[UK-CONTEST] ARRL 160m - M5O (SOLP)

[Peter Hobbs]

A grave error of judgement prompted me to try SOLP this year, not 
realising the amount of sheer energy needed to secure each QSO, compared 
to the HP section.  This was also the first real outing for M5O, having 
had other commitments during CQWW.  I'd queried DK8ZB's European record 
for SOLP with K6TR (there's clearly been an error in printing the ARRL 
table) and mentioned to Tree that I'd be using M5O this year.  He 
thought that G3LET would actually be more productive and he might well 
be right, for the number of repeats I needed to correct G to M!  I 
hadn't realised that the world is not yet accustomed to "M" callsigns!  
Strange that there was never any issue with the 5, only the M and the O, 
which I'd thought would be pretty safe bets, compared to the E and T 
that I've always lived with. There was a clear case for using the 
Vibroplex in this situation, but it's still in pieces awaiting a dip in 
the ultrasonic bath.   I'm sure M5O will be a definite improvement for 
S&P in the HP section, when fewer repeats are needed.

There was quite a lot of casual UK activity, but very few serious 
entrants, compared to many other EU countries.  In fact I only heard one 
obvious candidate, which I suppose is why no-one has reported so far.  
Propagation was unspectacular, the best being K7RL in WWA, the only 
western seaboard station heard with a workable signal.  Apart from a 
short period at dusk on the eastern seaboard when I think I must have 
been spotted, running was spectacularly unsuccessful, as was filching 
callers off the side.  A number of the big stations in wanted sections 
(of course!) just seemed content working domestic callers and I 
eventually gave up returning to these.  KL7RA was improving as Sunday 
morning aproached but everyone else was fading by then and I called it a 
day at 07.00 after another half hour of fruitless calling to N8OO, 
WD5COV, K0HA, and N0TT, all of whom I'd worked in previous years and 
were in wanted sections. 

So - two 12 hour stints produced only 165 QSOs in 45 sections, about 
2000 points short of DK8ZB's record score (200 QSOs in 44 sections), but 
I was reasonably content, given that propagation was far from its best.  
Don't think I'll be doing it again though in a hurry!

I used the barefoot K3 into a 250ft sloping wire, end-fed in the shack.  
The wire had accumulated quite a lot of adhering snow and ice during the 
recent 18 inch fall but the trusty pulley and log system avoided any 
obvious damage.  The only maintenance required was to clear snow from 
the feed-through insulator into the shack, which had entirely 
disappeared from view!  The K9AY receiving loop is still a work in 
progress, but for a LP entry I didn't feel it was often needed.

I didn't work anyone who I recognised as subscribing to UK Contest, but 
if you're out there - thanks for the QSOs!

73, Peter G3LET