[CQ-Contest] M/S questions

[Swanson, Glenn, KB1GW]

Greetings,

Interesting discussion--about M/S and all.

Not much to add here, save for some personal thoughts: Sure, I certainly can
whine with the best of 'em--just ask my friends!  :-) However, I do *try* to 
remember
that positive energy generally leads to positive outcomes!  Works wonders...

Anyway, I was lucky enough to get invited (or pry my way!) into a trio of 
guys
who went multi-multi with a pair of transcievers, and like the crew at W2A, 
we
too had fun. (See "comments" below.)

73, Glenn, KB1GW
===============

CQ WORLD WIDE DX CONTEST -- 1997


      Call: K1RO                     Country:  United States
      Mode: SSB                      Category: Multi Multi

     Totals   3159 Qs   149 Zones    588 Ctys  =>  6,509,921

Operator List: K1RO, K1ZZ, KB1GW
Operation at K1ZZ, Coventry, CT

<snip> (full copy of score/station details were posted on 3830)

Comments:

  We started out with a somewhat laid-back approach to this contest, with 
our basic goal being "to make as many points for the YCCC as possible 
without losing a lot of sleep." However, we ended up being bitten by the 
contest bug over the course of the weekend: As our QSO count (and score) 
began to "pile up," we got into the spirit of things more and more as the 
weekend wore on and--perhaps to their surprise--the "hard-core" CW ops among 
us found themselves having some fun on phone!

  We set up at K1ZZ on Wednesday night, which was pretty easy, as Dave's 
station is engineered to the point that all we had to do was install one 
radio/interface into an existing operating position and get the PCs and CT 
talking to the TNC, radios, and one another. Although we could have 
pre-planned a detailed operating strategy beforehand, we basically operated 
under a "let's see how it goes" type of game plan.

  Dave's station is set up to function nicely as a multi-single operation, 
but we decided to go multi-multi class, in keeping with our goal as stated 
above. That way, we could keep our two-station, three operator multi-multi 
station on the air throughout the weekend. While there were times that it 
would have been nice to have a third station available, we were able to 
switch bands easily enough to partially compensate for the fact that we had 
only two radios. The weekend brought no hardware problems, and aside from 
some rain static on the top 20-meter Yagi, we had no complaints. Highlights 
were finding 15 meters open to the Far East Friday night -- a good omen; 
running Europeans on 80 meters with a dipole; and working enough Europeans 
on 10 to give us faith that the "good old days" are on their way back!

  Thanks go to the Sumner household (Linda, KA1ZD, who would have operated 
except she's preoccupied with a campaign for the Board of Education, and 
daughter Deryn, N1UCI; along with various household cats) for the 
hospitality and--in the words of 15-year-old Deryn--for putting up with our 
"radio thing." We ended the contest weekend with a positive attitude, 
pleased with our results and, after a great post-contest dinner, well fed!
 What more could a contester possibly ask for?

   --Glenn, KB1GW
   Connecticut, USA
  * Yankee Clipper Contest Club *

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