[3830] TBDC KR2Q Single Op QRP

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                    Stew Perry Topband Challenge

Call: KR2Q
Operator(s): KR2Q
Station: KR2Q

Class: Single Op QRP
QTH: FN20ru
Operating Time (hrs): 5:39

Summary:
Total:  QSOs = 129  Total Score = 594

Club: 

Comments:

I started vacation from work about 2 weeks ago.  On Monday of the first day of
vacation, I got a head cold.  It's still hanging on, so I'm feeling pretty
lousy.  I'm sick of being sick.

On Saturday around 2100z, I decided to get on for Stew.  My SWR was terrible. 
When I went out back, half of my antenna was missing, ripped off at the coax. 
We had high winds and tree removal here lately, so I guess the antenna took a
hit.

So I pulled out my 1000 foot spool of 16 gauge soft copper wire and made a
counterpoise.  Just one.  At 2140z, I went back inside and the SWR looked fine.
 1.9 to 1 at 1800, 1.5 to 1 at 1830, and 1.4 to one at 1860.  I have the single
radial or counterpoise about 2 feet off the ground, held up by some plastic
lawn chairs and a fiberglass saw horse.  Pretty funny, but works.

As expected, I didn't work much with my crappy antenna and QRP, but I did have
some fun, handed out some points (with a surprise mult for probably most of my
QSOs who didn't know I was QRP), and managed to occupy myself for about 5 and
half hours, including about 1.5 hours just before sunrise Sunday when my cold
woke me up at 1000z.  I was actually able to run on 1845. Well, at least I had
15 guys answer my CQs.  

W7s never heard me.  Nothing at all.  Nothing from KV4FZ or FM5CD either.  N0NI
continues to hear me on one call.  He is over 1,000 miles from me.  A few others
in that distance range take time, but finally do hear me after multiple attempts
spaced out over hours.  Finally worked WD5R this morning without any issue at
all.  Same with N4OGW.  Both pretty far from me in NNJ.  

If you got my callsign, but had trouble getting my grid after multiple attempts
and you ended up not giving me a TU or R or something like an ack, you are not
in my log.

Rig:  Elecraft K3/10, running at 5 watts output.

Ant: single quarter wave wire up and over a tree - headed back towards earth
with a single quarter wave, slightly elevated counterpoise wire.

Thanks to everybody who heard me.

de Doug KR2Q


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