[KCDXC] [3830] SS SSB KB0VVT Multi-Op HP Better Late Than Never

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[3830] SS SSB KB0VVT Multi-Op HP
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To:  3830@contesting.com
Subject:  [3830] SS SSB KB0VVT Multi-Op HP
From:  webform@b4h.net
Reply-to:  kg0us100@att.net
Date:  Tue, 16 Dec 2003 19:28:46 -0800
List-post:  <mailto:3830@contesting.com>

                    ARRL Sweepstakes Contest, SSB

Call: KB0VVT
Operator(s): KB0VVT, KG0UT, KG0US
Station: KB0VVT

Class: Multi-Op HP
QTH: MO
Operating Time (hrs): 24

Summary:
 Band  QSOs
------------
  160:
   80:  191
   40:  234
   20:  497
   15:   23
   10:    3
------------
Total:  948  Sections = 80  Total Score = 151,680

Club: Kansas City DX Club

Comments:

This phone contest has turned into the mother daughter contest over at our
house.  I basically just get to work the late night shift on this one.  We
ended
up several hundred QSOs down from last year when we ran low power.  We got a
knock on the door Saturday night from a neighbor complaining about RFI on
his
satellite TV.  We normally only get radio complaints from our neighbor right
next door to us to the north.  This neighbor is actually much further away
to
the northeast east of us about a half a block.  We were operating on 40
meters
on an Alpha Delta DX-A sloper with the apex at about 35 feet.  When I
answered
the door, he said "please don?t tell me your victor victor tango".  I
explained
that I am not but that my daughter is KB0VVT. The neighbor was nice about it
and
said that he would be going to bed in about an hour.  I made a compromise
that
we would not operate during the Kansas City Chiefs game on Sunday afternoon.
It
was at this point that I made a fatal mistake in our planning.  I decided to
stay up and operate all during the night so that we would minimize the
interference to the neighbors on Sunday during the day.  I essentially gave
away
the best operating times.  I learned that it is not necessarily how much you
operate but when you operate that can make a huge difference in the score as
evident by this years score being several hundred QSOs down.  Another
catastrophe occurred during Saturday night.  Forty meters propagation all
but
completely disappeared.  I do not even think the short wave broadcast
stations
could be heard.  This forced everyone to 80 meters.  We did not have an
antenna
with low enough SWR to run the amplifier on 80 so this even hurt us more.
Next
year,  I do not know what to do about the neighbors RFI but I will make sure
we
have an antenna that works on 80 meters so that I have less than 150 Watts
of
reflected power.

Dave KG0US
Barb KG0UT
Rebecca KB0VVT