[3830] CQWW CW AT3A(VU2XE) SO(A)AB HP

[webform at b4h.net]

                    CQ Worldwide DX Contest, CW

Call: AT3A
Operator(s): VU2XE
Station: AT3A

Class: SO(A)AB HP
QTH: 
Operating Time (hrs): 32

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Zones  Countries
------------------------------
  160:                    
   80:                    
   40:  267    21       71
   20:  384    19       53
   15:  355    19       56
   10:    3     2        3
------------------------------
Total: 1009    61      193  Total Score = 710,438

Club: VU Contest Group

Comments:

Background:
Quest for better contest time participation was/is always on. Many requests in
common interest groups went in vain for group operation due to one or other
problems. I thought of preparing a tiny contest station at my native place near
Mangalore on the south west coast of India as i had no hope at my home QTH. So
the idea of AT3A was born few months ago. Unlike serious full-time contest
station, this would be visited only few times a year and some restrictions on
antenna placement and noise from proximity to small town area.

Many visits to this place which is around 320 Kms from Bangalore were made to
fabricate and establish antenna support system, carry equipment etc since June.
WPC permission for QTH change for 3 month duration mainly to operate contests
had come on time. However, till CQWW SSB i could not get station up. When
setting home station, one will not notice efforts required as it is over period
of years that we develop efficiency. Now trying to achieve the same type of
efficiency at a new place in comparatively short few months became a daunting
task on self. All certain done, CQWW SSB last month could not get me much scores
at all. My TS590 RX was suffering from sensitivity issue of some sought.

Sorting out TS590 RX was on priority. I had to check resources websites, fuse
blown issue etc. However, troubleshooting took me nowhere and probably requires
some more efforts and help from techie friends.

Equipment: 
TS590 with SDR play as pan adapter
Hexbeam
Vertical and inverted L for 40 and 80

Preparation:
Antenna support base was around 25 feet with plan of around 40 feet tilt pipe
for Hexbeam. During the first lift, the pipe started developing bend and then we
had to cut the pipes to go only upto total of 33 feet from ground. For SSB
contest, verticals were not on focus. But for CW contest, I placed 40 mtr
vertical and 80 mtr inverted L on same spiderpole of 40 ft. This antenna was
located at backside of house on old cowshed building. Getting to roof was a
problem as it was made of clay (Mangalore tiles). Many of tiles were broken in
the process of placing antenna and tuning :(.
On the first go these verticals seemed to work fine. but suddenly they started
to show higher SWR. Changing Choke and Coax did not work. Just a day before
contest, i pulled back vertical wires to check and found that at around 20 feet
above from base, wires came very close and fused together to form short (looked
similar to twinlead wire). Ahhh.. This made me to remove 80 mtr wire and limit
operation to only 40mtr on that vertical. With 4 elevated ground radials, all
SWRs showed OK and ready for Contest!


Contest Day 1:
It happened to be day after major festival (Full moon day in the month of
Diwali) here. All town was decorated with running lights and music played etc.
Major blow from RX noise  as I could not hear much during first 12 hrs. Total
QSOs were low around 370 with mostly S&P.

Contest Day 2:
This day started on much better signals and first big run came around 7UT to 9
UT and then second best run between 11 to 14 UTC. Entire day 20 and 15 mtrs were
wide open. When NA stations started appearing around 12 UTC on 20mtrs, they were
strong as EU. Band spectrum was brutally occupied.
After 14:30 UTC, signals started fading on 20mtrs and 40/80 showed increased
conditions. Day two added around 630 QSOs.

Summary: 
In total i did just over 1000QSOs with high power category running around
400Watts. This is still 200QSOs lesser than my 50W low power contest entry of
2015 (https://www.3830scores.com/showrumor.php?arg=oHaXzofymaivL).

Following is the final count:

Band     QSOs     ZN   Cty  
    7      267     21   71
    14     384     19   53   
    21     355     19   56   
    28       3     2    3   
 Total     1009    61   193

Claimed Score: 710,438


Thank you all for the Qs and see you next time

VU2XE Kiran

Some photos at
http://kiranpadiyar.blogspot.com/2018/11/cqww-cw-2018-as-at3a.html


Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.3830scores.com/