[3830] 144FallSprnt KR1ST Single Op LP

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                    144 MHz Fall Sprint - 2020

Call: KR1ST
Operator(s): KR1ST
Station: KR1ST

Class: Single Op LP
QTH: FN21
Operating Time (hrs): 4

Summary:
Total:  QSOs = 17  Mults = 7  Total Score = 119

Club: Mt Airy VHF Radio Club

Comments:

Rig: IC-9100
PER: 100W
Ant: CX-333, triband vertical at 20ft

Well, that was fun! I decided to run with a fairly typical setup of a non weak
signal operator. Why? I wanted to see what a person without a horizontal antenna
would experience. It's hard to tell people to get on the radio with whatever
they have for an antenna without having actually tried it yourself. The 2m
Sprint is the perfect opportunity for such an experiment. 

I set an arbitrary goal of 10 QSO's. That was easily met, even with me missing
about an hour of the sprint. My rig would not unkey after an FT8 transmission. I
first thought that I was dealing with RF feedback, but turning the power to a
Watt or 2 proved that wasn't the case. I then blamed the unpowered USB hub I was
using as N1MM kept complaining it lost connection to the radio. After finally
finding a powered hub (I have too much stuff!) I thought I was in business, but
alas, that didn't fix it. I then decided to look at the connections to the rig
and noticed that there was still a Raspberry Pi (used for some satellite work)
hanging off the remote port competing with the PC for CAT control. Unplugging
the Pi did the trick. 

Perhaps it's because of my location, but I definitely could not work everyone I
could hear. I was able to receive Phil, N8LRG and Art, N3AAA, (350 and 260 miles
to the West of me) just fine, but was not able to make a QSO. I'm still quite
sure how I was able to work Scott, AC2BL, 127 miles to the North of me, who in
in the worst direction for me with the tip of the antenna way below the peak of
the mountain I'm on. I was also hearing Bill, W3CJK 200+ miles to the East of
me, but we were not able to complete. The station furthest South of me that I
could hear was Cornell, KO4YC, at 200 miles. I'm also surprised that I was able
to work 5 stations on SSB. I had a nice conversation with Dave W2KV, who is
about 80 miles from me which is testament to his great location and equipment.

In conclusion, I think there's definitely fun to be had for the operator curious
enough to turn his or her multimode rig to the weak signal portion of 2m during
an event, even with just a vertical antenna. Especially FT8 could open a new
world for them.

See ya'll in the next one!

73,
--Alex KR1ST


 Band   Mode  QSOs     Pts  Grd  Pt/Q
   144  FT8     12      12    4   1.0
   144  USB      5       5    3   1.0
 Total  Both    17      17    7   1.0
Score: 119
1 Mult = 2.4 Q's


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