N0LX/P during  NAQCC CW Sprint
17 July 2008

sox_key.JPG
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.

sk_setup.JPG
Simple layout for contest. Rig is a Yaesu FT-817 with external speaker.
 MP3 player/voice recorder captured all 2 hours of contest.

dual_tuners.JPG
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. 


sk_field.JPG
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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