[VHFcontesting] K4GUN/R preliminary report

[k4gun at comcast.net]

I'm at work right now and don't have time nor the data to give a complete report, but I did want to get some general impressions up.  The September contest was a blast.  With no tropo nor Es, it was just a matter of driving and slogging it out for as many Qs as possible.  I think I finished with 270 Qs and 71 mults as a Limited Rover.  That's more Qs but fewer mults than June but I think the total score will be just below my June total.

Highlights included the incredible amount of help I got from N3NGE and all the positive comments I got from people who had just read my article in the latest QST.  I worked a lot of multi-op stations that were helpful.  W4IY, G8GP and W3SO were great, but N3NGE was absolutely fantastic with the support.  My fiance K4LIG was my co-pilot and was simply amazed at how much all the stations seemed to watch out for me.  The ham community really does watch out for each other.

Lowlights included being aced out of Camelback and the incredible amount of splatter generated by a few of the larger stations in the areas where I drove.  On Friday night, a small multi-op group posted to another reflector that they were taking the spot which gave me very little time to come up with an alternate plan.  I went to Camelback anyway but was run off by the splatter after an hour or so.  

The alternate location at Pimple Hill was decent, but access to the top of the mountain was closed.  I managed a number of mults but it could have been a lot better.

I'll post more to a soapbox entry at the ARRL web site when I have a chance to review the log and get the pictures up.

73 to all I worked and tried to work.

Steve
K4GUN/R