W4KAZ

amended 11/23/2009, noon

This year’s SSB contest was great motivation to become a better CW OP.

It should have been obvious when the RigBlaster turned up dead Tuesday evening that Murphy had decided to grace the KazShack with his exuberant best during the SSB portion of Sweepstakes. Or maybe the K.I.S.S.(Keep It Simple, Stupid!) rule should have been followed when working around the hole the absent RigBlaster introduced into the scheme. The audio check test runs Thursday evening would have helped identify the problems, but the work-around was not prepared by then. Such is Life.

The long and short is that I really lidded up the bands with RF infested audio. The problem was much worse with the FT-920 for some reason, but the K2 was not a whole lot better. And yet, people still dug it out. The one curiosity in the entire thing is that the FT-920 monitor sounds pristine. It seems like I read somewhere the monitor on that radio is before the RF sections – but not sure why RF on the line is not causing the audio monitor to be distorted as well.

The DVK audio from the computer was the worst. The pipes suffered from that, since the voice is still not 100 percent from an issue over the holidays in 2008.

My intent was to enjoy the contest, and play with SO2R. As it turned out, it was more like SO(0.33)R – except the audio was crap from both radios. The nasty audio didn’t do much to encourage answers to CQ’s, so most of the activity came down to S&P. Even if I had planned to operate class “A”, I’d probably have ditched that and turned on the packet system anyway – even if it had resulted in a checklog.

Watching the spots was probably the highlight. I spent a lot of time spotting as much as I could find that was not already on the band map, as well as any stations that seemed to be having a slow period when we crossed paths.

I had better luck on 15m than on 20m. 20m is tough sledding with a dipole and low power compared to the other bands. Probably did not spend enough time on 40m. The resurrected 15m/10m rectangular loop paid off with a few mults I think I would have otherwise missed.

Since I had time to toy with the second radio(in rx anyway), I came to the conclusion that SO2R on SSB is going to be several orders of magnitude more difficult than on CW. It seems it will be a whole lot simpler to mentally filter out CW signals on either ear than with SSB.

With CW it’s just a stereo pile-up. With SSB it is more like Donald Duck talking with Peanuts’/Charlie Brown adults at a Van Halen concert, all played to the background melody of RTTY and slow scan tuner-uppers.

Quoth Snoopy…”Bleh”.

It is always curious to see which sections will be left on the table. No Quebec? That’s not normally one that goes missing. Rhode Island is a bit easier to miss from the QTH. The other three, MB, BC, NT, are sections that are “the usual suspects”, so missing those is no big surprise. AK and PAC turned out to be easier than normal when I stumbled upon stations from both before they were spotted. I picked up the first AB station in a similar manner, but later worked a couple more. I had an OK station call me during my one 40m run, but I was not able to copy him through the “donald duck” QRM. The 6’s were all tough with the poor audio.

Almost zero time was spent in packet pile-ups. Three calls then move along. That was probably necessary with Murph’s bad audio on top of the low power crappy antennas. No one trying to manage a pile up is going to waste time on a weak station with bad audio. Thats not to hard too understand, and it sure makes sense. So there is even less point in wasting time that way than normal.

Missed:
RI QC MB BC NT

The Good:

• The SO2R switching performed flawlessly. I made a lot of use of the “follow active radio” feature when S&P.
• The momentary contact buttons on the SO2R control are a great feature. It is really easy to jab a button to concentrate on one radio. This is especially true in SSB, because SSB is harder to separate mentally than with CW.
• Need to implement foot switches for that momentary audio switching, as K4QPL suggested. That’s a great idea.
• Lots of fun spotting folks otherwise lost in the cracks.
• If his serial number reflected actual Q’s KA1ARB’s station was kicking butts and taking callsigns. Nice to see somebody was having a good contest.

The Bad:

• Murphy. ’nuff said.

The Ugly:

• Missed Thursday evening “test” contest, which may have helped fix the problems.
• OK – maybe not quite ’nuff said. Initial cables for SSB audio seem susceptible to RFI. Need to solve that. Prefer to have the RF at the end of the coax and on the antennas rather than floating around the shack!
• Computer DVK – crappy audio. WHY? Just another RFI problem?

The Final Damage:

Summary:
Band  QSOs
------------
160:    0
80:  191
40:   93
20:   35
15:   42
10:    0
------------
Total:  361  Sections = 75  Total Score = 54,150

A big scheduling conundrum – LSU v. Alabama game scheduled at the same time as the start of SS CW. Hmmmm.

The allure of a possible shot at another run at the BCS title by LSU had me hedging at the start of the contest. No TV in the shack, nor time to set one up, so my compromise was I would hit the radio if/when the lads fall behind. I expected that to happen sooner rather than later, but the Tigers kept me from seriously attacking the initial contest bedlam for a couple of hours – before losing.

So I walk down into the shack at halftime, towards the end of the first hour. I put on the headphones. The right hand radio just happens to be sitting right on top of VE8EV. (Booming in too) BANG – Two calls, and the first QSO logged is the NT section. ?!?!?!?!?!!!!!!!! First time I work them in SS.

