[3830] NAQP CW VE9AA Single Op LP

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                    North American QSO Party, CW - January

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

Class: Single Op LP
QTH: NB
Operating Time (hrs): 10
Radios: SO2R

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Mults
-------------------
  160:   29    14
   80:  250    47
   40:  234    45
   20:  206    41
   15:   38    16
   10:    1     1
-------------------
Total:  758   164  Total Score = 124,312

Club: Maritime Contest Club

Team: MCC TEAM #1

Comments:

Nice to hear so many DAVIDS and DUDES out there on the airways tonight honouring
those nice guys who have either
left us or are not doing so well these days.

Was very pleased to work Bob, W4MYA on 20m just before I pulled the plug for
supper.  That Dude can Run 'Em ! (edit; Worked Bob as soon as I 

came back from supper too. That Dude's sneaky, surely waiting for me...heh heh)

Where have all the NAQP records gone on their website.? Link is dead and no way
to find it by a search.?!

As always, the top scores come from the West Coast or perhaps Deep South (Texas,
etc.) but I play anyways.

SO2R:
I ticked the box for SO2R but wasn't really in the true sense of the word. My
2nd radios antenna is a ZS6BKW who's feedline (I think) has developed 

an open/intermittent or short.  Can't get to it quite yet due to snowpack. It
sounds fine on RX but as soon as there is any power applied, radios SWR 

surges.  Even engaging the tuner made the radio 'pulse' it's power, so nobody
could understand my CW. Only way to make a 2nd radio transmission in 

true SO2R fashion was to take the tuner out of line and transmit into
practically an infinite SWR.  I could see my wattmeter vibrate/wiggle, so
perhaps 

up to 1w going down the coax and 100mW ERP? Who knows what was radiating out in
the back  I made a handful of Q's this way , but mostly just 

used it as a RX to see if a band was open.yard - :LOL:  A local friend has
donated some 450Ohm ladder line, so it'll get a new feedline come spring.

10m - Used an old A3S on my shed.  Director kiltered over @ 30*... Band dead. 
Only really checked it off and on for the first hour. (edit) LAter, worked 

local VE9HF on my ZS6BKW on my 2nd radio, as described above.  Signal must've
sounded terrible, eh Rick?.

15m- My k3lr/k1wa type array is working, however the SW direction to the USA is
broken (open), so I worked most Q's beaming the Carib or JA. Ain't 

antennas fun?

20m - wire and aluminum 4-square of freestanding inverted L's. Took the day off
work Friday to repair my 20m 4-square and managed to snowshoe 

across the field and find the missing vertical as the snow melted and reattach
it clumsily.  It seems to work.  It's no 3-el yagi @ 48', but I have no towers 

here, so I get by with what I have. It's quiet.  Speaking of quiet* (see comment
after 160m)

40m- Wire 4 Square.  Band was on fire when I checked it before SS and the
W1-2-3-4-8's were all loud. After supper, not so much. Think I missed the 

peak in my early 1+ hour off time. That's OK. Good that I put in an hour to get
the close in guys. Went long / weak early.

80m - 4 square Square in the trees. Ditto as 40m, but later was in good shape.
Some kind of weird noise coming out of the WNW (Asia?) that sounded 

like AM or FM broadcast....I ran mostly up around 3555 or so. During the last
few hours band had a howl to the NW, so left it aimed SW.  AU?

160m - A single Inverted and Intermittent L. I knew it was too good to be true
when I QSY'd to 160m and the L was working. YAY! Worked Wizzer 

then antenna went open. My heart sank.  Then I remembered what I did in the
SPTDC.  Made a few dozen QSO's with radio's tuner on, the AT1500CV 

external tuner engaged and my 80m 4-square as the 160m antenna.  I could tell by
the S-meter who was going to answer me and who wouldn't. I bet I 

had less than a watt ERP here, probably sinking a lot into the dummy loads
outside, but happy to report that most contesters have good ears.  ODX was 

probably W9RE who got me on the first go.  Not bad for an 80m 4-square!

*QUIET - this is the first contest in recent years where I didn't have to endure
the electric fence next door, which is literally a few meters from my 

closest antennas.  Long sotry short.  Neighbour and I are at an impass and when
beaming EU the spikes are 40/9 on 160, s7 on 20m and ticks on 2-6-

10m.  Even in the NA QP, beaming USA 99% of the time, they would bother me. 
ABout 1/2way through the contest I noticed and turned off the noise 

blanker.  This is what a non-mushy band sounds like?! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh.  He's had
it shut off before (during non contest times) so I know it's only a 

brief respite, but I'll take it !


Amongst MCCers we scrounged together 6 players on 2 mini-teams so NB & NS
should've been well represented.  I heard and worked 

VE9CB,VE9DX and  VE9HF near the start and VA1MM later. Nobody heard from VO1 or
PEI.

Thanks for all the fun !

CU (all of a sudden) in the next one

Mike VE9AA in NB, 

dit dit


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