[CQ-Contest] K4XS (N2NL, op) SOABLP ARRL CW writeup (VERY long)
Dave Mueller
n2nl at yahoo.com
Mon Mar 5 20:01:18 EST 2001
Hi guys....I've been working on a writeup on my ARRL CW effort from K4XS =
for the past 2 weeks. Sorry it took so long - I've been real busy. =
I've written a play-by-play, no-secrets-kept story about my effort. I =
enjoy reading the writeups, I'd just like to see more of HOW it was =
done. If you're worried about giving away all your secrets, I hope you =
will rethink it. It improves competition, and helps those new to the =
game.
I hope you enjoy it....
73, Dave N2NL
=20
After every serious single op entry, I try to do a complete =
write-up afterwards. That way I have something to look back onto in the =
future, be it strategy planning or just reminiscing. As I mature as a =
contester, I look up to those who have achieved year after year, such as =
N2AA, N2NT, ETC. One of those people is Fred, K3ZO. I've read his past =
write-ups with interest, trying to pick up every little bit of knowledge =
to help me in my future efforts. Hopefully, some new contester will =
read this story, and learn a new trick, or feel inspired to achieve =
more.
Originally, I had planned to join the multi-multi effort at =
K3LR. I am an active duty member of the US Coast Guard, and =
circumstances rose where I was unable to leave South Florida for the =
ARRL CW weekend. I apologize to Tim for backing out, but it was a =
situation out of my control. I had asked Bill, K4XS, and Dan, K1TO, if =
there was interest in a multi-single effort like we had done for CQWW CW =
last year, but no one was really up to it. I mentioned interest in a =
single op effort, and in late January Bill sent me an email offering use =
of his station for a single op, low power effort. His amplifier was =
broken, so a high power effort was out of the question. I jumped at the =
chance to operate from his station.
Another downside of being in the USCG is housing: they don't consider =
antennas to be important when providing housing. As a result I'm living =
in a NO ANTENNA apartment complex. I was able to sneak some hidden =
wires on the roof and was very successful with them, however after my =
1300 QSO effort in the 10m contest, the landlord caught wind of my =
antennas after I worked just about every TV and telephone in the =
complex. So since mid December I've been QRT except the times I operate =
from K1PT's QTH 1/2-hour north. As a result, I'm forced to guest-op =
from various stations, at least until I retire a few years down the =
road. =20
Bill's station is quite a sight. He has done an amazing job =
engineering, building, and maintaining his station. I've taken some =
pictures; you can see them at www.qsl.net/n2nl. His station consists of =
three 200-foot towers. One tower holds 6/6/6/6/6/6 on 10m, and 5/5/5/5 =
on 20m. The second tower holds 6/6/6/6 on 15m. The third tower holds =
4/4 on 40m and several tribanders, which can be pointed in various =
directions for working multipliers. Between the three towers, Bill has =
an amazing array of 80m delta loops, including a 4el quad to the =
northeast, 2el southwest (sharing the reflector of the NE array), a =
northwest loop, and a sloping dipole for the Caribbean. The northeast =
quad kicks butt into Europe, beating out W4AN's 4-square every time in =
pre-contest testing. In the CQWW CW, 160m was our weakest band. He =
replaced the old vertical with a new =BC wave elevated vertical. The =
base is about 50ft high, with 12 elevated radials. He recently =
installed beverages, one NE, the other NW. As you can see, the aluminum =
he has put up is quite amazing. Even more amazing is the shack with all =
the rotator boxes. All his antennas are rotatable. That adds up to a =
lot of rotor boxes!
In the weeks leading up to the contest, I prepared the best I could. =
Dan, K1TO, let me see his log and rate sheet from his record setting LP =
effort in the 2000 ARRL CW. That turned out to be invaluable to me. =
The propagation from west central Florida is far different from the =
Northeast. Not only is it almost in the central time zone, it is an =
additional hop into Europe. Bill's station does a lot to make up for =
those disadvantages. I studied his rate sheet, to try to set as game =
plan for the weekend. =20
I set three goals for myself. #1 was to operate the entire 48 hours =
without a break. I had done it before from KH2, where it is easier. In =
Guam, 0000Z is 10AM, so you can start the contest after a full nights =
sleep. It was still painful. I figured however, that if K3WW and =
others could do it, I could do it too, especially since I'm several =
years younger (I'm 29). #2 was to break the existing SOABLP record, =
which was 3.1 million. #3 was to break 3000 QSOs. Dan made 2650 QSOs =
in his record-breaking effort operating from his home station. I =
figured 3K was attainable simply due to the additional aluminum I had at =
my disposal. =20
The week before the contest, I tried to get as much sleep as possible. =
You can't save up on sleep, but you can be well rested at the start. I =
also built a new SO2R switch, to allow me to listen to both rigs at the =
same time.
