[3830] NAQP RTTY ND3N Single Op LP

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                    North American QSO Party, RTTY - February

Call: ND3N
Operator(s): ND3N
Station: ND3N

Class: Single Op LP
QTH: MD
Operating Time (hrs): 3

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Mults
-------------------
   80:           
   40:   3      3
   20:  18     12
   15:  33     16
   10:   1      1
-------------------
Total:  55     32  Total Score = 1,760

Club: Potomac Valley Radio Club

Team: 

Comments:

I've been planning on this being an experimental contest for a few months.  

I've put together a go-kit (details below) and wanted to see how it worked
during a contest.  I also wanted to give N1MM a try.

I had everything physically set-up and ready to go a couple of hours before the
contest, but I never could get N1MM+ to work for me (guess I need to spend some
time looking through the operating manual).  I switched over to WriteLog and
after figuring out how to get 2-tone to work with the SignaLink I started
operating about 40 minutes into the contest.

Here's the results of my experiment, component by component...

Antenna: BuddiPole Deluxe Package.  Worked well on 15 and 20 meters - worked
most calls (all S & P) on first or second try.  On 10 meters only worked
one station (never heard anyone else), but it was on the first try, so I'm not
sure if it was the band or me.  40 meters gave me RF feed-back when I
transmitted - probably because of the geometry of the antenna vs. station
location (I was pretty much parallel to the antenna).  I tried relocating the
antenna, but the only thing that seemed to work was lowering my output power to
50W.  Although I can't make a direct connection, during the contest the GFI
circuit breaker to my master bathroom popped.  I'm pretty sure if I was working
from my basement instead of my dining room table, 40 would have been just fine. 
It was a bit of a hassle having to go out into the cold to adjust the antenna
for new bands or location (more because of the cold weather)...  Overall, I'm
impressed and look forward to using this antenna for remote operations (in
warmer weather).

Radio: Kenwood TS-480SAT: worked well, but didn't like the dependence on menu
functions (but that is an operator preference).  I don't have a ground-line
connected to the go-box, but will have that done in the next few days.  The CAT
controls were perfect and easy to integrate.

SignaLink: As always, I'm impressed with this little stand-alone sound-card.  I
might be upgrading to a microham Digi Keyer II, which is a bit more capable,
albeit more expensive.

In general, my experiment was successful as I learned what worked, what didn't,
and what needs improvement.


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