[CCF] CQ WW CW PT5A 160M

[Ari Korhonen]

Oheisena PT5A:n (CQ CW M/M) 160m - operaattorin kokemuksia ...

Ari, OH5DX

>> Greetings for the last time from Boa Vista
>>
>> Many thanks to all who hung in there and kept calling us on Topband over
>the weekend.
>>
>> We managed to pull many of you out of the noise - with over 150 of them
>being from Europe no less - despite tough Rx conditions down here.
>>
>> Our line score in the contest was 340/19/66.
>>
>> In order to hear ***ANYTHING*** at all, Wayne Mills and I set up a new
>1000 foot beverage on Europe, plus two separate 1000 footers to the USA.
>These were as far as we could go with our feedlines and about 1000 feet away
>from anything else down here - xmit antennas and the local power lines.
>>
>> These plus TWO MORE existing beverages on Europe plus ONE EXISTING
>beverage on the states allowed us to copy a couple of layers at least into
>the atmospheric QRNNNNN and power line noise down here.
>>
>> I think I just about WORE OUT the beverage switch trying to find a quiet
>antenna during the contest - at one moment one antenna would appear quiet
>and then 3 minutes later, it presented noise well above the signal level of
>incoming callers.
>>
>> Our BEST hearability (despite some EU comments I have read) was into
>Europe and the Middle East where we worked two OH's, three SM's, ES, YO, LZ,
>4X3A, P3A, 5B4AGC and A92ZE.  Italian signals coming out of Europe were
>several S units above anything else from that region of the world - an
>observation which occurred repeatedly.
>>
>> Stateside signals were really hard to copy at **any** time.  Curiously
>enough, Midwestern signals were MUCH louder than the USA eastern seaboard
>down here.  The expected signal levels of the really BIG W1, W2, W3 multi's
>were well down - but workable nonetheless.
>>
>> I would have to say that three stations had truly outstanding signals down
>here in this order:
>>
>> W8LRL - 10 DB louder than anything else (Must be doing something right
>Wal!)
>>
>> W8JI - consistently loud
>>
>> K9NS - almost "beacon-like" all night long
>>
>> Before the contest, John Batten at K9DX was booming also - every time I
>heard him.  That new 11 element vertical array is really playing John.....
>>
>> We had one really funny occurrence down here.
>>
>> Just prior to the end of the contest - about 2230z, both N7NG and I
>noticed our ONLY good beverage started going PUNK.
>>
>> At first it sounded intermittent, then kinda squirrely, then DEAD.
>>
>> We both took off our headphones at almost the same time and said "Did the
>NE Beverage just go dead?"
>>
>> Sure enough that is exactly what happened.
>>
>> After about 5 minutes, a couple of our local PY guys - Nicolau and Wilmar
>came in holding a 6 foot piece of our FEEDLINE.
>>
>> They had wrenched it from the mouth of a COW who was "eating our signals"
>they said.
>>
>> Thus the name "VACA CACA"!
>>
>> I think this is a FIRST for me - and I have a short piece of this feedline
>which I plan on taking back home to my shack.  It is going to be framed as
>follows:
>>
>>                          VACA CACA
>>
>>                            PT5A
>>
>>                        November 2002
>>
>> Thanks again to all of those who called us this weekend.
>>
>> It was much appreciated.
>>
>> Qsl's to PP5VB.
>>
>> 73 JEFF K1ZM
>>
>> K1ZM@aol.com