[PVRCNC] Re: K4QPL NC QSO Party

[Roberts, Will]

Jim,
 
There seems to be some sort of rip in the time/space continuum that prevents our stations from working each other without blowing up! :>) I thought it was just me, but apparently it is mutual between our stations! You need to check with Henry - I think pencils were banned from the contest long ago (too easy to erase after the contest period is over and Trey hasn't come up with a Cabrillo pencil file reader yet). N1MM is a hard taskmaster when it comes to county names. If you don't enter exactly what it wants as an abbreviation you get TILT-GAME OVER and the Pac Man melts. Luckily there was a county abbreviation list on the W4NC website that I printed out after some harsh exchanges between myself and the computer.
 
I was extra prepared for the NCQP. I actually set up N1MM on my computer 2 minutes before the contest started. Even with all this extra prep time, I'm pretty sure I was sending the wrong exchange (as usual) for the first few hundred Qs, but most CW operators on the receiving end were astute enough to ask for fills when I sent Lovemaster / NC for the exchange (this was my handle used in the last Sprint). 
 
This was the first NCQP in the new format. It was funny that since they have dropped the RST from the required exchange it seemed to actually slow things down. I was freaking guys out on phone because I just went "Willy Billy Five Willy Billy Willy - WAKE" with no 59. I guess old habits die hard. Several times after giving this exchange I got "OK" for a reply. It then hit me - they thought I was saying "WAIT" instead of "WAKE" :>). The casual ops were the most hilarious. They have no idea what the exchange is, so they give you everything:
 
"AA4NC you're 59 plus twenty here Number 001 in Pigsuck county Florida, North Florida section, Alpha power, I was licensed in 1967, Geritol number 462, ARRL Life member, Advanced class, one transmitter on commercial power, Zone 5, Grid Echo Lima 96, IOTA NA-43, name is Daryl, running tribander and wires, will you spell your county for me and give me your name for the log?"
 
And the rate meter soars...
 
Ain't CW great? !! >:) 
 
Seventythirds from WAK,
 
Will
 
 
"You wrote":
 
After returning from Charlotte I walked into the shack Sunday evening to
 find everything in the same pile as when I brought it back from Howie's
 and ARRL DX. Untangled as many wires as possible to connect up the
 computer and the Orion. "Issues" with keying O2 by N1MM. Finally resolved.
 Loaded N1MM and tried to set up exchange and as many "F" buttons as
 possible.

 Tentatively sent out a CQ on about 7040. Deluged with calls including
 AA4NC. Entered "Wake" and MM refused to accept it. "Illegal, Immaterial
 and Irrelevant" or some similar Perry Mason objections. Kept trying while
 listening to a pileup trying in vain to work me. Grabbed a piece of paper
 and started logging the run with, yes, a pencil and sending the exchange
 with the paddle. That reminded me of old times for sure. Looked at the
 computer clock and put in time sporadically. Must have had about 30 qso's
 on paper when I finally figured out why MM wouldn't take Will's exchange.
 I entered "Wake" and all it wanted was "WAK"! So back to the computer.
 Then I switched to 80M and most calls came up "DUPE" when I knew I hadn't
 worked them so I logged them anyway. Finally realized cable switching had
 cancelled interface wtih radio so it was now logging the 80M qso's as
 manual 40M dupes. Not to mention the 30 or so that weren't in the computer
 log at all. At some point discovered that the computer had been unplugged
 all week, the clock battery had run down and the time it was logging had
 no resemblance to EST or GMT. I have no idea what time I worked people!

 After the runs petered out I tried S&P but promptly encountered all the
 noble souls who must feel there is something dishonorable about simply
 logging a dupe with zero points and who insisted on telling me we had
 worked before.  I assume they may have been in the hen scratching which
 passed as a paper log or in the 40 freq notation of my 80M computer log.
 (If they get a NIL, they deserve it!) Anyhow, after far too many of those,
 I quit S&P and just ran for a few more minutes.

 I think I had around a hundred qso's more or less on 40 and 80 meters in
 an hour or so. Whether I take the time to create a contest log from the
 paper and computer mess is problematic. Good thing this wasn't a real
 contest.

 MORAL: Contesting takes at least a minimal amount of advance preparation.

 But hey, it was FUN!

 73,

 Jim, K4QPL