11/04/2003 | K0PG I am an occasional cw contester. Those occasions usually involve contests that have exchanges like "5NN IL." You can imagine that I was a little shaky taking another stab at this event, but I figured that I would S & P my way through it, listening to the CQers and getting a handle on their exchange before jumping in.

Just for fun I decided to use my Vibroplex Bug. After all, what are a few extra dits every once in a while among friends? To make things more interesting, Pat and I are cliff dwellers in a no antennas environment. With darkness coming earlier I sneaked the Outbacker onto the balcony. It has two random length radials carefully chosen for their color. To top it off, I run QRP to avoid any RFI problems. Since there's no Rover class in SS (Hey Dan, Whaddaya think?) I just had to make the best of it.

We had family functions scheduled during the contest period, but I thought that I could add a little to the club effort by making 50 Qs.

After getting into the flow, and experiencing an increase in proficiency I put in as much time as possible winding up with 123 Qs in 52 sections. Remarkably, only three stations I called did not come back, and very few stations had to ask for fills. Thanks to those who QRSed down to 20ish wpm when I called in. I know that I was slowing down their rate, but their help was appreciated.

Good old cw; PR and VI on 40 meters with 5 watts output from an 8 foot antenna on the wrong side of the building. Both stations came back on the first call.

It's a reminder that it's supposed to be fun, and this time it sure was! I'll have more time during the SS phone so who knows what will happen? Listen for the weak ones! 73, Tim K0PG Q 62 IL. -- K0PG