Topband: Saga of NP2J (very long)

[Michael Walker]

Dan

Thanks for sharing and even taking the time to write this up, as that takes
time.

We have ALL been there in so many ways and so many times.  I wish we would
all share those stories as they are a learning experience.

As my Grade 12 Physics Teacher said (back in 1975 or so) and I remember the
time and place and it just stuck:  "Failing is a learning experience"
 Truer words have never been spoken.

73, Mike va3mw


On Tue, Oct 26, 2021 at 11:21 AM Dan Flaig NP2J <dan at np2j.com> wrote:

> "SAGA OF NP2J"
>
> (apologies to CE0XA: see 1965 QST: "Saga of CE0XA" )
> (My "Elmer" was W8ZCT (later W8ON) Gene Liggett (SK), a member of CE0XA,
> First San Felix Operation)
>
>      or
>
> "What a week of Screw ups!"
>
> ******************************************************
>
> Well,this story is the kind that you usually keep to yourself.
>
> Who wants everyone to know all the dumb stuff you did in order to sooth
> a case of Contest withdrawals
>   and chill a 105 degree fever of "Topband Disease"????
>
>
>
> I run a pair of phased Inverted L's each about 60 or so feet high.
> One of the two verticals is near edge of the hillside I am on and it
> catches a lot of wind so I take it down for Hurricane season.
> (See May 2021 CQ magazine page 18 for picture of vertical)
> Most of the bad Tropical storms we get are late in the year; September
> thru early November.
> So I was waiting as long as possible to put the vertical back up.
>
> ****************************************************
>
> The Saga begins:
>
> Monday:
>
> I had a 70 foot mast built up laying on the ground, with the 1000+ feet
> of rope for guy wires ready to go!
> The bottom of the mast is 2.5" thick wall tubing, tapers down to 1.25"
> Uses 4 sets of four guy ropes.
>
>
> Tuesday:
>
> The big day: Time to raise the mast up in the air!
>
> I decided to use a falling derrick approach to raising the mast.
> I use 30 feet of old 3" Telrex Boom material for either a gin pole or
> pole for falling derrick method.
>
> I am on a hillside so the guy wires are at different elevations.
> So when raising a mast you have to constantly be adjusting guy lengths
> as the mast is raised.
>
> Well, I raised the mast about half way up and I didn't have a guy
> tightened up properly (Big Mistake #1)....
>
> So, a gust of wind swung the mast side ways and the mast fell into the
> "Bush" that covers most of my lot.
>
> So much for all that work.
>
> Went inside, grabbed the Rolling stones "Some Girls" disk and fired up:
> "WHEN THE WHIP COMES DOWN"
>
>
> BTW during this time frame the weather was horribly hot and muggy.
> It had been raining off and on,
> just often enough that the humidity was horrible.
> 15 minutes outside working and you are soaked with sweat.
> After an hour or two you are just completely drained and exhausted,
>
> Wednesday and Thursday:
>
> Both days were spent untangling the mess of rope and wire tangled in the
> 15 foot high bush.
> Sweat. Sunburn. More Sweat. Even more sweat.
> Go inside and jump in cold shower. Remove small Tan-tan leaves stuck all
> over sweaty body.
> Repeat.
> Repeat.
> Repeat.
> Fun.
>
> Friday:
>
> OK, ready to try again!
>
> Learning from big mistake #1, I kept the guy wires tight as I raised the
> mast
> Got the mast up about 80% of the way up.....
>
> BAM!!!! Mast broke in half and came crashing down.
>
> Back inside.... Jam to "THE WHIP COMES DOWN".....again....
>
>
> Analyzing what happened, I had mistakenly used a piece of 2" tubing in
> the middle of the mast
>   that was a piece from an old HyGain beam and it was not standard .058"
> wall thickness.
> There was a critcal guy attachment point where this thin walled tubing
> was used.
>
>   SNAP!!! (Big Mistake #2)
>
>
> Now around about this time I am questioning my sanity.
> Is it really worth it?
> What a crazy hobby...
>
> Time for another Stones tune: "Shattered".....
>
>
> But, My Elmer, Gene W8ZCT's favorite saying was:
>
> "Keep plugging away"
>
> His other favorite saying was:
>
> "A BIG SIGNAL is a LOT of work"
>
> (Back in 1971 when I was 13 years old,
>   I helped Gene put up a full size rotary 80 meter dipole up 135 feet.
