[SJDXA] CQWW 160 SSB

[Carlton Lee Jr]

Can not make tomorrow's meeting. I am interested in participating in the
contest.
Carl

On Mon, Jan 27, 2020, 11:16 AM Bob Schenck N2OO <n2oo at comcast.net> wrote:

> SJDXA members;
>
> The CQWW 160 CW is history. Conditions were simply great. One surprise was
> working GM3POI at 10:56 UTC! Think about that a bit….
>
> Anyway, it’s time to do a head count for those who plan to participate in
> the SSB contest?
>
> Dates are Feb 21 (start time 2200 UTC (5PM). The end time is Feb 24 at
> 2200 UTC (5PM) however with a 40 hour limit, we will run straight through
> 1400 UTC (9:00 AM) on Sunday morning. (with an all-day daytime operation on
> Saturday)
>
> We will gather at the site at 10:00 AM on Friday for setup. Fortunately,
> everything is in place from the CW weekend except two radios.
>
> We will use the SJDXA K3 as well as N2OO and W2NO will bring their K3’s.
> All 3 are fully loaded including DVK’s (for F key voice keyer function).
>
> We should locate a 4th K3 as a backup. It does not need to be fully
> loaded since it would only be used in the slave receive position. I am
> hoping we can locate one nearby? Let me know. It won’t be used unless we
> encounter an issue with one of the other three.
>
>
>
> As usual, we will need overnight ops as well as Saturday daytime ops. We
> NEED at least 5 minimum for OVERNIGHT.
>
> We will do some operating review at tomorrow’s meeting as well as early
> during Friday Feb 21.
>
>
>
> Improvements:
>
> Tom K2TW has worked on a datafile from our previous contest log files that
> creates an “auto fill” feature in Win Test that will pre-fill in the
> state/province as per our past contest log files. This can be used as an
> “aid” when trying to copy the state/province. (Especially used for the
> state). If the op says something clearly different, then you will have to
> change the entry which is easy. But most should track unless someone either
> has moved or is operating from a different state for some reason. We did
> find this on a handful of QSO’s  but nearly all were right on. If the call
> is in the special datafile that Tom creates, then the state will ALSO
> appear in the the SPOT windows. The CW team found this to be a big plus.
> Saves a lot of log entry function AND helps locate new state multipliers
> much more easily and quickly. Will review before we start up.
>
>
>
> At the site, we found that due to some “careful testing and
> repairing/replacing” by the CW crew this year, the beverages sound better
> than ever, and as long as they stay together for the next month, we should
> benefit with some of the best RX capabilities we ever had. We of course
> also still have the HI-Z receive antenna as an option. For CW we used
> diversity mode with the beverages in one ear and the HI-Z in the other ear.
> For SSB we usually include a 2 position coax switch so you can switch
> between the HI-Z and the beverages if needed to pull in a weak one rather
> than have the beverage in one ear and the HI-Z in the other ear. On CW
> using diversity is extremely helpful but we found that on SSB it can be a
> bit annoying. Sometimes the HI-Z works better but normally the beverages
> are the best anyway. We have a total of 6 options for receive on the
> beverage boxes. NE, N, NW, W, SW, E. We also have a low dipole. In addition
> to this, we have a new backup WEST beverage on a switch. We found that the
> older WEST works marginally better than the new WEST. But if we encounter
> any issues with the old WEST we can switch in the new WEST. When using the
> HI-Z, it has 4 directions NE, NW, SW, SE and there is only one location
> where you can switch directions. We usually just leave it NE, but we can
> switch to NW or SW after European sunrise is over.
>
>
>
> Transmit antennas (NE and W) both seemed to function just fine as usual.
> We will run tests and tweak the amplifier with Danny during the setup on
> the 21st. The only thing we have learned is that it is best to leave
> everything on the NE direction all evening until EU sunrise before
> switching to WEST. We are being heard quite well to the WEST when using the
> NE antenna. Also, using the OMNI position has not served any advantage and
> there is a bit of a mismatch anyway. So, we will advise NOT to use OMNI.
>
>
>
> That’s about it.
>
> To those who can make tomorrow’s meeting, see you there.
>
>
>
> To those who can’t, please arrive early on the 21st for some lessons on
> the setup.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> See ya' in the Pileups!
>
> 73!
>
> Bob Schenck, N2OO
>
> President SJDXA
>
> GO SJDXA!!! www.sjdxa.org
>
>
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