Checking the spots next, VE7 and BC section – BANG second QSO logged on first call. WP3R – BANG, third QSO.

Three mults that are usually scarce here, all in about five minutes. Given my normal luck rounding up these guys, I considered pulling the plug right there. 😮 (I didn’t!)

Finished up the contest a bit behind the 2008 effort, but not by a lot. A new RFI problem kept knocking down the ISP connection on 80m, and on one of the 20m antennas.

Spent most of the contest flying low and slow, and the flak from the BigGunZ was intermittent. Spent most of my time running at the expected low-power-low-skill rates. Used the second radio a lot during the S&P sessions.

Two radio S&P gave me rates close to my average run rate, but I never got the 10 minute S&P rate above 50(goal was 60+, with over 45 for 60 minutes). Only S&P’d a short while looking for 6’s and 7’s. Found clear frequencies low in the band a couple of times for a couple of productive but short in duration runs.

Skipped past all of the packet pile-ups if they didn’t hear me after the second call. The two radio S&P rate was too good to waste time on a VO1 packet pileup.

Never heard a peep from WTX or ID. Didn’t look too hard either.

80m conditions were good. Some of the QRP stations sounded like high power big guns. The short skip to the NE and NW was good.

Missed:

WTX ID AK NL

Station:

SO2R with Elecraft K2 and Yaesu F-920.

Antennas:

• 80m: folded dipole @ 50ft
• 40m: 2 dipoles at right angles, @ 45ft, reflector added to E/W to form 2 el. wire yagi.
• 20m: E/W dipole @50ft
• 15m/10m: Nested rectangular loops, top at 60ft

The Good:

• The 40m reflector. This played very well for a domestic contest. Interaction caused favorable signal levels in the desired directions, and about four S-unit difference in certain directions between the two.
• Working NT section as the first QSO, only two calls.
• Short runs on 20m, better than normal
• Runs on 40m better than last year, worked more 6’s than before.

The Bad:

• Missed the first two hours
• No sweep. “ID” section I understand, but “WTX”?

The Ugly:

• RFI knocking down ISP. Rendered one 20m antenna useless, and also a problem on 80m.

The Final Damage

Summary:
 Band  QSOs
------------
  160:    0
   80:  272
   40:  195
   20:   98
   15:   20
   10:    0
------------
Total:  585  Sections = 76  Total Score = 88,920

It turned out to be a wonderful weekend for a radio contest. The weather here in central North Carolina was crappy, but not crappy enough to ruin the radio conditions completely. The bands were noisy, but the QRM was much worse than the QRN. Finding a clear frequency to run seemed the bigger problem.

So it was great to sit at the controls of N1LN for several stretches over the weekend. The company is good, and the operating was fun too.

The start of the contest had me on the 20m station. Propagation at the start of the contest seemed very strange, and I was not able to establish a good run. S&P was also problematic. Signals were strong, but I was getting mixed results trying to pick up mults from the band map.

Over the evening, 40m showed mixed results, but I felt better about my first stretch there. This was the first time I had used N1LN’s beverages on 40m, and they definitely helped reduce noise levels for copy on weaker signals.

I had the great good fortune to pull the slots that resulted in being at the helm for the beginning of the day on 15m. The end of my slot for Saturday morning showed 15m opening to Europe just after 11:00z. I took a short break from the (then) low rate 40m drudgery for a toasted bagel around 11:20z. When I sat back down at the station at 11:35z, the band map was full of fresh juicy EU mults, just begging to be cherry picked. I worked through most of those relatively quickly, then spun the dial and started S&Ping EU stations. That shift was relieved by KA1ARB , and Rob had a good three hour slot there.

Based on the conditions of Saturday morning, it seemed like a good idea to be ready for action on 15m Sunday morning. When I checked the operator schedule again I realized I’d be one of the operators on deck for another slot beginning 10:00z Sunday morning. By keeping a close ear to the signals on 15m, I was able to get a nice 15m run going before the band became crowded. It was very encouraging to hear how good 15m was for a change. We had good fortune operating on 15m during the daylight hours and into the early evening both days.

20m was also productive, as it remained open well into the evening. It was often a real struggle to copy stations through the QRM, and maintaining a run was difficult there.

The low bands were tougher sledding, but the other ops had better luck rounding up mults down there than I did. N1LN’s beverages were often crucial to QSO productivity, as they made rx much easier.

Call: N1LN
Operator(s): W4KAZ, N4YDU, KA1ARB, K4CZ, N4TCP, N1YXU, N1LN
Station: N1LN

Class: M/2 HP
QTH: NC-05
Operating Time (hrs): 48

Summary:
Band  QSOs  Zones  Countries
------------------------------
160:   78    14       30
80:  290    19       82
40:  573    30      107
20: 1113    34      131
15:  924    29      129
10:   98    10       24
------------------------------
Total: 3076   136      503  Total Score = 5,018,706

Tomorrow is NAQP SSB, and I’m going to get a chance to operate as part of the NC4KW multi over at N1LN. Sweet. Except the WX may be terrible. Not so sweet.