> He knew a thing or two about big signals)
>
>
> Saturday (Contest Day):
>
> At this point was about to say the Hell with it....
> I must be crazy.... (XYL probably thinks so, but she is keeps it to
> herself, hi!)
>
> I haven't gotten this thing up all week... how can I get it up now?
> And if I do, I'll probably be too tired to operate...hi!
>
> But,the weather was getting better, the rain had stopped and the air
> wasn't so thick.
> The Gods were cooperating, weather wise!
>
> W8ZCT's words haunted me:
>
> "Keep plugging away"
> "A big signal is a lot of work"
>
> So I decided not to give up after so much effort.
>
> Why quit when this close to finishing??
> (Even if you are totally exhausted, dehydrated and delerious)
>
> "Keep plugging away"
> "A big signal is a lot of work"
>
> Mast got up in the air at 5PM local time (2100z)
>
> Quickly put up the elevated radial, hooked up the coax cables and
> phasing line to the switch box.
> ( Big Mistake #3: Biggest mistake of them all!!!
>   Didn't check one detail, too big of hurry to get on the air)
>
> Ran inside to check SWR, SWR OK!!! Time to get on the Air!!!
>
>
> Got on, Band was noisy, signals were weak, rates were terribly low....
> I just thought conditions were bad, QRN bad etc.(QRN was S7 to S9+)
>
> I guess I must of been badly dehydrated, low on some vital nutrients or
> some such thing as I kept getting cramps in my hands.
> Sometimes just touching the keyboard would cause my hand to cramp in
> pain.
> Kept drinking fluids and ate some chili while operating and the cramps
> finally disapeared.
>
> The only Europen stations I seemed to be working were far North, SM, OH
> and Russians.
> Mid EU very weak.
> No Southern Europe at all. Strange....not even the Italian big guns.
>
> Things were very, very slow, best hour was only 35, snore...
>
> Very late,about 0600z, I took a listen to NP2X to see how he was doing.
> We both usually get out about the same but Fred was working European
> stations I couldn't even hear!
>
> A light finally went on in my brain.....
>
> Something was wrong big time.....
>
> Went outside to check the phasing switchbox.
> I decided to bypass the switchbox with a barrel connector.
>
> Went back inside and the band sounded completely different!!
> Signals were loud, noise was way down!
>
> Finally realized that the cables to the direction switchbox were
> reversed!!! Duh!!
>
> So 95% of contest the vertical array was beaming SOUTH instead of
> NORTH!!!!!
>
> Had to laugh, what else can you do!
>
>
>
> I get 3 to 4 "S" units of Front to back with this array,
> which means both RX and TX were down aoubt 20 DB!!!!!
>
> My ERP to North was nearly QRP.....
>
> Can I file a QRP entry??? (Just kidding!)
>
> So if you were wondering what happened to my signal, now you know!
>
> The array beams straight North or South, so in this case there is a back
> lobe on pattern that enabled the far North EU contacts.
> There is a real deep notch off the back side which nulled out all the
> Southern EU stations.
> Now it all makes sense. Duh.
>
> Thanks to all that struggled with me to make a contact.
> Sorry to have missed so many of my fellow Topband addicts!
>
>
>
> Hope to see everyone in CQWW SSB and CW on 160!
>
> (Willy UA9BA hope CU in CQWW!)
>
> 73
>
> Dan K8RF op: NP2J
>
>
> Rig:  K3S, AL82 to pair of vertical phased verticals pointed the WRONG
> way!
>
> (didn't even work any SA!... came close a VE5/hp called me
>   but I had call as /sp not /hp and grid square I was coping didn't make
> sense so I didn't log QSO, sorry OM!)
>
> ***********************************************
>
> Congrats to NP2X, who looks to be the winner of Stew Perry "Master of
> all Seasons" plaque
>
> ***********************************************
>
> I sponsored a Stew Perry Plaque for highest combined Low Power score for
> all 4 Stews.
>
> The winner won't be decided util final scores are posted, but right now
> W0UO is slightly ahead of my friend Brian VE3MGY.
>
> Hats off to both these hard core Low Power Topbanders!!
>
> *******************************************************
>
> CW forever, Digital NEVER
> _________________
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