I had tried SO2R in years past but never successfully. I never figured =
out a good way to switch audio between radios into my headphones. The =
first time I operated from K1PT's QTH last year, it all "clicked" with =
me. He had a simple setup I have been very successful with since. It =
is a simple circuit, consisting of 2 SPST switches, one for each ear. =
It allows me to listen to either radio in either ear, or either radio in =
both ears. I drew up a simple schematic you can see at =
www.qsl.net/n2nl/ and it can be built with parts from Radio Shack. =20
The Friday of the contest, I woke at 7AM after getting a good 8 hours of =
sleep. I made the 4 hour drive to K4XS's, arriving at about 12:30PM. =
It allowed me plenty of time to set up. I set up 2 complete stations, =
with 2 rigs, 2 keyers, and 2 computers. It makes SO2R much easier for =
me that way. 2 computers is the key. I could have a 2nd rig QSO lined =
up, entered in the computer and ready to work, and still run stations on =
the primary radio without having to delete the info from the 2nd rig. =
Station one was an IC-775; station 2 was an IC-765. Setup went easily, =
except when it came to networking the computers. I just couldn't get =
them to "talk". After a couple hours of frustration, and when I was =
about to give up, it hit me. I had forgotten to set one up as "station =
1" and the other as "station 2". After correcting that, they were =
networked and I was good to go. By this time it was close to 4:30PM, =
and I tried lying down for a nap to prepare for the 7PM start. =
Unfortunately, I couldn't sleep. I was too excited. After about 45 =
minutes I got up and walked around, looking at the antennas, trying to =
stretch my legs since I knew I'd be sitting for a very long time. At =
2345Z, I sat down at the rig. I had everything set up around me. Run =
rig in front of my, 2nd rig off to my left, cooler with drinks and food =
off to my side. There was also a TV off to my right I could take a look =
at if I wanted. Bill said "good luck", and left for the evening. I =
checked WWV and set the clocks, and looked for a hole on 40m. I started =
at 0000z at about 7055KHz, with OL7W as the first QSO.
The contest started "OK", but the rate wasn't amazing. I had K1TO's =
breakdown sheet beside me, and was pushing myself to try to keep the =
rate up. I figured I could try to out-rate him every hour, and the =
record would be mine. I started immediately with the 2nd radio scanning =
15m, which actually didn't sound all that good. My 1st second radio QSO =
was PY3MHZ. I continued to work Europe on 40m, while scanning 15 and =
20m with the 2nd radio. The first hour ended with 82 QSOs on 40m, and =
16 2nd radio QSOs. =20
I stuck it out on 40m until 0220Z, continuing to scan the other bands =
with the 2nd radio. I didn't work anything real exotic, except 4K5CW =
and a couple UA9's who called me. I was able to pick up some easy =
multipliers with the second radio, as well as many QSOs. I worked =
everything I could find with the 2nd radio, multiplier or not. Granted, =
some of the easier stuff would be easily worked later, but by working it =
now I wouldn't have to scramble to find it later. I ended the 02Z hour =
with another 89 QSOs in the log. =20
By 0220Z, the rate had really slowed down on 40m. I figure most of =
Europe was sleeping. I had worked several loud UA9's on 20m, and moved =
there to see if there was any rate to be had. That gave me the =
opportunity to scan 40m with the 2nd radio. Although the IC-775 has a =
2nd VFO, I didn't like it and didn't touch it the entire weekend. The =
rate on 20m was slow, although AH8I and VU2TS called me for nice mults. =
At 0230 I decided to "fire-up" the 4el 80m quad for the first time. I =
was rewarded with instant rate, working a quick string of 20 QSOs. =
RX9TX was my first QSO, so I knew 80m was wide open. 4K5CW called in =
again to make it 2 bands. By 0245, the rate had slowed again, so I =
moved to 160m for the 1st time.
