[3830] IlQP WX9U(WO4O) Portable LP

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                    Illinois QSO Party

Call: WX9U
Operator(s): WO4O
Station: WX9U

Class: Portable LP
QTH: TAZW
Operating Time (hrs): 7.25

Summary:
 Band  CW-Dig Qs  Ph Qs
------------------------
  160:      0        0
   80:     91       19
   40:    147       84
   20:     39       52
   15:      0        0
   10:      0        0
    6:      0        0
    2:      0        0
------------------------
Total:    277      155  Mults = 108  Total Score = 76,572

Club: Society of Midwest Contesters

Comments:

Thanks for making this former Yankee (and –Buckeye- at that!)

feel welcome during the 2010 IL QSO Party. 

 

Operating the IL QSO Party from IL was more fun than riding a 

John Deere tractor in an empty soybean field. (Sorry, that's

not too clever but it's all I could think of at the moment.)

 

Phil/WX9U graciously loaned his call sign to me for this event.

 

A week or so prior to my trip to IL I set up a portable ARS at 

my TN QTH for a trial run. Chose a multi-band dipole for 

20/40/80 to adhere to my K.I.S.S. plan. Hung the dipoles a few 

feet off the ground to trim for low SWR. (Worked Jim/AD4EB 

while he was mobiling in the TxQP. Also logged a few stations 

in the PaQP.) Tore down the portable ARS and packed it up. 

 

Friday, drove 7 hours to my dad's IL QTH. This time of year, 

his QTH is surrounded by acres and acres of plowed fields as 

far as the eye can see. In the distance, during daylight, one 

can see a string of wind power plants with their massive 

rotating propellers. Unfortunately, his QTH has no tall trees 

and Weeping Willows aren't much for antenna supports.

 

Saturday, the portable ARS was set up, despite all the wind. 

Hung a 'clothes line' between two trees to hold the center 

insulator/balun up at 15'. Fired up the rig and tested 

everything. Being out in the middle of no-wheres-ville 

equaled no QRN. All worked well and was ready for Sunday's 

Party. Invested the remainder of Saturday and the next 

morning visiting with family. 

 

Sunday, a few minutes before Noon (Partytime), I fired 

up the rig, looked out the window and noticed the 'clothes

line' had drooped a few feet.  Well, starting at a height of

15' and losing a few feet overnight was unacceptable. -hi

I quickly ran outside and pulled one side of the 'clothes

line' to raise the center back to it's original height and 

tied it off. I arrived at the Party a few minutes late but it

was worth the delay knowing my antenna was back up to 15'!

 

My primary goal was to enjoy the experience. I wasn't 

disappointed. Thankfully, Murphy was on vacation for the 

remainder of the Party. The next 7+ hours went as smooth as a 

hog happily sliding in slop. 

 

A Single County Portable has a very low probability for winning 

the In-State Portable Plaque because the County Line/Corner 

Portables have a superior scoring advantage. Therefore, I set 

my secondary goal for a Certificate, competing with other 

Single County Portables. 

 

Monday morning, I disassembled the ARS, packed up, drove home.

 

Next year I may be more ambitious. To increase my County Mults

and general QSOs, I may set up for SO2R for following mobiles 

with the secondary rig, add Internet access for spotting and

add an amplifier to draw more attention while running stations 

on the primary rig. Then again, maybe not… (K.I.S.S.).

 

To show my appreciation to Phil for lending his call to me, the 

score will be contributed to the Society of Midwest Contesters 

for Club Competition, rather than the Tennessee Contest Group.

 

My thanks to all who worked WX9U in the 2010 IL QSO Party. My

apologies to those who addressed me as “Phil” and I failed to

offer any correction, but I was too busy trying to run up the

score!  See you next year…


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