[UK-CONTEST] MM0Q - IOTA 2009

[MM0BQI]

Alternatively - When everything that could go wrong DOES go wrong!

It's amazing that after so much planning and effort everything can unravel very easily and quickly.  What follows is a sad, sad tail which must be the bottom of my contesting experiences, there but for the grace of God go you...!!

Everything went up okay on the Saturday morning and all the aerials were tuned perfectly.  I double guyed the masts as the forecast wind speeds were between force five and seven for late Saturday.  The equipment was not as planned with an MP and K3 and only a single micoHAM controller for the MP to give me a DVK for CQing. In the end a broken power pole connector (leaf spring snapped), lack of comms and no working mic for the K3 rendered it useless during the contest.  However as a receiver it is fantastic, very easily picking out weak station in the midst of +40db QRM.   Need to make it the main rig from now on.

The contest started as it would continue, very badly.  Could not make myself heard on 20 or 40m so went to S+P to let the initial frenzy die down but unfortunately it didn't.  There were just far too many QRO stations, mostly non-IOTA sitting every kc calling CQ.  Makes no difference if you are a unique mult if others can't hear you then you might as well be sitting at home running full power to decent antennas. After a couple of hours and only 60 Qs in the log the genny started playing up just after a top up.  Suspect water in the fuel so had to drain the tank and flush everything out, managed to keep it going but it was pretty lumpy (better on reduced power of 50w)  Carried on until tea time and was even called by several JAs but could not get any sort of run going. 
By this time the wind had swung round to the SE picked up and the rain started. The bolts on the D3 worked loose and it was turning in the wind tightening the coax against the mast so I made the decision to drop the mast and refix.  Bad mistake!  When raising the mast again a gust of wind pulled the mast backwards just as I was putting it over the peg and just about pulled by arm out of its socket.  So now we are cold wet and injured and just want to go home.... 'home' is tantalisingly close across the bay but it's an hours walk up and down the hills.
So a cunning plan is hatched, carry the rig, Hustler and some coax back to the cottage and carry on from there.  I secured the tent, put extra pegs in and set off to try and get back to the cottage without further incident.  Failed miserably carrying all the kit so had to abandon it wrapped in a bivvy bag hoping that it would stay dry.

Spent the night crunching pain killers and early morning brought a scene of devastation on top of the hill.  The tent had ripped open and I could see daylight through the other side! 80m vertical was snapped into three and the 10m mast was down. With my arm in a sling for support I set off again back up the hill to salvage what I could.  The rig was swimming in water, took several seconds for it all to drain out, laptop in a similar state and the tent destroyed.  Took me all my time to stand up in the wind but once help arrived everything was dumped into the quad bike trailer and taken down to the boat shed.
So a very short and expensive IOTA contest for me this year.  However I will need to make up for it next year somehow.  As conditions continue to improve the bands will get busier and it will be even more difficult for low power DXpedition stations to make themselves heard.  Still great fun if it's just a casual outing but for a serious effort I am starting to think it's a non-starter.

Couple of options under serious consideration.
Go QRO, buy an amplifier and fight it out on an even footing with all the other 'alpha jockeys'
Move south to find better propagation and a site with easier access (RoRo ferry would be good).
Forget about camping, cost of a good tent is the same as a week in a seaside cottage (with mains power)
Whatever the outcome I know EU92 will be activated again during next year's contest but M(M)0Q may migrate south for the contest but still enjoy his summer holiday on these wonderful islands.

Thanks to the few folk that managed to work me and a report on my 2009 aerial tests will be coming soon.
Jim,  MM0BQI