[3830] ARRL 160 AE0EE Single Op LP

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ARRL 160-Meter Contest

Call: AE0EE
Operator(s): AE0EE
Station: AE0EE

Class: Single Op LP
QTH: MN
Operating Time (hrs): 16

Summary:
Total:  QSOs = 411  Sections = 68  Countries = 1  Total Score = 56,925

Club: Minnesota Wireless Assn

Comments:

100 W, full-size dipole up 15-30', iambic keying or straight key (no memory
keyer or f-keys).

I love the 160 contest!  It's one I've looked forward to for a long time, and
this one was filled with excitement and drama.

Friday night local I was on the air and ready to go at 4:00 PM.  There were
already plenty of loud stations on the band, however it soon became clear that
mine was not among the loud ones.  Despite booming signals from MDC and VA, I
repeatedly was CQed at.  I couldn't hold a run frequency.  Stations in IN were
having a tough time hearing me.  Because I had started the contest exhausted, I
took a nap and returned about three hours later.  Now propagation should be a
bit more solid, but still it was as though I were QRP despite the 100 W my
meter was reading.

I noticed that I was having to retune more frequently than I had remembered,
and when I saw that the tuned SWR was above what I had measured on the antenna
itself, I switched over to the antenna.  The SWR was through the
roof---something was very wrong.  I broke out the antenna analyzer, and gave it
a scan.  Instead of being resonant at 1820 kHz with 1.1:1 SWR, it was now
resonant around 2100 kHz with a similarly low SWR.  Sure, the ground conditions
were a bit different than last weekend, but not THAT different.  A midnight
inspection of the antenna revealed it was still in the trees where it should
be, with no evidence of a missing 6-meter length of wire.

The next morning, I got out the binoculars and did a remote inspection of the
feedpoint.  My big dipole is made with removable elements, so I can mix and
match between bands.  However, the powerpole connector which attaches the
element to the feedpoint had become detached from one leg.  Wrangling an 80/160
m fan dipole which is supported by about eight different trees is not a simple
solo task.  Fortunately, I was able to loosen the ends, drop the center
feedpoint, reconnect (more securely this time) the element in question, and
rehang the antenna without much fouling in lower branches.  While I was doing
antenna work, I spent a while working to get a better support point for the end
of one 160 m antenna, and succeeded in raising it a few meters.  Three hours
later, I was ready again for action, and the antenna analyzer once again showed
a 1.1:1 SWR at 1820 kHz.  With 66 QSOs in the log on the wet noodle, I'd have a
lot of ground to make up Saturday night.

The ARRL 160 contest has been a favorite of mine since I first got on 160 for
it two years ago, working the lower 48 in my inaugural weekend on the band. 
Last year I picked up KH6 and some Caribbean DX, so this year I wanted KL7. 
I'd really like WAS in a weekend plus additional DX, but I wanted KL7 for the
new DXCC and the last for WAS.

Conditions seemed very good.  I could hear well, and for the most part I was
being heard.  Lots of stations were on, and most of them were loud.  As I ran
Saturday night, I heard toward the top of my filter window WL7E.  Naturally I
tried to work them immediately, but they clearly weren't hearing (or listening
for) me.  Some 30-60 minutes later my run came to an end, and I knew I should
immediately check the band for the WL7 station.  Sure enough, only about 2 kHz
away was WL7E, now clear copy.  Just a call or two later and I was in!  Pending
confirmation on LOTW, I would have my first single-band WAS---on 160 meters!

I ran when I could, and did occasional search-and-pounce sweeps to listen for
DX or to pick up other easy contacts.  After a few hours of napping, I returned
to the band, and was surprised to find that around 1200z or 1300z Sunday,
despite a band with tons of stations that I'd worked calling CQ, I could
maintain a decent run rate.  In the waning moments of propagation, I worked an
XE for my first non-US DX of the contest, and picked up the WY multiplier I had
been missing.  As I was getting ready for a friend to come build an antenna, I
turned the rig on again and found a lonely WI station calling CQ (at 9:30 AM
local); we worked with some difficulty, but I added that one last contact to
the log at 1530z.

Although the only DX I worked was KL7 and XE, I heard a few more out there:
PJ2T, TM5R, JA3YBK (loud!), TI5W (loud but S&P), and an NP2 station.  I'm
sure had it not been for the din of W/VE stations I would have heard more.

Once again, my 160 m score and QSO count topped either weekend of November
Sweepstakes, even with my first night fiasco.

I missed most of the CA sections---I didn't hear very many on the air, and
several of those couldn't hear me.  HI and SC eluded me completely, and I
missed a combined 15 sections in W/VE.  Perhaps next year I'll get WAS in a
weekend.

Thanks for all the QSOs, and I hope to see you on for Stew Perry TBDC in a few
weeks!


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