2003 ARRL November Sweepstakes (Phone)
11/19/2003 |
NX9T
This effort was a mixed bag for me. Saturday started out painfully slow and I just couldn't get "in the groove". I was so frustrated that when I QRT'd for the night....I made plans to attend a hamfest Sunday mornning rather than get up and contest. Well, I did just that but as Murphy would have it...on the way to the hamfest I was listening in on 40m and couldn't believe the HUGE signals everywhere. The bands were alive!!! I went on to the hamfest but returned home and got back on the air around 11:00am. Played a few hours til 1:00 when I took 2 hours off to enjoy the beautiful NC weather outdoors. Got back on the air and played contest until my kids bedtime when I took another hour off. All in all, I wound up with about 13 hours operating time.
The bands were incredibly jammed packed with contestors. 20, 40, and 80M presented very little room for finding a frequency. This was a primary reason for my depression I think Saturday...I like to run'em and this just wasn't happening. I'm starting to think that the SO2R approach(which I don't do) is taking up to much spectrum. Several times I found a clear frequency...QRL'd a couple times...started up...only to be told "The frequencies in use..blah blah CQ CQ CQ"...It was obviously someone off on another frequency working someone else then when they came BACK wanted their frequency back under the premis that they never gave it up. I believe if you leave...don't respond to QRL type inquiry...then too bad. That's your risk of trying to utilize two radios on two bands at the same time. Ohwell...off the soapbox.
In my 13 hours...wound up with 921 Q's and 79 multipliers. Never heard "NT" and am glad I didn't spend time hunting them down as it sounds like working them would have been difficult(to say the least) and time consuming.
SS is always a great contest. I enjoy it greatly and am so glad that Sunday wound up better than Saturday...the contest was saved!!!! :)
Please feel free to visit my homepage for info. about my stations:
www.qsl.net/nx9t
73 and GL!
Jeff -- NX9T
The bands were incredibly jammed packed with contestors. 20, 40, and 80M presented very little room for finding a frequency. This was a primary reason for my depression I think Saturday...I like to run'em and this just wasn't happening. I'm starting to think that the SO2R approach(which I don't do) is taking up to much spectrum. Several times I found a clear frequency...QRL'd a couple times...started up...only to be told "The frequencies in use..blah blah CQ CQ CQ"...It was obviously someone off on another frequency working someone else then when they came BACK wanted their frequency back under the premis that they never gave it up. I believe if you leave...don't respond to QRL type inquiry...then too bad. That's your risk of trying to utilize two radios on two bands at the same time. Ohwell...off the soapbox.
In my 13 hours...wound up with 921 Q's and 79 multipliers. Never heard "NT" and am glad I didn't spend time hunting them down as it sounds like working them would have been difficult(to say the least) and time consuming.
SS is always a great contest. I enjoy it greatly and am so glad that Sunday wound up better than Saturday...the contest was saved!!!! :)
Please feel free to visit my homepage for info. about my stations:
www.qsl.net/nx9t
73 and GL!
Jeff -- NX9T
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