[3830] CQWW CW OM7RU SOAB HP

[webform at b41h.net]

                    CQ Worldwide DX Contest, CW

Call: OM7RU
Operator(s): OM7RU
Station: OM7RU

Class: SOAB HP
QTH: Dolna Micina
Operating Time (hrs): 44

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Zones  Countries
------------------------------
  160:  186    10       45
   80:  650    15       68
   40:  377    27       80
   20:  413    28       76
   15:  458    26       75
   10:  220    28       81
------------------------------
Total: 2304   134      425  Total Score = 2,360,657

Club: OM0M - Dozen Dashes CC

Comments:

Nice contest, as usual. I built antenna mast, 2 rotary antennas (dipole for 80 m
and 14-21-28 3-el tribander) and antenna rotor this year. My antennas didn't
covered 160 m and 40 m bands. I tried to build at least simple antennas to make
at least few multipliers. Decision was to copy of last season design for tower
as vertical for 160 m and simple Inverted Vee for 40 m. There was necessary to
install of cca. 200 m of coaxial cable and 1 antenna switch. Action was
successfull (with 250 W limitation on 160 m), so decision was SOAB HP non
assisted.

I discussed with Rich, OK8WW/OM2TW, and he was afraid of CME. Unfortunately, he
was right. Big all stations echo from 7 to 28 MHz at both mornings. I was not
able to translate of one long bell tone to the callsign, hi. I played with
antenna beaming and filters, RF gain etc. and then I was able to catch EU
stations.

>From my point of view low bands was better than higher bands. I was not able to
start of effective CQ, so I spent a lot of time with S&P. Higher bands was
affected by CME, 40 m antenna was too simple. 160 m was with quite good rates,
and 80 m was my best band, with good rates everytime I tried to call CQ. 10 m
was useless for CQ, so I run S&P for 90 % of spent time there. It were
afternoons, when I was able to have some pileups with rates more than 100 QSO/h
on 15 m and 20 m.

This contest shows the new problem for non assisted stations. Stations are able
to produce large pileup and want to increase their rates (who don't want?).

They are doing so:
- run only with TU at the end of major numbers of QSO,
- call sign takes once per 5-10 QSO,
- CW speed is too high (40 WPM and higher) and is more similar to digital
modes. In many cases call sign is readable only by using of PC, not all of HAMs
are trained in high speed telegraphy.
    Assisted station:
- reads call sign on his contest SW skimmer window,
- he's sure, that call sign is not in the log!
- just 1 click and check the skimmer call sign (or not),
- starts to call him.
    Non assisted station:
- searches through the band,
- finds the pileup,
- waits and waits for the call sign,
- if he's luck, he hears, that the call sign was sent,
- if he's double luck, pileup doesn't produce QRM,
- if he's triple luck, he read the high speed call sign,
- if he's quadruple luck, the DX is not in his log,
- starts to call him,
- otherwise operator screams other word ending with -uck (depending on
mothertongue).
     Non assisted should takes few deep breathes and moves on, or breakes the
rules and looks at the cluster or skimmer info just for this STN. I withstood
to look to the cluster, but how many operators did so?
Again, it's frustrating... and unfair. I wanted to know, if any other station
has this problem, and I'm not alone: read comments of N6AR, K1ZR, W9RE or N2IC
(good company, isn't it? :).

So, good experience from my completely new HW setup. For the future:
- to improve of antenna switching (I'm focusing to microHAM StationMaster at
the begining),
- to strictly define tactic rules,
- to tune 160 m antenna.
- to reorganise of hamshack furniture (desk surface reposition, new chair)

Thanks to everybody, who makes this competition so nice!

 Used equipments:
Yaesu FT-1000MP MarkV Field
ACOM 2000A (1,5 kW OUT)
MicroHAM microKeyer, WinTest
UltraBeam UB ONE rotator

 Antennas:
160 m: Vertical (35 m tower + 2 elevated radials)
80 m:  OptiBeam OB1-80 rotary dipole @ 34 m
40 m:  InvVee @ 21 m
20, 15, 10 m: Cushcraft A4S 3 el. tribander


73!
Riki, OM7RU

www.tucek.sk/om7ru


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