[3830] CQWW SSB N1UR SOAB HP

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                    CQ Worldwide DX Contest, SSB

Call: N1UR
Operator(s): N1UR
Station: N1UR

Class: SOAB HP
QTH: VT
Operating Time (hrs): 44.5
Radios: SO2R

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Zones  Countries
------------------------------
  160:   45     9       14
   80:  464    14       69
   40:  410    24       77
   20:  791    36      100
   15: 1372    31      109
   10: 1696    29      104
------------------------------
Total: 4828   143      481  Total Score = 8,371,232

Club: Yankee Clipper Contest Club

Comments:

Yes, its true - HIGH POWER!  A few of you discovered it while I did tests over
the last month
or so and I had to admit to another few this weekend that there was more
"juice" than normal
as I cracked a few pile ups over the HP usual suspects.  I have been told more
than once that
it was time to "graduate" to High Power...offers of giving money to
"buy me an amp"
never materialized however.

Having reached every goal I imagined and even one that I never did (SOAB LP
World win in 2013
SSB Contest), I decided to very quitely buy an amplifier after the WPX CW
contest last year and spend some
time "exercising my system" with 1.5kW.  I had a number of antennas
with matching systems
designed for no more than 200W since I had no need.  I also blew up a few
baluns and and coax
connections (aren't blackened carbonized failures fun???).  By September, I was
starting to see
the light at the end of the tunnel so I bought a second amplifier to be ready
for SO2R high power.

I decided that CQ WW SSB would be the "shake down cruise".  I fully
expected something to blow
up mid contest since no antenna system had seen more than a few hours at high
power and many
had only seen 15 - 30 mins of testing.  I also had not been able to simulate
all harmonics so 
only had physical separation and my exciter level Dunestars.  Amazingly,
everything worked.  

I was using K1DG's record as a guide.  I was shocked to see that I was ahead on
Qs at the halfway
point.  And had 4.3 Million points.  I could also see that while my Qs were
great, my mults were 
not.  The second half, I struggled to find a way to find mults as effectively
as I used to.  My LP cutoff
point for dedicating to the run radio was pretty much 130 - 150 an hour.
average for the "last hour" meter.
Well I had 18 150+ hours and had a best 10 min rate of 350 and a best hour of
268.  I had concentrated all my efforts on
getting the hardware ready but had not really thought much about how to ammend
my strategy to
accomodate it actually working.  So my second day was kind of a mess as I
struggled with what to 
do.  I lost rate as I tried to force 2nd radio mults and never did get the
rythm down that is neccessary
for SO2R success.  So to get to the next level - I now have to concentrate as
much on ME as the 
antenna system.  But that is what makes this game so much fun!  Congrats to
Doug K1DG to 
upping the bar a notch again...and to Shane K1ZR for a fantastic version of the
same thing that
I was doing.

We were REALLY affected with aurora absorption of the weekend in VT but I saw
it come and go - giving
20 - 30dB swings on 160 and 80 in less than an hour to EU.  We got totally
blocked out up here a
couple of times on all bands with the most notable being Sunday morning from 10
- 12Z.

10 and 15 were amazing and 20 was actually really good as well (Asia around 15
- 17Z was rolling in
and EU was strong from 18 - 23Z on 20M).  I was monitoring the conditions right
before the contest started
and 10 was totally dead here and 15M still had JA coming in but the signals
were dropping and 
I knew they would likely be gone by 01Z.  So I decided to camp out on 40M since
I was afraid that
the flares would really kill the low bands.  I also spent a lot of time on 80M
the first night to be ready
for a "close down" the second night.  My low band totals reflect it. 
Not sure if that hurt my mults overall
or not.  160 was a desaprate attempt to find mults even to work.  I was able to
work many of what I heard
but not all.  K1DG is on the same planet as VY2ZM when it comes to 160.  I did
beat Doug in a few pile ups
however on other bands, so that was good to see at least.

I am not guaranteeing that I will be high power in every contest but it was a
lot of fun and I plan to do more.

Thanks for all of the support for this transformational effort to my wife
Christine, KB1PQN.

Thanks also to the staff at ACOM and Ameriron

Ed   N1UR



So now, the current station consists of the following:

160 - phased T Top Verticals
80 - phased wire array to EU and half wave slopers to SE, SW, NW
40 - 3 el M2 at 80 ft and a south 2 el delta loop
20 - 4/4 (F/12 and Home Brew) (82/36 ft) with rotating top and a 3 el (Home
Brew) south (57 ft)
15 - 6 el (M2) rotate at 71 ft, 3 el (F12) south at 50 ft, 8 el Telrex) EU at
30 ft
10 - 4 el W/S top rotate at 71 ft, 4 el W/S South at 50 ft, 8 el (45 ft boom)
EU at 30 ft all home brew

Beverages - 900 ft phased to EU, 600 ft NW, 600 ft E/W, 600 ft N/S

Station 1 - FT1000MP Mk V with ACOM 1500
Station 2 - FT1000MP Mk V with ALS 1300
Wintest Software


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