I CQ'ed the entire contest except for the time I spent on 160m. Due to =
the weak signals and pileups, I concentrated 100% when on topband. 160m =
is always one of my favorite bands, although it has frustrated me in =
recent years due to my limited antenna situations. I knew the band was =
good when I worked G0IVZ with one call. We didn't even hear a European =
on 160 in the CQWW CW, and here I worked one with a single call =
barefoot. It just so happens that G0IVZ was the first European EVER =
WORKED on 160 from K4XS's present location. Over the next few minutes I =
worked several more Europeans, including S5, OK, and OM. Nothing overly =
exciting, but exciting enough to me since I was running low power and it =
was still a multiplier. =20
For the rest of the evening, I switched Cqing between 40 and 80m, always =
scanning with the second radio for new QSOs and multipliers. Although =
not working anything real exotic, I was working a steady stream of =
multipliers. By 0500Z, 20m had opened back up into Asia, and I moved =
back there. I worked a string of European and Asiatic Russians, =
including EX8W and VK3IO. Meanwhile, I worked ZS4TX and OD5/OK1MU with =
the 2nd radio on 40. A second excursion to 160m brought T48K, HG6N, =
RW2F, and a few other new ones. =20
I tried some short CQ's on the other bands, but 20m was the only thing =
going at the time. From 0545-0730 I hung out there at about 14045KHz, =
working mostly Eastern Europe. We can't thank enough the huge activity =
in every contest from our counterparts in Eastern Europe. I think they =
are the primary reason for the record scores we've been seeing. They =
seem to be an endless source of QSOs. =20
At 0730 I knew I had to get back to 40m for EU sunrise. =
>From 0730 until 0945 I stayed there. 40m was amazing. I was working =
deep Europe several hours past their sunrise. I was running them all =
night at about 60-70/hr, supplemented with QSOs on the 2nd radio. =20
I'm most worried about being tired between the 09-11z hours. =
This is the time most of us on the East Coast are sleeping, and the =
time the body is at its deepest part of the sleep cycle. I was yawning, =
but the rate kept things interesting and as a result I never really felt =
tired. By 10Z, 20m was wide open, and I had a great run going which =
kept me busy. I ended up with 135 QSOs during the 10Z hour. I'd never =
seen anything like it before. I always remembered that hour as one of =
the slowest hour of the contest. Not this year, and not from K4XS. =
Bill says he is "king" on 20 and 40m, and I believe him. His 4 stack on =
20 really played. =20
By the 11Z hour, things get interesting on the East Coast. =
15m starts to open to Europe, and the low bands open to Asia. I had =
planned on running JA's on 40m at this time, but 20m was rocking and =
rolling into Europe. While running that band, I took one last listen on =
80m, working KH6/W6PH, VK4EMM, and JA7YAA. JA7YAA was quite a struggle, =
required several tries, but finally he heard me. I went up to 15m, and =
heard guys in the Northeast were already working Europe I couldn't hear =
yet. I tuned the band, working a few loud Europeans, but 20m was still =
the place to be. At 1145Z, I made the move to 15m, and made my 1000th =
QSO. The rate was incredible. The band opened quickly and I had the =
"prefect run". I'd only have one or two callers every time, so I could =
pull out a complete call just about every time. During this time, a =
friend of mine in Europe recorded me from his end. There's a 3 =BD =
minute wav file I posted you can listen to at the above listed web =
address. During this time I listened to 10m, waiting for it open, and =
worked the occasional 2nd rig QSO. =20
By this time, SO2R had really clicked with me. I had it =
down really well. I had the monitor gain turned way down on the CQ rig, =
allowing me to concentrate on the 2nd rig while transmitting on the 1st. =
Once I had a 2nd radio QSO lined up, I'd pause long enough to call, =
then send a quick CQ, then pause to send the exchange. If I was =
running, I'd wait until I was timed right, then send my call (by pushing =
the F4 key) while receiving the exchange from the station I was working =
on the 1st radio. I'd send QRZ while the 2nd radio guy sent me his =
exchange, and then send my exchange (F2 key) while copying the next =
caller on the 1st rig. This worked out well for me with a few =
exceptions when I left the 2nd radio guy hanging (sorry!) until I =
finished transmitting on the Cqing radio. =20
I made the move to 10m at 1200Z, with 96 QSOs for the =
1100-hour. With 12 hours gone in the contest, I had been awake for a =
full 24 hours already, but worked 1180 QSOs and 276 multipliers. I was =
well ahead of K1TO's numbers from the previous year, but knew I had to =
keep it up. The next 2 hours were just amazing on 10m. 164/hr followed =
by a 150/hr. It was some of the best rates I ever had, even from Guam. =
10m was wide open, and I worked several UA9's. At 1417z, a very loud =
JA3YBK called in on 10m LP, which caught me off guard. I kept my ear =
open for VR2BG who always seems to find the 10m LP opening, but he never =
called in. I think he was there though, after reading other writeups. =
It was probably a result of being low power. Yes, I was probably one of =
the louder stations on the band, but not one of the "beacons" such as =
W3LPL, KC1XX, or K3LR. I worked 10m until 1455Z, when I moved back to =
15m. VQ9IO rewarded me as my first caller. The rest of the morning I =
swapped back and forth between 10 and 15m, again not working anything =
super exotic, but the mults kept coming in. I found a very weak and =
watery T32RD on 15m at 1618Z, and quickly he was in the log.
