Re: VHF contest experiences?
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James Duffey
Summary:
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Band QSOs SSB CW Mults -------------------––––––––– 6: 44 34 10 21 2: 9 8 1 3 222: 432: 12 11 1 5 ------------------–––––––––––––––––––––––––– Total: 65 53 12 29 Total Score = 2,233 Trying to attempt different things in the VHF/UHF contest, so I did a SOP operation instead of my usual rove, which has been on hiatus during the pandemic. Eventually I want to mount a full out SOP effort, but thought I would try a dry run, not too far from home, with my rover setup. I set up on the Sandia Crest, which is a tough RFI & intermod environment. I had surplus cavity filters for 2m and 70 cm which helped a lot. 50MHz had a few problems with weak intermod, but it was possible to work around them without a big impact to the score. 2M with the filter was good, but I didn’t think I was getting out as well as I thought I should. Not use what the problem is. 432 was also good on Sunday, but on Saturday I had serious intermod problems. Not sure what the difference was, but I parked a bit further away from the tower farm on Sunday. 222MHZ was useless with a 10dB over 9 noise level. People could hear me, but I couldn't hear them. Very frustrating, but now I know I need to get a filter for 222MHz for serious work from where I would like to operate. I had intended to run the WSJT digital modes to see how they worked with QRP, but I had problems with both computers, one hardware and one software, so that was out. I think I missed out on a lot of grids by not having that capability; so that also goes on the list of things to improve. I could receive OK, and on that basis, I think if I had been active on FT8 I could have doubled my score or better. I had some short and weak Es openings, but there was not a lot of activity on SSB and CW to match the openings. It is a sign of the digital times I guess. I got out better than I thought I would with QRP, and only on occasion did I have to resort to CW to work an SSB station when I was weak there. But, there seemed to be fewer SSB OPs that were willing to do cross mode QSOs than in he past. On my attempt to work a fairly strong multi-multi station on CW when they were on SSB, I got a "please try us later when there will be a different operator who knows CW." OK, I get it, I am becoming an anachronism. I was pleased with the score and feel more confident with a future more serious SOP effort. According to the ARRL.org web page, it is a new NM record, but I think that their record stats only go back as far as there are digital logs, to 2002, and that there was a bigger score put up in the 90s. I will probably be back for a full scale rove in the July CQ WW VHF contest. - Duffey James Duffey KK6MC Cedar Crest NM
On Jun 18, 2021, at 06:24, Bruce Draper <bruceaa5b@...> wrote:
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