2007 ARRL November Sweepstakes (CW)
11/16/2007 |
VY1EI
Greetings from VY1. This was my first sweepstakes. VY1JA was also operating and he gave me a quick VY1 multiplier early into the contest.
I had some trepidation about being able to hold my log current during the pileups. I actually wasn't sure I'd be able to keep control, only putting out 100 watts. I've never been in a CW pileup before. The first one was chaotic with a mish-mash of dots and dashes, but by the third pileup I learned to assert control and it got manageable.
I've been a ham for under two years. I'm running an ICOM 756 Pro 3 into a Cushcraft three element tribander. No rotor at the moment. The Yagi is pointing towards Florida so I should have good coverage tothe eastern United States. I wasn't operating on 80 or 40 meters for the CW contest but I'll be putting up a dipole to run those night bands for the SSB contest. A rotor is in the plans so I should be able to better focus my signal on the west coast when that path is at its best.
I was surprised at the very heavy presence of CW veterans in this contest. Most of my QSOs were with hams who got their ticket in the 1950s and 1960s. One fellow got his ticket in 1941! Obviously this contest has a dedicated following.
I like to operate on the "28"s. So that would be 14028 CW, 14228 SSB. Its there's lot of QRM look for me between 14027 and 14028.
The contest was a hoot. I only got 55 sections but I hope to improve my score next year!
I've got pictures of my shack at http://www.vy1ei.ca
Eric -- VY1EI
I had some trepidation about being able to hold my log current during the pileups. I actually wasn't sure I'd be able to keep control, only putting out 100 watts. I've never been in a CW pileup before. The first one was chaotic with a mish-mash of dots and dashes, but by the third pileup I learned to assert control and it got manageable.
I've been a ham for under two years. I'm running an ICOM 756 Pro 3 into a Cushcraft three element tribander. No rotor at the moment. The Yagi is pointing towards Florida so I should have good coverage tothe eastern United States. I wasn't operating on 80 or 40 meters for the CW contest but I'll be putting up a dipole to run those night bands for the SSB contest. A rotor is in the plans so I should be able to better focus my signal on the west coast when that path is at its best.
I was surprised at the very heavy presence of CW veterans in this contest. Most of my QSOs were with hams who got their ticket in the 1950s and 1960s. One fellow got his ticket in 1941! Obviously this contest has a dedicated following.
I like to operate on the "28"s. So that would be 14028 CW, 14228 SSB. Its there's lot of QRM look for me between 14027 and 14028.
The contest was a hoot. I only got 55 sections but I hope to improve my score next year!
I've got pictures of my shack at http://www.vy1ei.ca
Eric -- VY1EI
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