During the noon hours and early afternoon, the rate wasn't =
amazing, yet stayed on the 60's. I kept pushing the 2nd rig, working =
about 20 QSOs an hour on that rig. I started running into some packet =
pileups, including TF3GB on 10m. By this time I had discovered a trick, =
which helped out immensely in the pileups. I'd hear 8 or 9 guys calling =
at once, but they were all zero beat. I'd set the RIT off a few HZ, and =
call. Since I would be the only guy calling slightly off frequency, my =
tone would be different from everyone else, and I'd win in the pile. I =
learned this first while at KH2. It was frustrating while on the =
receiving end of a pileup - dozens of guys calling all zero beat, all =
the same strength. I'd always listen to the edges, picking up the =
callers who were slightly off frequency, even when they were weaker than =
the rest. I left the 2nd radio's RIT set a few hz off the entire =
weekend, and it was very successful for me. I busted several pileups, =
beating even the "big boys". =20
The afternoons in Florida are very slow times in a DX =
contest. 10/15m are on the way out, and absorption is way too high on =
20m to work anything. It is frustrating to listen to W1's work =
Europeans on 20m we can't hear, but there's nothing we can do about it. =
We make up for it into Asia. The W4's were always the loudest into KH2 =
on almost all the bands, especially 40 and 80m. The problem is that =
there isn't any activity out there. For the remainder of the afternoon, =
I pushed on, supplementing with the 2nd radio, to keep the rate up in =
the 60's all afternoon. Later in the afternoon 15 and 10m opened to =
South America, giving me something new to work and new multipliers to be =
had.=20
By this time, Bill had returned home and was impressed by =
the totals. I was well on my way to breaking the record. I started to =
feel like crap however. My body was starting to protest all the hours =
in the chair. It helped to stand up, and operate standing or kneeling =
in front of the radio. I tried anything to get my lanky 6'4" body into =
a different position to stretch out. By 2200Z, I had 2084 QSOs and 346 =
multipliers in the log. I had not gotten out of the operating chair for =
more than a minute. Here's another "detail". I don't drink coffee, =
however I'm a big fan of Diet Coke. I drank them through the night so =
the caffeine would help me stay awake. I've tried doing the health =
food thing, without much success. I have the most luck when I eat the =
foods my body is used to eating (junk food nut). Anyway, back to the =
Diet Cokes. There's a by-product to drinking all those soft drinks. In =
order to prevent loosing my run frequency, I had an empty Big Gulp cup I =
used to relieve myself so I didn't have to step away from the radio. =
During a slow time, I'd push the "F1" key to send a long CQ and run to =
the adjoining bathroom to empty the cup. That way I never lost a =
possibly QSO, and never stepped away from the radio with the auto CQ =
function engaged (which I believe is unethical). I told you I was =
serious!
