Transcript W5WZ visits K8AZ

W5WZ visits K8AZ
2011 CQ WW SSB
M/S High Power
How did this happen?
2010 CW WW SSB – W5WZ M/M HP team finishes 11th USA
How did this happen? (cont’d)
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2010 CW WW SSB – W5WZ M/M HP team
finishes 11th USA
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W5WZ & team wants to improve
Seeking a top ten (in the box) finish
W5WZ contacts K3LR for tips to improve
K3LR schedules phone call with W5WZ
K3LR comments are surprising
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Why do you want to do M/M?
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Fun
Competition
Technical advancement
Have you considered M/S or M/2?
Suggest you take sabbatical this year
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Visit / operate another station
Learn, go home and improve
The invitation comes
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K8AZ calls the next night
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Long time friend of K3LR
Team member K8MR is contest mentor to K3LR
W5WZ accepts
W5WZ notifies W5WZ M/M team of
cancelled event for 2011
Plans begin to take shape to travel to Ohio
K8AZ sends homework
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Learn Win-Test (logging software)
Listen to bands – for propagation
Be familiar with FT1000MP, K3 operation
Be familiar with K8AZ antenna farm layout
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K8AZ sent pictures, written descriptions
Aerial photos of tower orientations
Learn the contest rules all of them!
Most important assignment
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Just a well rested run operator.
Oops!
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Scheduled to depart SHPT Friday @ 6am.
(aircraft mechanical problems, late flight crew, we
departed 8am. Missed plane in Dallas, rerouted
to Chicago, near-miss connection to CLE, and
lost luggage)
Finally leave CLE airport at 4pm
Contest starts at 8pm
Flight delays, rerouted to O’Hare
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I’d always wanted to visit Chicago!
Airport shuttle via K8MR
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Nice late afternoon lunch and tour of K8MR
station
The K8AZ team
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K8AZ – Tom, great host with golden retriever
Shane
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K8BL – Bob, VP2EOH, ZL0AAE, VK4BTL +
K8BL/ over 30 different DXCC Entities on all
Continents except Antarctica
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K8MR – Jim, aggressive run op
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K8NZ – Ron, contesting with K8AZ since 1960’s
The K8AZ team (continued)
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ND8L – Ray, VP9/ND8L and VP9I for 2011
CQWW RTTY Contest
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W8CAR – Dan, loves the low bands
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W8WTS – Jim, has operated PJ2T
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WT8C – Reno, also the official chef for the team
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W5WZ – Scott, lowers the avg age of team
The K8AZ station
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Under construction / improvement since
1985
4 towers
4 operating positions
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Three FT-1000MP Mk-V
One K3
4 homebrew amps
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Three 8877 & one 3cx1200
House Tower
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5L 10m @ 80'
(rotates)
5L 10 @ 50' fixed
SE (switchable
upper-both-lower)
2L40 @ 70'
(rotates)
Pond tower
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6L15 @ 130' (rotates)
6L15 @ 65' (fixed EU)
(switchable upper-bothlower)
6L20 @ 120' (rotates)
6L20 @ 60' (fixed EU)
(switchable upper-bothlower)
5L10s @ 125'/100'/75'/50'
(all fixed EU)
Tower also supports a fullsize elevated ground plane
(elevated radials) for 160m
TUP rotating tower
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5L20 @ 120'
5L15 @ 110'
7L10 @ 100'
7L10 @ 75'
5L15 @ 65'
5L20 @ 45'
Tower also supports
ropes which support a
wire 4-square (full size)
for 80m
40 meter tower
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4L40 @ 130'
2L40 @ 60'
(switchable w/4L40)
Perspective from driveway
Cable entry to basement shack
Cables to tower farm
Receive antenna
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Short-vertical 4-square for 160m
15' high dipole for 160m
15' high dipole for 80m
Hi-Z 8-circle array for 80m & 160m
K8AZ at center of Hi-Z array
The K8AZ station complexity
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Most antennas are available at all four positions
Everything is very well engineered
Inter-station interference was minimal
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Dunestar 200 watt band pass filters between transceivers
and amps
W3HQN high-power filters after the amps
Liberal use of copper grounding strap
All cables are neat & labeled
All controls are neat & clearly labeled
Switches for front or rear desk
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K8AZ personally switches these – no one else!
Front desk, positions A & B
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Rigs loaded with INRAD filters
Rear desk, positions C & D
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Rigs loaded with INRAD filters
The M/S strategy –
And remember the 10-minute rule!
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Priority #1 - keep the run station running
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Last 10 Rate < 120, change bands
The Hunt – chasing multipliers
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3 transceivers constantly tuning, listening, and scanning the DX
cluster spots for new mults
‘Stack' the band maps with mults to keep mult station rate high
for the 10 minutes
As mults became harder to find, often the 10-minute clock was
open and we would change mult band for a single mult
Sometimes the run rate slowed; have another receiver stack a
band map, switch to that band to 'point & shoot' for 10 minutes,
then switch right back to the previous run band
K8NZ & W8CAR
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At positions A & B
18 hours into contest
W5WZ gets some sleep!
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Sharing operating / rest time with the other
8 ops
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W5WZ rests 11 ½ hours
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6 hours sleep on Friday night
5 1/2 on Saturday night
W5WZ operates 36.5 hours
39 hours into contest
48 hours – It’s over!
Post-contest antics
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W5WZ gets a celebratory shrimp!
Rough statistics
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4-band DXCC
20m WAZ
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3 other bands >32 zones
10m was the high QSO, high score band
15m only 40 QSOs behind
Preliminary 3830 submission
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Band QSOs Zones Countries
-----------------------------160:
33
13
29
80: 196
26
84
40: 497
32
108
20: 557
40
144
15: 1299
38
146
10: 1339
34
145
-----------------------------Total: 3921
183
656 Total
Score = 9,408,546
A new K8AZ record
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Across all contests
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Highest QSO count
Highest CQ zone count
Highest DXCC total
Highest total score
An apparent #2 USA finish
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Based on early 3830 reports
Observations
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When the propagation is there, the
Europeans are very loud! But, I think our
openings in the south last longer.
Over the pole flutter occurs on more paths
since the location is further north and the
polar region appears wider.
The K8AZ call is recognized around the
world.
Back home Monday night!