Florida QSO Party
Call: VE7FO
Operator(s): VE7FO
Station: VE7FO
Class: SOABMixed HP
QTH: BC
Operating Time (hrs): 3.5
Summary:
Band CW Qs Ph Qs
--------------------
40:
20: 47 23
15: 3
10:
--------------------
Total: 50 23 CW Mults = 32 Ph Mults = 17 Total Score = 6,027
Club: British Columbia DX Club
Comments:
The best laid plans.... etc
My efforts at promoting contest training resulted in 2 trainees signing up for
this one. One has been here before a couple of times and the other would be
having (I believe) his first HF experience. Two trainees this time, maybe 4
next time, then 8, then.... world domination. Alas, it was not to be. My
wife's birthday was on Saturday. I had the training schedules nicely interwoven
with the birthday activity schedule. Everything to do with the birthday
schedule got totally changed at the last minute. No trainees. I almost didn't
participate but I have my Canadian Multi record to defend.
In an attempt to improve my contest scores I have been spending some time
learning how to use W6EL's propagation forecasting program. It's really quite
neat what it will predict given only a modest amount of data, including
predictions of hop details and take off angles required. So, I ran predictions
for the Vancouver-Tallahassee and Vancouver-Miami paths. I was surprised to see
that the results were somewhat different, the main difference being that 15 was
more likely to be open to Miami than to Tallahassee. (Possibly, as opposed to
not bloody likely)
Well, most of Sat was totally open for me as my wife had gone out for the day.
Some of Sun also appeared possible. Participation would at least give me the
opportunity to test the propagation predictions against reality.
Didn't manage to get to the shack until some time around 1900Z on Saturday.
Checked 10 while the computer was booting. Heard what I expected, nothing.
Tried 15. Heard N4BP, I think it was, CQing on 15 cw and no one else. Right,
computer has booted up and TR is running in the Win 98 window. Type N4BP and...
nothing. Keyboard is dead. Reboot the computer while listening to N4BP CQing
with no answers. TR is just starting up. N4BP leaves 15 cw for greener
pastures. Keyboard is still dead. Shut computer down and go have breakfast
while thinking about it. Keyboard is USB running off a USB hub. Think about
bypassing hub. Realize that, even though computer is totally shut down, USB hub
still has power from wall wart. Finish breakfast, kill and restore power to all
peripherals and computer including hub. Computer boots, keyboard is fine.
Sigh! N4BP is in Broward, near Miami. Score 1 for W6ELPROP. First Q at
1955Z.
Have fun for a couple of hours on 20. All S&P. Work all the phone I can then
bear down on the cw. Keep going back and forth. After a couple of hours I am
being nagged by my memory of a conversation with my daughter. I had told her
that my wife said there was no need to buy a birthday present for her. My
daughter said that meant nothing and that my wife would be really upset if I
took her at her word. So, off I go, wondering what to buy. Then, in a flash,
it hit me. A couple of years ago she was complaining that the kitchen knife she
used for slicing and carving wasn't sharp and that she wanted a sharp knife. I
bought her a knife sharpener. Somehow, this didn't satisfy her, even though I
offered to do the sharpening any time she asked. A friend conducted a survey
amongst all the men and women he knew. The men all thought I did the right
thing and that she should be satisfied. The women all said that my wife was
saying that she wanted a set of expensive Henckel knives from Germany in an
expensive wooden storage block. It's amazing that a ham nerd like me ever got
close enough to a woman to procreate.
0020Z The Henckel knives in the wooden block have been put in a garden sprayer
box with some ribbon taped to the top and a nice card signed. Back to FQP.
0150Z Propagation predictions say 40 is starting to open to FL. Sure enough, a
few very weak cw signals. Called a few but didn't expect to be heard through
the din of the locals. Wasn't. Wife came home, totally excited by the gift,
end of contest.
The knives don't seem very sharp to me. The blade in my wood plane is a lot
sharper.
Wasn't able to get on at all on Sun.
I thought I would try using spots which would put me into Multi category, even
without my trainees, but couldn't access DX Summit the few times I tried it so
it's SOHP. HP in this case is 200W from my MkV. Why not go LP? Well, rate
isn't very high from VE7 so figured more watts = more fun.
How good were the predictions? Pretty good. Signal to noise ratios for 2400Hz
bandwidth on 20 were predicted to run from -2 to + 12 dB during the Sat contest
period and signal levels from 17 to 30 dB above 0.5 uV. This for, at each end,
100W, noise levels typical of a residential area and half-wave dipoles in free
space. I have an old TH3 tribander up about 45 ft but with a real good shot
towards FL. During my operating times there were always intelligible fixed W4s
on ssb. Later in the day there were lots of S9 ssb signals. Didn't work a
single mobile on ssb.
Heard one lonely Neb QPer and gave him a Q.
I'd have to say that conditions were better from VE7 than last year. 23 ssb Qs
vs 3, 73 Qs vs 65, 49 mults vs 40 and 3:30 hrs vs 8:50 hrs.
Didn't try chasing particular mobiles along their routes this year. Just worked
them as I found them. As always, it's the mobiles that make the QSO Parties
fun.
73 and I'll be back next year with my 8 trainees, some on cw.
Volusia Escambia 7 Flagler Osceola
(Actually tried this on one guy. Broke him up once he figured it out.)
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