[CQ-Contest] K6IF's Quest, A Serialized Story. Parts 1 & 2

[Dan Levin]

I have always loved the ARRL 10 meter contest.  In 1999, I tried hard to
organize a trip to FG for this event.  Unfortunately, work and family issues
conspired to keep me at home.  Despite the fact that I blew up my amp on
Saturday morning and didn't get it fixed until Sunday morning, I made about
1750 QSO's and 400,000 points phone only from my home station.  I had a
great time, but it became clear that I was just never going to make the top
10 from my suburban lot with a tri-bander and hills to the East.  I resolved
that since 2000 was going to be the peak of the sunspot cycle, I would find
some way to compete seriously.

This article is a serialized story of my quest to compete in the 2000 ARRL
10 meter contest.  Each segment of the story covers a period of time, and I
have tried to capture my mental and emotional state as well as describing
the mechanics of my preparation for, and participation in, the contest
itself.

Your comments, hints, suggestions and questions are welcome.  You can reach
me by email at djl at andlev.com .

The table of contents for this story is at
http://my.ispchannel.com/~djl/ham/arrl10_TOC.html .

Parts 1 and 2 have been posted to date.


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