[PVRCNC] K4QPL SS PHONE, SOHP Assisted

[Jim Jordan K4QPL]

   Callsign Used : K4QPL
         Operator : K4QPL
         Category : SOHP Assisted
 Default Exchange : # U K4QPL 57 NC
          Team/Club : Potomac Valley Radio Club

   BAND     QSOs      Points   Mults
 __________________________________________________

   80SSB     125        250      16
   40SSB     175        350      26
   20SSB     217        434      30
   15SSB     114        228       5
 __________________________________________________

 Totals        631       1262      77

  Final Score = 97174 points.

Soapbox, Phase II, as K4QPL.

Well, if you remember the opening words to the old Johnny Cash song, "Sunday
Morning Coming Down" it pretty well sums up my thoughts waking at 1200Z
after getting back from W0UCE's QTH about 0900Z after starting the contest
as NY4A. I had to overcome that little voice that said, "Why are you doing
this in a phone contest?" Anyhow, to paraphrase Johnny, "I stumbled [up] the
stairs [to the shack] to meet the day...." I opened up the DVK, moved all
the jumpers from "Icom" to "Kenwood", plugged everything in, recorded new
messages and turned on the radio. The first syllable locked the radio in
transmit and it would only turn loose by turning off the DVK. Did that a few
times, decided something was wrong, bypassed the DVK and started operating.
It wasn't long before I decided a break was in order since saying "CQ SS" a
brazillion times was not my idea of fun. Besides, I kept saying "NY4A".
Careful manipulation of the vox gain, delay, etc. (on the back of the TS-850
which are hard to read and access at the best of times) sorted it out.  Soon
thereafter the hard reality that a TS-850 with stock SSB filters is not the
756ProII which I had been using at Jack's. But I soldiered on, the eternal
Pollyanna, remembering even a TS-850 is an improvement over the olden days
of a Hammarlund SuperPro or a Drake TR4. I also had to remember that my amp
was not a PW-1 and didn't follow me from band to band. (Jack, you've spoiled
me forever.)

Anyhow, I got going about 1230Z S&P'ing 80 and 40 and getting lots of
requests to confirm my number when I was giving out 1, 2, 3...After a half
hour easing back into the contest I got a run frequency on 40 and it was
back to the races. This time I was no Rodney Dangerfield and got plenty of
respect with a decent signal and being fresh meat. Ran for 40 mins with a
130 rate. Moved up to 20 which also ran well but stopped for breakfast and a
shower at 1430.

When I got back at 1525 I ran a bit longer, but listening to 15 it seemed
like a good time to stake my claim to a spot there. Decent run, but no
fireworks so went back to 40 at 1650 and turned in a 90/ hour run there.
Messed about on all bands chasing mults for a while. Ended up back on 20
where managed to hold a 90+ rate for an hour and a half. S&P'd some more and
jumped bands until I went to 80 at about 0000. Grabbed the other run
stations and set up my own run about a half hour later. That netted about a
hundred qso's and blanked out a bunch of missing east coast mults like NNY,
MS, Ky etc.

When that slowed down I tried to compete with the foreign broadcasters for a
few minutes on 40, but decided this SS was history and pulled the plug at
0200.
While I was officially "Assisted" and I took time to find a few mults with
it, I really didn't take advantage because it was constant dilemma whether
to keep running as much as possible to get the qso count up. My cw station
just isn't set up for SO2R phone. I stopped several runs which still had
legs to go S&P. Would never have done that with SO2R capability.

Low point: Even with 18db attenuation and RF down having big guns 10 or more
khz away on 20M  blowing through the IF on my 850 making me ask for fills
from stations which actually had good signals, not to mention the headaches
from trying to copy the QRP squadrons.  Is there a new radio with roofing
filters in my future?

High points:
Not being bored on Sunday. It's usually like watching paint dry.
Laughing when I see the score on the computer Sunday afternoon and realize
that I've just beaten myself in Sweepstakes!
Operating W0UCE's FB station Saturday as NY4A
Seeing the rate meter hit 150 for a short while Sunday afternoon.
Having a good friend (no name, no call) not wanting to give me a report when
he was running, saying, "We worked yesterday!" (forgetting I had a different
callsign).
Hearing more PVRC calls than I have ever heard on the air before. Great!
That was a win for all of us, regardless of where we place against the other
clubs.
 Shining example: N4AF called me on 75 (Yes, really). I said, "Howie, where
in the world did you find that microphone?" He replied with a resigned tone
of voice, "What I won't do for this club!"
All those "Go PVRC" cheers when we worked each other that made my day--both
of them!

73,

Jim, NY4A/K4QPL