By 2200, I had noticed 15 and 10m were opening nicely into =
Asia. I made the mode to 10m and worked a nice string of JA's. ZL2BR =
called in for the mult, and I worked OA7/NB3I on 15m with the 2nd rig. =
I stuck it out on 10m until the 00z hour. The band was wide open to =
Asia, but I worked few multipliers. DS2BSK called in for a nice one. I =
wonder why there seems to be such little activity out of Korea. I =
worked hundreds of them in contests from my KH2 days, and you would =
think that they would be easier to work than they are, even from the =
East Coast. =20
At the halfway point, I had 2200 QSOs in the log. I was =
well ahead of the record setting pace from K1TO the previous year. I =
figured I had a shot at 4.5 million points. Before the contest, I spoke =
on the phone with TO. Dan joked to me that if I broke his record, it =
wouldn't be as impressive unless I eclipsed it by 50%, the amount he =
surpassed the original record. So, at the halfway point, I set my final =
goal at 4.5 million.
I started the 2nd 24 hours on 40m. The rate was extremely =
slow. C6AKP called in for a mult. Dick is a friend and fellow FCGer =
and I realized I needed C6 on 15m. I asked him to move, and he did to =
finish up C6 on all 6 bands. During the previous 24 hours, I had =
attempted to move multipliers although I was mostly unsuccessful. =
Either I'd get a flat out "NO" or they wouldn't reply to my request. It =
was extremely frustrating. Since I was usually running high in the =
band, I figure these stations had been asked over and over again to move =
by the time they called me, and were tired of doing it. =20
40m was lousy. The band had gone long, so I moved down to =
80m. It sounded like all the single ops were there, so I felt it was =
the right thing to do. The rate picked up a little bit, but conditions =
definitely seemed down from the previous night. PA5WT called in for the =
mult - those PA's seemed to be everywhere this year. The next hour and =
a half I ran on 80m, and hunted the other bands for additional QSOs. =
The multipliers were coming slowly however. =20
At 0200z, I listened to 160m, working three stations =
including OH0PM who was a multiplier. 160 was far worse than the =
previous evening. A cold front had just passed through, and the band =
was extremely noisy, unlike the previous night. I heard several =
multipliers I needed, but called to no avail. I quickly went back to =
80m, tuning 40m with the 2nd rig now that 20m had shut down. I snagged =
EX8W on 40, while Z31MM and OE2S called in on 80. Later I found and =
worked D68C and UP4L on 40. By 0300Z, 20m started showing signs of =
life. I snagged D68C, and started CQing after finding a hole. In =
between a sting of Russians and JA's, a weak UK8UDX called in, then =
FR5FD. The rate was really slow, however, and at 0525 I moved back to =
40 to try to take advantage of European sunrise. The next several hours =
I stuck it out on 40. The rate was dreadfully slow.. in the 40/hr =
range. About every hour or so I made a sweep of 160m. Every time I =
heard new mults I needed, but conditions seemed way down from the =
previous night and my efforts were frustration filled although I =
eventually worked GJ3YHU and V47KP.
Staying awake was getting difficult. It was time to break =
out the secret weapons. By this time Diet Coke wasn't producing the =
"kick" it used to. I supplemented it with a couple no-doze tablets. I =
know many contesters say never to use it, but that is them, and I'm =
going to use what helps me. Shortly after I woke right up and was good =
to go. It tore up my stomach though. I had not really eaten anything =
by this time, except for some fruit, crackers, and other munchies. =
Another problem that developed was some backaches from all the hours of =
being seated. I had a bottle of Tylenol, which helped that problem. I =
continued to switch positions to keep from getting too drowsy and too =
uncomfortable. Bill had three different chairs in the operating room, =
and I constantly switched from chair to chair. One of the chairs is an =
"ergonomic" chair - the type to don't really sit in, but kneel on. That =
really helped me. My legs were starting to cramp up and changing =
positions helped with that.
