[PVRCNC] NC QSO - N1LN (NC4KW)

[Bruce Meier]

Call: NC4KW
Operator(s): N1YXU, W4SAR, KZ1X, N1LN
Station: N1LN

Class: Club LP
QTH: ORA
Operating Time (hrs): 10

Summary:
 Band  CW Qs  Ph Qs
--------------------
   80:  133    109
   40:   90     58
   20:   27    199
   15:    1      1
   10:    0      0
--------------------
Total:  251    367  Mults = 99  Total Score = 149,600

Club: NC Kilo Watts

Comments:

Once again this year we decided to enter in the Club classification using
our
club call, NC4KW. Four operators were lined up so we were ready to fill the
Op
Chair for the complete 10 hours.  Thanks to my wife Laurie (N1YXU), Dave
(W4SAR) and Steve (KZ1X), and myself (N1LN) we had a team. Due to the single
transmitter rule operations were quite limited, but we made the best of it
using a rotational schedule instead of running Multi-2 which we prefer. 

This was to be Laurie's first shot at opening up a contest, which she did in
grand style. Her rates on 20m ssb quickly started bouncing off the 120 - 130
per hour mark.  Not bad for a state QSO party.  However, that was not to
last
long.   After about 50 minutes of fun and high rates in came the heavy rain
and
with it came the HORRIBLE rain static.   

We decided to work 1 hour shifts and swap from ssb for 1 hour and then to cw
for 1 hour and change bands based on propagation and activity.  This seemed
to
work reasonably well for us.   I was second up and decided to try 20cw.  It
turned out to be slow going, as you can tell from our 20 cw Q count, so I
switched back and forth between 40 and 20.  We ended up using the middle
height
beam on 20 and the low beam on 40 as the rain static was much less with
them.  
The mid 20 is locked west due to a rotor issue, but it worked fine. We even
resorted to using the rx beverages on 40 most of the time.  Sorry for the
repeat requests as the beverages are very directional.  That is a good thing
unless you are trying to hear from the west with the northeast beverage
selected. 

Dave was to follow in the third hour and was able to spend the entire time
back
on 20 ssb.  The band was OK - but not great by any means.  By the time I was
back on cw, 20 was just about closed so I spent my time on 40. While on 40
(last time and this time) I did search for some mobiles but none were to be
heard.  Well, none in NC anyway.  I did work a few mobiles around the
country. 
Steve battled away on 40 ssb, with lots of static slowing him down, but
again -
great to have the beverages.  The rest of the 10 hours brought lots of band
/
mode changes - lots of operator changes and - finally - our first NC Mobile.

Thanks to Marty - W4MY/M for providing many needed mults on 80 cw.   His
pileups were huge and we were pleased he could pull is through.  Call
recognition is a wonderful thing.   

When the 10:00pm EST / 03:00z time arrived, much to our surprise, we reached
the original goal of averaging 60 Qs / hour and exceeding our mult total
from
last year.    We also earned 150 bonus points by working both W4NC and W4WS.

 

NOTE:   Last year we had two club teams running - one on each of our
stations. 
 The team that won - W4UNC - was the target score we wanted to exceed as we
spent much more time last year trying to maximize that score and only used
NC4KW to keep the idle operators busy until it was their turn in the W4UNC
chair. 

Thanks to everyone that spotted us - the rate meter told us every time.  
Thanks to John (N6MU) for our only 15 meter Qs.  Thanks to all the DX
stations
that called in, even though we only get to count the first country as a
multiplier.  Last but not least, A BIG THANKS to the Forsyth Amateur Radio
Club
for sponsoring the NC QSO party.   The four of us had a fun time. 

73, 
Bruce - N1LN
(aka: NC4KW - North Carolina Kilo Watts)