[PVRCNC] K4QPL NAQP CW JAN 07

[Jim K4QPL]

           NAQPCW Score Summary Sheet

      Start Date : 2007-01-13

   CallSign Used : K4QPL
     Operator(s) : K4QPL

            Band : ALL
           Power : LOW
            Mode : CW
Default Exchange : JIM NC
   ARRL Section : NC
       Club/Team : Potomac Valley Radio Club #1

        Band    QSOs    Pts  Sec
         1.8      84      84   32
         3.5     180     180   39
           7     100     100   35
          14     153     153   33
          21      39      39   16
          28       1      1    1
       Total     557     557  156

Time: 9 hrs

           Score : 86,892

As always a fun contest but this one got off to a more rocky start than others. I decided the time had come to abandon my beloved TR-Log for cw contests. Friday night I was in the middle of installing, configuring, adding ports, and generally confusing myself with the intricacies of computer hardware and software. After quitting at midnight with a persistent N1MM start up error, I woke up at 6 a.m. with one word in my head---"REGEDIT" which of course solved the problem when I deleted the offending file in the XP registry. Despite now having two genuine serial and two parallel ports which sent perfect cw and talked beautifully to my Orion II and Kenwood, I didn't have enough time left to actually learn how to operate SO2R with MM!  I managed a few using the mouse but decided the hassle factor and learning curve was too steep for one short contest. Next time.....

10M consisted of a single "run the bands" QSO with neighbor N4CW who I left stranded when I jumped next to 20 instead of 15. Wondered where he was....sorry, Bert!

15M was pretty weak for me, but stayed there for a while knowing I would need the mults. That was at the very beginning and I sure missed SO2R.

20 was good, but still learning MM so I didn't worry too much. As pilots say when you're in trouble, "Don't put down the airplane while flying the microphone!"

40 suffered from a family time break when it was at its best. I really don't have the greatest signal on 40 anyhow.

80 turned out to be a welcome reprise of Sweepstakes with my best rate and totals. The "Drainfield Dipole" continues to amaze and chase poachers off my LP run frequency. The two mini-beverages and the Orion II are a receiving dream with easy copy of the guys on the left coast.

160 was a stepchild of 80 trying hard to pull its weight in the present sunspot cycle. More noise than expected for January. A bit frustrating that I was hearing MUCH better than the half-wave inverted V would put out. (Some might say that's better than the guys with S9 signals who can't hear squat). Never could work K7BG in MT who was booming in on 160. Did have a decent run and picked up a lot of mults.

Burned my timeouts early for family and by midnight was just too tired to fish the ponds out on 160 and 80 so ended up with only 9 hrs. Sorry, team.

I'm always encouraged to hear contesting newcomers in NAQP including K4CZ and W4KAZ from our own chapter who were slugging it out with the best.

Thanks for all the PVRC Q's.

73,

Jim, K4QPL