[UK-CONTEST] ARRL 10m GW4EVX

[RONALD PRICE]

Like Dave G3YMC I entered the QRP section but unlike Dave I operated SSB.
I originally intended putting up a temporary 3 Ele Yagi but the poor wx
prior to the contest put pay to that idea so I used my 90ft end fed wire.

QSOs 159
Multipliers 52 (29 States)
Claimed score 16536
Icom IC-7000 5W

I tried to operate as much as I could between dawn and dusk on both days
and optimistically called any station I was receiving above S5! This
resulting in one of three outcomes:
They came straight back to my call and normal exchange made.
They got a partial call and after several repeats we completed.
They couldn't copy me at all even after many attempts.
Only two disappointing failures, a VR2 portable who failed to copy one of
the letters in my call so he gave up and a similar situation with a US
station in a State I wanted as a multiplier.(Can't remember which State it
was but he was the only one I heard)

In these days of criticism for poor operating practices it was very
refreshing to experience excellent levels of operation and true ham spirit,
especially from the US ops. They nearly all had very good ears and even
when I disrupted their smooth run of contacts by needing lots of repeats
they persevered until we completed and at the end of the contact thanked ME
for my patience as if the problem was due to a shortcoming in their station!

One problem I frequently get with my call is the 'V' being copied as a 'W'
probably because 'victor' sounds similar to 'whiskey' in noisy conditions
and there is a 'W' in the prefix, but this is easily corrected by using
'victoria ' or 'venezuela'
A more serious phonetic problem which I have not been able to solve is with
the 'E'
This is frequently copied as ' T ' because of the similar sounds of 'echo'
and 'tango'. I have tried using 'england' as an alternative but with
limited success. Anyone know of a better phonetic to use?

73
Ron, GW4EVX