[3830] WPX CW VO1TTT(VE9AA) SOAB(TS) LP

[webform at b4h.net]

                    CQWW WPX Contest, CW

Call: VO1TTT
Operator(s): VE9AA
Station: VO1BZM

Class: SOAB(TS) LP
QTH: vo1
Operating Time (hrs): 36

Summary:
 Band  QSOs
------------
  160:    1
   80:   90
   40:  463
   20:  544
   15:  500
   10:   29
------------
Total: 1627  Prefixes = 680  Total Score = 3,818,880

Club: Maritime Contest Club

Comments:

Random Ramblings from a Roving Newfie (this’ll be long) de Mike VE9AA

First, before I get into my story I have to get serious for just one moment and
thank the SONRA, staff of Admiralty House Museum; Mount Pearl and the VO1BZM
club members, especially Everett, VO1DK for allowing me the use of the space
and antennas…..(I brought my own station)

I was born in VO2, lived in VO1 as a wee lad and have spent the rest of my life
here in VE9.  I always had wanted to contest from Newfoundland.  Four years ago
I was in St. John’s but timing was off and there was no contest.  FFD 4 years
and I was back in VO1 again and as luck would have it there was a contest. 

 I checked with some of my VO1 colleagues, but nobody had an available
station.
I got put in touch with VO1DK and all was set for CQWPX.  I would get my wish.

Now in traditional style, I’ll interject some totally random thoughts I
collected during the contest.

-Oh oh….SWR off the charts on 10-15-20m.  The Hybrid mini quad/yagi was
optimized for high in the phone bands and was intermittent on 20m.  I had to
splice in a random length of coax to even get the internal tuner to match it on
20.....40/80 were very low (30') inverted vees and worked well.  My IC7410 and
Winkeyer worked great.

-Stu K6TU was nice enough to put VO1TTT in the master list a couple months ago,
but still had lots of guys calling me VO1TT…in fact LOTS called me that.

-No matter how many times I send VO1TTT, I still had several EU’s call me as
V01TTT (vee zero one tee tee tee)….why,. I have no idea.  Even had one EU
call me V0150TTT or something to that effect.

-Uhhh…where’s 10m? (I was promised 10m)

-GRRR…high QRN on 15 & 20m Sat.  Can’t hear anything less than an
S3….and most EU’s calling are S3 or less.  Go into S&P mode and work
the big multis.

-No “H” on my keyboard ! What the H?  I opened up the pelican case with my
Ic-7410 and keyboard in it and the H key was missing.  I used a gob of tape
with an H written on it.  Once in a while an OH2 or HB9 would call in and I
wouldn’t have hit the nubby of tape hard enough and the H would be missing in
the call N1MM+ sent out over the air, so I had to reach up over top onto the
radio where the laptop was sitting and poke the H key.

-MMmmm, that 6am coffee is some good !

-I drove 3300kms + 2 x 8 hour ferry rides to get there and back.  That’s
around 46 hours in travel time.  I could’ve operated from VK9 or BS7 in that
amount of travel time. (and been way more popular)

-46 hours in a MINI COOPER is a loooong time. (OK, subtract 16 hrs for being in
the lounge on the ferry)…let’s call it 30 hours in a MINI.

-Still no 10m !

-I CQ’d on 50.095MHz on 6m for 30 hours there and back from the MINI, hitting
some rare grids.  Yup you guessed it.  Not one single QSO.(and I thought HF
condx were punk)

-160m lives�"one lone QSO.

-Where are the pileups ?!  I thought VO1 was halfway to Europe.  Is that
Ireland I see over yonder when I squint real hard?

-Damn that gob of tape on the H key!

-C4Z loud, but has no idea who I am - heh heh

-I am not V-ZERO-one TTT,. I am not I tell ya! (Oh and I am not K1TTT either)

-PA/W1NN….interesting Hal. And nice signal. Just as loud as from Ohio.

- I thought I would be clever and hit 40m ASAP Sunday night but S&P’d up
the band as soon as the EU’s could hear me and out of 70 or 80 guys heard
CQn, only one I had not worked and of course, could not hear me.  I CQd for 15
minutes straight and worked one DL. Bless you sir.

-Where is DH8BQA?

-I dislike those super long cutesy EU calls that are more like a sentence than
a real callsign

-This high SWR is making my rig toasty.  One way to warm my hands.  How much
ERP does one have with a 4 or 5:1 SWR anyways?

-Where is Gus? (later I find out he’s VD1M and I have worked him a few times
this w/e)

-I am glad 36 hours is up.  Looking fwd to a warm shower and hitting the
pillow.

Thanks all !

Mike VE9AA / VO1TTT


Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.3830scores.com/