[SECC] WPX CW NJ8J SOAB(TS) LP

[Ben Coleman NJ8J]

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                    CQWW WPX Contest, CW

Call: NJ8J
Operator(s): NJ8J
Station: NJ8J

Class: SOAB(TS) LP
QTH: GA
Operating Time (hrs): 22:53

Summary:
 Band  QSOs
- ------------
  160:
   80:    6
   40:  108
   20:  155
   15:  305
   10:    4
- ------------
Total:  578  Prefixes = 369  Total Score = 531,729

Club: South East Contest Club

Comments:
Equipment:
Alinco DX-77T
LDG AT-11MP Automatic Antenna tuner, MFJ-969 Antenna tuner

Antennas:
100' OCF Dipole fed with ladder-line

Logger: yfktest


Bedsprings Brigade Manor is BACK!  It's lovely being able to actually
hear real static, instead of the ugly noise of an errant laptop
(and/or power brick).  Wish I had found the problem a few months earlier.

To celebrate, I decided to jump into WPX for the whole weekend.  Or at
least most of it.  I started off the weekend rather tired, so I ended
up having to take a nap Saturday afternoon(!).  I did *not* plan to
get along on 6 hours of sleep a night, so I knew I wasn't going to put
in a full 36 hours.  The nap plus the food and stretch breaks (I find
I *do* need to take the occasional stretch break) pulled it back to
about 23 hours.

Started Friday at contest beginning on 10 meters, as it sounded
active, and didn't get a single contact for 25 minutes.  I just didn't
seem to be able to make myself heard much on 10.  Having trouble on
the first 30 minutes isn't unusual, but I think the OCF dipole doesn't
do well on 10.  It's the only band the AT-11MP can't match by itself,
and when I switch the MFJ tuning in, you can hear the band drop by an
S-unit or two.  I need to get the Antron A99 back up - it should do
decent (by BBM standards) on 10, if nothing else.

Jumped down to 15 (where I could be heard) at 0025Z, spent a couple of
hours there ( though I made a brief jump over to 10 for 4 contacts,
but it obviously wasn't going to be productive).  Then poked around 20
and 80 a bit before settling on 20 S & P.  Finished up the evening at
0430Z with 100 Qs in the log.

Got back on Saturday at 1413Z, and for the most part S&P'd 15 until
about 0115Z, then dropped down to 20 for an hour and a half before
moving onto 40 for the rest of the night.  I did poke at 80 a little
aboui 0550Z, but found little activity there.  Shut down at 0620Z,
when 40 seemed to be fizzling out, with 426 Qs in the log.

Sunday, got going at 1550Z, S&P'd 15 until 2002Z, 20 until 2251Z, and
finished up on 15.

At some point, I realized I should have spent more time on 40 on
Friday evening, but I was enjoying having 15 and 20 open until the
late hours of the night.

I started out with a goal of beating my previous best score from 2006,
39824.  That happened Friday night or early Saturday morning.  Now
what?  I decided on a goal of 400 Qs.  Got to that on Saturday
evening.  To finish out, I decided on trying to beat my brother's
(AA4LR) score from 2006, 421935.  Unless I made a lot of mistakes, or
my logger is calculating the score wrong, looks like I made that.  I
figure not bad for a pipsqueak station, and all the sending done with
a straight key (yes, I know it's ridiculous for a computer guy to not
have the computer hooked up to send CW.  I actually made up a serial
port CW cable once, but made an Obiwan error (was one off on the
pins).  Since then BBM has undergone a round or two of musical PC
parts, and the shack computer no longer has a spare serial port.  I
need to take that cable and remake it for a parallel port.).

Ben
- -- 
Ben Coleman nj8j at benshome.net
 "I love the way Microsoft follows standards.  In much the
same manner that fish follow migrating caribou."
                                            Paul Tomblin
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