2008 ARRL November Sweepstakes (Phone)
11/18/2008 |
VE8EV
An old Inuit proverb says: 'When the Northern Lights with my eyes I see, will make my kilowatt QRP'
Sweepstakes from the high Arctic is a DX contest for us and particularly challenging because all the stateside stations QSY to the low bands so early to work their neighbours all night long with low dipoles. Our only neighbours are a handful of KL7's and VY1EI all about 1000 miles *south* of us. To that end, we spent the week before the contest working on amplifiers, installing big antennas for 40m and 80m, and praying for K=0 during the contest.
Our goal was simple: get a sweep and put as many stations in the log as we could. I've been the last section for others many many times but never even come close to a sweep myself. With all the 75th anniversary promotion and VE8DW's help in the second chair I knew this would be the year.
Conditions were good on Saturday afternoon. Worked a bunch of stations on 20m right before the contest (including a VE2) and got lots of reports saying we were loud. After the opening bell we had some nice runs on 15m and 20m in the first hours. Then the local K-index shot up to 5 and all our pre-contest plans went in the dumpster. Despite our best efforts we only managed to put 20 Q's in the log between 0100z and 0800z when we finally called it a night and grabbed a few hours of sleep.
The bands were still dodgy at 1200z the next morning but in between mostly unanswered CQ's we managed to get VO1MP, KP2TM and VY2LI into the log so a sweep was looking like it might be a possibility. Finally, at 1730z conditions improved, someone spotted us and we finally got a run going. The bands started getting shaky again around 2100z so we took a break to regroup and figure out what to do next. Our hastily installed internet connection to the contest site would drop out every time we transmitted so with about a dozen sections remaining for the sweep and 20m the only band open to the US we decided to S&P, keep one eye on the packet spots and focus on multiplier hunting. After only 45 minutes we were down to just six left and went back to running in the hopes that they'd come to us. As usual, we found a hole in the QRM and started calling with almost no takers. Finally we got spotted and then the rate jumped from 0 to 100 in the blink of an eye. When NP4Z called in at 2002z I knew we were getting close. KP2 and KP4 are usually easy from here on 15m but that band didn't open at all on Sunday. After a nice little run the aurora popped up again at 2227z (exactly) and the rate went back to zero just as fast as it came up. I actually got up and looked outside to see if an antenna fell down or a wayward snowmobile had snagged a feedline! Still needing VE2, VT, SC and LAX we decided to take another 30 minute off-period and get set up for the home stretch. I was pretty sure we'd find LAX somewhere but after 20m closes the only hope for the last three would be on 40m. Before we got back on the air I went out in the snow and re-tuned the 80m vertical for forty so we'd have that in addition to the 40m wire beam and both positions would be able to S&P on the same band.
As I hoped, in the last gasp on 20m we worked AI6V and put LAX in the log. At 0030z we took our last off-period and then turned our attention to 40m. The good news was that the aurora had finally gone away and 40m was open from coast-to-coast-to-coast. The bad news was that almost all the stations heard were already in the log, and there was no sign of our last three for the sweep. I made a half-hearted attempt at running in the last hour but the band dropped off again and all we could hear was the fat lady singing.
Highlight: Getting a brief auroral Es opening on 20m Saturday evening and working VY1EI off the back of his beam to put our own section in the log. Didn't hear any other NT stations at all for the rest of the contest.
Pet peeve: Logging software that won't take NT as the section. The official ARRL abbreviation for this 'section' has been NT for almost 10 years. Before that it was NWT. It's never been YT. Still, it sounded like some were having issues when they tried to log us. I ran into the same thing in SS CW.
So, no sweep for us this time. I was amazed at the 2K+ serial numbers some guys were handing out towards the end. Contesting must be even more fun down there than it is up here! I was also surprised at the number of QRP stations in our log (almost a dozen). I'd planned on pausing every once in a while during runs to listen for QRPers but it looks like it wasn't necessary. Working from inside the auroral zone makes me very sympathetic to QRP ops. I feel your pain, lol.
All in all, we had an absolutely great time. Thanks to all for the Q's and we're already looking forward to next year!
