2007 ARRL November Sweepstakes (Phone)
11/20/2007 |
W1JKS
The November Sweeps Phone contest was the **first** Ham Radio contest that I've taken part in. Well I guess Ive taken part before, answering calls of CQ Contest, but I wasnt directly entering the contest. This time I actually read the rules about a week beforehand and had some idea of what was going on.
The primary wild card was the clock (a.k.a. "The XYL Factor", Hi!)... that is how much time could I put in? I managed 9 hours which was enough to exceed my goal of 100 QSOs -- I managed 104 contacts (one dupe) on four different bands, but 20 and 40 were the most productive. I also managed to contact 50 different ARRL sections (out of 80). I also added 4 states to the list of states that I have worked, SD, SC, ME, and VT.
I really enjoyed the challenging format of the exchange. There was none of that "youre 59" and "youre also 59" for every contact.
20m was more jam packed with signals than Id ever heard -- you were lucky to have a few hundred cycles on either side. In some cases there where two exchanges directly on top of one another. It was all quite exciting, however, and I felt my operating skills improve QSO after QSO!
Having now gone through it once, here are my lessons learned (note to self, read this before the next contest!):
* paper logging is a bottleneck try and find something a little more modern, i.e. use the computer. Ive tried a few logging programs, but still prefer the pen and paper method for keeping a log. However, dupe detection was lacking on my end I would have had more dupes if it werent for other stations instant response of Weve already worked today and the more QSOs I had in the log, the longer it took to scan the list.
* 15 watts is ok, but is near the bottom of the Low-power (5w-150w) class. The 100w option for my Elecraft K2 would have helped me be heard in some cases where I wasnt. Maybe next year!
* Dont spend too much time trying to answer a station when its obvious youre not being heard 15w is going to fall short often enough compared to the other guys legal limit (1500W).
* Dont forget to try other bands I actually made my first 15m contact during the contestand it would have been two had it not been for the dupe factor.
* Try to work more hours on the air! Although I consider myself lucky to have been able to operate for the 9 hours I did with only brief interruptions from my XYL and/or daughter in fact it was Bryanna (my daughter) who encouraged me to push on when I was getting tired towards the end it was also around this time that I figured I would give 80m a try and was quite suprised with the results (not having a proper 80m antenna) two of my four new states came on 80m, VT and ME.
Overall Im claiming a score of 10,300 (103 QSOs x 2 points per QSO x 50 sections worked). Hopefully it isnt penalized too much by the ARRL Awards Committee, though it's not really that important, as this was all just for fun! And Im not really competing with the big-guns and top-ops, having just started on-the-air this past summer!
73,
-john -- W1JKS
The primary wild card was the clock (a.k.a. "The XYL Factor", Hi!)... that is how much time could I put in? I managed 9 hours which was enough to exceed my goal of 100 QSOs -- I managed 104 contacts (one dupe) on four different bands, but 20 and 40 were the most productive. I also managed to contact 50 different ARRL sections (out of 80). I also added 4 states to the list of states that I have worked, SD, SC, ME, and VT.
I really enjoyed the challenging format of the exchange. There was none of that "youre 59" and "youre also 59" for every contact.
20m was more jam packed with signals than Id ever heard -- you were lucky to have a few hundred cycles on either side. In some cases there where two exchanges directly on top of one another. It was all quite exciting, however, and I felt my operating skills improve QSO after QSO!
Having now gone through it once, here are my lessons learned (note to self, read this before the next contest!):
* paper logging is a bottleneck try and find something a little more modern, i.e. use the computer. Ive tried a few logging programs, but still prefer the pen and paper method for keeping a log. However, dupe detection was lacking on my end I would have had more dupes if it werent for other stations instant response of Weve already worked today and the more QSOs I had in the log, the longer it took to scan the list.
* 15 watts is ok, but is near the bottom of the Low-power (5w-150w) class. The 100w option for my Elecraft K2 would have helped me be heard in some cases where I wasnt. Maybe next year!
* Dont spend too much time trying to answer a station when its obvious youre not being heard 15w is going to fall short often enough compared to the other guys legal limit (1500W).
* Dont forget to try other bands I actually made my first 15m contact during the contestand it would have been two had it not been for the dupe factor.
* Try to work more hours on the air! Although I consider myself lucky to have been able to operate for the 9 hours I did with only brief interruptions from my XYL and/or daughter in fact it was Bryanna (my daughter) who encouraged me to push on when I was getting tired towards the end it was also around this time that I figured I would give 80m a try and was quite suprised with the results (not having a proper 80m antenna) two of my four new states came on 80m, VT and ME.
Overall Im claiming a score of 10,300 (103 QSOs x 2 points per QSO x 50 sections worked). Hopefully it isnt penalized too much by the ARRL Awards Committee, though it's not really that important, as this was all just for fun! And Im not really competing with the big-guns and top-ops, having just started on-the-air this past summer!
73,
-john -- W1JKS
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