[3830] CQ160 CW KM6JD Single Op HP

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CQ 160-Meter Contest, CW

Call: KM6JD
Operator(s): KM6JD
Station: KM6JD

Class: Single Op HP
QTH: NV
Operating Time (hrs): 22:31

Summary:
Total:  QSOs = 314  State/Prov = 48  Countries = 9  Total Score = 44,802

Club: 

Comments:

This was my first 160m contest and only my second time ever on that band (first
time was during the recent NAQP contest for only about 12 minutes!).  I didn't
know what to expect in terms of band conditions or its propagation aspects.  I
knew from what others were telling me that you could actually get your WAS
award on 160m during the contest if you had a good station setup and good
operating skills.  I came mighty close only missing about 5 states.  

I didn't have an antenna for 160m so I decided to load up my 60 foot of Rohn 25
tower with the Force-12 C31-XR as a nice big capacitance hat.  I went to Home
Depot and picked up a 3 foot long quarter inch diameter aluminum rod for a few
bucks.  I installed it as a gamma match at about the 9 foot level of the tower
using #14 gauge insulated solid copper wire as the vertical portion of the
gamma match and a piece of LMR-400 to feed the gamma at the bottom.  Installed
several radials and used those as my counterpoise.  Took many readings with the
RigExpert analyzer and the match was OK but not at all optimum by far (Z = 147 +
j67) at 1.85 MHz.  But that was all that I had so I decided to give the contest
a try.  I found that I could receive a lot better than I could transmit.  

In any event, I made a lot of contacts and very much enjoyed learning about the
band and its propagation.  I especially liked the Grayline map that's
incorporated in N1MM Logger+.  I got a kick out of seeing yellow dots appear on
the world map as I logged the Q's.  Late on Saturday afternoon, knowing that the
band would open shortly before sunset, I waited until I heard a few signals.  I
was amazed to hear ZF9CW boiling in even before sunset!  While working the
contest it became clear that this was one with a lot of dupe checking.  I have
a great memory but dupe checking was essential especially in this contest. 
Anyway, I really enjoyed the contest and it appeared that the band conditions
were very good.  I worked most all that I could hear and even some strong
Japanese stations like JA3YBK and several others.

Station: Kenwood TS-590SG
Amp: Ameritron AL-80B
Antenna: 60 foot grounded Rohn 25 tower
Logging: N1MM+


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