[3830] SS CW N3BB Single Op HP

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                    ARRL Sweepstakes Contest, CW

Call: N3BB
Operator(s): N3BB
Station: N3BB

Class: Single Op HP
QTH: 
Operating Time (hrs): 24
Radios: SO2R

Summary:
 Band  QSOs
------------
  160:    0
   80:   91
   40:  347
   20:  527
   15:  263
   10:   97
------------
Total: 1325  Sections = 80  Total Score = 211,200

Club: 

Comments:

First serious contest (other than the Sprint) since I took nearly three years
off to finish my novel. (It will be out in two or three months.) 

Was not sure what to expect in the SS.  My ears were rusty but they came
around. Had my usual lackluster start. Never did feel like I was really doing
well but the contacts kept coming. I stayed in the chair. Things got very slow
Sunday, and it was a major "find" to tune across a new station to work on the
second radio while plugging away with continuous CQs on the run radio. I worked
the two radios really hard, and constantly. 

15 meters was the only thing that kept me sane Sunday, and I should have stayed
on that band longer. 

Got the sweep thanks before I went to sleep Saturday night. That was comforting
since it meant I could focus on rate Sunday. Rate? There was none. 

The sections (with six or fewer contacts) for me were these: 

6 WTx, NNy, De, Ri, Qc, Sb
5 Id, Ab
4 Nv, Sd, Mb, Vt, Sk
3 Ms, Ne, Nd, Nwt, Vi
2 Nl, Pr

As I recall, my last section was (drum roll) ... OK!

The operators in VY1/VE8, VO1, NP2, NL, and KP4 are especially appreciated for
making a special effort to be on. Every one called me except for a portable in
KP4. (The VY1/VE8 stations were really loud and clear very late on 20 meters.)
Also, the VEs were active, especially in the west. It's surprising that some of
the US sections continue to be so scarce.  

I never felt loud. This contest is hard! It's humbling.

Thanks to K5OT's encouragement, the CTDXCC turnout was really good and quite a
number of central Texas stations were on. That was fun. Also, it was fun
working so many of the Thursday night NS gang. 

Had several instances where relatively rare DX kept calling, and even though I
sent "SRI USA SRI," they kept calling. One was a VU2, which is not all that
common in these here parts. Also some deep Russia and some west EU stations. 

I'm still using TR and it worked great. They will have to pry my steely copy on
a 3.5 inch disk out of my dying hands, to quote Charleston Heston, or someone. 

Congrats to some of the amazing scores posted on 3830 already, with several of
the big guns still outstanding. These results are really hard to achieve. Well
done.

There were several of the CTDXCC gang on seriously (K5NA, K5OT at K5TR, K5PI at
W5KFT, KU5B at NR5M, etc). I've seen none of the scores, but the local
competition made the weekend even more tense. 

Thanks to all for the activity and the contacts.

Same old station: TR-log running on a 66 MHz IBM 486DX, Two FT-1000MPs, two
Alpha amps, stacked yagis on 10 and 20, a single yagi (one of the stacks on the
15 meter tower has gone bad and must be repaired) and that hurt me, two yagis on
separate towers on 40 (combined with a Stackmatch), slopers on 80. Same old
operator. 

73, Jim N3BB


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