At 0800z, I was still pounding out the QSOs, slowly but =
steadily. Europe was still coming in on 40. By 0900Z JA's started to =
replace the European callers. At 0935 I surpassed K1TO's QSO total of =
2655 from the previous year. I hoped for a 20m opening like the =
previous day, but it never developed. The band was about as dead as it =
could be. It gave me the opportunity to search for Asian multipliers on =
40m, which I was unable to do the previous day. I found and worked my =
good friend Jun, WH0V, as well as AC4G/KH9. I also tracked down a ZL, =
which I still needed. =20
Fortunately, at 10Z, 20m finally opened back up to Europe. =
The rate was slower than the previous day, although it was faster than I =
suffered through the night. Among the Europeans, Brett VR2BG finally =
found me and called in. At 1120, I switched the 2nd radio to 15m. I =
immediately heard a signal, and quickly worked TZ6DX without moving the =
dial. Meanwhile HS0/G3NOM called me on 20. Things were getting =
interesting as the sun rose above the horizon, which always is a boost =
to help me stay awake. 15m finally opened up at 1130Z, and I started a =
decent run there. The next hour had a half, I ran on 15m while making =
the occasional 2nd radio QSO on 10m. My QSO total was lacking on 15m so =
I figured the best rate and chance for multipliers calling in was on =
that band. EX2M and A45XR called in for new ones. While tuning very =
high on 10m, I found GJ2A and TA2BK. =20
By 1300Z, I made the move to 10m, and started scanning 20m =
for Asia. I worked a loud YB0ECT, followed by JT1CO and BV7FF. BV7FF =
was weak, but he heard me right away. K4XS's 20m array rocks! During =
this time, there was some confusion on 10m. W3BGN ended up just above =
me. He didn't hurt my rate, but after a few minutes I heard VQ9IO. I =
assumed he was calling me, but it turns out he was actually calling BGN =
slightly off frequency. I called VQ9IO directly, and he came back to me =
with a report. I'm not sure if W3BGN ever did work him, but I hope I =
didn't steal a multiplier away from Steve. At 1442Z, I hit 3000 QSOs, =
and had completed 2 of my 3 initial goals. I was still working toward =
4.5 million, although slowly.
At 1458Z, IS0OMH called in on 10m. Although I had a bunch =
of IS0's on 10, I still needed one on 15. I had tried moving several =
without luck. I tried moving him, and he said, "OK". I attempted =
moving him to 21150 kHz, nice and high in the band. Little did I =
realize this was a beacon frequency, and upon calling him there, I =
promptly got chased off by someone. It's the first time I've even been =
run off a frequency by the beacon police! I never did successfully move =
him, but just below 21150 I found and worked TA3BN for another new one. =
10m continued to be the place to me. 9K9C called me, but he =
said "later" when I asked him to move. At 1600, 10m had really slowed =
down and I moved down to 15m. It allowed me to scan 10m with the 2nd =
rig, and I found TZ6DX there. P3A called in on 15m, followed by IS0UWX, =
which finally gave me my IS0 mult for that band. The rate had really =
slowed down, into the typical late morning/early afternoon W4 =
conditions. 10/15m slow, and the absorption on 20. =20
By Sunday morning I still had not really eaten anything. I =
was extremely hungry. Bill came in and told me that I looked like crap =
(thanks!). He did me a big favor and picked up a sandwich for me while =
running some errands. He got me a big, 7-eleven turkey sub. Uh oh. I =
heard turkey puts you to sleep, but it was all he could find. I was =
hungry, so I slammed it down anyway. I immediately felt sick, and =
thought I was going to have to throw up. That was followed by a spell =
where I was immensely tired. I was close to quitting by this point, but =
I stuck it out since I had made it as far as I did. =20
In the early afternoon, I had started seeing things, and =
having odd thoughts. I imagine it was almost like tripping on acid. A =
high derived from a lack of sleep. I imagined that all these little =
creatures - callsigns - lived in a long tube. The radio gave me access =
to this tube. As I turned the dial to the right, I moved down the tube =
to the right, and vice versa. When I came across one of these creatures =
I still needed, I'd call and work it. My run radio was similar. I was =
one of those creatures in the tube, with others calling me. It was just =
so amazing.. some person in a room on the other side of the world was =
listening to ME, and calling ME. It felt like such an honor to be =
called by them. I was really tripping. =20
Visually, I wasn't overly effected, with one exception. The =
sub VFO on the 775 was like a melting stick of butter. It was drooping =
and spongy. The rate was slowing and imagination intensifying, and =
caffeine doing nothing. Fortunately in the early afternoon, I was able =
to turn on the TV and watch the Daytona 500. =20
I'm a big NASCAR fan, and watching the race reinvigorated =
