[Elecraft] 160 m contest

[David A. Belsley]

Well, it sure was fun to exercise the K2/100 on top band over the 
weekend.  It was a challenge to get my homemade Italian antenna tuner 
(it looks like a plate of spaghetti) to deal with the inductive 
reactance of my newly shortened antenna (142" flat top, center fed with 
open-wire line), but, after pulling a couple of good-ol' 365pf 
multigang broadcast-band variable caps from the junk box, the job was 
successfully accomplished.

And, boy, did it get out.  Why, I got 599s from everyone I worked!  
Although it was clear that a number of those ops were quite poor with 
their code, because they had to ask me several times to repeat my 
state, despite my s9 signal strength.  That's what happens when you 
dust off your cw only every now and again for contests.  But I do 
realize that receiving an M and an A in rapid succession can be taxing, 
even for the best of us.

Meanwhile, the K2 did work beautifully and the filters were fantastic 
at removing the effects of nearby 30-over-9 stations.  It's too bad it 
takes a contest to get that kind of activity on 160 meters.

best wishes,

dave belsley, w1euy