[SCCC] 2009 Ohio QSO Party

[RGrubic at aol.com]

2009 Ohio QSO Party 
[Filed in  Panama] 
Call: HP3/NC6Q 
Operator: NC6Q 
Station: HP3/NC6Q  portable 
Class: High  Power 
QTH: Boquete, Chiriqui Province,  Panama 
Operating Time: 8 1/2 hours (hey,  I’m on vacation!) 
Mode: CW 
Summary: 
Band   QSOs   Mult 
___________________ 
80: 
40:     10     8 
20:       5     5 
15: 
10: 
___________________ 
Total:   15     13 
Total Points:  390 
Club: Southern California Contest  Club 
Comments: 
A portable station with a G5RV  antenna up in the backyard in an inverted-v 
at 35 ft (with help of EZ Hang  slingshot to sling the rope and pulley over 
the 50 ft tree). Tried the  recommended 10 meters on the even hours (UTC) 
and 15 on the odd hours, but never  heard anything from here; even called CQ 
for 5 minutes each time. Several hours  with no propagation on any bands. 
Twenty meters picked up for a while in the  afternoon then 40m was the work 
horse for the rest of the night. Heard several  stations on 80m during the 
last hour (10 to 11 pm local time), but they could  not hear me so I went back 
to 40. A CW filter would have helped in my little  Kenwood TS-50. Luckily, 
no storms came through the whole day to require me to  disconnect the 
antenna.. 
I have the usual beginner's comment  that cw speeds were just too fast for 
me. Had to listen and copy pieces at a  time with QRM and QSB to get my 
anticipated exchange. That took a lot of time.  (I felt like an SWL.) If a 
station would only have sent their NR or County twice  (as several did), I could 
have called them sooner or even worked them on the  first try (to my benefit 
and theirs)! Some stations immediately slowed down  to match my sending 
speed (about 17 wpm) others replied at 25 to 30+ wpm. (I  know, I have to get 
faster.) I realized then a useful piece of  equipment for a contester (for a 
fast operator) would be to have two keyers  at two different speeds, 
switchable for the occasion. I learned a lot and had  fun in all the preparation. 
First time I ever used my Logikey K-5 keyer's auto  serial number 
incrementing. Just the very preparation for a contest helps  you learn more about your 
gear and what it'll do. Beat my last year's score from here  substantially! 
hi Too bad I didn't hear my hometown county of Lorain in  there. 
Cambio y fuera (over and  out)