[PaQSO] N3WAV/M-R.I.P.?

[Bill Gallagher]

Welcome to the perils of PA QSO Party Mobile
operations.

Now, try doing it with 3 watts!

I noticed that going through that upper west part of
the state is difficult on Saturday night...40 just
does NOT cooperate, and last year, I lost a pile of
counties dwon the west end, because noone could hear
me! I finally gave up and just drove to get to the
hotel...and backtracked in the AM to get the counties
behind me, at least as far back as WES and ALL, and
still get back to the hotel to pick up my XYL in time
to get to PER by noon.

I learned, after two years in a row sleeping in the
car...to make my route early, and to find a hotel room
LONG before the 'test.

Most counties I've ever done was 46!

Rig problems....nothing major until this year. I lost
the 706 by the fourth county...and had an intermittent
audio problem with the 747-SX for the rest of the
'test. Thought I'd cut back on the number of counties
and do some CW this year. I have the keyer set up for
the 706, not the Yaesu....oh well!

Starting next year, I think I'll carry a spare rig!

Also had some coupler problems on Sunday...seemed to
be 'bad' power. On Monday, the van died. Lots of
power, gas in the tanks, not a bad sensor....looks
like BOTH fuel pumps died, and probably sent all kinds
of nasty spikes out while they were going.

Lessee...drop the gas tanks, change two filters, two
pickups, two specially modified (no RF noise) pumps, a
new pressure regulator, since the old one will be
wafffled from running dry...and it wouldn't surprise
me if I'll have to replace the injectors...oughta be
somewhere between a grand and $1500. 

The truly sad thing is, I WILL be doing mobile again
next year!

It's funny how time makes you forget....by July,
you'll be planning to go again!

Bill WA3RA

--- N3WAV@aol.com wrote:
> Hello All,
>        Well, I made my attempt to make it to all 33
> WPA counties in the 
> mobile.  
>        I was doing pretty well, despite the fact
> that it took 1 hour to get 
> my 10 QSO's in FAY because no one could hear me over
> the 7,000,000Mwatt 
> stations. 
>        I got to ERI and sat at the Advanced Auto
> Parts in Corry.  The QRM 
> from the 7,000,000Gwatt stations and the foreign
> broadcast was so bad that no 
> one could hear me.  I switched to 20m.  Did not hear
> anyone so I called and 
> called on 14.275, the listed mobile window, and got
> no replies.  Switched to 
> 75 meters and no one could hear me (this was at 7:00
> PM).  I was in ERI for 
> 1.5 hours.  Moved to Warren.  Also took 1 hour to
> make 10 contacts on 80, and 
> each one was a struggle.  Moved to McKean.  Again it
> took 1.5 hours to make 
> my 10 contacts.  I sat in front of a business,
> promted the Police to stop and 
> talk to me and ask what I was doing and why I was
> there for so long.  I 
> explained Amateur Radio to him and how the contest
> worked and he was very 
> interested and did not give me a hard time.  
>        Then I moved to ELK.  I made 1 contact in 30
> minutes so at 11:00 I 
> decided that I would go St. Marys and get a room and
> go to sleep.  No rooms 
> anywhere in St. Marys.  Drove to Emporium.  No rooms
> in Emporium.  Drove to 
> Renovo.  No rooms in Renovo.  It is now 1:30 in the
> A of M.  All of the 
> 7,000,000,000Gwatt stations are in bed, warmed by
> their amps.  Drove to Lock 
> Haven.  No rooms in Lock Haven.  Drove to Lamar.  No
> rooms in Lamar.  It is 
> now after 2:00 AM.  I decided that since I missed
> activating ELK, POT, CLE, 
> and CRN because no one could hear me, that I would
> sleep in the Durango in 
> the parking lot of the Comfort Inn in Lamar so that
> I could give out CLI in 
> the morning.  No bed, no shower in AM, no chance to
> change clothes.  But 
> people wanted CLI so I sacrificed for them.
>        The next day worked out better and I was even
> able to give out CLE by 
> altering the route slightly (Unfortunately I forgot
> FRA).
>        After all the driving (780 miles), after all
> of the near misses while 
> trying to paper log while driving, after being
> stopped by the police, after 
> sleeping in the car (my chiropractor Sam, KE3PO,
> calls that job security), 
> after driving and logging in the rain and fog, after
> all the people 
> tailgating me, after my foot switch not working so
> that I had to use my hand 
> mike the entire time, I was thinking that maybe this
> was for the birds.
>        Well, then I figured that maybe I should get
> a good night's sleep in a 
> real bed and then maybe I would feel better.  I got
> up this morning, had a 
> good day at work and was feeling great when I came
> home.  I had dinner and 
> started thinking about next year.  How could I help
> everyone get those needed 
> counties?  The hassles of Saturday seemed to have
> disappeared.
>        Then I checked my email.  There must have
> been 30 or 40 PSQSO emails.  
> I sat down to read them and collect the thank you's.
>  Well, the hassles of 
> Saturday seemed to instantly reappear as I read
> thank you's to just about 
> every other mobile but me.  Now, mind you, I did not
> go mobile for the thank 
> you's or any kind of glory.  I just wanted to help
> folks get hard to get 
> counties. But little pat on the pack would have been
> nice.  One good thing, 
> it helped me make up my mind about ever again
> driving 780 miles as a favor 
> the Party.
>        Did I miss working a lot of counties?  Of
> course.  Because when I 
> tried to get a rare county the
> 7,000,000,000,000Gwatt stations said "NO! TO 
> THE MOBILE."
>        My favorite quote of the contest:  "The
> mobile stand by, the other 
> station go."  Shouldn't it be the other way around? 
> Get the weak signal 
> first?  Get the mobile first so that he can move to
> another county?  Only one 
> station, W4ZE, took me first over the other
> stations.
>        So good luck next year getting those rare
> counties.  I think I will 
> just stay at home and give out my rare county-WES.
>        73, de Bob, N3WAV / no longer M
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