[VHFcontesting] FW: ARRL June VHF N8RA Single Op LP

[Chet S]

                    ARRL June VHF Contest

Call: N8RA
Class: Single Op LP
QTH: FN31 CT
Operating Time (hrs): 19
Radios: SO2R

Band  QSOs  Mults
-------------------
    6:  315   113
    2:   68    21
  222:   16     9
  432:   14     7
-------------------
Total:  413   150  
Total Score = 66,450

Club: Yankee Clipper Contest Club
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.3830scores.com/

6 and 2 breakdowns by mode:
    6:  	cw 8	1
	dig 38 	15
 	usb 269 97

    2:  	cw 6 	1
	dig 10 	4
	usb 52 16

Comments:
After the move to a new QTH two years ago, rebuilding the station has been
taking longer than anticipated. I really wanted to be on for this contest. 

So while forum discussions have been about the impact of FT-8, what
frequencies to use, how to get WSJT-X and N1MM+ to talk, and what windows to
put on what monitors, I have spent my available hours still tending to the
basics of designing tower wiring, digging cable trenches, and connecting
coax runs. After having been on the tower now for over 7 months, the 432
yagi is finally connected to the house to try during this contest!

But, speaking of 432, that meant rigging a new switching scheme because 432
and 222 share the feedline from the tower top to the house. For this
weekend, 432 would be a minimal station since the sequencer, preamp, and amp
have yet to be unpacked. My FT-897 is a poor performer on 432 by itself. It
is deaf as a post, has lots of receiver birdies and blips, and only puts out
about 5 watts. 

With less than two hours to the start, it seemed the 222/432 antenna switch
was not working. Control cable voltage measurements at the house and then
the base of the tower indicated that the coax relay atop the tower was not
operating, which necessitated a climb to find the bad wire. This was an
early indication that Murphy had noticed me. The start of the contest on
Saturday went along well enough, but Murphy returned on Sunday.

Just as the 6M E's came in on Sunday, so did a tremendous (10dB over S9 when
beaming toward it) powerline noise. Argh! The former continuous powerline
noise to my west was cleared up a couple of months ago and I thought all was
well. So, while putting together the permanent tower cables, I did not
choose to reconnect a small 6M noise pickup antenna that I had used in the
past with a Timewave ANC-4 noise canceller. I had heard this new noise a few
weeks ago but it had only lasts a few hours and went away so I
optimistically assumed it was a one-time thing. Wrong! What to do? Having
had little sleep, I was too punchy to safely climb the tower and reconnect
the noise antenna and then wire back in the noise canceller in the shack.
Instead I used the K3's noise blanker options and RF gain control to
continue making contacts. Anyone having done this on a band crowded with
strong signals knows how fatiguing this can be, but, pressing on, contacts
were made. After a few hours I could tell the noise was lessening as it
began pulsing and losing signal strength. Then, after wearing on me for 3-4
hours it completely stopped! But the E's were still there and lots of 6M
contacts and grids were shoveled into the log for the next few hours,
somewhat making up for the lost time.

As always on the Monday afterward, the pain fades and the look back becomes
a fond memory. Thanks for all the Q's and views; nice to meet old friends on
the air as usual. Yes, I like the new QTH, so I think we'll stay-hi.

73,
Chet, N8RA