[3830] SS CW W1NN Single Op LP

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                    ARRL Sweepstakes Contest, CW

Call: W1NN
Operator(s): W1NN
Station: W1NN

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

Summary:
 Band  QSOs
------------
  160:     
   80:  446
   40:  336
   20:  121
   15:   84
   10:   39
------------
Total: 1026  Sections = 83  Total Score = 170,316

Club: Mad River Radio Club

Comments:

Over the past week I spent quite a bit of time preparing for this event and I
was in better shape than I can ever remember.  I even had time for a nap before
the opening bell.  I had fixed some antenna issues and finally had a decent SO2R
setup, and I had a set a goal of 1100 contacts this year versus 1023 last year
and 1075 in 2010.  As is my usual practice, I had a data sheet with hourly
rates from the last five years so I could monitor my progress and push myself
to do better in each hour.

Then 15 minutes before the start, I discovered that one of the SPDT switches in
my homebrew SO2R contraption would not move.  What a weird thing to happen.  I
had just used it in an NCCC Sprint a couple of weeks ago.  I was really
counting on SO2R to help me reach my QSO goal so I decided to try to repair it
before the contest.  It was a rush job but I made it back to the shack and made
my first contact at 2101Z.  Not the best way to start, but it could have been a
lot worse.  Note to self:  replace all Radio Shack switches!

The high bands were in great shape and I did OK in the first hour, although I
was a little behind last year’s pace.  Same with the second hour.  Then
things really slowed down in the third hour and I started having a lot of
trouble getting through pileups.  I tried and tried to be heard by KH7X on 15
but finally gave up.  After many calls, VO1XX came back to me but he couldn’t
copy my exchange and told me to try later.  Arrgh!  At the end of hour four, I
was 40 contacts below my 2010 and 2011 pace.  Things were not going according
to plan.      

80 has always been my best band and I was really counting on it to get my back
on course.  But it was rough going and callers were few and far between.  Then
on a whim I decided to check to make sure that the power was set at 100 watts. 
Much to my surprise the power output was set at around 11 watts!  All of the
QSOs made on radio one (that is, everything except the 40 meter contacts)
during the first five hours were made at 11 watts.  (Many expletives deleted.) 
What a thing to discover.  All of my preparation had gone for naught on account
of a stupid error like this.  What is worse, the same thing had happened during
my Michigan QSO Party mobile run back in April when I operated the first couple
of hours at 5 watts.  I should have learned my lesson then.  When the K3 meter
is set to monitor SWR, there is no way to tell whether you are running 5 watts
or 100 watts.  I was angry at myself but at the same time relieved to learn the
reason for my poor start.  

Playing catch up in SS is not fun and many have observed that you can never
recover from a poor start, but I figured that I had 18 or 19 hours left and
decided to do the best I could.  Once I set the power back to 100 watts, the
rate recovered to normal levels but nothing spectacular.  As you might expect,
when the high bands are hot, 80 suffers.  I could not keep up with my 2011
hourly rates.  At the end of hour 11, I was 50 contacts behind.  In the 0700
hour I could only manage 21 contacts versus 39 last year.  About the only good
thing about the first day was that I was in really good shape with multipliers.
 I had worked VY1EI on 20 meters (with 11 watts!) and I lacked only four fairly
easy mults which I was sure I could find on Sunday.  I took a four hour break
from 0800 hoping that SO2R on Sunday would allow me to get back on course.    

Rates on 40 meters on Sunday were better than I expected and each hour I
managed to do a little better than last year.  SO2R really helped and I
gradually crept back to my 2011 level and in the 1600 hour I managed to pull
ahead.  I kept calculating in my head the rate I would need to get to my 1100
QSO goal.   If I could only keep up the 35-40 rate I could come close.

Unfortunately it was not to be.  The last five hours of the contest were
really, really slow.  I just could not find new stations to work and late
Sunday afternoon the rate dried up. That burst of newcomers that usually drives
up the rate during the last three hours failed to materialize, at least for me. 
In the final hour I could only find 22 new stations versus 38 last year.  I did
manage to finally beat my 2011 Q total by 3 QSOs but I was still 40 below 2010
and 74 below my goal.  It does seem to me that participation was a little light
this year, although that may just be an excuse.  Whatever the cause, I can’t
remember the last few hours of SS ever being so painful.

Nevertheless, it was great fun and I know what I have to do next year.  Thanks
to the sponsors and thanks to everyone for the contacts!!!

73, Hal W1NN
Medina, Ohio


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