Topband: N2XE Beacon Blow-out Summary! Here Comes 250uW

[John C Ceccherelli]

Last night's code word was "EDEN"  If you got it off the web instead of off
the air, you have my pity.

Next run starts at 1700Z Christmas day--250uW on 3545.5 KHz--until 1400Z
Dec 26.

Wow!  Great response last night!  The new frequency at 3545.5 KHz combined
with a lot of people home for the holiday spending some quality 'shack
time' netted 55 reports or 4583 reports per watt.  1 mW netted 8,000
reports per watt and 500uW produced 14,000 reports per watt.  I'm hoping
that today's run at 250uW will yield 22,000 reports per watt at least.  14
states and one Canadian province reported in.

I try to respond to every report I receive and last night produced a lot of
typing.  Don't expect the beacon to run QROp again anytime soon ;-)

W5UN in Texas holds the raw distance record now at 1286 miles or 107,200
miles per watt--Thanks Dave, I hope you copy at 250uW tonight.

On a real downer note, someone, who should have known better, published the
superduper double secret classified covert code word.  Not cool.  Please,
use your head or in the words of Dave Benson (who stole it from a movie I
think) "use the force Luke."

Here's some super fascinating and intriguing operational notes.  You mave
have noticed that the K1 drifts a little bit.  It is not a crystal derived
VFO, it's the tried and true L-C variety.  The VFO circuit itself is
actually quite stable but as the case expands and contracts due to
temperature, it moves the speaker which in turn, couples its magnet to some
inductors in the circuit.  As a result the frequency varies +/- about 40 Hz
depending on how the temperature fluctuates in my shack.  Keep that in mind
as you hunt it down today for the "250uW Run for the Riches."  I do try to
ride herd on it but you can twiddle your knob if I get lazy.

Rig breakdown was: 19 Yaesu, 10 Icom, 7 Elecraft, 5 Ten Tec, 4 Kenwood and
one each for Index Labs, Drake and a MultiPIG+
Antenna breakdown was 12 Beverages, 8 Dipoles, 7 Loops, 5 Vertical and
Vertical arrays, 4 inverted Vees. 3 Slopers, 2 turtle doves and a partridge
in a pear tree, 2 four squares, 2 doublets, 1 each for--inverted L, Zepp,
Windom and wire, whew...

THE SUMMARY in order of receipt: (if I made a typo, I apologize in advance.
Suck it up, don't send me a note)

Call, Name   State/prov   Grid Square   RST   Details

K3ESE  LLOYD   MD   FM19   589   MULTIPIG+/LOOP
W4ZV  BILL   NC   EM95   339   ORION/BEV
N4ZR  PETE  NC  FM19  MARK V/LAZY VEE
VE3MGY  BRIAN   ON   FN03   539   756/DELTA LOOP
W1USN  MIKE   MA  FN42  539  K2/SLOPER
N1AXX   MIKE   MA   FN42   339   INDEX LABS QRP+/INV VEE
K1VP   ED   NH   ---   559   ARGO V/DIPOLE
KM1Z   FRAN   VT   FN34   339   TS450/HORZ LOOP
WA4PGM   KYLE   VA   FM07   539   1000MP/PENNANT
K3SV   BILL   PA   FN10   519   1000D/4-SQUARE
W2AGN   JOHN   NJ   FM29   599   K2/HORZ LOOP
KC3M   JACK   PA   ----   579
W3NF   LLOYD   MD   FM19   599   TS870/SLOPER
N1RX   BRUCE   NH   FN33   549   K2/160M DIPOLE
WI5A  LARRY   OH   EN70   539   1000MP/BEV
VE3CSK   BILL   ON   EN93   569   746PRO/BEV
KR8Z   JACK  WV   EM99   449   FT920/ HORZ LOOP
K8DD   HANK   MI   EN82
AK0B   STAN    MO   EM48  SIGNAL IN NOISE, NO EDEN
K8BHZ   BRIAN   MI   EN66   329   FT840/6-EL PHASED VERT
K4ZW   KEN   VA   FM18   529   1000MP/BEV
N9NE   TODD   WI   EN54   559   K2/DOUBLET
WB4X   BRENT   NC   FM06   S5   K2/HUSTLER 6BTV
W0UCE   JACK   NC   FM05   439   756PRO/BEV ARRAY
K3JT   TERRY   WV   EM99   449   706MIIG/160 M DIPOLE
N1BUG   PAUL   ME   FN55   579   TS450/INV VEE
W3GH   BOB   PA   FN00   509   FT100D/160 M DIPOLE
N3BJ   ALAN   VA   FM07   339   K2/INV VEE
N3CXV    BILL   MD   FM18   429   756PRO/SONY ACTIVE VERT
K8ND   JEFF   OH   EN80   339   1000MP/INV L
AA1K   JON   DE   FM29   1000MP/INV VEE
NA8M   JOHN   MI   EN72   529   K2/CF ZEPP
W4HJ   A.C.   VA   FM17   449   OMNI 6/DIPOLE
K3JJG   ED   PA   ----   S5    DRAKE R4C/BEV
W4PK   SAM   VA   FM07   339   756PRO/BEV
KR2Q   DOUG   NJ   FN20   519   TS940/WIRE
W5GFR   GORDON   WV   EM98   599   1000MP/LOOP
VE3ZI   ROGER   ON   ----   449   756/BEV
NX4D   DOUG   FL   EL98   519   1000MP/LOOP
W4AG   STAN   NC   FM06   339   756PRO/4-SQUARE
KT3Y   PHIL   VA   FM18   319   TS950/BEV
W2ED   ED   NY   FN30   519   ORION/DOUBLET
K8AC   FLOYD   NC   FM05   439   IC781/K9AY
WA2UUK   HARV   NY   FN12   539   FT100D/DIPOLE
N8ME   MARK   OH   EM89   S4   746PRO/WINDOM
W5UN   DAVE   TX   EM23   229   1000D/BEV
W1LW  WALTER   CT   FN31   539   1000MKV/INV VEE
N2WK   WAYNE   NY   FN03   549   SLOPER
WD5R  MARLENE   AR   EM45   339   BEVERAGE
N2NC   JOHN   NJ   FN20   529   1000MP/DIPOLE
N4OO   INK   FL   EM70   229   1000MP/BEV
N4XD   RON   NC   FM05   ----   ORION/BEV
W3GH   BOB   PA   FN00   519   1000D/DIPOLE
K8DO   DENNIS   MI   EN73   549   1000MP/VERT ARRAY
W8UVZ   GEORGE   MI   EN72   559   1000D/PHASED VERT

73,
N2XE
John Ceccherelli