[3830] ARRLDX CW K4LY SOAB(A) LP

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                    ARRL DX Contest, CW

Call: K4LY
Operator(s): K4LY
Station: K4LY

Class: SOAB(A) LP
QTH: SC
Operating Time (hrs): 26

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Mults
-------------------
  160:   33    30
   80:   75    47
   40:  175    72
   20:  234    84
   15:  197    76
   10:   45    27
-------------------
Total:  760   336  Total Score = 765,072

Club: Carolina DX Association

Comments:

This was the maiden voyage (for contesting)of my Flex SDR-1000.  While it didn't
Titanic, it's definitely not contest-ready. SDR radio is the radio of the
future, but the first generation SDR-1000 is a teaser until you study and study
and solve and solve problems.  I didn't solve enough of them. Out of 28 hours at
the radio, I had about 26 hours when I was actually able to make contacts and
about 2 hours when I was pulling my hair out trying to get the #@@$%%# thing to
work.  The least reliable appliance in a ham shack is the computer, and SDR
radio is mostly the computer.  Because there are dozens of computer models, al
least two outboard soundcards with their own software and adjustments, several
operating systems, and several versions of Power SDR  software, and several
versions of contest software- almost no SDR-1000 set-up is like any other. For
every software problem there are dozens of possible solutions, most of them
archived in the Flex Forums and Flex Knowledge Center.  When you add those
"notes' to the manual, you have a manual that weighs more than the radio with a
learning curve unlike anything I've experienced.  However, software is NOT the
main problem. The main problem for me is the cabling between the radio, the
outboard sound card, and the computer (especially the amplified computer
speakers)- six cables not including key and mic. Besides the plugs and jacks
not "setting" correctly, the main problem is the RF that enters the radio,
computer, and especially the amplified speakers, if you don't torid all the
cables exactly right.  I'd been using the radio successfully on 160-40, but
when I went to 10/15/10 during the contest the amplified speakers howled like
wounded coyotes. I hope my signal was T9 and seemed to be the several times I
checked it on another rig. Other problems required exiting software or turning
off the radio or computer and reloading everything.
The newer generation Flex radios are closer to plug and play.  Mine was plug
and pray! 
Conditions were good on all bands, but not as good on 15 and 10 as I would have
expected with the SF numbers- and better on the low bands where my 30 countries
(many europeans) LP on 160 with a mediocre inverted L seemed better than
expected. Thanks for the Qs, the DXpeditions and the fun, and remember to be
flexable if you use and SDR radio.


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