[SCCC] N6WIN 2012 ARRL FD 1E LP

[Timothy Coker]

Pictures of the event, SH5 Analysis, etc. can be found here:

http://www.n6win.com/index_files/FieldDay2012.htm

Also, old SCCC postings that I made, the NAQP CW history file that KQ6ES
made, etc. can be found here:

http://www.n6win.com/index_files/sccc.htm

Please let me know what you think of the website... it's been something I
have been working on for the past two days. I would like helpful critique
and comments.

73,

Tim / N6WIN.

On Sun, Jul 1, 2012 at 9:19 AM, Timothy Coker <n6win73 at gmail.com> wrote:

>                     ARRL Field Day
>
> Call: N6WIN
> Operator(s): N6WIN K6ZZ WA6KEK W2IJ
> Station: N6WIN
>
> Class: 1E LP
> QTH: ORG
> Operating Time (hrs): 24
>
> Summary:
>  Band  CW Qs  Ph Qs  Dig Qs
> ----------------------------
>   160:
>    80:    79    38
>    40:   226   343
>    20:   484   173
>    15:   367   239
>    10:
> ----------------------------
> Total:  1156   793    1949  Total Score = 6,556
>
> Club: Southern California Contest Club
>
> Comments:
>
> Last year we were battling the heat of our local desert with rattlesnakes
> visiting those who dared relieve themselves outside of the trailers in the
> evening. This year we decided to take a break from camping in the desert.
> The
> question became, where shall we go? The answer, let's simulate that an
> earthquake has knocked out power for the transmitters at the shack (oh and
> we'll try to contact as many as possible and exchange categories and
> sections,
> because that's what we would do right?). :)
>
> We decided that we would make this a multi-single 1E entry using two K3's
> at
> N6WIN's home QTH. We would use two K3's with interlock hardware (old WRTC
> style) to test our teamwork skills.
>
> We used N6WIN's toy hauler as a transmitter power source and sleeping
> quarters.
> Four Trojan T105's fed by 385 of solar panels provided our power source.
> Alan's,
> WA6KEK, Honda EU2000 provided an ability to top off the batteries just
> before
> sunset and after the neighbors were awake after sunrise. I learned that two
> K3's (one signal transmitted at a time) could be powered by the trailer's
> internal battery / solar supply for an entire Field Day operation if I am
> willing to let the battery bank discharge as low as 60% reserve capacity.
>
> Bob, K6ZZ brought over an A3S driven element with 40m add on kit for
> installation at 60' on my mast, replacing an existing A3WS. This new
> antenna
> was run in parallel with the booms of my other antennas in order to cover
> the
> Pacific North-West. A Stack Match was installed to allow switching between
> 10-40m antennas or multiple-direction transmitting while running on radio
> A.
> When switching between my main yagis oriented at 60 degrees and the A3S
> driven
> element we consistently witnessed a 2-3 S-unit increase in signal heard
> from
> the Pacific North-West. (This setup will stay for my future contesting
> use).
>
> Tina, KJ6JET, cooked for us throughout the weekend. Her cooking really
> added
> morale boost to the guys as they'd be relieved in pairs to eat. It provided
> each operator with some much needed refueling and social time with the
> headsets
> off.
>
> Jay, W2IJ, came back from vacation a couple days early in order to join
> us. He
> has mentored me and designed, built, and / or helped install much of the
> hardware here.
>
> The W3NQN filters and some home brewed stubs for 40m-15m allowed us to
> have no
> noticeable interstation interference (except on the harmonics).
>
> The only hardware issue that we had was an audio ground loop between both
> K3's
> headphone output. This occurred because I had installed a couple of
> Dunestar
> 842's to allow each operator to hear left, right, both, or mixed audio. I
> should have installed a couple of transistors in each audio box to break
> the
> shield lines or strapped both K3's chassis together as a band aid fix.
>
> All in all we had a great time working together as a team on Friday and
> during
> the event. Bob even commented that Alan didn't seem like a newbie to
> contest
> style operating (Alan was a GOTA op with us last Field Day). That is a huge
> part of why I like Field Day... something not so competitive that we can
> bring
> less experienced guys along for the ride and see them improve.
>
> 73,
>
> Tim / N6WIN.
>
> Operating Equipment:
>
> Two Elecraft K3's with interlock box
> Two Dunestar 842 audio sharing boxes
> W3NQN band pass filters
> Two Top Ten band decoders steering an AS Sixpack
> AS Stack Match for the A3S driven element on radio A
>
> Two computers with Wintest and Winkeyer's attached
>
> LM354HD 54' Tower
> Force 12 C31XR
> Cushcraft XM240
> A3S driven element (40-10m for NW)
> 80m inverted-v
> 160m inverted-L