73 John VE8EV Wally VE8DW
-- VE8EV
Sweepstakes from the high Arctic is a DX contest for us and particularly challenging because all the stateside stations QSY to the low bands so early to work their neighbours all night long with low dipoles. Our only neighbours are a handful of KL7's and VY1EI all about 1000 miles *south* of us. To that end, we spent the week before the contest working on amplifiers, installing big antennas for 40m and 80m, and praying for K=0 during the contest.
Our goal was simple: get a sweep and put as many stations in the log as we could. I've been the last section for others many many times but never even come close to a sweep myself. With all the 75th anniversary promotion and VE8DW's help in the second chair I knew this would be the year.
Conditions were good on Saturday afternoon. Worked a bunch of stations on 20m right before the contest (including a VE2) and got lots of reports saying we were loud. After the opening bell we had some nice runs on 15m and 20m in the first hours. Then the local K-index shot up to 5 and all our pre-contest plans went in the dumpster. Despite our best efforts we only managed to put 20 Q's in the log between 0100z and 0800z when we finally called it a night and grabbed a few hours of sleep.
The bands were still dodgy at 1200z the next morning but in between mostly unanswered CQ's we managed to get VO1MP, KP2TM and VY2LI into the log so a sweep was looking like it might be a possibility. Finally, at 1730z conditions improved, someone spotted us and we finally got a run going. The bands started getting shaky again around 2100z so we took a break to regroup and figure out what to do next. Our hastily installed internet connection to the contest site would drop out every time we transmitted so with about a dozen sections remaining for the sweep and 20m the only band open to the US we decided to S&P, keep one eye on the packet spots and focus on multiplier hunting. After only 45 minutes we were down to just six left and went back to running in the hopes that they'd come to us. As usual, we found a hole in the QRM and started calling with almost no takers. Finally we got spotted and then the rate jumped from 0 to 100 in the blink of an eye. When NP4Z called in at 2002z I knew we were getting close. KP2 and KP4 are usually easy from here on 15m but that band didn't open at all on Sunday. After a nice little run the aurora popped up again at 2227z (exactly) and the rate went back to zero just as fast as it came up. I actually got up and looked outside to see if an antenna fell down or a wayward snowmobile had snagged a feedline! Still needing VE2, VT, SC and LAX we decided to take another 30 minute off-period and get set up for the home stretch. I was pretty sure we'd find LAX somewhere but after 20m closes the only hope for the last three would be on 40m. Before we got back on the air I went out in the snow and re-tuned the 80m vertical for forty so we'd have that in addition to the 40m wire beam and both positions would be able to S&P on the same band.
As I hoped, in the last gasp on 20m we worked AI6V and put LAX in the log. At 0030z we took our last off-period and then turned our attention to 40m. The good news was that the aurora had finally gone away and 40m was open from coast-to-coast-to-coast. The bad news was that almost all the stations heard were already in the log, and there was no sign of our last three for the sweep. I made a half-hearted attempt at running in the last hour but the band dropped off again and all we could hear was the fat lady singing.
Highlight: Getting a brief auroral Es opening on 20m Saturday evening and working VY1EI off the back of his beam to put our own section in the log. Didn't hear any other NT stations at all for the rest of the contest.
Pet peeve: Logging software that won't take NT as the section. The official ARRL abbreviation for this 'section' has been NT for almost 10 years. Before that it was NWT. It's never been YT. Still, it sounded like some were having issues when they tried to log us. I ran into the same thing in SS CW.
So, no sweep for us this time. I was amazed at the 2K+ serial numbers some guys were handing out towards the end. Contesting must be even more fun down there than it is up here! I was also surprised at the number of QRP stations in our log (almost a dozen). I'd planned on pausing every once in a while during runs to listen for QRPers but it looks like it wasn't necessary. Working from inside the auroral zone makes me very sympathetic to QRP ops. I feel your pain, lol.
All in all, we had an absolutely great time. Thanks to all for the Q's and we're already looking forward to next year!
73 John VE8EV Wally VE8DW
-- VE8EV
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