[3830] CQWW CW T70A(E73A/9A3A) SOAB HP

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                    CQ Worldwide DX Contest, CW

Call: T70A
Operator(s): E73A/9A3A
Station: T70A

Class: SOAB HP
QTH: 
Operating Time (hrs): 46
Radios: SO2R

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Zones  Countries
------------------------------
  160:  349    11       55
   80:  729    20       96
   40: 1419    31       97
   20: 1078    31       88
   15:  926    30       86
   10: 1252    32       94
------------------------------
Total: 5753   155      496  Total Score = 7,414,239

Club: 

Comments:

Not everything goes as planned and contest community is not an exception. To the
contrary, should any scientist by mistake read 3830 or Contest Reflector scary
stories, one may assume that Mr. Murphy himself was a contester, who at the end
of his career transformed his experiences into a science. 
The plan was to try fixing some issues based on the last CQ WW CW T70A SO2R
attempt, namely, reduce interference and RFI problems caused mainly because of
close proximity of three low band verticals as well as add some gain by putting
up ex C4A 15/10m F12 duobander.  The first goal accomplished â€" equipped with
E73M custom-made chokes and notch filters and also 4O3A high quality band pass
filters,  RFI problems have been almost fully resolved. Due to various reasons
it was not possible to have F12 yagi and I’ve decided to increase number of
verticals from 3 to 6: one for each band, feeding Six Pak. Danny, E73M also has
an interesting splitter, which allows using up to three antennas into single
amplifier.  The existing 7 el Log Periodic, which appears to be comparable to
A3S yagi, would than be the main run antenna on 20/15 and 10 with a possibility
to also add vertical from the Six Pak. Not really necessary because of low F/B
and gain but it was more in improvement attempt for the future. The plan, since
it appears to be simplified, included more rest-time: last year I drove from I7
to T7 and spent almost full time in setting up SO2R, including antenna
installation in the rainy night, so I ended up with only 30 minutes of
relaxation before the start. Well, 9 minutes late start last year was reduced
to 4 minutes this year. I won’t go into details, but after assembling wire
verticals and starting with the set-up of prewired SO2R gadgets, including a
few new things, I ended up with no signals on two radios, with at least 10 coax
jumpers soldered using some used coax a week before, with no possibility to
check them. They were OK, but some connectors used to reduce number of cables
were to blame. Well, the plan to go to SO1R luckily did not have to be
executed, but I once again ended up with no sleep (or very little sleep) not
only for the 48 hours contest, but for 66 hours considering 6AM wake up on
Friday and cleaning up the shack and packing full SO2R station till 3 AM, after
my last QSO, JT5DX, who called on 160 for the double multiplier. I will skip the
details, but they include moving 20m vertical to another position during the
contest (by myself) and not having 15m vertical available, which was a pleasant
one compared to the other issues prior to finally get SO2R in operation. 
Well, I guess that is what motivates us not to give up and do the best with
whatever hardware one has at his disposal. So, not neglecting that this his
year score is indeed 17% higher (less QSOs but more multiplier), my personal
goals were actually to reduce interference, have fully functional SO2R and
operate the contest full time. The goals have been fully or nearly met. 
I know that sleeping, better not sleeping, is major issue for serious
contesters. So far I’ve managed to survive and, unless there are physical
constraints, I think determination is the main factor. I had no coffee, no
red-bull or other stay-awake products, no sleep prior to the contest start, 
yet nearly made it. After 24 hours plus in the chair, when I already had over
3100 QSOs in the log, I decided to take a 15 minute chair-nap because, although
I was logging QSOs, my brain was elsewhere. In periods when my brain was in the
real time, I realized that if I want to finish the contest I need a short
break. The chair and not the bed was a good decision because if I fell asleep
in a horizontal position, I think I’d have missed much more time than the
time shown in the log, 00:22-01:39. With a short break I think I not only
recovered physically (the time was short, the position uncomfortable) but
I’ve managed to regain the mental strength, spending almost full remaining
time, except 20m vertical repositioning, in the chair. I wish to thank to T70A
members for another opportunity to operate T70A fine callsign, IK7UXW for
invaluable logistics support in moving all stuff to San Marino and Mr. Murphy
for not interfering in the WX forecast â€" this year the whole weekend,
including Friday and Monday, has been blessed with beautiful weather, allowing
outside works to be enjoyable. Almost forgot my wife â€" I owe her a present
for no interference on other non-HF frequencies. A switch has been already
identified as a surprise present. If she allows me to use it from time to time,
it could be a nice addition to the existing SO2R setup, although it will always
legally belong to her.

Thanks to all for calling T70A, CU ....

Ivo I7/9A3A


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