Single Op – High Power ( Not really high, but just above the ARRL rules. No KWs here )
|
BAND |
QSO |
Points |
Multipliers |
|
50 MHz |
231 |
231 |
121 |
|
144 MHz |
84 |
84 |
45 |
|
222 MHz |
34 |
68 |
21 |
|
432 MHz |
57 |
114 |
31 |
|
902 MHz |
8 |
24 |
6 |
|
1296 MHz |
19 |
57 |
12 |
|
Total |
|||
|
All Bands |
433 |
578 |
235 |
Score = 136,408
I really enjoyed this contest. I spent considerable time planning, preparing and rebuilding to make a better effort. My first major contest was the June contest last summer, Where I scored around 35k. I have learned a lot in the last year and I guess it paid off pretty well. ( I added a bunch of bands too of course )
Last January I scored around 65K, wondering how could I ever go higher…well 6M seems to be the ticket for getting multipliers. I would imagine others have done better in this contest, but I just don’t see how I can do much better from where I live here in NW Iowa. I guess I need to attend W0UC’s upcoming presentation on "being competitive in VHF/UHF contests" coming up this summer at the Central States Conference in Winnipeg. That’s where I will get the real scoop hopefully! Hope to see you all there!
Preparation involved stripping all the antennas off the tower and redoing the "stack". I did this in order to keep the bands I had and to add 902 and upgrade 1296. (I only have one tower, need to make it count!) I ended up with an H Frame, two 902 47 element loopers and two 55 element loopers (vertically stacked each band) I started one week before the contest, got done on Friday before. I will never do that again! The line up is 6M on the bottom, then the H – Frame, then the bottom 2M, then 222, then 432 and then the top 2M.
For equipment, also added the 902/903 band and a 200 watt amp for the contest, never had a chance to test it with anyone before the start, so I went in blind and not knowing if it was working. This has been a struggle getting this stuff to work but it turned out just fine.
Added a 100 watt amp for 1296, which had a problem a few weeks before the contest, got that back just in time. This made me very nervous.
Finished up my third prototype of a "rig switcher" one week before the contest. This really worked sweet and was a huge help for switching between rigs / bands.
A few snags along the way with other chunks of equipment, had to tear apart a mast mounted coax relay Friday night before the contest. But it all got worked out just in time and everything seemed solid by Saturday morning before the contest.
After putting all the antennas back on the mast per my new layout, all had low SWR except for my 6M yagi (2.5 to 1) I decided to leave it because of the time involved in revising everything and the FT-847 still seemed to be putting out pretty good power. I was pretty sure however that I was screwed on 6M for the contest.
Added a "rig blaster" to the station, never had time to on the air test before the contest.
Late Friday night I was treated to a visit by Tim KØPG/R and wife Pat. They are really nice folks and we had a good time swapping stories, etc. They got to see the new shack layout and the antenna farm. It was my first close look at a rover antenna setup, wow..lots of stuff crammed in where you need it!
Things started off hot on 6M, 2 and the high bands were pretty dead.
Made my first 902 contact with NØUK multi-op. So I knew that was working.
Made contacts on 1296 SSB…wow the antennas and power sure does help up there.
Saturday night Midnight I worked K2TXB via HSCW…praying that the "rigblaster" worked. We were done in a little over 10 minutes…good rocks.
Took a nap and got up to hear W7XU going to town on 6M. I asked Arliss what was going on (around 4:30 in the morning) and he said he just got done working some KL7s about 20 minutes before. Well I thought, late as usual I am. Arliss QSYed for a minute and then I heard some weak CW, I was pointed to the SW….KL7NO it was! I swung the beam around and called out on CW cq cq de km0t on .125 and he came back right away. We worked and he faded out about 30 seconds later, never to be heard by me again. Talk about luck! Arliss heard him a short time later, but I could not, I wonder why? J
Worked K7XC out in DN10 around 6:30 AM on HSCW for a new state (NV) on 2M! Now only 3 to go for the lower 48 non-eme! The HSCW QSO only took about 20 minutes. (I should have made more scheds!)
Nice little AU opening in the morning. Made 6M, 2M and 222 MHz QSOs via AU. Nice little bonus.
