[Fourlanders] Contest Summary

[w4zst at windstream.net]

We made it up and we made it back!  A little rain on Friday during set-up and some again on Saturday, but most of the time we were in the clouds and the leaves dripped off the condensation sounding just like rain most of the time.  Very Damp weekend.  But we got everything set up and taken down and did the contest in between and had a good time and actually some good band conditions for a change too.

I haven't finished scrutinizing the logs, but we appear to be at 90k points.  Not our best and not our worst and thank goodness, not another record low like we've been having.

Band       Q's      Grids
50          169        47
144        154        61
222         43         27
432         66         32
Total      432        167  making around 90k points

A great showing on the upper bands.  2m had more Q's than 6 for most of the contest.  This is typical of what happens when 6m is not wide open; the single ops are more likely to get on the other bands when 6 isn't jumping!  We missed the first 3 or 4 hours of the contest on 222 and still came up with 43 Q's and 27 grids there, which looks mighty good.

We got a lot more GA grids than usual too as Steve N2CEI was roving from N to S down the state for the contest.  We worked on all four bands in 8 of 10 grids he visited.  don't know why we missed him in the other two.

The major problem with equipment was caused by me bringing a different IF radio for the 222 station and not paying attention.  It turned out we had to change the IF frequency and after a number of phone calls, texts and looking on the 'net, we finally figured out what to do.  Thanks to NX9O at home for helping out with that.  I take full responsibility for the lapse on my part and much thanks to Bill KI4US for being the 222 operating band captain after I finally got it all squared away and helping me with the fix while we were looking for the solution.

We had another problem with a beam/omni switch on 2m.  Seems that no one makes one that will hold up on 2m with power.  After wiring it out, things were OK.  The K3 did require rebooting several times though.  Doesn't seem to want to make it thru the contest.

Another problem we had was with WriteLog and the computers again.  WL sometimes seems to have a mind of it's own and does stuff we don't want to do, both the station computers and the WL server.  Ron is continuing to work on that problem.  Accurate time did not appear to be a problem for this contest, but I think we really only made one WSJT contact anyway.

We did also have problems with our internet connections.  the antenna connector on Bill's AirCard broke and he finally got everything going using Jack's phone data service and his laptop to get us on 3/4G.  Thanks again to Bill for figuring it out and working hard to find a solution.

The new trailer worked out quite well, except maybe for getting it turned around when we were leaving.  The kitchen and 6m seemed to share it well.  I really liked it for the kitchen this time.  Somewhat more room to work and accessing the storage was much easier.

It turned out that I brought enough food too.  There were seldom any leftovers and those that were didn't last long at the next meal anyway!!  I brought BBQ Pork and Brisket, TexasBeans and Potato Salad from a new BBQ place in Dahlonega called Hickory Prime.  They are on 52 West at Auraria Rd where the original Smokin Gold was located.  The group went through that for supper on Friday night like a buzz saw.  One sandwich of Pork and one helping of beans was all that was left!!

Saturday breakfast was Scrambled Eggs, Bacon and Potato Cakes.  Lunch was Hot dogs with chili and slaw and Chips.  Dinner was my scratch made spaghetti sauce, noodles, salad and garlic bread.  Not much left over there either.

Sunday breakfast was Pancakes & Sausage Patties, Lunch was Turkey/Ham/Cheese sandwiches and chips and Sunday dinner was Johnsonville Brats and Italian Sausage, grilled peppers and onions, Hot German Potato Salad and slaw.  Again it was decimated!  Monday breakfast was Sausage, Egg and Cheese biscuits in the microwave and coffee.  Thanks to Kos for donating the built-in type microwave which is now 'built-in' in the new trailer.  This sure saves me from having to tote the other microwave out of the shack for the contest and back.  Thanks to Charlotte for helping me some by making the salad on Saturday night and Kim for helping me get the spaghetti sauce started.  Jim helped with the Monday morning breakfast.  Charlotte also brought us some cookies and brownies for desserts and Kim brought industrial size containers of peanuts and 'GoldFish' for the enjoyment of the group.  Some missed Scott's usual late night chips and Salsa as he wasn't able to be with us this time.

Thanks to all the band captains; Johnny K4SQC on 6m and got it all set-up just right for his first time and Kos N4NIA on 2m, who ended up having to go back to work Friday night after he got things set up and came back on Saturday morning.  Corporate America just doesn't seem to be able to keep the contests high on their calendars and it infringes on our contest time!!  I (W4ZST) set up 222 (after my mistake was overcome) and Ron WW8RR brought the 432 station.  We had the usual stacked pairs on each band, with a 4 antenna H-frame on 432.  All stations also had omni antennas except for 222 which had the usual small vertical beam for 223.500.

Thanks to all the operators;  Jim W4KXY, Kim WG8S, Paul W4SKI, Ivan K4VJM, Bill KI4US, Jim WE8W and Jack K5FSE.  Not our biggest crew, but things worked out well with enough of us to set up and take down in the usual times and enough folks operating for the four stations.

Thanks to those who helped me out unloading the heavy stuff when we got back to my place.  We also hung up the tents to dry and emptied all the coolers.  

Another successful contest on the mountain and Jim has made our reservations for both the contests next year as the campground has finally let us book that far in advance.  Be sure to make you plans for those dates next year and I'll again host the January VHF contest at my QTH.

The generator ran just fine for the contest and about the usual 40 gallons of fuel.  Cost for full time ops for camping and fuel sharing was $52.00.  Cost for full time food (8meals) was $35.00.  That and spending some $$ for gas to get there and back makes for a reasonable weekend I think.  I know I'd probably have spent more than that if I had stayed at home!!

Thanks again to all who participated, setting up and taking down, band captains and operators (and telephone support!).   73, Bob