[SCCC] 2023 ARRL January VHF

[Steve Harrison]

Call: K0XP
Operator: K0XP
Station: K0XP
Class: SO 3 Band LP
QTH: OR
Operating Time (hrs): 18+

Summary:
  Band  QSOs  Mults
-------------------
     6:     0      0
     2:     0      0
   432:     0      0
-----------------------
Total:     0      0
Total Score = 0

Club: Southern California Contest Club
Radio: FT-991A
Antenna(s): 6m: 40m Loop, Ant. Tuner
             2m: 13B2, Armstrong rotor w/gloves, 10' high
Power: Solar-recharged six 105 A-Hr UT1300 Batteries

Steve Harrison (K0XP)
k0xp at k0xp.com, shk0xp at gmail.com
Twentynine Palms, CA 92277
U.S.A

Well, that was interesting... NOT. As promised earlier this week, I got on for the contest; but... I CQed until my fingers were blue on both 6m and 2m but to no avail at all. Even got up at sunrise Sunday morning, hoping to catch some scatter on 50.090; but nothing heard. I was using my fullsize 40m triangular loop through a tuner on 6m, and heard a KI6 in a QSO on 50.090 an hour or so before the contest started, so the rig was definitely working, but never heard anything afterward. Heard lots of phone activity on 144.200 from both the LA/OR areas as well as plenty from Arizona; but nobody would answer my CW CQs, and I never heard anyone at all on CW. It was all but impossible to understand anyone on SSB at all, but I didn't even hear anyone on SSB responding to my CW. Also heard lots of digital activity down on 144.175, a lot of it as loud or louder than the voice traffic; but if you can hear digital signals, you can work easily on voice/CW, so I don't know why there was no CW activity at all in SoCal/AZ. Almost all of the digital schtuff seemed to be CQing rather than making Qs. As they say, better luck next time. Maybe I'll have the 13B2 on the tower for June with a real rotator, and something for 432 and/or 6m, too; we'll see.