[3830] ARRL 160 K1LT Single Op HP
webform at b4h.net
webform at b4h.net
Sun Dec 3 15:48:20 EST 2017
ARRL 160-Meter Contest
Call: K1LT
Operator(s): K1LT
Station: K1LT
Class: Single Op HP
QTH: Ohio EM89ps
Operating Time (hrs): 28
Radios: SO2R
Summary:
Total: QSOs = 1464 Sections = 81 Countries = 41 Total Score = 408,822
Club: Mad River Radio Club
Comments:
When the contest ended I was disappointed that my score was lower than
last year. Conditions to the east seemed particularly good, all of
the noise sources stayed away, and the band seemed very full a lot of
the time. Normally I compare my progress with the previous year's
log, but I didn't do that this time. Based on the number of Europeans
worked and the general crowding, I thought we were having a high
scoring year.
Some history of K1LT raw scores:
Year DX K/VE Total K/VE DX Total
QSOs QSOs QSOs Mult Mult Score
2007 101 1452 1553 78 48 429534
2008 119 1350 1469 77 42 392105
2009 238 1447 1685 78 51 526836
2010 185 1419 1604 77 51 481664
2011 65 1288 1353 77 30 310407
2012 87 1388 1475 81 36 375687
2013 117 1378 1495 82 32 380874
2014 67 1359 1417 79 23 309570
2015 94 1394 1488 80 33 368154
2016 93 1435 1528 83 44 423545
2017 141 1323 1464 81 41 408822
So the QSO count exceeds only 2011 and 2014 while the multiplier count
and score lands in the middle of the range.
After a few hours nap, I started reading the 3830 comments. From
those I have to conclude that my score is on par with everyone else.
So maybe the result is not so disappointing after all. On to the
excuses!
The only pre-contest work I did was to check all of the short
receiving verticals for corroded F connectors. I fixed 3 of those. I
tightened the ropes supporting the top of the "tee" transmit antenna
which made the SWR curve nicer than it has been in a while. While I
don't think performance is affected very much, the amplifier seems
happier with very low SWR.
The contest started very fast. The first DX, UR5AS, was logged prior
to official sunset. 2 more UR, 2 F, and 120 W/VE filled the first
hour. Throughout the first night the rate held up with the usual
gradual decline. There was no noticeable European sunrise
enhancement. I used the recliner chair trick to stay awake most of
the time all night and had 1007 QSOs and all sections but PAC, AK, NT,
and PR a few minutes past sunrise Saturday morning.
During the night I noticed that the phased arrays did not seem to have
any directivity to broadside. Usually the directivity is noticeable
to the point of being annoying. Since signals were very strong and
the noise was very low, the lack of directivity was of little
consequence.
After a brief nap Saturday morning, I collected my daughter and ran
several domestic chores than had to be completed immediately. During
this time I forgot about the directivity issue.
When I returned to the radio at 2130z, the band was already quite
full. When I resumed CQing, I worked another European prior to
sunset, which was a good omen. At 2130z I was interrupted by a family
crisis which consumed about 30 minutes with phone calls and
permanently erased some of the glow from the first night.
The second night was a much slower and slightly noisier repeat of the
first night although the European callers were more frequent. When I
rediscovered the lack of directivity of the phased array, I tried the
Beverages, and I could hear much better. So I switched to
transceiving with the K3, which at least gave me the opportunity to
play with my new Kpod. After a while, I determined the problem with
the phased array was that it was stuck in the west direction because
the transistor that keys the power to the switching relays had
shorted. So I removed the relay power which stuck the array in the
east direction and directivity was restored. The rest of the evening
I used the phased array for DX and the Beverages for US thus
minimizing the amount of antenna switching.
After European sunrise, the contact rate became very low and I found
myself falling asleep at the switch. So I took a 3 hour nap from
0830z to 1130z and got back to the radio in time to find 1810 to 1825
kHz completely full. Three times I attempted to CQ in a small hole
and three times I was told to move. The third time I just started
tuning to see if I could hear anyone working JAs. When I reached
1825, I didn't hear any JA QSOs from stations east of the Mississippi,
but I did find KL7SB at 1825.5 and worked him.
After sunrise I gave up the idea of working Asia and started CQing in
the much emptier 15 kHz of joy. One of the callers was KH6AQ. So
only NT and PR remain as missing sections. Around 1255z (25 minutes
after sunrise) I heard a weak caller so I tried to locate him on all
the receiving antennas. On one of the Beverages, I could hear JA3YBK
signing his call twice. Since he appeared to be calling me, I
acknowledged his call and gave him a report. But this cycle repeated
several times and after a while, it seemed like he was not calling me,
but perhaps CQing by just signing his call.
In retrospect, I suggest that when conditions are good then everyone
works each other relatively quickly and resorts to CQing more readily
than when conditions are poor. Thus good conditions makes for a
crowded band. And while DX from Europe was better, there were fewer
Caribbean stations and for me no continental African or South American
stations. In other words, every silver lining comes with a cloud.
DX worked: C6, CM, CT3 (2), DL (16), EA (4), EI (2), EU, F (12), G
(8), GM (2), GW (2), HA (3), HB, HI, I (2), KH6, KL, KP2 (2), LA (3),
LY (3), LZ (2), OE, OH (7), OH0, OK (8), OM (3), ON (3), OZ, PA (3),
PJ2, PJ4, S5 (2), SM (10), SP (5), SV, UA (4), UA2 (3), UR (9), V3
(2), XE (3), YL, YO (4), YU, and ZF for a total of 44 entities. Note
the predominamce of northern Europe.
Equipment: K3/100, P3, Kpod, Alpha 8410, K3/10; 65-foot 'Tee' with 70
or so 125-foot radials, 16 23-foot verticals each with 16 23-foot
radials, 2 miles of RG6, and 6 2-wire Beverages; and too many
computers and SDR pieces-parts. Also audio routing pieces-parts,
homebrew SO2R pieces-parts, more software piece-parts, Writelog
version 11 and all of its warts.
The following comparison between 2016 and 2017 of stations by US call
district from 'cbs' seems interesting. Note the decrease in districts
1, 4, 6, 7, and 8 and the increase in district 9. My most frequently
worked section was Illinois.
2016 2017
Area QSOs Percent Area QSOs Percent
0 145 9.5 0 141 9.6
1 143 9.4 1 122 8.3
2 121 7.9 2 119 8.1
3 137 9.0 3 130 8.9
4 200 13.1 4 176 12.0
5 106 6.9 5 104 7.1
6 82 5.4 6 70 4.8
7 105 6.9 7 88 6.0
8 144 9.4 8 128 8.7
9 143 9.4 9 158 10.8
Total 1326 86.8 1236 84.4
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.3830scores.com/
More information about the 3830
mailing list