17 July 2008
Sox mini key is only 2" long.
This evening's contest was the first
time I've ever used a straight key on the air. I managed 11 contacts:
Ten on 20 meters and one on 40.
20m:
WX5CW LA
W5TM OK
K1YAN MA
W0JFR CO
N02D CO
KC4GIA VA
AB9TX KS
AE3J DE
N1VWD VT
AA4W FL
40m:
WY7N UT
With five days left to report logs, it appears I'm in first place in the Mountain Division, and second place in the combined Central, Mountain and Pacific Divisions.
20m:
WX5CW LA
W5TM OK
K1YAN MA
W0JFR CO
N02D CO
KC4GIA VA
AB9TX KS
AE3J DE
N1VWD VT
AA4W FL
40m:
WY7N UT
With five days left to report logs, it appears I'm in first place in the Mountain Division, and second place in the combined Central, Mountain and Pacific Divisions.
Simple layout for contest. Rig is a Yaesu FT-817 with external speaker.
MP3 player/voice recorder captured all 2 hours of contest.
PVC base with two L/C tuners.
Two MFJ masts held 33' end-fed half wave
antennas. Each L/C tuner was pre-set for a different band. For 20
meters, I used a simple 33' wire taped to one mast. On 40, I used a toroid-loaded wire, also 33' long, and mounted to the second mast. It was the same antenna I used in the boat for the June NAQCC Sprint. Switching bands required only unplugging the antenna and switching masts.
Old photo with different antenna, but shows location and general setup of MFJ pole and PVC base.
Genesee Mountain, twenty miles west of Denver, Colorado, at 8,000 feet.
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