2006 ARRL January VHF Sweepstakes
01/25/2006 |
KD4MCA
I began this contest with high hopes, and while my score was not what I wanted it to be (rotor failure, poor propagation, etc) my high hopes were fulfilled by the operators I ran into on the bands.
Murphy started off with a bang, keeping me at work late on Saturday. I was talking about leaving at 2:00 pm and didn't get out until 5:15. Oh well, plenty of time to catch up. So I turned on the rigs, the Icom 746 pro to 6, the Alinco FM 2 meter rig, and the Yaesu 736R to 440 (talk about brand loyalty :-) ). As the contest progressed I noticed I was not hearing any stations to my north and hearing strong stations to my south when I should have been facing north (my directional indicator went out a couple of month ago). So I walked outside and checked the beams. Still facing south. I rotated them and checked again, still facing south. So now the rotor was completely shot, except for the 440 beam which was only 20 ft up in its temporary configuration. Oh well, Murphy 2, Me 0.
But I continued to call CQ and work stations. The locals in my club came by and said howdy, and other hams in the area I know gave me contacts. I was still having fun without my station being in top physical condition.
I worked stations I had worked many times, including W4VHF on CW off the back of the beam, and others for the first time. It was cool to work KR4WM and KI4IMC on the SC coast from the NW NC mountains off the side of the beam. I tried hard to work a station from SE Ohio off the back of the beam to no avail.
But two things stand out most in my mind about the January VHF Sweepstakes: the new guys and the friendliness of the operators. I was thrilled to hear KI4LPR, one of the newest hams in our club, calling CQ, looking for and making contacts, including his first into SC. And stations such as W4JJF taking the time to help another contester with the direction he needed to turn his beam in order to work me. Folks, with operators like these, the hobby is in great hands for years to come.
Final score: Me 3 Murphy 2 in overtime. See y'all next contest.
Peace and 73
Adam KD4MCA -- KD4MCA
Murphy started off with a bang, keeping me at work late on Saturday. I was talking about leaving at 2:00 pm and didn't get out until 5:15. Oh well, plenty of time to catch up. So I turned on the rigs, the Icom 746 pro to 6, the Alinco FM 2 meter rig, and the Yaesu 736R to 440 (talk about brand loyalty :-) ). As the contest progressed I noticed I was not hearing any stations to my north and hearing strong stations to my south when I should have been facing north (my directional indicator went out a couple of month ago). So I walked outside and checked the beams. Still facing south. I rotated them and checked again, still facing south. So now the rotor was completely shot, except for the 440 beam which was only 20 ft up in its temporary configuration. Oh well, Murphy 2, Me 0.
But I continued to call CQ and work stations. The locals in my club came by and said howdy, and other hams in the area I know gave me contacts. I was still having fun without my station being in top physical condition.
I worked stations I had worked many times, including W4VHF on CW off the back of the beam, and others for the first time. It was cool to work KR4WM and KI4IMC on the SC coast from the NW NC mountains off the side of the beam. I tried hard to work a station from SE Ohio off the back of the beam to no avail.
But two things stand out most in my mind about the January VHF Sweepstakes: the new guys and the friendliness of the operators. I was thrilled to hear KI4LPR, one of the newest hams in our club, calling CQ, looking for and making contacts, including his first into SC. And stations such as W4JJF taking the time to help another contester with the direction he needed to turn his beam in order to work me. Folks, with operators like these, the hobby is in great hands for years to come.
Final score: Me 3 Murphy 2 in overtime. See y'all next contest.
Peace and 73
Adam KD4MCA -- KD4MCA
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