegated to being a monobander for 20... But its
at 108 feet!  I was called by several Japanese and one Korean when beaming
northwest, It also opened the band to EU Sunday morning... Too bad this was a
domestic contest.  The 40m beam at 118ft awakened several Russians, Romanians
and Bulgarians as well, when beaming towards New England, and allowed me to
work AK and PAC easily on this band while running, getting those mults out of
the way painlessly.  This antenna proved to be my bread and butter, delivering
solid signals on 40 and resulting in several "is your precedence is really A?"
questions from folks in the midwest. But its SWR was a little jumpy as well,
and jiggled up and down when it got windy and while turning it, so there is
something not right at that feedpoint either. 

Due to room issues, we make do with a sloping dipole pointed Northwest and a
rather low (30 ft) Carolina Windom 160 for 80m at TARC.  It traditionally has
been our weakest band.  The dipole works quite well to KS/NE/IA/MO; the Windom
has a great pattern up close, but fish in the Gulf and Atlantic just dont like
to participate in contests :).  The combination of these two antennas helped
raise the 80m Q count on 80 above TARC's usual low score, but nobody's really
competitive this far south with 100w and these kinds of wires on this band. 
What we need is some W4SVO-style Phased Verticals (man, he was loud on 80!).

All this stuff was manually switched into the two K3 antenna inputs by my two
LDG DTS4 switches which I ripped out of my station and plugged into the TARC
system, meaning that I have a mess to clean up before CQ WW CW, and this is a
short week!  Because the C19 was "sort of working" at the start of the test, I
didnt set it and the C31 on separate rig inputs, so was only able to use
diversity receive on 80m.  This helped me hear much better on that band than I
have ever heard before from TARC, letting additional loud sounding stations CQ
in my face many more than usual... 

Highlights were busting the KH6MB pile on first call (Dan, was it you
recognized my call or was I that strong?), busting the NP4A pileup in Spanish
on the first call (On 80, too!) and working many friends including W4SVO, NF4A
(who called me on 40 with his feedline on his tribander), K5LAD, AB2TC, W0CN at
KH6MB and Ham Radio cruise mate W9RE plus others that I have no room to mention
here. 

K3 performance was as usual... I could snuggle up to big signals (if they were
clean) and fill small gaps in the band, much to the chagrin of some of the
other ops, who I could not hear, but could hear me in their receivers...
Several even acusing me of running high power! (sorry, I can guarantee no
cheatin' possible here!   There aint no amps or Internet in this shack!)   No
crunching, no crashing, no AGC Dance of Death, just solid signals with the 1.8
filter and the DSP tightened down. I was, however, at the mercy of my
neighbor's IMD and Phase Noise!...  The KAT3 tuner handled all the screwy
antenna factors gracefully, with no radio issues and the radio flashed "HIGH
SWR!" when things went screwy on the antennas.  And I think I have finally
reached contest audio satisfaction with this radio.  The new TS Gate feature
was great for dealing with the echo chamber that is TARC while sitting next to
my XYL's buzzy portable refrigerator I borrowed from her classroom, stocked
full of goodies, an arm's length away.  (That feature will definately be back
next time)!  

Lowlights include the usual low power complaint of being blown off of
frequencies by the HP guys, although it NEVER happended on 40m!.  Wide mushy,
bass-filled signals, people who dont pay attention to correctly tuning their
amps so that they dont splatter (or do it on purpose... You know who you are on
40!) and the usual casual SS operator malady: having no clue what the exchange
is supposed to be and how to send it!  How hard is it to read the rules and
practice sending the exchange before the contest, guys!

While I am dissapointed that I fell below my goals and will not win 4 land this
year, Im pleased with my second consecutive sweep, I felt loud and I had a lot
of fun in those runs and while on S&P with the big beam on 40. 

Next year, when TARC's RF infrastructure is fully healed (and I have a P3 to
add to my arsenal), I will be back for another assault on Low Power Unassisted
Class A.

73 and thanks for the points!        

Lu - W4LT


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