[3830] TBDC K1WHS Single Op HP

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                    Stew Perry Topband Challenge - Dec 26

Call: K1WHS
Operator(s): K1WHS
Station: K1WHS

Class: Single Op HP
QTH: FN43 Maine
Operating Time (hrs): 12.5

Summary:
Total:  QSOs = 724  Total Score = 3,973

Club: Yankee Clipper Contest Club

Comments:

I am not sure if I can rate this event compared to other ones. I got the
impression that conditions were not so good at first. Later in the evening, I
thought things got better, but then at European sunrise, the signals were back
in the dog house. I quit early while the Sun was rising in western Germany. I
got a small cat nap in and then came back for more unbridled excitement at 0900
UT as the Sun made an appearance on the East Coast. Not much to show for the
effort. I heard no far Pacific DX at all. My best DX were two HI stations. I had
hoped to hear a VK or ZL. 
    I tried a different approach this time with CQing for most of the time. I am
not sure that was the best approach. The good part for me was that I got some
good code practice in. It is sorely needed. The equipment performed flawlessly.
My computer logging is getting better, but I am very prone to massive errors
that cause me to just stop for awhile, while I unravel what I did wrong. Fat
fingers is one thing, getting calls wrong is a problem. Hand tremors cause a
single button push to turn into two or three letters in a row. (Not good!) My
other big mistake is not entering the last call logged and then typing a new
call after the grid of the last entry!
    Tin earitis got me many times. I worked K7RAT for a dupe not even knowing
that I was calling him. I was chasing his last QSO and got mixed up at 4 am, and
called the wrong station! Sorry about that. The good news is that the antenna
worked OK and I managed to keep at it for the most part. My slow CW speed is a
killer, but I managed to keep myself motivated for the most part and ended up
with over 700 contacts. I plodded along at just over 20 WPM.  I used a K3
exciter and a KW amplifier into a single 80 ft vertical. My receive antenna is a
group of beverage wires in the woods. I spent much time before the Stew, fixing
them up after several devastating storms, so that all was working when Saturday
rolled around.
    My rural QTH is not so rural anymore. 24 houses have been built about 1/2
mile away to my SW. Another 20 lots are being sold now, which abut my property
line, so my quiet location is not so quiet as it used to be. My hearing to the
West is down several dB from past years. The poor guy who called and called from
out west around 0930-1030UT just could not make it out of the noise. I tried for
quite awhile, but never got much of the call. It may have been a W9, but was
barely detectable on the QSB peaks! Listening towards Europe, I never had much
trouble with any callers. I sensed that I was hearing just fine in that
direction.  All in all, I think the Stew Perry Contest is my most enjoyed event
on HF. Thanks to all who make it possible.


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