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2003
2003 September VHF QSO Party
I finally got 6 bands running! My 902 transverter came Friday afternoon... I sure cut that one close! A big thanks goes out to N0AKC, W9RAY, KB9PJL and KB9LVK for all the loaned equipment!!!
The bands were really poor. No extended range propagation except two scatter contacts with DM79 and DM64. I was short one UHF to Type N adapter so many trips were taken up the roof to switch the coax between the 902 and 222 yagis (Including manually turning them).
Thanks for standing by while I did so! Highlights include: Working W0AMT/R in EN45 on all 6 bands! Working W0GHZ on 222 (7 watts and yagi laying on roof).
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2003 September VHF QSO Party
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| Band |
QSO's |
Points |
Grids |
| 50 |
57 |
57 |
19 |
| 144 |
73 |
73 |
23 |
| 222 |
13 |
26 |
3 |
| 432 |
26 |
52 |
7 |
| 902 |
8 |
24 |
2 |
| 1.2 |
9 |
27 |
2 |
| Total |
186 |
259 |
56 |
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Claimed Score 14,504
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2003 June VHF QSO Party Results
*Updated 11/19/03* The Results are out! 26th in nation, 4th in Central Division, 1st WI 6M!!! Hell Yeah, watch out big guns... someday I'll have a real station!
This contest rocked! Six opened at about 17:30z to Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. I claimed a frequency early before the contest and started to run some guys hoping that they would stand by until the contest started.
My first contest qso was with W9XQ in DM73! Six was open all day into the western states (and 1.5 hr to DE, MD, SC, NC, GA and FL). Some grids that were worked include: DM14, 22, 16, 07, CM87, 95, 98, CN88, DN01, and DN09 (VE7NUT).
This was my first computer logged contest. I used a windows version of CT by K1EA and was very pleased with it! SO much simpler and faster that paper logging. I dont think I will ever go back to a paper log again.
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2003 June VHF QSO Party
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| Band |
QSO's |
Points |
Grids |
| 50 |
269 |
269 |
119 |
| 144 |
65 |
65 |
17 |
| 432 |
34 |
68 |
7 |
| 1.2 |
6 |
18 |
1 |
| Total |
374 |
420 |
144 |
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Claimed Score 60,480
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K9MU June VHF QSO Party Logsheet (.txt)
2003 January Sweepstakes Summary
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Here is my contest day set up. For the first time ever I have more than two bands going...Yeah! My goal for 2003 was to break 10,000 points in any VHF contest.
I sure didn't fool around in doing so....thanks to the nice hour and a half six meter Es opening and the extra UHF bands! Wow that was fun! Thanks to Charlie-NØAKC
for the 1296 mhz transverter and the homebrew yagi and also thanks to Ray-W9RAY for the loaned IC-451A and Bob-KB9PJL for the Heliax. I couldn't of achieved my goal without you guys!
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Summary of Band Conditions
The poor local ground-wave conditions prompted a slow first day. At about 12:00am local time 144 mhz and 432 mhz seemed to pick up, I worked Bill-KØAWU in EN37 on both
2m and 70cm with 10 watts! I swung the beam around and also worked Mike-KMØT in EN13 with my 10 watts on 432! Sunday morning there was some decent scatter on six. K1TEO and others in W1 land
were worked. Then something happened that surprised everyone....a big six meter Es opening! At 21:09z I heard K4QI FM06 cq'ing contest. After we worked, I slid up the band to 50.160 and began to call cq contest. After others noticed
there was an opening I had a nice pile-up and worked about 90 q's and 25 grids in the hour and a half that it was open! At 00:17z there was another short 10 minute Es opening to Colorado where Jay-KØGU and others were worked!
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Someday when I move out of my parents house I will have a nice tower, but for now I'm using a "cheap" TV rotor to turn my three yagis! The antenna below the
the rotor is a homebrew NØAKC designed 27 element 1296 mhz yagi. It was fixed west toward KB9PJL and the Twin Cities, but when W9FZ/R came through the area
several trips were taken up the roof to manually turn it!
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2003 January VHF Sweepstakes
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| Band |
QSO's |
Points |
Grids |
| 50 |
154 |
154 |
38 |
| 144 |
57 |
57 |
13 |
| 432 |
38 |
76 |
11 |
| 1.2 |
10 |
40 |
2 |
| Total |
259 |
327 |
64 |
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Claimed Score 20,928
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Path Plot of 6M Es during the 2003 January Sweepstakes
I would appreciate input from other stations regarding grids worked during the 2003 January Sweeps 6M Es opening.
Click link above to see the coverage area of the Es cloud. Information can be sent here.
Contesting at WØIAH
When it comes to contesting I have always wanted to compete with the "Big Guns". It wasn't until Paul-WØAIH invited Charlie-NØAKC, Dave-N9TTX, and I (K9MU) to operate with them during the 2003 ARRL DX SSB Contest that I finally got to do so. We arrived as "Fresh-meat" Sunday afternoon to relieve
some of the crew that was operating the day before. AE9D, KØOB, KØTG, KTØR, NØHJZ, NØKK, WØAIH, and WRØDK welcomed us upon our arrival. It was my first time ever in a full-blown Contest Station, so it took me awhile to get familiar with their CT logging network and antenna switches. Once I had a relative idea of what I was doing I took
control of the 10M run station. Dave-N9TTX also got on 10M at the spotting station, while Charlie manhandled the 40M station. Their 4 X 5 element yagis on 10M produced some awesome JA and VK pile-ups that I have never before experienced. Charlie was busy pounding into EU with the stacked 3 element 40M beams.
Even though we only had the chance to operate for the afternoon we had lots of fun! I hope that we proved our presence so that we will again be invited to run the piles at WØAIH!
N9TTX's ARRL DX Contest Write-up/Pics
Total Score = 2444 Q's X 495 Mults = 3,624,885 Points
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