me. During this time I somewhat ignored the 2nd radio. By this time I =
was getting very frustrated with it anyway, since it seemed as if I had =
worked everyone already. It was almost as if there were a limited =
number of active stations, and I had worked everyone. I had a large =
number of stations I had already worked on 4 or 5 bands. Obviously with =
the big M/M scores there were thousands of QSOs still to be had, but in =
my little world, I had already worked just about everything I found. =20
Also during this time I had my one-and-only frequency fight, =
which itself was anticlimactic. I was frustrated finding a run =
frequency on 15m. During the contest, I wouldn't even look at the lower =
20 kHz of the band for a hole. This one time I started from the bottom, =
and discovered 21000.8 was wide open. I started CQing and working =
stations. It was cool.. low power and running band edge. After a =
couple minutes and 6 QSOs, KC1XX started CQing zero beat, directly on =
top of me. That REALLY upset me, especially in my present state of =
mind. I told him to QSY, and he made a short comment I didn't catch =
("HI" I think) and slid up a few Hz, still pretty close, and continued =
to CQ. The 775 has sharp filters and I continued working guys, =
including CT9L for a mult, so I stuck at it. I could hear him off to =
the side, sometimes weak, sometimes crushing loud. I think he was just =
pointing in different directions while CQing instead of trying to run me =
off the frequency though. By 1940Z the band was about toast, and I =
moved to 20m, which had opened back up finally. =20
On 20, I found a nice hole up around 14045, slightly below =
K1DG and hung out there while watching the race. Occasionally I'd make =
a sweep with the 2nd radio, and I found HP1AC on 10 that way. The race =
was one of the best I've ever seen, and it took away all my tiredness. =
I had the volume turned all the way down so the sound wouldn't disturb =
me. I saw Dale Earnhardts wreck on the last lap and my heart just sunk. =
Although not a fan of his, the wreck looked real bad and I knew =
something was wrong by the way the rescue people were working on the =
car. I wouldn't find out until the next morning that the wreck was =
fatal. He owns a house about a mile up the road from where I live and =
it hit me pretty hard although I never met him in person.
Back to the contest, things were still pretty slow. I =
realized I wouldn't make it to the 4.5 million goal, but when the race =
was over I worked it as hard as possible to make the best possible =
score. At 2230, I moved to 40m where I finished out the contest. A =
string of multipliers called in the last hour on 40, including JY, GU, =
IS, and 5B. My last 2nd radio QSO was ZF1A at 2339z, on 10m. Close-in =
Caribbean multipliers are extremely difficult to work on the higher =
bands. I had been trying to work a ZF all weekend on 10, without luck. =
I finally worked him back scatter by pointing the entire 10m stack away =
from him. At the 0000Z, I listened to the great scores on 3830, ate =
dinner, and went to sleep at 9PM local after being awake for 62 hours =
straight. =20
I finished the contest with 3422 QSOs, 421 multipliers, for =
4,314,408 points. It surpassed my wildest expectations. K4XS's station =
is simply incredible, the conditions were awesome, making for a great =
record breaking effort. In hind site I could have improved somewhat. I =
still need to refine my SO2R skills. I probably tuned the bands too =
slowly with the 2nd radio, missing valuable multipliers. I should have =
attempted to move multipliers more often. I think I could have added =
another couple hundred thousand to my overall score, but I'm totally =
satisfied with the result.
I hope this is enjoyable and worth your time to read. =
Hopefully someone, somewhere, learned something by reading this, just as =
I learn by reading the write ups of others. Congratulations to KQ2M and =
W4PA (@K5ZD) for their HP efforts, KI1G's amazing QSO total (being a =
rare mult is cool, isn't it!), and W4AN for taking the MS category from =
4 land. And finally, a big, big thanks to K4XS for opening his doors =
for me, K1TO for all the tips and inspiration, and the entire Florida =
Contest Group for welcoming me to South Florida with open arms.
=20
73, Dave N2NL
=20
=20
=20
ARRL INTERNATIONAL DX CONTEST -- 2001
=20
=20
Call: K4XS (N2NL, op)
Category: Single Operator
Power: Low Power=20
Band: All Band
Mode: CW=20
Section: FL
=20
BAND QSO QSO PTS PTS/Q COUNTRIES
=20
=20
160 39 117 3.0 31
80 230 690 3.0 57
40 722 2157 3.0 80
20 870 2604 3.0 87
15 702 2106 3.0 81
10 859 2574 3.0 85
--------------------------------------
=20
Totals 3422 10248 3.0 421 =3D 4,314,408
All reports sent were 59(9), unless otherwise noted.
Equipment Description:
Club Affiliation: Florida Contest Group
=20
This is to certify that in this contest I have operated
my transmitter within the limitations of my license and have
observed fully the rules and regulations of the contest.