Only a partial part-time effort for the CW NAQP two weeks ago. After re-assembling most of the station following its dis-assembly for Field Day and IOTA, the NAQP CW was a bit of a non-event. A low motivation level and family plans also interdicted what is normally a favorite contest. There’s a bit of August thunderstorm induced shyness at work too, but that part bypassed the KazShack QTH his year.

Running was never seriously attempted, and the one short run showed a slow rate. I was happy enough to bail on running – low motivation. On the other hand, two radio Search and Pounce shows a lot of promise, and will be especially fun if propagation conditions improve to the point where there are good solid openings on multiple bands. Even so, the SO2R S&P showed rates that are better than my normal run rates. I easily had a 40 QSO hour, and the 10 minute rate hit 61/hr once, and was in the 50’s several times. Nothing great, but a substaial improvement for emanations of the KazShack. My previous best CW S&P rate with a single radio seldom climbed above the 45/hr 10 minute rate.

Interesting. The conclusion I draw is that SO2R is a genuine advantage, even to a mediocre unmotivated operator. It is easy to see how the genuinely skilled operators can benefit even more from a second radio. Probably helps keep them from dying of boredom too.

It was also a nice changeto catch a few QSO’s on 15m. It would be fun to see 15m become more reliable again, it is a fun band.

The station needs to be examined, because it seems there was a new RFI problem. During NAQP, the internet connection dropped several times. Need to test each radio/antenna/band combination to find the culprit, and hopefully it isn’t everywhere. Also need to check all of the station connections. Something is not right since station re-assembly, as this problem did not occur during CW WPX in May. It seems likely I missed tying in a ground connection somewhere. Also need to check the ethernet hub and shack cables.

On a coincidental note, N4AF was my first QSO, and AA4XX was the last. N4AF founded the NC PVRC chapter, and has been a PVRC member for over 50 years, and AA4XX is our chapter’s newest member, having joined the chapter at the July meeting. No cosmic perturbations have resulted from this mystic alignment – I just love a good coincidence.

Summary:
Band  QSOs  Mults
-------------------
160:
80:   37    20
40:   26    21
20:   20    17
15:   17     7
10:
-------------------
Total:  100    65  Total Score = 6,500

IARU is a contest that gets better participation outside of the US. Its early summer time frame gives it a different twist for radio propagation, and it is only a 24 hour contest. The time frame means that you may only get one chance to work certain regions, so if you snooze you lose. But unlike a DX contest based on country borders and continents, it also allows for the US stations to work each other. Another thing that makes it enjoyable is the dual mode nature. It is a little bit of everything. Unique.

This is normally a favorite contest to work from the shack, although I seldom press it as hard as I might in others. I was not really looking forward to it this year because of continuing poor propagation, but I brightened up when N1LN and N1YXU decided to host a Multi-Single at their QTH. (and many thanks to N1YXU and N1LN for hosting the event!)

I needed to split my time for last Saturday anyway, so I asked Bruce to put me on the graveyard shift, which he did. He had rounded up quite a few people for staffing the active station. As it turns out, the crew was a good mix of CW and SSB talent. AA4XX and EA5DFV both joined in to the fun. Paul, AA4XX is a local ham who enjoys QRP operation. Our friend Jose’, EA5DFV is contest op for Spain who is vacationing in the area visiting his family. It was really good to get to know both gents better.

Jose’ also pulled the graveyard shift. He and I were up for the duration of the evening. W0UCE covered the first part of the evening for CW, and N1LN got up in the early morning to finish up the contest with us.

My own head was mostly “in a box” for the evening, so I had a great deal of difficulty concentrating. That made for less running and more S&P. Conditions were very noisy, which is a situation I usually struggle with when I am alert. I’m afraid my performance probably was an overall drag on the team.

On the positive side, I gained the benefit of being mentored by an experienced EA op. Jose’s insight into the thought processes he would be using if he had been at his home QTH were very enlightening. We began searching for multipliers as morning approached. This probably was a good choice for the score, as the run rates we were getting were low enough tha even a single mult was worth the 10 to 15 minutes on the other band.

The early am hours(0700z) were fun for me because of the openings to the Pacific area. This is somethig I don’t get much of with the LP/wires set up at home. At N1LN’s I began hearing VK’s on the middle 20m antenna. Later in the morning(1000z) the JA’s were coming in on the top antenna. But there was also some sort opening to the VK’s on the compass heading for the JA’s at that time. When I switched to the lower antenna pointed directly at them NOTHING was heard.

As always, the social aspect of the evening was just fantastic. Bruce and Laurie are wonderful folks. I made sure to put in a reservation for Chef Archie’s(W0UCE) dinner. We made wise cracks at UCE’s expense all evening, but the meal he prepared for the group was one of the best I have had in ages. Chef Archie gets four stars from el Escribano Inexacto.

The N1LN 3830 write-up.