2007 ARRL 160 Meter Contest
12/03/2007 |
WS1L
My first ARRL 160 Contest was in 2005 and I had a modest effort of 250 Q's and 37k points. Last year I wasn't able to enter due to work. The week after the 2005 160 contest a lightning strike had melted the old 160 vertical, along with serving up a significant amount of fried electronics in the shack. This year I was back with a 70 foot high inverted-L for transmitting, plus the crossed K9AY loops for receiving. I also had a bit more time and wound up operating both nights from about 1900 to 0100 local, then pulling Dawn Patrol from about 0530 to 0730 local.
Conditions were VERY good in south Mississippi. There were no storms within earshot, noise level was down and signals were very strong. The receive antennas are quiet anyways and plenty of signals were well over S9.
For the first time I thought I had a good enough signal to try running stations. I started S&P, picking up mults and working up the band from the bottom. When that started to thin out near the top I found a clear spot and ran until the rate died, then went back to S&P. By Saturday morning I had more Q's than the entire 2005 contest, so that seemed to be a decision that worked out well.
Charlie, WD5BJT, mentioned trouble with strong signals even with a narrow filter. The roofing filters on the Orion really helped with the IF filter set to 250 Hz. Even then there were some signals just too close. There were a few times I heard something but never could get a good enough copy around the big guns.
Most sections were worked. Never did hear North Dakota, Rhode Island, or Alaska. Missed two sections in California and two Canadian provinces. Did get 10 countries, though.
All in all, a very enjoyable contest. This year I actually spent a little time practicing with N1MMLogger ahead of time, instead of just talking about it and planning on doing it. It did seem to make a difference although there were a few brain cramps resulting in sending the wrong thing... sorry if I made less sense than usual at times!
My final claimed score this year was 557 QSO's and 93k points, so I met my goal of bettering my 2005 score. We'll see how it stacks up in MS and the Division. More importantly, I had a great time, looking forward to seeing you all the next time! -- WS1L
Conditions were VERY good in south Mississippi. There were no storms within earshot, noise level was down and signals were very strong. The receive antennas are quiet anyways and plenty of signals were well over S9.
For the first time I thought I had a good enough signal to try running stations. I started S&P, picking up mults and working up the band from the bottom. When that started to thin out near the top I found a clear spot and ran until the rate died, then went back to S&P. By Saturday morning I had more Q's than the entire 2005 contest, so that seemed to be a decision that worked out well.
Charlie, WD5BJT, mentioned trouble with strong signals even with a narrow filter. The roofing filters on the Orion really helped with the IF filter set to 250 Hz. Even then there were some signals just too close. There were a few times I heard something but never could get a good enough copy around the big guns.
Most sections were worked. Never did hear North Dakota, Rhode Island, or Alaska. Missed two sections in California and two Canadian provinces. Did get 10 countries, though.
All in all, a very enjoyable contest. This year I actually spent a little time practicing with N1MMLogger ahead of time, instead of just talking about it and planning on doing it. It did seem to make a difference although there were a few brain cramps resulting in sending the wrong thing... sorry if I made less sense than usual at times!
My final claimed score this year was 557 QSO's and 93k points, so I met my goal of bettering my 2005 score. We'll see how it stacks up in MS and the Division. More importantly, I had a great time, looking forward to seeing you all the next time! -- WS1L
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