[SCCC] W6PH CaQP-SOABHP Lone Pine

[W6ph@aol.com]

                   California QSO Party

Call: W6PH
Operator(s): W6PH
Station: W6PH

Class: Single Op HP
QTH: Inyo County
Operating Time (hrs): 24

Summary:
Band  CW Qs  Ph Qs
--------------------
  160:            
   80:  150    158
   40:  305    298
   20:  331    428
   15:   84     64
   10:            
    6:            
    2:            
--------------------
Total:  870    948  Mults = 58  Total Score = 261,348

Club: 

Comments:

There is nothing like a contest to find the weak spots in your station.  I
operated from my recently constructed radio shack next to my 40 ft Rohn 25
tower.  About 15 minutes before the contest, I was making notes for setting my
LK500ZB amp on each band.  Zap, I had arcing on the 80m bandswitch.  I also 
had
low output on 15m.  I decided to swap in an SB-200 that I have had since 
1965. 
About 600 watts output on each band except 15m where I had about 250 watts
output.  (Today, I found that my TS-930S has low output on 15, so it wouldn't
drive the amplifier.)  So I didn't get started until a few minutes after the
starting gun.  During the contest, I found that my DVK-100 voice keyer had 
very
distorted audio on 20m, so I had to use my real voice there.  I had this 
problem
a couple years ago but it has been gone for two years.  During the contest, my
keyer started sending funny, heavily weighted dashes and dots, then it stayed
keyed.  I discovered that it occurred when my A3S was parallel to the shack.  
If
I turned the antenna either to the northwest or northeast, it worked fine.  I
guess some grounding is in order!!

I got my last multiplier (SD) at 0102Z although I thought NF/LAB was a 
separate
mult and picked it up during the last hour (VO1TA).  I had at least two 
stations
in every mult except YT/NWT.  VY1JA is always there though.  Thanks, Jay.  I
broke my previous Inyo County record by about 7 or 8 per cent.  "There are no
meters like 40 meters!"  I was working the east coast at 3 pm in the afternoon
with good signals.  I thought conditions on 80/75 were also very good.
N3RD had a tremendous signal on 75m, sounded like a California staion.  (He 
has
a rotary dipole at 120 feet.)

Equipment:  TS-930S (Piexx), SB-200, DVK-100, CT 9.57

Antennas:  80m- Vertical 
           40m- 40-2CD at 60 feet on a temporary mast (AB-577)
           20-15m- A3S at 40 feet

I need to work on a 160m antenna in addition to fixing the noted deficiencies.
This is a great contest.  It is equal to my operations from VP9/W6PH!

                            Kurt, W6PH/6