6M was open the rest of the day on and off pretty much, with a good strong showing towards the end of the contest. If I recall, last year it did the same on 6M where it opened good the last hour or so. Even with the high SWR I had, the antenna and FT-847 worked great! 6M was a winner for me!
The Rovers I worked the most, thanks KFØUK/R – KØPG/R and NØDQS/R – the rest of you rovers, never really did hear you. Sorry, would like to have had more high band opportunities. Without you rovers, my high band score would have been pretty slim. Thank You!!!
K1WHS – David at Directive Systems for his fine craftsmanship on the loopers and H frame, power dividers etc. for 902 and 1296. ( I have yet to see any birds sitting on them! )
NØDQS – Gene and his son Josh for helping put the H frame on the tower and helping tune the loopers.
K8ISK – Terry Price for modifying the 800 MHz Cellular amp to 902 / 903 and teaching me how to set up the 902 transverter for my FT-736. Terry is pretty much responsible for me getting me on 902 (Boy he must really need my grid!)
Gerry - SSB Electronics, who personally took my 1296 amp after Dayton in his suitcase to Germany, where the Germans fixed it right up. And for shipping it ASAP when he got back.
My wife Colleen, who I drove absolutely nuts the last few weeks getting ready for the event.
Everyone else I worked!
73 – KMØT en13vc
PS – Those in NM, DE and VT – I'm looking for you all on 2M in an upcoming meteor event!!! Please get on HSCW! Its loads of FUN!
6M yagi being tested on my test mast - 1.3 to 1 SWR here!
My daugher has a hard time keeping her hands off the stuff! She sure makes me proud! It really looks like she knows whats shes doing, doesnt it?!
Posing for a station picture a few days after the contest! The laptop is for logging, the big monitor is for email and propagation pages, etc. The box with the 8 switches is my custom switch box. It switches PTT, Headphones, CW Keyer and Mic to each of 4 rigs on the fly. It also switches which mic I want to use as an input, which CW source I want, which PTT input I want ( footswitch, handswitch, CPU, rigblaster) and which "Audio Out" I want (headphone, stereo, external speaker, etc). This is my third prototype for the switchbox and it works great for switching between rigs for band QSYing really quick. No RF and no ground loops as well. I can also on the fly switch the rigblaster to any rig at any time.
Left side of the station, 2M amp and FT-1000MP and DEMI transverter. The Dual RX VFOs in the MP are great for keeping track of a rover freq while you cruize around looking for strays.
Right side of the station - FT-847 on 6M and 432 / amp - FT-736R for 1296 and drives DEMI transverter (144-145 IF) for 902-903 and cell amp. At the bottom is an ICOM IC-375 222 MHz rig / 222 amp and the 100 watt 1296 amp. HSCW station and scanner is also over here. Also, a poster of my girlfriend Laura Croft, the Tomb Raider Gal..:) One can also see the red relay box, it switches the common LMR 900 / 1200 feedline I have between the 902 and 1296 antennas and equipment. There is a similar relay on the tower. From the relay in the shack, I run about 25 feet of LMR-900, then to 65 feet of LMR1200. The rotor loop is LMR-400 and that goes to the relay on the mast. Through the relay, it goes to the 1296 mast preamp (power off condition) or to the 902 loopers. (power on condition) The only thing I needed to remember was to be sure I was transmitting on the correct band depending on the relay selection. A big lighted switch right in front of my face with "post-it" notes warning me to be careful and "Think before you Key Up" seemed to do the trick. However, I feel its probably just a matter of time before the smoke flys....heheh
Loopers being tested on my test mast
Loopers on the mast- the 6M beam below the loopers is too close for comfort, swr went up. Need to move the 6M. My bottom 2M is right above the loopers, no interaction that I can see.
Tower with all the stuff. I'm going to move the 6M to the 432 position (2nd from the top) and move the 432 to where the 6M5 is right now. Also need to add mast preamp on 902 and a 2M M-Squared loop and relay. I'm going to put the loop at the top of the wood part. The relay will be used to switch that antenna to the 2M preamp in lieu of the the two stacked 2M yagies. I think that should give me some good hearing power in all directions. Hate to lose a qso because I was turned the wrong way!
Blue Sky View
Tower from a distance