=20
=20
Signature _________________________________
=20
MAILING ADDRESS:
Dave Mueller N2NL
3100 Hermosa Way Apt 106
Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410
BREAKDOWN QSO/mults K4XS ARRL INTERNATIONAL DX CONTEST Single =
Operator
HOUR 160 80 40 20 15 10 HR TOT CUM =
TOT =20
0 ..... ..... 82/25 10/10 6/6 ..... 98/41 =
98/41=20
1 . . 67/9 14/9 8/4 . 89/22 =
187/63=20
2 7/7 25/18 25/5 14/4 . . 71/34 =
258/97=20
3 2/2 34/10 29/3 6/4 . . 71/19 =
329/116
4 3/3 6/3 26/1 27/5 . . 62/12 =
391/128
5 8/6 11/3 7/4 35/4 . . 61/17 =
452/145
6 1/1 9/6 4/2 81/11 . . 95/20 =
547/165
7 3/2 3/2 58/3 26/2 . . 90/9 =
637/174
8 3/1 7/4 54/4 3/1 ..... ..... 67/10 =
704/184
9 2/2 . 54/2 25/3 . . 81/7 =
785/191
10 . 1/1 3/3 131/8 . . 135/12 =
920/203
11 . 1/1 7/2 40/1 46/23 2/2 96/29 =
1016/232
12 . . . . 21/10 143/34 164/44 =
1180/276
13 . . . . 25/8 125/3 150/11 =
1330/287
14 . . . . 19/5 97/3 116/8 =
1446/295
15 . . . . 93/3 27/5 120/8 =
1566/303
16 ..... ..... ..... ..... 49/1 35/3 84/4 =
1650/307
17 . . . 20/1 65/2 2/1 87/4 =
1737/311
18 . . . 13/2 74/1 8/4 95/7 =
1832/318
19 . . . 22/1 25/0 19/12 66/13 =
1898/331
20 . . . 67/0 . 6/3 73/3 =
1971/334
21 . . . 53/4 6/5 1/0 60/9 =
2031/343
22 . . 2/0 . 12/2 39/1 53/3 =
2084/346
23 . 5/1 12/0 2/1 . 48/2 67/4 =
2151/350
0 ..... 6/1 29/1 6/3 3/1 7/0 51/6 =
2202/356
1 1/0 41/1 15/0 6/1 . . 63/2 =
2265/358
2 2/1 20/2 25/2 . . . 47/5 =
2312/363
3 3/3 10/0 11/1 12/2 . . 36/6 =
2348/369
4 1/1 1/1 14/2 21/2 . . 37/6 =
2385/375
5 . 11/2 12/0 23/1 . . 46/3 =
2431/378
6 1/0 31/1 13/0 . . . 45/1 =
2476/379
7 1/1 7/0 48/1 . . . 56/2 =
2532/381
8 1/1 ..... 36/2 ..... ..... ..... 37/3 =
2569/384
9 . . 28/2 1/0 . . 29/2 =
2598/386
10 . . 3/2 44/2 . . 47/4 =
2645/390
11 . . . 28/1 25/2 1/0 54/3 =
2699/393
12 . . . . 44/1 53/2 97/3 =
2796/396
13 . . . 2/2 26/0 57/2 85/4 =
2881/400
14 . . . 1/1 6/0 64/3 71/4 =
2952/404
15 . . . . 2/1 73/1 75/2 =
3027/406
16 ..... ..... ..... ..... 46/1 13/1 59/2 =
3086/408
17 . . . 4/0 51/3 8/0 63/3 =
3149/411
18 . . . 1/0 21/0 25/1 47/1 =
3196/412
19 . . . 21/0 21/1 1/0 43/1 =
3239/413
20 . . . 53/0 . 1/1 54/1 =
3293/414
21 . . . 44/0 . . 44/0 =
3337/414
22 . . 32/0 14/1 8/1 1/0 55/2 =
3392/416
23 . 1/0 26/4 . . 3/1 30/5 =
3422/421
DAY1 29/24 102/49 430/63 589/71 449/70 552/73 ..... =
2151/350
DAY2 10/7 128/8 292/17 281/16 253/11 307/12 . =
1271/71=20
TOT 39/31 230/57 722/80 870/87 702/81 859/85 . =
3422/421
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