[3830] SS SSB W4LT(@W4DUG) SO Unlimited LP

[webform at b4h.net]

                    ARRL Sweepstakes Contest, SSB - 2021

Call: W4LT
Operator(s): W4LT
Station: W4DUG

Class: SO Unlimited LP
QTH: WCF
Operating Time (hrs): 22.5
Remote Operation

Summary:
 Band  QSOs
------------
  160:     
   80:     
   40:     
   20:     
   15:     
   10:     
------------
Total: 1155  Sections = 84  Total Score = 194,040

Club: Florida Contest Group

Comments:

There seems to be a discrepancy in the scoring. See below what N1MM says:

 Band     QSOs     Pts  Sec  Pt/Q
   3.5     118     236    9   2.0
     7     587    1174   32   2.0
    14     421     842   43   2.0
    21      29      58    0   2.0
 Total    1155    2310   84   2.0
Score: 194,040
1 Mult = 13.8 Q's

So entered the point score, and not QSO totals to make the form happy. Note that
Each QSO is 2 points, assuming that I get credit for all QSO points.

Rig : Flex 6400/Maestro and SmartSDR software - 100% remote operation.
Transmitter was 8 miles from the control point at the Tampa ARC facility.

Antennas : Force 12 C31XR @ 108ft, Force 12 EF240X @ 118ft, Force 12 C19X at
70ft (fixed north), Buckmaster OCF as 80m/40m dipole sloping from 90ft northwest
to 20ft 

Soapbox :
 
We had to leave our house for a total remodeling, so my local shack is in
storage. While there is a tower outside, there is nothing connected to it.  This
remodel has been going on for three months; the house received running water,
A/C and working toilets Friday November 19. The only furniture is a bed that was
delivered the Thursday before, some folding chairs, an office chair that I use
in the garage and two TV dinner tables.  This is enough to do a contest, right? 
So the box from the new toilet was commandeered as a desktop using a scrap piece
of wood. See the ARRL Soapbox for pictures. On to SS!

This is my favorite contest; it was the first "real" contest I
operated in after receiving my license (FD was the first one a month after I got
my ticket... But it's not a contest, right?).  I worked all states in a weekend
using 75w and a 40m dipole that also worked on 15m back in 1976, and have been
addicted to Radiosport since then.  

Internet remote operation has some challenges. Latency is one.  Internet
fickleness is the other. Radio interfacing in this manner is still a science
project, and there are lots of land mines to avoid. I consider this outing a
success as the radio only locked up three times.  I discovered that lock ups
happen more often if I disconnect the radio during my off times.  The secret to
stability seems to be to stay connected.  After the first 2 lock ups, I left the
rig connected for the duration.  The only other lockup happened when one of our
other club members forgot I was using the radio and connected to it Sunday
morning, crashing the DAX. A quick message on our text chat rectified that
issue, but it cost me yet one more total restart and lost my run frequency on a
very busy 40 meters.

Priority in this outing was a sweep, since it eluded me for the past couple of
years. I had everything except South Florida and Utah by late Saturday evening.
But no SFL! Saw W4MLB spotted on 40, but I couldn't hear him. Found Bob N4BP on
40 Sunday morning.  He was strong but try as I might, he couldn't hear me.  I
called him incessantly for almost 30 minutes, only to have him CQ in my face.
Found W4MLB on 80m later for SFL. That made my day! A sweep seemed closer then. 
Was called by K7UT at 1506 Sunday while running on 20m for the sweep!
  
This is a challenging contest with the complicated exchange. It would be even
more fun if we had to send QTC's like in WAE...  Was happy to see quite a few
19-20-21 checks... There is hope for us yet!  I even had K0RWE/AG call me on
7.250 as his *FIRST* HF QSO!  He told me he passed his General a couple of hours
earlier. Now that took courage!

Thanks for all the points and fun.  And a special thanks goes to the membership
of the Tampa ARC for letting me hog the station facilities for the entire
weekend.  The W4DUG station really rocks, especially on 40m. It's great to be
able to hold a frequency on that band and run with 100w, even though the Cuban
Jamming QRM. Our new OCF sloper works great and finally gives us a competitive
signal on 80 meters. This is one of the highest QSO counts I've been able to
muster from WCF with 100w on this band. Thanks TARC!

See you next year where I will emphasize a Sweep on CW which has eluded me since
I started this journey 45 years ago! I'll use the W4DUG callsign in SS SSB 2022
as it is the club's 100-year anniversary. Tampa ARC received W4DUG in 1932, so
that check will be interesting!

73

Lu W4LT


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