2002 ARRL November Sweepstakes (Phone)
11/20/2002 |
K0RH
Well, this was the third effort of the duo of Jim K0RH and Nate N0NB and by far our best effort to date.
Jim's station is primarily built for DX, so we've learned to "downgrade" the antenna system a bit for a better SS score. This year Jim added a multiband vertical at about 40 feet. Being able to switch between the vertical and the low(!) KT-34XA made working each coast much easier on 20, 15, and 10m. Perhaps the next thing to try is an inverted vee for 40m as the 2 el yagi is still too much of a DX antenna for this contest.
The bands were in very good shape this year with even 75m being nice and quiet Saturday evening. Unfortunately, good rates on the other bands meant that we got on 75 much later, but I hope anyone needing KS Saturday night did manage find at least one of the operations.
On the plus side we did manage to improve our rate considerably over the past two efforts.
Perhaps most impressive was the civility on the bands. Not once did I hear anything not becoming a courteous operator. Certainly QRM got heavy and a couple of times I was asked to QSY, which I did. Everyone I encountered in the '02 SS was a lady and a gentleman. Thanks, Riley, for helping to restore civility to the ham bands!
I find it interesting to look at the last sections that are worked for the sweep. In 2001 NL and PR were our last two sections worked. This year NE, WY, and MB were our last three worked for the sweep. Interestingly NL came by for #47 and NWT for #51 this year while PR was #62. The traditional "rare" sections just weren't. Does this mean we need more sections?
CU in SS '03! -- N0NB
Jim's station is primarily built for DX, so we've learned to "downgrade" the antenna system a bit for a better SS score. This year Jim added a multiband vertical at about 40 feet. Being able to switch between the vertical and the low(!) KT-34XA made working each coast much easier on 20, 15, and 10m. Perhaps the next thing to try is an inverted vee for 40m as the 2 el yagi is still too much of a DX antenna for this contest.
The bands were in very good shape this year with even 75m being nice and quiet Saturday evening. Unfortunately, good rates on the other bands meant that we got on 75 much later, but I hope anyone needing KS Saturday night did manage find at least one of the operations.
On the plus side we did manage to improve our rate considerably over the past two efforts.
Perhaps most impressive was the civility on the bands. Not once did I hear anything not becoming a courteous operator. Certainly QRM got heavy and a couple of times I was asked to QSY, which I did. Everyone I encountered in the '02 SS was a lady and a gentleman. Thanks, Riley, for helping to restore civility to the ham bands!
I find it interesting to look at the last sections that are worked for the sweep. In 2001 NL and PR were our last two sections worked. This year NE, WY, and MB were our last three worked for the sweep. Interestingly NL came by for #47 and NWT for #51 this year while PR was #62. The traditional "rare" sections just weren't. Does this mean we need more sections?
CU in SS '03! -- N0NB
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