[3830] NAQP SSB AD5ST Single Op LP

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                    North American QSO Party, SSB - January

Call: AD5ST
Operator(s): AD5ST
Station: AD5ST

Class: Single Op LP
QTH: Arlington TX
Operating Time (hrs): 8.5

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Mults
-------------------
  160:           
   80:           
   40:   30    16
   20:   89    32
   15:  107    28
   10:    1     1
-------------------
Total:  227    77  Total Score = 17,479

Club: DFW Contest Group

Team: DFW Contest Group Quark

Comments:

Had a good run on 15m early in the contest. Took some off times early in the
contest that I shouldn't have in hindsight. I was sitting at 190 Qs at 6:00,
but only made 37 more in the second half. Incredible local noise on 40m once it
stretched out (hearing every plasma TV, streetlight, neon sign, fishtank light,
welder, sparkgap transmitter within a mile) that I could barely hear at all
there. I did dig a few out of the noise, but most of those were only barely.
And with no 80 antenna, I was stuck on 40m where I couldn't hear anything after
everybody had moved down from 20. I would have done better to run all through
the afternoon and take all my off times in the evening. N1MM tells me my
time-on was about 8.5 hours.

I take that back, I could hear some guys on 40 very well. They were the guys on
7138 griping all evening about all the contesters. Must have been running amps,
and they were nicely above the noise. I would be happy if NAQP let the big run
stations use amps, just so I could hear them...

I have some fancy audio processing in my station that by all accounts works
very well, but it may work too well. When I was running on 15, with no band
noise, quiet as it always is, I had a few stations call me that I couldn't
easily dig out. Maybe they were QRP, or maybe my audio processing is too good,
they could hear me at 100W better than I could hear them at 100W. Though I'm
certain the processing is what let me work the guys on 40 that I did, so it's a
mixed bag perhaps.

Made my first Q at 10W because I forgot to turn the power knob up.

N1MM DVK worked great as always. I still just use it for the CQ loop, speaking
everything else. Side note, I built a serial port keying interface with 3
transistors (nothing to write home about) probably a month ago, all stuffed
into a 9-pin D-sub plug. Very tight fit, and the PTT transistor is no good, or
the lead broken, or otherwise not working. CW and RTTY transistors work great.
The workaround was using CAT command for PTT. I was going to get some more
2N2222s from Fry's when I was there the other week (the three I used were from
my junkbox), but they wanted $2.50 apiece for them, so I didn't get any. I
forgot until just now that I'm still doing radio-command PTT, it works that
well.

Anyhow, it was a blast. One of the more serious contest efforts I've done yet.


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