[PVRCNC] Fwd: N3ND CQ-WW-CW M/S Low Power

[Dan Atchison via PVRCNC]

     CallSign Used : N3ND
       Operator(s) : N4CW, N4GU, WA4PSC, KK4UNZ, W0UCE, N3ND

Operator Category : MULTI-OP
Assisted Category : ASSISTED
              Band : ALL
             Power : LOW
              Mode : CW

         Club/Team : Potomac Valley Radio Club

         Band     QSOs   ZN  Cty
          1.8      22     9   13
          3.5     288    19   74
            7     488    34  111
           14     497    37  120
           21     321    32  112
           28     611    31  110
        Total    2227   162  540


             Score : 4,481,568

               Rig : K3
          Antennas : VARIOUS
           Soapbox :

What fun.  This was the first real test of how the N3ND station would 
play in a contest.  It was decided that we'd try a low power category 
for this first full length contest that would really check the 
antenna(s) capabilities.  N4GU performed the statistical analysis of the 
QTH HFTA and category selection.  Conditions were great.

Teammates N4CW, N4GU, WA4PSC, KK4UNZ, W0UCE, and myself combined to 
drive this low power station with great success and minimal drama.  
Maximum rates for 1 minute, 10 minutes, and 60 minutes designates were 
achieved by W0UCE.  The maximum sustained run (well over 2 hours) being 
held by WA4PSC on a fantastic 10 Meter band.

New PVRC member, 16 year old Tucker, KK4UNZ, drove the station during 
several 2 hour stints and needed little mentoring while turning in some 
great runs on 10 M also pulling in over two hours at an 83/hour rate.  
What a fantastic contester this club has gained for the future of PVRC.  
I understand he's tops on phone, too.

Chef Archie, W0UCE, created a mouthwatering beef stew as our send off 
dinner just prior to the start of the contest. Again, Saturday's dinner 
meal consisted of special Chef Archie fried chicken, cheesy mash 
potatoes, and green beans with bacon.  No Thanksgiving leftovers here!  
Indeed, my recycling bin is filled with empty wine bottles, both red and 
white, too numbered to count. Thanks N4CW, N4GU, WA4PSC.

Murphy remained at bay except for one K3 lock-up easily corrected.  
N1MM+ did a good accounting for itself but with some noted latency on 
some keystrokes.  The cause is unknown but may have been an issue caused 
by incoming spots.  We experienced no other N1MM+ problems as it has now 
become very stable with all the pre-contest testing.  Great job, guys!

Assumptions.  Never assume.  Repeat, never assume.  Again, never 
assume.  We could have vastly increased our Q count had I noted that the 
cluster I normally used had its RBN network turned off, so even though 
our spots were significant, they were drastically lower than they should 
have been.  Note to self.  Never assume.  This will never happen again.  
Damn, there's another assumption.

No Mult radio was used.  What a great bunch of people to have shared 
this contest with.